No accord on realty panel: Prithviraj Chavan

MUMBAI: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said the compulsions of coalition politics, which required consensus of all parties, were delaying setting up of a real estate regulator.
"There are practical issues. We do not have a government like in Singapore, Korea or China whereby decisions are fast. We are trying to build a consensus so as to have a level playing field that importantly benefits the consumers,'' said Chavan.
Chavan was speaking at the valedictory function at a day long real estate seminar organized by Times Property.It might be recalled that the state cabinet in 2008 had even approved setting up of a real estate regulator, which had sweeping powers, including the authority to fix prices, in a bid to control the sector. But, the decision was never implemented. Formed on the lines of telecom and energy sectors, the regulator had been given several key powers such as the authority to decide the percentage of houses to be reserved for the low and middle income groups and whether to include government agencies under its jurisdiction.
Chavan voiced his displeasure to how building rules were flouted by the developers. "Look at the way the developers constitute carpet area. How can one count the flower-bed or the space under columns as carpet area? We are now making the entire system transparent by defining what constitutes a carpet area. The developer can decide what he wants to do with it thereafter,'' said Chavan.
Chavan listed out other measures planned by the government to make the real estate industry more transparent like e-approvals of building plans submitted by developers, rationalizing property tax.