New Delhi: The Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry, in a bid to boost affordable homes, is pushing for a relaxation of minimum built-up area norms for FDI in real estate projects, a top official said.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) of 100 percent is allowed in real estate through the automatic route, subject to conditions, including a minimum built-up area for projects.
"Currently, there is a condition in FDI in real estate that minimum built-up area should be 50,000 square metres. Only big developers can do such large projects," Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Secretary Arun Kumar Misra said on the sidelines of a conference.
"We have written a letter to the Commerce and Industry Ministry in this regard. They have raised some queries and we are in the process of replying," he added.
Misra also said his ministry would look into the industry's demand to exempt pre-cast fabrication technology from customs duty to reduce construction time and costs.
"Single-window clearance is also a priority item for us. Single-window approval has to be pushed very, very fast," he said. Currently, approvals for real estate projects need to be obtained from multiple authorities and sanctions can take 12-18 months.
The secretary expressed concern over the non-availability of finance for low-cost housing.
On the real estate regulatory bill, Misra said it is expected to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament.
PTI
