Better construction techniques needed to combat pollution: Goyal

Piyush Goyal during his keynote address at the 25th Foundation Day of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India) in New Delhi today. He further urged the industry to engage the labour in formal employment, giving them the social security benefits of insurance (ESIC) and provident fund (EPFO). This will help in the number of employees getting reflected in annual reports and in national statistics. If social security, healthcare and post-retirement benefits are provided then the employees will align with the industry’s goals of enhancing their quality of work leading to better productivity and greater profits, he said. 

Commerce and Industry Minister also appealed to CREDAI to expedite formalisation of its 14,000 members. If everyone who works for CREDAI will receive salary through digital payment and if it is ensured that employees working in the ecosystem is a part of the national effort to meet the needs of the people, CREDAI’s contribution to employment will get recognised and rewarded, he said.

In his address, Shri Goyal raised the issue of environment pollution and urged CREDAI to consider setting up a team to study ways to adopt better construction techniques in the metropolitan cities of India. He further suggested the industry body to  take this up as a mission and report to the Government steps being taken in this direction. Adopting steel and precast fabrication will speed up construction benefitting the entire ecosystem. This can help in reducing AQI and pollution levels, he said.

Shri Goyal lauded CREDAI for its contribution to making India a powerhouse and also in its  journey towards Viksit Bharat and added that the industry has not only worked with brick and mortar to collectively prepare the nation for the future but has worked to provide opportunities and aspirations to the nation. Real estate contributes to the economy and jobs, he said.

Emphasising the difficulty citizens faced earlier in owning homes, Shri Goyal pointed out that a concerted effort has been undertaken in the last ten years to clean up processes, promote Ease of Doing Business and encourage businesses to expand. He also noted that bringing The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) into effect in 2017 was a challenge, however, the regulations have enabled citizens to acquire homes without dispute. The Minister further highlighted CREDAI’s commitment to rectify the processes and pointed out that provisions like Goods and Services Tax (GST), RERA Act and efforts to eliminate irregular transactions have resulted in an organised growth of the real estate sector.

Hailing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s efforts to clean up the banking system, Shri Goyal noted that non-performing assets (NPAs) have decreased significantly and banks have strong credit portfolios with strong balance sheets, maintaining healthy profit each year. It shows how important the banking sector is for the real estate sector and for the economy to gain momentum in meeting the aspirations of the nation. As income levels rise, more people will take possession of their homes as they will be able to afford cheaper loans at  lower interest rates, he said.