CREDAI writes to state govt with realty sector issues

Members of the Pune chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), the apex body for private real estate developers have written a letter to chief secretary of state government and pointed out contradictions in recent break the chain lockdown order pertaining to their sector.

According to the letter, it is claimed that the site offices and construction activities of realtors are allowed, but the head offices have been asked to stay shut. It is suggested that this move will hamper their work because allied operations run primarily from the head offices.

The letter mentioned various verticals such as sales, marketing, bills recovery, payment of labours and suppliers need office spaces to function properly.

Rohit Gera, CREDAI member and managing director of Gera Developments Pvt Ltd, said, “We are thankful that the site construction is not going to be halted like last year. But the closure of our corporate offices is going to have an adverse impact on our overall functioning.”

“The order categorically included all private offices in the lockdown including our corporate offices. Our billing, sales, marketing , client visits happen in these offices only. We are hopeful that before the deadline these restrictions on the offices would be revoked,” he said.

Anil Pharande, president of CREDAI Pune Metro and managing director of Pharande Spaces, said, “In our letter to the chief secretary, we have requested to look at a few aspects of the government guidelines. The order says that it is okay to keep site work on, which is a big help for daily wagers, but the closure of corporate offices would create issues of controlling the operation of sites,” he said.

“There are different news reports and versions about lockdown norms as sites are allowed to operate. But for the purpose of allied operations, we have to run our offices,” said Pharande.

“Keeping all these aspects in consideration, I request authorities to issue clear guidelines about keeping construction related offices open,” said the letter.

Sanjay Deshpande, member of CREDAI and owner of Sanjeevani developers, said, “If an architect is asked to keep the office shut, how can he check the plinths of sites? We expect clarity on the orders,” he clarified.

“If we don’t sell our flats, how will we be able to complete sites as per the norms set by RERA? We need to keep working by following all the safety norms. Most of our staff is from the middle class with small homes where social distancing in home is actually difficult,” he added.

CREDAI Pune Metro, which is an association of builders and promoters in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal areas, has around 1,400 members.

Over 5,000 construction projects in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) had come to a grinding halt due to the last lockdown. On this, district collector Dr Rajesh

Deshmukh said, “ We will ask state government authorities to clear the confusion by addressing the issue,” he said.