Track2Realty Roundtable-VIII
Venue—India Habitat Centre
Moderator—Ravi Sinha, CEO & Managing Editor, Track2Realty
Panelists—Sachin Sandhir, MD, South Asia, RICS
Achal Agarwal, ED, Investments, Fire Capital
Sunil Dahiya, MD, Vigneshwara Developers
J C Khera, GM, Finance, Supertech
Achal Agarwal: If you look the FDI side of the story over the years, initially there was an influx of a lot of foreign funds and in 2007, it was driven by the US. But the 3-4 years that investors have been here, we have seen a lot of selling. So a lot of investors withdrew or reduced their portfolio and even though being a fund, we found ourselves putting our hands into the acquisitions, marketing etc. It was not our comfort zone and we have been playing the role of a developer instead.
Ravi Sinha: One thing that has come out of this discussion is that there should be a single window clearance, with a defined regulation in place and there should be an ombudsman. Let me ask the neutral voice on the panel to sum it up. The question remains—is the real estate sector ready for such reforms?
Sachin Sandhir: I don’t think so. Other than lip service and politically correct answers, actually ‘No.’ I think the issue we never really bring up in any discussion, the biggest one facing the industry is not from the developer’s perspective but from the investor’s perspective and delivery or the lack of it. That impacts everything—confidence in the industry and the long term aspirations of being given an industry status. Once we get the industry status, we will have easier access to funds. But all these things are interlinked in some shape or the other. For me the biggest issue is delivery which fuels shortage.
Ravi Sinha: Is the sector really ready for the kind of delivery mechanism that you are advocating? Is it feasible in the near future?
Achal Agarwal: Actually, the answer is not a simple yes or no. I think, whether it is an arbitrator, regulator or an ombudsman, some mechanism needs to be put into place. A judge may not be the best person as he may not understand the industry. So from the industry point of view, everyone has a crying need for it. I cannot comment on specifically whether it should be a regulator or not.
ENDS….
