Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said the government would be issuing an advisory to all States to take special measures to protect the interest of homebuyers and the real estate industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Puri chaired an urgent meeting of the Central Advisory Council constituted under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) on Wednesday to discuss the impact of the crisis and the lockdown on the sector, a Ministry statement said. Mr. Puri said in a tweet the demand raised by stakeholders that the pandemic be treated as an event of force majeure under the RERA would be considered. The provision allows developers more time to deliver a project in case of a natural disaster.
“There was a demand for providing special relief for the real estate sector so that the sector is able to cope with adverse impact of the current crisis. The COVID-19 has already disrupted construction activities due to large scale reverse migration of labour and disruption of supply chain of various construction materials,” the Ministry said.
Mr. Puri told the participants, which included NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, chairpersons of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities of States and real estate developers and agents, that the MoHUA would soon issue an advisory about the “special measures that need to be taken to safeguard the interest of homebuyers and all other real estate industry stakeholders”, the statement said.
