Hakim urges realtors to adopt green building practices

Kolkata: More than 15 real estate developers came together under the same roof as the 11th edition of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI) Bengal Realty Expo began with almost a thousand footfalls on Friday.

While speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the annual fair, Mayor Firhad Hakim unveiled plans to encourage green building practices by providing some tax discount for the maintenance of such buildings.

"The government already provides 10 percent higher Floor Area Ratio for green building but apart from that, we are also planning to provide some additional tax discounts for its maintenance. We want compost plants to be installed in such buildings as well as proper segregation. There should also be minimum usage of energy and for all these, we have asked for CREDAI's cooperation", said Hakim. The annual fair which is being held on the Science Grounds from 11am to 8 pm, comes ahead of the February 24 meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council which will decide on the proposed bid by the Centre to reduce GST on the under-construction houses to a maximum of 5 percent without input tax credit.

Commenting on the issue, Nandu Belani, President of CREDAI Bengal said: "The market has been a bit slow since the last two years, with 12 percent GST on payments made for under-construction property as well as 28 percent for cement. But with the possibility of the GST rate being reduced on payments made for under-construction houses after the February 24 meeting, which is highly important for the real estate market, it expected that there should be a surge in demand after the move."

The three-day exhibition is also the first-of-its kind to have all projects that have been put up for sale registered with West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Authority (WBHIRA).

Ravi Todi, the convener of CREDAI Bengal exhibition committee said: "It is mandatory for the builders of Bengal to register all their projects under WBHIRA. A large number of consumers were being misled as they were selling flats which were not approved, also there were some problems with the land."