[h=1]Black money a malaise in real estate industry; causes excess demand & price rise[/h]
Good article:
Industry insiders say that the process which forces a builder to take approvals from different agencies gives birth to corruption. Every stage involves a malpractice.
For instance, in the Delhi NCR region, a builder needs nearly 60 approvals to construct a property. A developer who operates in North India says that he recently had to pay a kickback of Rs 18 crore to an NCR-based development authority. And, the officials handed over a typed document with heads and subheads of departments and designation of people concerned and their percentage in the total kickback.
The developer says he couldn't believe that
corruption was so organized! Kumar Gera, the chairman of
Gera Development, says: "It is not about the number of clearances that is a problem. We agree that structural safety and environmental compliance is important and this needs to be checked and regulated . But then it is the manner in which it happens which causes problems.
For instance, if I submit a plan for my construction and the authorities point out three mistakes after 30 days, and I correct them and send them back and then they take another 30 days to re-evaluate and come up with 2 mistakes, it only leads to huge delays."
He says that if the developer submits a plan as per the rules and the processes are in place, it should not take more than 45 days for all clearances to be in place. But, in reality, the time taken for clearances can range from nine months to two years, on an average.
Delay of projects could add 20-30 % to a builder's project cost. Builders pass it on to consumers , and extend the circle of corruption and cash. A consultant points out that builders don't just pass it on - they often add to it big time - for example, how they account for payments to suppliers, to dodge taxes and siphon off cash.
So, everything becomes distorted; how builders price their projects, how they recognize revenues, how they pay their suppliers, how they value their land holdings, how they use their bank loans.
Vineet Chopra, a banker, gives an equation by which corruption leads to inflation. Corruption ->
black money -> investment only possible in real estate -> rises in land values -> rise in
inflation Vineet says: "Another malaise in real estate industry is the amount of black money.
Black money encourages lavish spending, which causes excess demand and a rise in prices. It is the root cause for unprecedented price hike in real estate sector." It is a well-known fact that if people (read businessmen and politicians) do not take the black money out of the country, they are likely to funnel it into real estate.
Real estate is one the most viable investment options with a longterm gestation period, considering that the investments are huge. It also ensures safe investment when compared to other investment tools like the stock market, for instance. The growth is inevitable and thus it is an ideal option for investments.