Cheaper homes, faster clearances: Real estate experts lay out reforms for growth

NEW DELHI: India’s real estate sector needs faster approvals, digitised land records and a dedicated affordable housing policy to tackle rising home prices and improve ease of doing business, industry experts said at an ASSOCHAM conference on Tuesday.Speaking at the National Conference on Real Estate for Viksit Bharat: Enabling Growth, Investment & Ease of Doing Business, industry representatives said regulatory and policy reforms were needed to make housing more affordable and support the sector’s future growth.The experts identified rising land prices, lengthy approval processes and outdated land records as key hurdles facing the sector. They called for greater use of technology and a single-window system to simplify project approvals.Affordable housing policy neededAshwinder R Singh, Chairman of the CII Real Estate Committee, Northern Region, said rising land prices were making affordable housing increasingly difficult.“Affordable housing is a complex issue. Land prices have gone up.