HERALD: Could you please tell us what is going on in the industry right now and what is the mood among those involved?
Desh Prabhudessai: Basically they have made the notification of the rules. This was done on November 24. It is final and it was based on what was passed by the Centre. Now we have a problem. We cannot go physically to the office to get clearances. They want it to be uploaded, but the website is not ready and the process has been delayed. We were promised it would be uploaded by December 10 or December 15 latest, but till date the security aspects involved are not ready. Now I believe it will all fall into place by the end of this month. Any ongoing project has to be registered online within 90 days. It is always easy to upload than to physically take the files because there are so many files which are requested by the RERA authorities.
HERALD: How will all this effect the industry, what are your predictions, how soon will the changes take place?
DP: Well, no project has been slowed down, work is on but there is a lull, undoubtedly. It is not our mistake that the website is not ready. Perhaps, in another 15 to 20 days it will start working seamlessly.
HERALD: As the President of CREDAI what are the new developments you foresee in 2018. Is the market moving in the right direction?
DP: From December last year, the market starting moving in a different direction and it has not improved substantially. There is nothing new and it is not the fault of RERA or the government. With regards to 2018, like I said earlier, once the website is up and running, our tensions on that score will disappear. Sudhir Mahajan has been appointed Regulatory Authority for RERA. We will be free to start focusing on business. Business has been depressingly slow but it is slowly picking, however, not to the extent that one would like it, as there is never an overnight change. I have talked to builders and many of them have projects in mind, they intend to announce once all the legislative hassle is sorted out. I believe there is market and someone who wants a house will buy it. There is excess inventory in the market and people will go around checking locations. Sales will happen though not at the pace as it used to happen earlier.
HERALD: You seem optimistic of the turnarround. When, according to you will ache din return in this sector?
DP: 2019 will be the year when it buzzes again. Remember there has always been a correction every five to ten years. This time, the measures initiated by the government has delayed the recovery but it will come. People in the country want to buy houses and would love a place in Goa. I’m sure it will happen and pretty soon!
