With the Maharashtra Government indicating to introduce Blockchain in property transactions, this new technology is in the spotlight. There are more questions in the public domain than answers as subject matter experts are few. In an exclusive interview with Ravi Sinha, Tushar Shrivastava, Co-founder & CTO, PropertyPistol.com decodes how Blockchain is the future of real estate transactions.
Track2Realty Exclusive: Has populism been behind the Maharashtra Government notification on affordable housing is the question that everyone within the built environment of real estate is today asking. There is a general feeling among the developers that the Maharashtra Government notification for the builders developing a housing project on a 4,000 sq m (acre) plot to reserve 20 per cent of the area for affordable housing is not in sync with the market reality.
Track2Realty: In a major setback to attempts of Maharashtra government to improve infrastructure in the Mumbai, none of the five shortlisted firms put in tender for the ambitious Mumbai TransHarbour Link (MTHL) project, the bids for which opened on Tuesday, Aug 6. It is also seen as a major blow for the Mumbai real estate market which was expecting a turnaround post this Rs. 10,000 crore ambitious project.
Track2Realty Exclusive: When the issue of Maharashtra Government levying 5 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT) surfaced and the MCHI-CREDAI and a couple of other developers’ and trade associations moved to the court, a consumer group called FORAM–Flat Owners’ Rights protection Action committee in Maharashtra – was formed with consumer interest groups coming together and seeking to fight the vexed VAT issue on flats in Maharashtra.
Track2Realty: Opposing the Maharashtra government’s decision to impose local body tax (LBT) in lieu of octroi, developers’ apex body CREDAI Chairman Lalit Kumar Jain said the new levy will result in rise in corruption and be detrimental to business as well as consumers. There is a potential threat of it becoming breeding ground of corruption.
Track2Realty: Strongly opposing the country’s first ever SEZ exit policy formulated by the Maharashtra Government, CREDAI has expressed fear that the move will cause urban chaos rather than solving any.
Track2Realty: MCHI CREDAI has appealed to the Maharashtra Government to slash the ready reckoner rates that form basis for stamp duty.
Track2Realty: Mumbai-based developers will have to finally pay 5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) to the Maharashtra Government. The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by MCHI-CREDAI that challenged the levy.
Even as the cost of housing is skyrocketing in Mumbai, an ambitious proposal to create at least 500,000 houses as part of a “Homes for All” initiative between the real estate industry and the Maharashtra Government is gathering dust in the ministry.
The Mumbai realty market is awaiting a policy change by the Maharashtra Government that could appreciate the prices in South Mumbai, while soften up the market in the suburbs. Real estate prices in South Mumbai range between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh per sq ft, whereas the rates in the suburbs range between Rs 6,000 and Rs 40,000 per sq ft.