Winter Session: Real estate bill not on agenda

While the main Opposition Congress has assured the passage of at least six key bills in the Rajya Sabha during the remaining three sittings of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, apart from the absence of the GST bill, another notable omission is the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, which does not find any mention in the list of pending legislations which the Upper House has lined up for discussion.

The Rajya Sabha has seen a near washout during the current session, with the Congress stalling its proceedings on a host of issues, mainly the National Herald case and the constitutional crisis in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Rajya Sabha, a total of 43.50 hours have been allotted for around 18 bills which are pending in the Upper House, for the remaining three days of the current session.

However at the same time, in the likely list of bills which may actually get cleared (on the assurance given by the Congress in the last week’s all-party meeting called by Chairman Hamid Ansari), there is no mention of the Real Estate Bill.

While the Congress continues to hold on to its reservations on the GST Bill, thus ruling out its passage in this session, the omission of the Real Estate Bill, also raises serious doubts about its fate in the Monsoon Session and indicates that the Opposition may have some objections to it also.

The Real Estate Bill is among the 18 legislations which are pending in the Rajya Sabha. It was with the select committee of the Rajya Sabha.

However, earlier this month, after the Cabinet had accepted all the suggestions of the select committee, chances of its passage looked bright in the Upper House.

However, now after the GST bill, it becomes the second most important legislation after the GST bill whose fate hangs in limbo.

Some of the key suggestions of the select committee accepted by the Cabinet were: compulsory disclosure of all real estate project details by developers, mandating registration of projects and real estate agents with the state-level real estate regulatory authority, and a second tier for adjudication of disputes, namely the state appellate tribunal.

The Congress may help pass the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 and the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2015.