Rajya Sabha likely to witness heated debate over Real Estate bill

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha is likely to witness a tug of war between Government and Opposition over real estate bill, which is listed for consideration and passage on Tuesday as main Opposition party Congress has upped the ante over it after Rahul Gandhi's Saturday meeting with home buyers.

Facing number crunch in Rajya Sabha, the government was forced to defer the bill last Wednesday after opposition insisted on referring it to Select Committee of Parliament.

Cornered by the Opposition, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had then said that the Bill should be deferred to allow the government time to have more consultations with parties and had promised to bring it back to the House.

While Congress' opposition to the bill has become even more aggressive in last four-five days, the government seems to be working to garner the support of some regional parties to pass the bill.

The government has been insisting that the bill is aimed to regulate and promote real estate sector and protect the interest of consumers.

However, a united Opposition in Rajya Sabha had not accepted Naidu's arguments that the amendments proposed were based on suggestions of the Standing Committee.

The government's argument is that the Standing Committee had representation from all political parties, and that it went ahead with amendments after "exhaustive consultations" with all stakeholders.

On Saturday after meeting home buyers from NCR region, Gandhi intensified the Congress attack on Narendra Modi government, accusing it of working against middle class home-buyers by "diluting" the bill and making it "pro-builders".

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien, however, took objection to Gandhi's escalated attack on the issue saying he was amused that someone is trying to hog the spotlight.

"All opposition parties in Rajya Sabha united five days ago to send the Real Estate bill to a select committee.

Amused that someone is trying to hog the spotlight," O'Brien had said in an apparent reference to Gandhi.

However, the Trinamool leader's words may not bring much comfort to the ruling NDA, which is woefully short of majority in the Rajya Sabha.

Moreover, Brien's remarks may not necessarily lead to a change in the Trianmool Congress' stand, which favours sending the bill to Select Committee. As such the passage of the bill appears a remote possibility.

Seeking to paint Modi government as "anti-middle class", Congress' twitter handle @INCIndia while posting about Gandhi's meeting with middle-class home buyers had tweeted, "Abki Baar Builder Sarkaar, Madhyam Varg Dar-Kinaar" (This time a government of builders, middle class sidelined).

The Congress has decided to bring out the "contrast" between UPA's real estate bill and NDA's legislation on the line of what it did in the case of the Land Acquisition Act.

The party said Gandhi has assured the representatives of flat owners that Congress will fight for their rights both inside and outside Parliament.

The Congress' argument is that in the earlier real estate bill, the carpet area was defined in a clear and unambiguous manner as "net usable area" in an apartment excluding walls.

The party claims that while in the earlier bill, the builders were not allowed to change the sanctioned plan after it was approved and the project launched, they can not undertake "minor alterations" just by intimating the buyer and the extent or type of minor alteration is also not defined.

Congress further claims that while in the earlier bill, it was very difficult to seek deadlines for extension of projects, now it is very easy to delay the project.

Former Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) minister and Congress leader Ajay Maken has alleged that the government has made "118 amendments" to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill brought by the previous government.