Quite predictably, opposition to Jagmohan's plans has come in from his own officials, partymen as well as 'vested interests' who fear that such a legislation will cut down on speculation which has led to a near-continuous spiralling of prices. In the Indian real estate business, the demand for flats and houses have far outstripped supply leading to manipulation and, very often, even blackmail by operators allegedly masquerading as property developers and construction agents.
While officials are not willing to go on record, the broad parameters of the proposed legislation have already been put in place. On March 21 this year, Jagmohan's ministry amended the building bye-laws for Delhi. Says an official: "Copies of this amendment have been sent to state governments and local municipal bodies and the overall consensus emerging is that this could well form the backbone of the Builders Bill." The main provisions of this amendment include:
All these provisions have been framed with good intentions, no doubt, but on the ground it has to be implemented by state governments and local bodies. If the Gujarat example is anything to go by, bringing around state governments will be no mean task. But Jagmohan enjoys considerable support among Gujarat MPs who are of the view that lessons need to be learnt from the January 26 earthquake and that the builder-politician nexus should be broken.
Jagmohan, for one, believes that "people have to lend their support to those who take firm action against land and building mafia operating in our cities". The people of Gujarat are more than willing to heed Jagmohan's suggestion and would definitely back Keshubhai Patel to the hilt if he cracks down on the builder mafia. But given his government's position on the matter till now, the big question is, will he?
