India’s urban infrastructure to see ₹10 lakh crore investment in next 4 years: Housing Secy

India’s urban infrastructure sector, which has already seen investments worth Rs 30 lakh crore over the past decade, is expected to attract an additional Rs 10 lakh crore in the next four years, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Srinivas Katikithala said on Friday.

Speaking at the 17th annual convention of real estate body NAREDCO, Katikithala noted that India is urbanising at a rapid pace. “In the next 20 years, more than 50 per cent of the population would live in urban areas,” he said, calling this transformation both a challenge and an opportunity.

The secretary urged real estate developers to align their projects with infrastructure development and to look beyond housing. “In the last one decade under the inspiring leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urban infrastructure and the urban sector have received enormous attention, enormous investment,” he said.

He pointed out that investments rose sharply in the past decade to Rs 30 lakh crore, compared with just Rs 1.78 lakh crore during 2004-2014. “It becomes our responsibility, collectively in this room, to participate in this economic activity and also contribute to it,” he told industry representatives.

At the same time, Katikithala flagged a mismatch between where infrastructure is being developed and where real estate projects are coming up. “When this infrastructure expansion is happening, are we aligning our projects along this infrastructure expansion?” he asked. “Please do not wait for infrastructure to chase us. Let us chase the spaces where infrastructure is already going.”

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He cited investments in roads, metro rail, railways, water supply, and sewage systems, stressing that developers should tap into opportunities in these areas. “In the next four years…Rs 10 lakh crore are going to be spent in the urban areas,” he said.Katikithala also emphasised the need for the private sector to help improve the efficiency of urban services. “It is no longer enough for urban local bodies to deliver services on their own; they must come together with the private sector and deliver high-quality urban services,” he said.On the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, or RERA, the secretary urged developers to ensure better compliance. “More projects should be registered under the RERA,” he said, while also calling for training of registered brokers.

He informed the gathering that Prime Minister Modi had recently reviewed the implementation of RERA with state chief secretaries. “He told all of them to take up RERA as one of the important initiatives of the country,” Katikithala said. The ministry, he added, has also tied up with the CBDT to raise awareness of RERA among taxpayers.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has also discussed the matter in recent weeks, the secretary said.

With inputs from PTI

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