Women realtors will bring urban planning revolution in India: Housing Secretary

Hyderabad At a time when the Centre is planning a paradigm shift in terms of urban planning in the country, Secretary for the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Manoj Joshi said that women stakeholders in India's real estate sector including developers and urban planners can play a major role in bringing urban planning revolution across the country.

Secretary MoHUA, at the first convention of Naredco Mahi, themed 'Realty Women - The Transforming Catalyst to Real Estate', noted that there is limited capacity for urban planning for both big and small cities in the country. "We need more urban planning capacities in which women have got more scope. Although there is major focus on roads, hospitals and other physical infrastructure, the human aspect in planning is very less," he said.

He asked the industry to focus also on the aspects of environment, water and transportation in urban planning. He said that stamp duties have come down and stressed on the need for further decline in the duties. Observing that decline in levies including stamp duties make businesses fairer. He said "From the government side, our effort is to frame policies so that there is less chance of doing wrong business" added Joshi.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Housing and Urban Development said that the emphasis on greater participation of women in the real estate sector is a welcome move. He was of the view that the real estate sector has demonstrated resilience amid the pandemic and by empowering women in this space, the sector will be further strengthened.

Tara Subramaniam, Founder President of Naredco Mahi said: "Over the years we have seen women take up key leadership roles in several industries. Realestate has largely been a mendriven sector. With MAHI, we are trying to bridge this gender divide, we can make a vast change through skilling and imparting sector specific-knowledge to the women across the country."

Launched in September 2021, Naredco Mahi, the women's wing of National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) aims to empower women in real estate with certification courses and workshops including public speaking, health, wellness and industry best-practices. It would create opportunities for women at the grassroots levels by providing skill-based courses in different fields of the real estate industry. It has also prioritised to ensure a safe environment in the workplace for women working in the sector at all levels.