Relief to Contractors & Real Estate in today Press conference by Honorable FM: Nirmala Sitharaman

Relief to Contractors

1. Extension of up to 6 months (without costs to contractor) to be provided by all Central Agencies (like Railways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Central Public Works Dept, etc)
2. Covers construction/ works and goods and services contracts
3. Covers obligations like completion of work, intermediate milestones etc. and extension of Concession period in PPP contracts
4. Government agencies to partially release bank guarantees, to the extent contracts are partially completed, to ease cash flows

Extension of Registration and Completion Date of Real Estate Projects under RERA

1. Adverse impact due to COVID and projects stand the risk of defaulting on RERA timelines. Time lines need to be extended.
2. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will advise States/UTs and their Regulatory Authorities to the following effect:
   • Treat COVID-19 as an event of ‘Force Majeure’ under RERA.
   • Extend the registration and completion date suo-moto by 6 months for all registered projects expiring on or after 25th March, 2020 without individual applications.
   • Regulatory Authorities may extend this for another period of upto 3 months, if needed
   • Issue fresh ‘Project Registration Certificates’ automatically with revised timelines.
   • Extend timelines for various statuary compliance under RERA concurrently.
3. These measures will de-stress real estate developers and ensure completion of projects so that home buyers are able to get delivery of their booked houses with new timelines.