If there is one sector that has grown on its own. and has generated its own momentum, it is the real estate sector. Without any help from the government, and fully with private money and initiative. a whole new. horizon of activities for our entrepreneurs has been opened up. More than a decade down the line, today, they are asking the government for help — not in the usual form of do this or that for us' but asking to remove obstacles that are today hampering further growth of this potentially dynamic sector. The current level of gain tax. stamp duties and .registration costs, which together comes to more than 18 per cent, is excessively high. REHAB, a body of developers. suggests this should be lowered to six per cent. The argument here is that such a lowering of tax will increase buying and selling of houses or of flats, which will increase government s total earning. There are also strong suggestions for simplifying RAJUK's procedure for approving development proposals. Questions have also been raised about the completely outdated zoning laws that govern urban development.

In the all the above areas government must act. and do so quickly. For a modern city, we need modem laws, modem ways of doing things and. above all. a modem mindset. The'attitude of the institutions that run our city affairs, and the laws that govern their functioning, have all got to change. As REHAB puts it. if the government * cannot help the sector positively, then it should at least help out by removing the negative aspect, meaning the^?urrent obsolete laws and practices.

On the other side, we would like to raise the issue of quality construction by the developers. In the recent months we have had two literally unheard-of incidents of high-rise buildings actually tilting to their sides because of faulty foundation work. We strongly suggest the development of a comprehensive building codes and meticulous adherence to this, by REHAB members, with the provision of expulsion if any builder is found to do a sloppy job. We also strongly suggest the preparation of a comprehensive overview on urban planning. Cities cannot grow without a complete vision, which we seem to lack at the moment. REIjAB members have made some very useful points. It is our suggestion that relevant government bodies should take a very close look at what has been said, and. examine how to incorporate them into a forward-looking policy framework.