NLU Delhi: 2nd National Seminar On Affordable Housing: Building Inclusive Society For The 21st Century India

The Centre for Law & Urban Development (CLUD) at National Law University, Delhi, aims to bring together the students, industries and academia working towards enhancing the understanding and teaching of property, housing, urban development and other related laws. In doing so, the Centre has undertaken a variety of projects and activities, such as the SDG Series, Research Projects and Publications on relevant topics of prime importance and awareness drives through proactive public initiatives and webinars, amongst a multitude of other projects. These projects are driven towards answering pertinent questions surrounding the existing system within today's society, such as the needs, status and standing of the underprivileged in the urban structure and other such key issues that plague the societies in their current form. In an attempt to offer solutions that are not just viable but also sustainable, pragmatic and stakeholder-friendly, CLUD has also undertaken projects in the area of affordable housing to ensure housing for all as a facet of urban planning. At CLUD, They understand that Urban Planning is an all-around and holistic field of study that requires the cooperation of professionals and scholars from diverse fields. This will further our aim to delve into and attempt to tackle issues such as the impact of climate change on sustainable cities, the prospects of smart cities and the scope of Urban Development in its truest sense from the lens of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To further the goals and ambitions of CLUD, it also collaborates with and works towards initiatives like the NPCC, NBCC, Project AMRUT and the Delhi Development Authority to truly realise the implications of the efforts undertaken and be the change we envision for the future.

The Centre for Law and Urban Development aims to bring together the student, industry and academia, working towards enhancing the understanding and teaching of property, housing, urban development and other related laws. The Centre is currently working in association with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GOI.

Centre for Tax Laws

The Centre for Tax Laws was established in 2018 under National Law University, Delhi, to work in the area of tax laws. A robust taxation framework helps in mobilising revenue for governments' welfare commitments and serves as the backbone of a sound economy. As it is only through constant analysis and conversation that civil society stays informed and involved in any area of law, we as academics have instituted this Centre especially for tax laws to bring the academia, industry and government together under a single platform. In the future, they will be interacting with all stakeholders by organising conferences, workshops, seminars, colloquiums, capacity development programs and publications on the current themes and debates reverberating for tax laws.

They want to facilitate a high-level research environment where the student community appreciates the significance of tax laws and gets experiential learning from established experts in this field. They also want to consistently provide policy interventions in the form of comments and feedback to the government, as reforming the taxation laws is high on its agenda. Significantly, as the world is trying to rewrite the old international tax order created in the brick-and-mortar economy for the digital economy, they want to observe, analyse and contribute to this process to make sure that it stays relevant for the revenue generation needs of an emerging economy like India.

With this broader objective, they are working towards creating a pool of academics, lawyers, researchers, professionals, students and individuals who work in creating, implementing, formulating and analysing the current tax laws at the national and international levels.

They are also branching out in the area of property and real estate laws as they have a great impact on their economy and are undergoing transformation. In future,they will branch out to other areas of economic law and have an interdisciplinary platform.

About the Seminar

Affordable housing for all is the need of the hour to build an inclusive society in 21 st century India. The Prime Minister had launched a programme, 'Housing for all by 2023', whose one of the main goals is to provide affordable housing for the weaker sections of the society. Further, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is an initiative of the Government of India that aims to provide affordable housing to the urban poor by 2024. In fact, the government has sanctioned Rupees Eight Billion in the present year as a subsidy. In the EWS and LIG categories, beneficiaries can have an annual income of up to Rs. Six lakhs and a maximum subsidy of 6.5 per cent interest subvention can be granted to them. Similarly, under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY), the allocation was increased to Rs. 79,000 Crore for 2023. The working of the above programme is not free from challenges, and therefore, the main objective of this seminar is to address both the issues of law and policy in implementing 'Affordable housing for all'.

The seminar will examine the jurisprudence of 'property' to build a normative framework for the seminar to begin with, and later, the constitutional history of property rights will be discussed in detail in the context of India so as to discuss the history of property rights in India. It is essential to know the laws directly affecting the buying, constructing and sale or transfer of ownership of flats and therefore, the challenges faced by Real Estate Industries will be discussed in detail. Sufficient land for subsidised housing is essential, as it will adjust in middle-class budgeting. Easy home loans with subsidised interest rates are the primary requirement for housing for all. In fact, Home Loan Departments, both at national and private banks, provide the whole list of things to be checked, which makes this process very cumbersome. Ease from compliance is also necessary for the success of 'housing for all'; therefore, the seminar will also discuss the banking rules and regulations affecting affordable housing. Dispute resolution is one area, which needs a good amount of discussion, as the present framework is completely ineffective in handling complex Real Estate related disputes. In fact, there is no 'one' place to solve all the disputes related to housing, and therefore, the person in distress does not know which authority or court to approach. Consumer Protection Act, 2019 covers disputes related to the deficiency in services to consumers, but a victim can also approach the civil court in this regard. Therefore, one dedicated sub-theme is on dispute resolution only.

The first edition of the National Seminar on “Affordable Housing: Building Inclusive Society for the 21st Century India” was held from October 18-19, 2019. In the inaugural session of the Seminar on 18th October 2019, the Book “Affordable Housing: Building Inclusive Society for the 21st Century India” duly edited by Dr Jasper Vikas George, Dr Prem Chand and Ms Preeti Lakhera was released by Justice Ms Deepa Sharma, then Vice Chancellor, NLUD, Prof. Ranbir Singh, and Prof. Rajat Ray, then Dean, University School of Architecture and Planning, GGSIPU, New Delhi. The book is divided into eight parts covering twenty research papers.

Objectives

The objectives of this National Seminar are thus to understand the policy and other aspects including the structural and functional dynamics of affordable housing. Accordingly, the outcome of the Seminar would facilitate the organizers, participants and other stakeholders to make legislative and policy interventions to bring about positive social and legal transformation. This Seminar would also provide an excellent opportunity for the participants to put across their own views and exchange ideas in order to have a holistic understanding of the subject matter.

Sub-Themes

• Development and Challenges of the Real Estate Industry
• Real Estate Property and Regulators
• Dispute Resolution Mechanism in Real Estate Industry
• Digitization of Land Records and its Effect on the Real Estate Industry
• Real Estate Industry: A Heaven for Tax Evasion
• Real Estate Sector under Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Home Loan Industry and Affordable Housing
• Pradhanmantri Shahri Evam Gramin Awas Yozna
• Affordable Housing Fund in National Housing Bank
• Blockchain Technology and Transformation in the Real Estate Sector
• Real Estate Developers and Affordable Housing Schemes
• Affordable Housing and Inclusive Society: 21st Century India
• Affordable Housing in Smart Cities
• Sustainable Affordable Housing
• RERA's Impact on Affordable Housing
• Rise in Post-Covid Insolvencies of Real Estate Developers
• Budget 2023 and Affordable Housing
• Delhi Land Pooling Policy: Issues and Challenges
• Impact of Extension of Tax Holiday on Affordable Housing
• Building Inclusive Cities: Challenges and Opportunities

The above-mentioned themes are not exhaustive. Papers can be submitted on other themes related to the main theme of the Seminar.

Well-researched original papers and case studies are invited from academics/scholars, researchers, bar & bench, non-state actors and students. Only one co-author is permitted. The co-author is also required to pay registration fees. All research papers shall be scrutinized through a blind review by the Editorial Board. All papers shall be subjected to anti-plagiarism software 'TURNITIN'. Selected papers may be published in the form of a book with ISBN number.

Guidelines for Seminar Paper

The authors/presenters should apply research skills and use appropriate research methodology. The research paper should be thematic and not more than 4000 words (3000–4000 words is appreciable). It must be typed in Times New Roman Font Size 12 on A4 size paper with a 1” margin on all sides with 1.5 line spacing using MS Word application. Footnotes should follow a uniform Blue Book style of citation. At the top of the abstract and paper, the Author should give the Name, E-mail ID, contact number and Name of the Institution.

Important Dates

• Abstract Submission 2nd December 2023
• Approved Abstract Notification 5th December 2023
• Submission of Complete Papers 31st December 2023
• Notification of Approved Papers 15th January 2024
• Registration 10th February, 2024

The research paper shall be submitted to the organisers of the seminar at submissions.clud@nludelhi.ac.in Papers received after the stipulated deadline will not be entertained.

Registration Details

Date: February 10-11, 2024

Venue: National Law University, Delhi

For further information kindly click on SILC

For the brochure, click here

For any clarification please contact:

clud@nludelhi.ac.in; ctl@nludelhi.ac.in