New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS): The real estate sector should look at a greater formalisation that will help the industry grow faster along with adopting better construction techniques to combat pollution, Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, said on Monday.

Addressing the 25th Foundation Day of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) here, the minister raised the issue of environmental pollution and urged the industry body to consider setting up a team to study ways to adopt better construction techniques in the metropolitan cities.

He suggested the industry body take this up as a mission and report to the government steps being taken in this direction.

"Adopting steel and precast fabrication will speed up construction benefitting the entire ecosystem. This can help in reducing air quality index (AQI) and pollution levels," said the minister.

Goyal also urged the industry to engage the labour in formal employment, giving them the social security benefits of insurance (ESIC) and provident fund (EPFO).

"This will help in the number of employees getting reflected in annual reports and in national statistics. If social security, healthcare and post-retirement benefits are provided then the employees will align with the industry’s goals of enhancing their quality of work leading to better productivity and greater profits," the minister emphasised.

The Commerce Minister also appealed to the CREDAI to expedite the formalisation of its 14,000 members.

“If everyone who works for the CREDAI will receive salary through digital payment and if it is ensured that employees working in the ecosystem are a part of the national effort to meet the needs of the people, the CREDAI’s contribution to employment will get recognised and rewarded,” he noted.

He noted that bringing The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) into effect in 2017 was a challenge, however, the regulations have enabled citizens to acquire homes without dispute.

The minister further highlighted the CREDAI’s commitment to rectify the processes and pointed out that provisions like Goods and Services Tax (GST), RERA Act and efforts to eliminate irregular transactions have resulted in an organised growth of the real estate sector.

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to clean up the banking system, Goyal said that non-performing assets (NPAs) have decreased significantly and banks have strong credit portfolios with strong balance sheets, maintaining healthy profit each year.