Real estate developers must partner with municipalities to address the infrastructure and environmental costs their projects create for the surrounding city.
New Delhi, September 18, 2026: “Every development creates an interaction with the larger urban environment, and we need to understand and mitigate the externalities that construction can create for the city,” said Ms D Thara, Secretary, Department of Capital Development in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), speaking at CII’s Conference on Evolving Landscape of Indian Real Estate: Navigating Growth, Innovation & Institutionalization.
The day long discussions highlighted the sector's evolving role in creating resilient, inclusive and future-ready cities. The conference underscored the growing importance of sustainable urban development and the need to embed environmental considerations into planning and approval processes. Industry leaders highlighted that future urban growth must be supported by responsible resource management, climate resilience and ecosystem-sensitive development practices.
Calling for a new public-private paradigm in urban development, the Secretary urged real estate developers to work more closely with municipal agencies and assess the impact of every project beyond its boundaries—from the water it displaces and the sewage it generates, to the energy it consumes and the infrastructure it requires.
The objective, she stated, should be to create “real estate with value”—where sustainability, resource efficiency and the ability to reduce the burden on the surroundings of the city become part of the value of the property itself.
Ms Thara urged the real estate industry to consider a broader definition of value—one that measures not merely the price of the property, but also the infrastructure burden, resource consumption and environmental impact associated with creating and operating it.
“Real estate is no longer just about brick and mortar. It is a living fabric of communities, shaping how people connect, work, live, shop, entertain and experience their surroundings. The focus is increasingly moving beyond the physical structure to creating inclusive, vibrant and sustainable environments that enhance the quality of life,” said Mr Sriram Khattar, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate & Housing and Vice Chairman & MD, DLF Rental Business.
The discussions further highlighted how emerging sectors, expanding economic corridors and the rise of new cities are reshaping demand patterns and creating fresh opportunities for the real estate sector.
“If we want to develop real estate at scale, approvals have to become faster and more integrated. A true single-window system should allow applications to move simultaneously across different authorities, rather than developers having to approach each department separately,” stated Mr Harshvardhan Bansal, Chairman, CII Delhi State and Co-founder, Unity Group.
A key theme of the conference was the need to address affordability through systemic reforms across the real estate value chain. Improving land availability, enhancing infrastructure connectivity, reducing development costs and creating efficient financing mechanisms as essential to expanding access to housing.