Real estate investment in Odisha dismal

State figures among the bottom eight states, according to Assocham study

Odisha may be a favoured destination in attracting investments in the metal and power sectors, but when it comes to real estate, the state portrays a gloomy picture.

Odisha ranks among the eight states which have not been able to attract significant investment in the real estate sector, according a report of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

The other states are Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

Their combined share stands at about 1.5 per cent of total outstanding investments, said a paper titled 'Current State of Real Estate Sector in India and Its Revival', prepared by the apex industry body.

The report was based on data collected from twenty major states in the country. Odisha accounts for a meagre Rs 5,768.5 crore (0.41 per cent) of the total outstanding investment of Rs 14 lakh crore attracted by these states as of June 2013.

Odisha is followed by Uttarakhand (0.34 per cent), Jharkhand (0.30 per cent), Chhatishgarh (0.22 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (0.16 per cent), Bihar (0.07 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (0.06 per cent) and Assam (0.02 per cent).

Odisha has real estate projects worth over Rs 4,946.5 crore under implementation which is 0.52 per cent of the all India figure of Rs 9.4 lakh crore. Maharashtra occupies the top spot with 17 per cent (Rs 161,070.9 crore) share in real estate projects under implementation.

Similarly, Gujarat is ahead of other states with maximum share of 35 per cent in the completed projects during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

It is followed by Maharashtra (17 per cent share), Rajasthan (12 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11 per cent) and Haryana (10 per cent) between April-June this year. The total investment in completed projects across 20 states during the quarter was Rs 2,971 crore.

The states that witnessed some success in exploiting the growth potential of real estate sector by attracting investments are Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala.

"While so far, mostly tier I centres accounted for major chunk of real estate development, there is a need to take it to smaller cities to negate the growing housing demand-supply gap across India," said DS Rawat, national secretary general of Assocham.