Implementing 'Housing For All' scheme is a challenge: AK Mittal

PM's mandate is to provide everyone a affordable house by 2020. How will he achieve that?

We are working with different ministries including the Urban Development Ministry to meet the Prime Minister's mandate. Besides, the NBCC has been assigned another job under which we either have to sell the surplus lands of sick or closing PSU's or construct affordable housing there. Land is not a challenge for us, but making and implementing the scheme is.

Have you identified the PSU's having surplus land?

The government has already identified 26 PSUs that are going to be closed and 74 that are sick. They have nominated us as the land management agency. Five companies have already been auctioned in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, and Kota; we have offered people to buy those lands.

How has the initial response been?

According to the reports we are getting, the response is very good. For example, Indian Oil was being able to acquire land for a refinery or depot. Now, they can easily get the land at an official rate.

It is said that the DDA created 5 lakh houses in 49 years. Now, 16 million houses are to be built. How will this be done?

All the work can not be done by a government machinery on itself, be it NBCC, or the DDA, or the CPWD. We will have to be in private partnership, otherwise nobody will be able to buy or sell the houses. To tackle any problem, we will work closely with them and keep a check on them.

Are you working in other states as well?

We are very active in Northeastern states,and all other states in fact. Development in the Northeast in the last 15 years has been done by the NBCC. The money invested in developmental work there is routed through us.

Given the PM's priority is Northeast, what are you doing in Guwahati, Manipur?

Manipur is a very difficult place to work. We are constructing building for an NIT and a sports university there. The Chief Minister had called me when the new government was formed. He wants us to construct buildings like Beijing, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia there.

What about work in the naxal areas?

Threats come, but the biggest thing is the support of the government. We have done work in naxal strongholds as well and the villagers were really happy with us.

It is said that there is a construction-corruption nexus in the Northeast. What do you think?

This is the reason why the Centre pressed the PSU's in action; the state government could not handle the issue.

Apart from the Northeast, in which other states are you operative?

We have built a venture company in Odisha, West Bengal, and Rajasthan. The Chief Ministers of the respective states wanted us to do the development work there in a similar manner we did in Delhi. They formed joint-venture companies, which will be equally shared between us and the state governments. We have already started developmental work in Gandhi Nagar of Jaipur.

Is the Rajasthan government cooperating with you?

We do not share any relation with any political party. However, everyone has been cooperative with us so far.

You keep on meeting chief ministers of various states. How do you rate Vasundhara Raje as a CM?

As far as work is concerned, 70 per cent of the chief ministers I have met were positive about NBCC.

Do you have some new plans?

We are trying to enter UP. We have done many projects of the central government but have not done any project in UP in the last 15 years.

In the last 3 years as a chairman, what is your biggest contribution?

Unless your people are with you, you are not successful. The biggest challenge was that to digitize everything. We were the first on to made ACR process online. Second challenge was to bring transparency in work. So, all this was really challenging for me.

You have reputation of a person in both government and political circles who can convert loss into profit?

There was this company, Public Sector Hindustan Steel Works Limited which was doing a very bad job. The government gave us the responsibility of that. Now, it is a debt free company and will start making profit in next three months.

There is a perception that the quality of government construction agencies remains, what do you to control that?

We have a (3 TL) monetary system, an intrinsic quality system which is seen in the project, apart from that, we engage in third party quality insurance. So our mechanism is such that quality control has to happen, it is not so difficult to maintain.

What is your road map for the next three years?

I want to build the kind of buildings in India which are not here now. We want to do some landmark projects for the next generation.

How will manage to get administrative support for all these projects?

It cannot be done without their corporation. We have a lot of cooperation of the ministry which we work for.

Environment ministry is a problem for real estate, how's your experience with them?

There is no doubt about it. But if you work systematically it won't be a problem.,

What is the difference between this government and the previous one?

The incumbent government is fast in decision making.

How do you see PM Narendra Modi as a citizen?

If you go to the Gulf or go to Europe, everybody knows our PM by name. Now people respect you when you travel abroad and it's just because of our PM.

Will your development and construction play a lot of role in the GDP growth in the entire environment?

I will.