By Anil Pharande, Chairman – Pharande Spaces
By Anil Pharand
Townships are a new property mantra in India, and for the bigger cities they’re without any doubt the sole remaining hope for good quality living standards. Slowly but surely, residential quality of life in cities like Pune are on the decrease, and township properties are rightfully getting increasing importance as the most logical response to the increasing need for quality-based living.
In cities such as the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, the ‘Infrastructure First’ strategy being employed by the governing authorities since several decades has served to provide highly adequate living conditions for PCMC residents. On the other hand, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has not been able to keep up to speed on its own infrastructure scenario. The heedless way with which real estate development has been taking place in Pune has not only resulted in a veritable concrete jungle but also made problems like traffic congestion, air and noise pollution and also water depletion much worse over the past several years.
PCMC – The New Townships Capital
In this depressing scenario, the massive integrated townships being developed in the booming city of PCMC has offered Pune’s citizens a new and invigorating lifestyle standard. In the PCMC, the integrated township revolution started in areas like Ravet and Moshi, and today the city’s leading developers have also established high-end townships in Punavale and on Spine Road.
Though negligence and greed are definitely operative factors in the illogical way the Pune Municipal Corporation has been developing, it also has certain limitations. In the first place, integrated township projects require substantial acreage, and large plots have essentially been completely used up in the central regions of the PMC. As consequence, the focus has now shifted to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, where superlative support infrastructure, affordable property rates and a scientific approach to real estate development still make townships a very workable proposal.
In integrated townships, the issues are infrastructure shortfall and deteriorating living conditions are totally negated. These projects provide an extremely high grade of living standards, set to the backdrop of tasteful natural surroundings and adequate open spaces.
Providing township-level facilities in smaller residential projects would entail prohibitive prices for the developers – and the cost escalations would have to be passed on to the property buyers. Such facilities would immediately boost a smaller residential project into the luxury category, with consummate price implications to buyers. However, as a result of the economies of scale, township developers in the PCMC are giving the township lifestyle option to buyers at prices that reasonable and attractive.
High-quality infrastructure, open spaces and instant accessibility to every requirement of day-to-day living in these townships result in a first-class lifestyle equation since all residents in a township gain from one big integrated and centrally managed system.
Township Properties – Higher Price but Ultimate Value
As already mentioned, when a builder offers township-level facilities in smaller housing projects, the prices to consumers are comparable to those of high-end luxury residences. In townships, the vast variety of facilities, fully-integrated infrastructure as well as the availability of schools, hospitals and shopping complexes within the premises obviously means that township properties come at a price that is somewhat higher than standard multi-storey flats. On the other hand, the added expense is vindicated by the reality that people who buy into township properties are guaranteed a greatly superior living standard – not to mention vastly higher yields on investment.
For property buyers who just don’t desire to compromise on their lifestyle choices, the township properties of PCMC are the most logical and intelligent options. The direct benefits include a healthier life thanks to open spaces and greenery, complete security, the guarantee of high-grade infrastructure and facilities within the premises, and instant accessibility to recreational facilities and retail outlets. This results in a very high measure of convenience and comfort within an entirely cosmopolitan ethos.
The author is Chairman of Pharande Spaces, a leading construction and development firm that develops township properties in West Pune