Khushiyon Ka Aashiyaana

If you are a diehard fan of frequency modulation (FM) Radio then you must be aware that it’s cluttered with advertisements from the Real Estate. The advertisements are targeted at the common man but hardly he listens or pays attention to it.  Frankly speaking all the advertisements appear corresponding despite their hard efforts to create product differentiation. Some are like:

“ARREY MAMAJI, APNI TO KISMET KHUL GAYI. UNIVERSAL LAAYE HAI DELHI SE SIRF 20 KM DOOR FARIDABAD MAI KHUSHIYON KA AASHIYAANA”---2 BEDROOM 1 KITCHEN FLAT SIRF 18 LACK MAI---AB SOCHNA KYA”

Or

HIGH-TECH LAUNCHES CAPE TOWN AT SECTOR 74 NOIDA. 2/3/4BHK APARTMENTS FOR RS. 23 LACS. HURRY BEFORE IT IS SOLD OUT. SMS BIG TO 4565.

Have you ever given a thought that what these big fishes’ (builders) are doing? They are actually converting the whole of India into a jungle of concrete. I mean how far they will go to satisfy their greed for Midas touch? Banking on my memory a decade back there was only Delhi and no NCR (National Capital Region). Places like Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Dwarka, Gurgaon and Noida do existed but never bubbled with population. In fact these regions were nothing but agricultural lands or green reserves.

Then came what I call the “The Gold Rush”—the boom in the real estate. Every person out of ten dreamt of becoming a builder or a property dealer. Delhiites were desperate to just associate themselves anyhow with any property.  People started realizing that an investment in the form of land is the best as it only propagates (though rare corrections come in rare occasions like slowdown). No Sensex, No fixed deposit, No mutual funds can inflate your investment as an investment in land can. Reason: it is scarce.  So today we are witnessing mushrooming of residents and offices in the far flung areas of Dwarka, Ghaziabad, Noida etc. The people living in Delhi have opened corporate houses in NCR especially Gurgaon and Noida. And the ones who are working in Delhi have purchased houses in NCR. So every morning and evening we witness cross commuting of cars from Delhi to NCR and vice versa. The result is that this has contributed towards the mounting oil consumption and oil prices and hence inflation.

A statesman once said “the one who controls the resources is the king”. In a race to be one, builders acquired and still acquiring land leaving no time and complimenting it with the construction. But how come they are so fast in building streets of houses? How come these big fishes’ are expanding their enterprise without hiccups when old-fashioned municipal authorities create so many hindrances when a common man builds his house? In order to get the work done they have spread the influenza of corruption in the whole system. N number of babus are enjoying life in their deep pockets. These big fishes’ priority is to keep the corrupt crocodiles satisfied and happy so that everything goes smoothly as any hurdle in the game of property can risk tens of millions of Rupees.

The billion dollar question for a curious person like me is that from where these sharks are sourcing money. I mean our reluctant nationalised banks will deter from financing their diversified and expansionary business. And the probability of a builder sacrificing and risking his personal savings or mortgaging his own assets is very low; in fact these will not even fulfill the need. Here comes into picture the role of Black Money, Tax Havens and Laundering. Money borrowed from politicians, even in some cases mafias and unscrupulous money lenders. So in the race to be a king every good, bad and ugly individual is after the land and has given it a bad name of a Blood Diamond. Obviously we cannot stereotype this breed of workers. Some are even professionals and form a cooperative to pull money to invest.

But after so much melodrama, do Khushiyon ka Aashiyaana actually reaching the needy?? What I think, it is still difficult to get to everyone who is in need. The ones capable of paying high prices or looking for investment are the current buyers. It means, even after selecting and acquiring the land, constructing the houses, keeping babus happy still the shark is unable to satisfy the need of our mango people because of sky kissing prices. But why are these prices not friendly to common man’s pocket?

Firstly, the commercial interest of a builder is to make huge profits, so he scale up the margin and hence the final price. The recurring rate of interest on money borrowed and bribes paid to babus eats up his share of profit. So he is forced to keep the margin high. Secondly, the construction drive is pervasive in India, which has escalated the cost of raw material like cement, bricks, steel etc. Thirdly, in real estate no one can estimate the real price because of lack of regulation there is no MRP (Maximum Retail Price). So a builder who incurs 30 lacs in a house is a free bird while demanding 40 lacs the very next day unobjectionably and can mislead a buyer. Fourthly, there are speculators in between a builder and the family who will live in that house. They buy property for investment and further sale. So this adds up to the final price.

But do we only have private players to construct houses? What are the lazy asses of government doing? Organizations like Delhi Development Authority (DDA) are moving one legged on this road and doing things half heartedly, and if it does, its little efforts get hit of scams and opaque transactions. So poor buyers have only the option of private builders but the sad story is that builders are making “homes” only for the rich. The final alternative of purchasing the land and constructing the house is next to impossible for our mango people. So where will they go?? They have no choice but to keep roaming, chasing and searching societies, flats and apartments till they get “what big sharks call—Khushiyon Ka Aashiyaana”. So carry on Guyzz!!!!

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Every country is distinguished because of its culture, language, food, geography, history and people. And all this is reflected and identified in its heritage and buildings. If you are in Manhattan or Tokyo, Beijing or Kolkata you will relate that place with its heritage. Same is the case with Connaught Place, Old Delhi even South Delhi; every region has its own charm and personal identity.

But when I have to locate an address in the NCR (Non Capital Region) why every place looks similar to me? Whether it’s HansRaj Appartments or Maheshwara, whether IndraMahal, or Dwarka Sectors, why the roads keep confusing me? The point I am trying to make here is that as like Delhi’s 100 malls which are twins in every sense and have everything in common, these builders are doing nothing but “copycat”---by constructing structures which look brothers and sisters and gives you no differentiated experience & feeling when you are exposed to them. It gives you a feeling as if builders are working according to a single map. And their aim is to make all places look similar. Though this can be classified as an unjustified demand in a country where people don’t even have a quarter to live.

The article is not to curse the private builders. At least they are filling the gap of huge supply. And the demand is so high that no one is interested whether the place he/she is living at has an aesthetic feel and a reflection of country’s culture because basic necessity comes first and then design and art!!!!

"The article was written at authors home"

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