Indian Real Estate: A Rival for Gurgaon

A Chandigarh look-alike city, meant to be the capital of Jatland or the State of Haryana, carved out of the sinew and bones of Punjab, in the same manner as Pakistan and Himachal Pradesh; Panchkula has given up trying to be a Chandigarh wannabe, competing now with Gurgaon. Leaving Chandigarh and Mohali to do their own thing, Panchkula, according to the Haryana government is one of the two most prized areas in the country to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) or for acquiring land for residential or commercial purpose.

A recent announcement by the Haryana government during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Venture Ltd. for setting up the largest ever SEZ in India, made it known that the fixed floor rates of land acquisition in Panchkula are equal to those in Gurgaon. In both districts, the cost of land for an SEZ or for other purposes stands at Rs. 21-lakh per acre. Compare this to the floor rate of Rs. 18-lakh per acre in the National Capital Region (NCR).

However, within the tricity circle, Chandigarh is still the sizzler for setting up SEZs, but this announcement by the Haryana government may just swing things the other way, in Panchkula's favour. Already, 21-private developers have been granted approval for setting up SEZs in Haryana, with another 22-proposals in the pipeline, pending government approval.

In a canny move, the Haryana government as part of its new policy has placed a rider for acquiring land for SEZs in its state. Developers and builders will have to provide essential services like roads, streetlights, drainage and sewerage, medical care centres, schools, community centres, etc. at places where displaced people are to be rehabilitated. Monitoring the entire procedure will be a development commissioner appointed by the government, itself.

As is plain to see, the Haryana government is working hard to turn Jatland real estate into a national treasure. All for the better, as not to be left behind, Amarinder Singh, a Jat himself, albeit a Sikh Jat will work hard to beat the competition at its own game! For as long as the spirit of rivalry prevails, the governments of all Indian states will work to turn their own particular fiefdom into the brightest, most glittering jewel. A far cry from the days, when the only thing all the Chief Ministers were interested in, was lining their pocket with tax payers' money.

Truly, off-shoring / outsourcing has been the best thing to happen to India! It has re-introduced and re-awakened the Indians competitive spirit, and as long as the spirit of competitive rivalry lives on and fights hard, the sub-continent can once again be turned into the Jewel in the Crown! All very good, as long as the crown is in Indian hands and on the head of Bharat Mata!

Which means, the nation has been infused with the spirit of building and developing world class cities with all amenities, and the land you buy today for peanuts in the hinterland, may be worth a small fortune in the future. Indian real estate like gold is the only thing Indians rely on. One can lose money in stocks and shares, but real estate like gold has only gotten more expensive!