Disappointed with new township policy, some realtors who inked MoU with the govt for township construction are thinking of withdrawing.
It seems the rosy township schemes are unraveling at the seams.
For, some developers, who had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in the 2007 and 2009 Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit to come up with various townships, are mulling to go back on their promise. The reason is the new township policy announced by the government two days ago, which many realtors have termed as disappointing.
According to realty sources many developers are disappointed with the township policy announced after three years of long wait. They said it is better to go as per the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR) rulebook than follow the township policy.
As per the new policy developers will get only one floor space index (FSI).
"A developer who wants extra FSI of 0.5 will have to pay 40% of the jantri rates, which is very high," said a realtor. The realtor said getting extra FSI at such exorbitant rates will push up the overall cost of a property which in turn will be passed on to the buyers. "This will not allow the housing to become cheaper and affordable as was expected of the policy," said a realtor. "We are totally against the new township policy as it does not give us any incentive to make houses affordable," said another realtor who wished to remain anonymous.
"As per the clauses in the policy, the FSI to be given is not appropriate because we end up paying a higher price compared to what is being charged by respective corporations or Urban Development Authority bodies like AUDA, GUDA and VUDA," said the realtor.
The realtor said the final result will be that the end product will be costlier and it will be transferred to the buyers. "Thus, the idea of providing an affordable home away from the city gets defeated," he said.
Many other developers who signed an MoU with the government also agree to the observations and are planning to back out of various township schemes.
President of Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (GIHED), Suresh Patel said the idea of township policy was to provide affordable homes to the economically weaker section and the middle class. "But with the new policy it is not feasible," he said.
"The policy is good for those who have land as per the clause in the corporation limit. They can take advantage of the 70 meter height clause. However, those who are planning the township away from city cannot take advantage of the clause," said Patel.
"In short, the policy may discourage small time developers from coming up with township and make affordable homes," said Patel Vijay Shah, a city-based developer said that unlike some other state governments, the Gujarat government has not clarified its stand on the stamp duty in the policy.
"Ideally the state could have given special incentive by way of reducing stamp duty for both the developer and the buyer. This could have motivated the developers and buyers to go for it," said Shah. Urban minister Nitin Patel could not be reached for his comments.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}