Track2Realty Exclusive: Not all large developments can however, be called townships. A development comprising only budget apartments is an incomplete township. So is one that has only luxury housing. It is essential for a township to have an inclusive character.
The next important aspect is infrastructure and other basic facilities. Connectivity to arterial roads is essential and even within the township, a good road network with proper traffic flow planning, foot paths, service corridors are vital. Among common facilities, a sustainable water distribution system, water treatment, efficient drainage, sewerage and waste disposal systems and integrated security are essential.
Integrated townships also offer features such as balanced mix of facilities for its residents such as accessible open spaces, recreational facilities, medical assistance, school, retail spaces and a community hall amongst others. It also reduces pressure on the urban areas.
Anshul Jain, CEO, DTZ India explains development of integrated townships in the past two decade could be broadly classified into two periods, the initial phase between 2002-04, when a few projects, most of them well received, were launched. In the second phase, after the approval of 100 per cent foreign direct investment in townships under the automatic route, a slew of projects backed by PE funds, were launched.
In majority of these projects the residential units were launched first and were sold at a premium during the real estate boom of 2005-07. Work on these projects slowed down during 2008-11, and the development of commercial and other components were delayed due to limited interest.
No wonder, the performance and track record of integrated townships have so far been mixed, with only a handful of such projects being close to be labeled as model townships. A majority of such townships have been those that are either within existing commercial hubs or in close proximity to these commercial centres. And, of course, these are mostly moderately sized.
“Even such projects with limited scale have also been subject to inordinate delays in execution, sometime running into several years from the original schedule, primarily due to the less than expected demand,” says Anshul Jain.
…..to be continued
