Track2Realty Exclusive: There are some industry watchers who believe the entire genre of awards should not be dismissed just because there are few rotten eggs in the basket. Industry body NAREDCO thinks awards should be seen as recognition for the work done by the developer. “If a real estate company has earned an award, I think it should be respected by the industry and by the collective consciousness,” says Sunil Dahiya, Senior Vice President of NAREDCO.
The issue is when the award is being thrust upon by the industry stakeholders and the developers ever ready with a “beg, borrow or steal” spirit, the question of ethics and objectivity more often than not takes a back seat.
Sachin Sandhir, Managing Director-South Asia of RICS agrees that there definitely is an element of subjectivity and a fine line, when industry stakeholders organise awards – as it can lead to a conflict of interest.
“There are some bad examples that exist, however in the long run such awards cannot remain sustainable and will find few takers. Only those awards that provide an equal opportunity to all competitors and contemporaries, which are based on stringent evaluation criteria and a transparent process and backed by a reputed and respected jury panel, will be able to make a long standing mark on the industry. Only such awards will instil trust, draw the respect of stakeholders and be valued by the industry and consumer alike,” says Sandhir.
Ashwani Prakash, Executive Director of paramount Group believes the sector is going through revolutionary changes and it will be more creditable if independent awards are also instituted rather than just industry stake holders organising it. He, however, defends such awards saying while confirming an award to a project the USP and qualities of the projects are also revealed by the awarding organization. Buyers being a well-informed group nowadays, after going through such information evaluate the project and naturally derive confidence which ultimately affect the buying psyche of a buyer.
“An award to any real-estate project is conferred after it is evaluated on different yardsticks by the awarding panel. Any award conferred on the project definitely adds value to the project and at the same time explains the USP along with the other specialties of the project which had made the project an award winner. An award to a project at the first instance is a brand driver, once the brand is established and the philosophy of the promoter-developer and the quality of his product is known to the market it also becomes a sales driver,” says Prakash.
However, any neutral observer who has not been exposed to the murky world of real estate can make out that the awards, if not completely rigged, has got categories just so narrow that pretty much everyone comes out with an award.
How else could one justify a small developer with a standalone mall in Ranchi of the size of a local shopping centre coming out with a trophy that suggests he has innovation as his claim to fame in realty business?
…..to be continued
