Mumbai’s Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia, has been an area of contention for almost two decades now. For all its revelations, the recent blockbuster film ‘Kaala’ only underscored what Mumbaikars, human rights activists, urban planners and real estate developers have known for decades – there is no simple formula for unravelling the complex Dharavi equation.
The gross leasing activity in India was recorded at 36.4 million sq ft for the first nine months of 2018, up 26% YoY. Pan-India demand for Grade A office space was driven by the technology sector (48%) in Q3 2018, followed by banking and insurance representing 19% of the total leasing volume.
With so much money around and developers mostly uneducated, it is the senior functionaries in most of the real estate companies who create their own cartel of corruption. Sales leads that are generated within the company are generally leaked to the brokers and the brokerage is distributed with the sales, marketing or the corporate communication, depending upon their clout within the organisation.
Housing Shortage in the urban areas is particularly high in Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at 10 million units, followed by 7.4 million units in Lower Income Group (LIG).Until now, Central assistance to the tune of INR 13,583 Crore has been released and Interest subsidy of INR 1,859 Crore has been credited. Under the PMAY(U) scheme ( as per 8thJuly 2018 release by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India), 51 lakh units have been approved, 28 lakh units have been grounded and only 8 lakh units have been completed.
The report also recommends the best urban locations for technology firms. Bengaluru, Singapore and Shenzhen stand out as top choices for starting or expanding technology operations in Asia. Modest long-run growth prospects hold down developed cities like Tokyo and Taipei for the sector. While emerging cities offer high growth potential and low operating costs, they tend to score lower on employment criteria and human aspirational metrics.
While Bengaluru tops the charts, Hyderabad has been ranked number 7 and makes a surprise entry, scoring highly on long-run growth potential, although it scores less on other socio-economic factors and does not yet match Bengaluru as a source of talent. As per Colliers Research, about 56 million square feet (5.2 million sq m) of office space, Hyderabad is only about 40% of Bengaluru’s size. However, development is proceeding apace, with total stock set to increase by 33 million sq ft or 60% by 2021.
Irony is that even though the sector has succedded to some extent in attracting the young talent by poaching on professionals from established and matured sectors like IT/ITeS, banking, finance and telecom etc, the retention of these professionals have been quite challenging.
It is not that Thane has surprised only the old timers. Even among the present generation, very few could see the emergence of the destination that was initially ridiculed as the bed room of Mumbai’s blue-collared working class.
Indian cities witnessed a strong office demand in Q2 2018, with about 12.6 million sq ft of gross absorption recorded, indicating a 10% QoQ growth in office leasing activity.
The role played by the DGTCP (Director General Town & Country Planning) has also been in question because of its alleged inaction in addressing the concerns of the homebuyers regarding the blatant violations of the provisions of the Haryana Development & Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975 and Rules of 1976 made thereunder while failing to stop the illegal sale of units being made by IREO in its name without having been granted any permission/approval for the same by the DTCP under the extant provisions of applicable laws.