Infra Growth will hold the key for Affordable Housing: Experts
Voicing their opinion on the topic of affordable housing in India and the way forward, realty experts together felt that there is a dire need for the government to first improve the quality of infrastructure at places that are identified for these. This topic was delved in depth during a boardroom discussion organised by commonfloor.com, India’s leading realty portal, in Bengaluru recently. Moreover, the panelists also reiterated that, besides building infrastructure, there is also a need to create job opportunities in the areas concerned.
Importance of Quality Infrastructure
Speaking about the relevance of affordable housing and government’s agenda of ‘Housing for all by 2022’, Sanjay Ramanujam, CEO, BCIL, stressed that “affordable housing schemes can be successful only if the quality of infrastructure is developed in places that are identified for such houses. This includes access to quality public transport, commutability between the place of work and the place of residence, and access to quality facilities like health care etc.”
In response, P K Mishra, VP-Procurement, Salarpuria Sattva spoke about the different challenges it involves. “Infrastructure development itself should be undertaken after a lot of deliberation. For instance, provision for water should be planned from reliable sources, as extracting ground water cannot be done endlessly,” he said.
“Further, the government’s proposal to generate 20,000 MW of power from alternate sources has its own glitches. For instance, individuals generating solar or wind power on their own will not be able to utilise the power thus generated unless they are able to transmit the power to a sub-station. For doing so, the sub-station has to be in the vicinity of the source of power generation,” he added.Interestingly, the panelists felt that besides the Central government, the different states too had a large role to play in boosting affordable housing. “The role of the State is of paramount importance with regards to affordable housing in India. Above all, recommendations of bodies like NITI Ayog would further add credibility,” stated Nirup Jayanth of Jurong Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Interestingly, the panelists felt that besides the Central government, the different states too had a large role to play in boosting affordable housing. “The role of the State is of paramount importance with regards to affordable housing in India. Above all, recommendations of bodies like NITI Ayog would further add credibility,” stated Nirup Jayanth of Jurong Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd.He further reiterated that there was no need in pushing for further infrastructure development in urbanised areas where affordable housing is not feasible.Interestingly, the panelists felt that besides the Central government, the different states too had a large role to play in boosting affordable housing. “The role of the State is of paramount importance with regards to affordable housing in India. Above all, recommendations of bodies like NITI Ayog would further add credibility,” stated Nirup Jayanth of Jurong Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd. He further reiterated that there was no need
Interestingly, the panelists felt that besides the Central government, the different states too had a large role to play in boosting affordable housing. “The role of the State is of paramount importance with regards to affordable housing in India. Above all, recommendations of bodies like NITI Ayog would further add credibility,” stated Nirup Jayanth of Jurong Consultants (India) Pvt. Ltd. He further reiterated that there was no need in pushing for further infrastructure development in urbanised areas where affordable housing is not feasible.
Creating Ample Job Opportunities
Adding to the point about infrastructure development, Praveen Kumar, COO – Commercial and Retail, BREN Corporation, also vociferously stressed on the fact that “simply identifying peripheral areas across the cities to build affordable housing is not enough. There is a need to provide infrastructure and, above all, create job opportunities in those regions. Without these two, it would end up being like that of Navi Mumbai, where affordable houses are available aplenty but minus the necessary social infrastructure and job creating avenues. The scenario will be similar to a cattle going to graze and returning back in the evening.”
