By Kishor Pate, Amit
Enterprises Housing
NIMBY is not a term
we often hear in India, though it is quite a popular word (and a dynamic
concept) in the West.
That said, NIMBY - an
acronym for 'Not In My Back Yard - is definitely an unspoken mind set when it
comes to residential real estate in India.
Basically, 'Nimbys'
are residents of a locality of project who are opposed to the implementation of
a certain initiative by the Government, industries or / private developers in
their neighbourhood.
Nimbyism..!
Classic examples in
the Indian context are flyovers, chemical factories, power plants and in fact
any kind of development that could conceivably obstruct the view, disrupt the
peace or / pollute the air.
‘Nimbyism’ does exist
in the Indian real estate space, but the choices of opponents to certain
developments within their neighbourhoods is generally quite restricted. The
Indian real estate space is still largely unorganized, and problems such as
encroachment, unauthorized structures and lack of scientific town planning are
still the order of the day in most of Indian cities.
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| Mr. kishor Pate |
The concepts of
regulated real estate development & macro-level town planning are beginning
to take hold and are, in fact, already operational in cities suchas Chandigarh,
Navi Mumbai & even in Pune.
While this evolution
is happening against a large backdrop of damage that already been done and is
difficult to undo, this does not mean that 'Nimbyism' is a futile and impotent
concept in India.
In Indian residential
real estate, middle class housing societies – administrative bodies comprised
of residents within a registered housing complex – have the right to refuse
unscheduled construction within the complex premises.
That said, they have
little or no control over what happens beyond the compound walls. In cities
such as Mumbai & Delhi, upscale
housing complexes continue to co-exist cheek-to-jowl with slums & slapdash tenements.
This is more or less
accepted as a reality of life, since slums are often under the political
protection.
The ultra-luxury
segment presents a rather different picture.
Indian cities do have
their elite pockets, like Lutyens Zone in Delhi, Nariman Point in Mumbai,
Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad, and so on.
In Pune, Sahakar
Nagar, Prabhat Road & Boat Club Road
are ready examples of empowered neighbourhoods.
In these areas,
residents have a stronger voice over what happens in their immediate locality –
and they do raise them. This level of influence derives from a combination of
factors - including the social strata in which the residents fall and the fact
that the zones themselves are under the purview of stricter-than-usual zoning
guidelines.
As such, Nimbyism is
definitely not a negative concept - in fact, cities such as Pune need a larger
dose of it. Residents should have a say in what happens in their
neighbourhoods. This is especially true if the developments they are opposing
are taking place outside of the existing zoning laws and are serious threats to
the health, harmony and safety.
Unregulated
Development..!
What is needed is
more exacting city planning, which should ideally be part of the overall development
plan for the city. Likewise, developers can also to some extent ensure the
sanctity of the residential projects they create.
They can do so by
avoiding the acquisition of plots in areas which are known for unregulated
development or / where major
infrastructure undertakings like power plants and grids are scheduled to come
up, by studying the city planning &
zoning for the area prior to acquiring plots, by providing the projects
with a high degree of integration and self-sufficiency, and by ensuring that
the project has generous open spaces both within & around the perimeter.
About the Author...!
Mr. Kishor Pate is
CMD at Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd.
For Media Contact:
Mr. Jay Kalghatgi
Client Interface -
CopyConnect
Mobile: 093201
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