Mini metros in making

The face of small towns is all set to change. After metros and major cities now townships and state capitals are on the builder's radar. The real estate boom fuelled by an upbeat economy, brain drain in the reverse and growing IT and ITES sectors have made place for building activity to flourish. Upcoming housing projects in Tier II and III cities, like Lucknow, Dehradun, Rajpura, Zirakpur, Amritsar , Mohali, Jallandhar, Malerkotla, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Rishikesh and Bhimtal are readying to become launch-pads for realty activity and kindle the hopes of denizens aspiring to emulate the lifestyles of their counterparts in metropolitans . Sunit Sachar, V-P marketing , Parsvnath Developers, says "The liberalisation and opening of FDI doors in the sector have brought a sea change in the thinking of builders and they find the B & C class cities as viable destinations for investment." Advancement of infrastructure , easy availability of loans and rising aspirations of people all combine to justify builders' view. Arun Singh, GM marketing , Ansal Housing & Construction echoes similar view saying that "People in smaller towns are now aspiring for quality of life and are willing to spend money to attain the same." Besides Bangalore and Mumbai, mini township projects of the company are coming up in hitherto sleepy cities like Rewari, Bhopal, Indore, Agra, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Jammu. Is it the metroisation of these towns? Arun Singh says what his company is offering is a happy marriage of local culture and ethos with metropolitan lifestyle in Agra. "Market survey have revealed the preference of courtyards, kitchens in the front and storerooms. Accordingly , the same are being incorporated into the designing of houses here." In fact, he reveals, the idea of courtyards has received an overwhelming response in the city. The AEZ Group is taking luxurious homes right upto the banks of Ganga in Rishikesh. Aloha-Rishikesh project located close to Lakshman Jhoola, offers in the lap of Himalayas urban indulgences of fully furnished apartments, a golf course, spa, pool, health club, library and multimedia centre. Spread over an area of 20,000 square yards, the project features 172 fully furnished Spanish style apartments ranging from studio, two bedroom, two bedroom with terrace garden and three bedroom duplex apartments. Also on the platter are arrangements for adventure sports, trekking and visits to religious and tourist places of Uttaranchal. The price range for one, two and three bedroom apartments starts from Rs 16.45 lakh onwards. What should a buyer in Jaipur, Jodhpur or Malerkotla look for, while buying his dream home? Sachar is emphatic that for people in these places the options may be limited and hence it is important to bank on a trusted name. Only a reputed builder with a proven track record can assure a transparent deal without price escalation and hidden costs. Citing the facility of 100% power backup for all floors at the Panchvati housing complex in Agra as unique, Sachar says the problem of power outages in the city is acute hence this is a major boon for buyers ofhese independent floors. What does this portend for the future? In lay terms it implies that metros will expand but small towns too will expand and boom time is here for a while. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1390431.cms -- http://sanjaytewari.blogspot.com http://spaces.msn.com/members/sanjaytanya/ http://spaces.msn.com/members/uttaranchalnews/