Nagpur: With the expanding scapes of Nagpur, the city’s old and once-bustling locales also await the dire need to join the fast paced development. And this calls for redevelopment of housing societies, residential plots and old structures especially in the well known areas of Nagpur viz. Dharampeth, Dhantoli, Ramdaspeth and few other areas. While the redevelopers are optimistic about facelifting the old look of the city, the process is not as smooth as it appears. While Nagpur has its own living fabric that weaves troubles in redevelopments, other cities of the state like Mumbai and Pune are on the fast track of refurbishing their old residential societies.
In a candid conversation with Nagpur Today, leading voices from the construction industry in Nagpur shed light on the challenges and perspectives surrounding these ambitious endeavors. From regulatory hurdles to shifting paradigms in urban planning, stakeholders are navigating a complex terrain to breathe new life into the city’s infrastructure.
To get a comprehensive look at the insights shared by prominent figures in the field, Nagpur Today spoke with prominent construction houses to get their perspective on the matter.
Shravan Kukreja, MD of Kukreja Infrastructures, stated, “Nagpur indeed needs a redevelopment project. However, a few people with malafide intentions are disrupting such ambitious projects. Due to poor infrastructure in most prominent parts of the city, Nagpur has become a haven for hundreds of dilapidated buildings. If, god forbid, even a small earthquake shakes Nagpur, the result would be catastrophic. Hence, the 51% Law is important. In addition, redevelopment also increases the existing flat’s value to 3-4 times,” he said.
Ghanshyam Wasudeorao Dhokne (Patil), President of Naredco Vidarbha, mentioned, “The major obstacle in the redevelopment project is the duty! Despite paying the stamp duty on existing units, if you’re redeveloping a project, you should only pay duty on construction, but on the contrary, we have to pay duty on both construction and selling,” he said.
“Earlier, a single individual could pose a threat to a development project, and their opposition was enough to halt the project. However, this has changed following the Supreme Court’s intervention. Now we only need a 70% majority from the forum to proceed with the demolition,” he added.
“Though now we’re awaiting a relaxation in height. It should be set at 45 meters to help city-based projects thrive. Otherwise, people will continue to move to projects situated in the outskirts,” Dokne lamented.
Prafull Gudadhe, Former Corporator and Developer, highlighted the migration of people due to high rates in the prominent areas. “Due to various sanctions and property rates within city limits, we face obstacles when it comes to erecting high rise buildings. If someone does so, it is mostly unaffordable for many. Also, young people are migrating to other cities. Most of the people don’t have that paying capacity to afford the escalating cost of infrastructure within cities now.” he said.
Prafull Deshmukh, Director of PrafulVed Infra Pvt Ltd, expressed that if we can’t change the mentality of homeowners, we won’t be able to execute redevelopment projects. He said, “As compared to Mumbai, which follows a society pattern, Nagpur follows a deed of declaration pattern. Though there’s a guideline from the Supreme Court which allows us to proceed with a redevelopment plan with 70% of the total forum, it is not actually practical to execute on the ground. Thus, we need to change the mentality of the homeowners who are against giving their apartments for development. The administration, on the other hand, is really helpful for builders here,” he said.
Speaking to Nagpur Today, P.B. Gawande, Deputy Director of Town Planning, informed that “For redevelopment projects, we provide 30% incentives on the original sanctioned plans. However, the permitted FSI is at 2. For a 9-meter road, the height is limited to 24 meters. This limit can be extended beyond 24 meters, provided the road is 12 meters.”
When asked about Pune’s redevelopment plans, Gawande stated that similar provisions are in place for Pune as well; however, there the FSI is 2.5.
He further added that “Builders from Nagpur are also demanding 2.5 FSI. However, he pointed out that it could raise safety concerns.”
– Romesh Arya and Shubham Nagdeve
