Realtors say master plan a must to make NCR expansion a success

With Bhiwani and Mahendragarh in Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan becoming part of the National Capital Region, real estate market in all three areas will get a major boost. Jeevan Prakash Sharma reports.

With Bhiwani and Mahendragarh in Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan becoming part of the National Capital Region, real estate market in all three areas will get a major boost.

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Real estate experts say this will not only ease the pressure to provide affordable housing on the existing NCR region but also help in planned development of these cities. However, they cautioned that if the authorities did not come up with a master plan immediately and check land trading, it will give rise to speculative buying, pushing up property prices "artificially".

Anil Sharma, president, CREDAI NCR and CMD, Amrapali Group, said: "It's good news as far as real estate development in these areas is concerned but it's just a first step. Now master plan should be prepared and implemented as soon as possible otherwise builders will start accumulating land, leading to speculative price rise."

Sharma also said that merely adding these areas to NCR will not serve the purpose unless infrastructure is developed in a rapid and planned manner.

"We have the example of Sonipat before us. Despite being a part of NCR, its real estate market is not doing well because of lack of infrastructure. Except along the Delhi-Chandigarh highway, all other areas of Sonipat have not reaped the benefits of being a part of the NCR," said Sharma.

Many real estate experts are of the view that it's a good development as far as affordable housing is concerned. Harsh Pal Singh, a local broker at Bharatpur, said: "At present there are only two townships — OMG City and Surya City — that have come up along the highway in Bharatpur. Both are approved by Urban Improvement Trust of Bharatpur. Four years ago, the price of a plot was just R5,500 per square yard. Now the same plot costs R9,000 per sq yard. We hope that the area will further witness appreciation in property rates. But the prices will still remain in the affordable range."