Lower land costs, transparency lure city realtors to Gujarat

The stagnating real estate market in Mumbai is forcing many city-based developers to set sights on the neighbouring state of Gujarat.

The stagnating real estate market in Mumbai is forcing many city-based developers to set sights on the neighbouring state of Gujarat. Developers such as Godrej Properties, Ackruti City, Ravi Group, K Raheja Group, Sahara Housing, Ajmera and Acme Group are have a number of projects coming up in Gujarat.

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Two factors aiding this are the lower land costs and the virtually non-existent red-tape in Gujarat.

“There is tremendous industrial activity in Gujarat, which has resulted in a growing demand for real estate,” said Anuj Puri, Country Head and Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj (JLLM), a leading real estate consultancy firm.

Developers said that transparency was a big attraction. “Unlike Mumbai, land titles in Gujarat are usually clear and all details are available online. We do not need to visit government offices to verify such claims,” said Manish Veera, spokesperson, Ravi Group of Companies, which is planning to develop townships in Ahmedabad, Anand and Baroda.

Developers are also lured by the fast pace of granting permissions. “Our delivery mechanism is very fast as we want to speed up the development of the state,” said Narottam Patel, Rural Housing Minister, Gujarat state.

Pravin Doshi, President, Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI) and chairman of Acme Group said: “The Gujarat government is very proactive. Small projects are cleared within a fortnight while bigger ones in three months.”

However, the Maharashtra government has dismissed allegations of lethargy. “Gujarat cannot be compared to Mumbai. There are lot of open plots there and development is easier,” said Sachin Ahir, Minister of State for Housing.