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Photos: India’s housing crisis and the country’s economic dreams

Wish Town was once a sought-after destination for India’s aspiring middle classes seeking a slice of the “good days” promised in 2014, more than five years ago. Now, it’s a symbol of lost hope. Today the area is dotted with unfinished apartment blocks, abandoned part way through construction. Wish Town’s failure tells the story of an economy in distress, a banking system in pain and consumers too worried about job cuts and rising costs to spend.

Updated on: Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM IST

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1/13

Cranes operate at a property development in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. One such sprawling 1,063-acre property development in Noida, Wish Town was once a sought-after destination for an aspiring middle class seeking a slice of the “good days” promised in 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power. Now, it’s a symbol of lost hope. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

Cranes operate at a property development in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. One such sprawling 1,063-acre property development in Noida, Wish Town was once a sought-after destination for an aspiring middle class seeking a slice of the “good days” promised in 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power. Now, it’s a symbol of lost hope. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

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Wish Town was supposed to give home buyers shopping malls, golf courses and medical clinics. Apartments should have been delivered by 2012. Today the area is dotted with apartment blocks abandoned part way through construction. Dilapidated buildings stand vacant, with overgrown bushes instead of manicured lawns. Most streets are empty of cars and people, aside from a few security guards. (Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

Wish Town was supposed to give home buyers shopping malls, golf courses and medical clinics. Apartments should have been delivered by 2012. Today the area is dotted with apartment blocks abandoned part way through construction. Dilapidated buildings stand vacant, with overgrown bushes instead of manicured lawns. Most streets are empty of cars and people, aside from a few security guards. (Bloomberg)

3/13

A collapsed sidewalk at Shubhkamna Techomes in Noida. Wish Town’s failure and the larger real estate market illustrate the extent of the economy’s woes. Wish Town’s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. have gone bust, are mired debt and unable to secure funding to complete projects. Non-bank financing, the lifeline for millions of small businesses and consumers in recent years, has dried up. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

A collapsed sidewalk at Shubhkamna Techomes in Noida. Wish Town’s failure and the larger real estate market illustrate the extent of the economy’s woes. Wish Town’s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. have gone bust, are mired debt and unable to secure funding to complete projects. Non-bank financing, the lifeline for millions of small businesses and consumers in recent years, has dried up. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

4/13

The backpacks of day labourers seeking work hang from a fence. Prospective home buyers are paying mortgages for apartments they can’t live in. Millions of construction jobs are at risk, with effects rippling across rural India. From 8% growth three years ago, the economy is set to expand just 5% in the fiscal year through March, the weakest performance since 2009. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

The backpacks of day labourers seeking work hang from a fence. Prospective home buyers are paying mortgages for apartments they can’t live in. Millions of construction jobs are at risk, with effects rippling across rural India. From 8% growth three years ago, the economy is set to expand just 5% in the fiscal year through March, the weakest performance since 2009. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

5/13

Day labourers reflected in a puddle. The International Monetary Fund last week slashed India’s growth forecast for this year by 1.2 percentage points to 5.8%, citing the nation as a reason for cutting its global outlook. Despite tentative signs that the worst may be over, growth isn’t set to reach the 9%-10% pace needed to combat extreme poverty. The goal of a $5 trillion economy is becoming more distant. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

Day labourers reflected in a puddle. The International Monetary Fund last week slashed India’s growth forecast for this year by 1.2 percentage points to 5.8%, citing the nation as a reason for cutting its global outlook. Despite tentative signs that the worst may be over, growth isn’t set to reach the 9%-10% pace needed to combat extreme poverty. The goal of a $5 trillion economy is becoming more distant. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

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A sign reads “Future Residential” near a property development. At the heart of the economy’s problems is a lingering credit slowdown, made worse by the IL&FS crisis in the shadow banking industry nearly two years ago. Shadow banks — lenders outside the regular financial system that aren’t as tightly regulated as deposit-taking banks — had been responsible for millions of small loans. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

A sign reads “Future Residential” near a property development. At the heart of the economy’s problems is a lingering credit slowdown, made worse by the IL&FS crisis in the shadow banking industry nearly two years ago. Shadow banks — lenders outside the regular financial system that aren’t as tightly regulated as deposit-taking banks — had been responsible for millions of small loans. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

7/13

A labourer at the Wish Town construction site. As lenders choked off credit, domestic spending took a knock. It wasn’t too long before growth numbers were hit. Sherry Addvant, 39, public relations executive told Bloomberg she forks out ₹25,000 rupees a month to rent an apartment while still paying off a mortgage of ₹80,000 for a home in Wish Town that hasn’t been built six years after the purchase. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

A labourer at the Wish Town construction site. As lenders choked off credit, domestic spending took a knock. It wasn’t too long before growth numbers were hit. Sherry Addvant, 39, public relations executive told Bloomberg she forks out ₹25,000 rupees a month to rent an apartment while still paying off a mortgage of ₹80,000 for a home in Wish Town that hasn’t been built six years after the purchase. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

8/13

A 10-minute drive from Wish Town is this intersection of hole-in-the-wall shops and street food carts, where labourers gather each morning in search of construction work. Many are dressed in caps and sweaters not warm enough for New Delhi’s winter temperatures this year. They stand for hours hoping to get picked up by builders who need the extra hands that day. (Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

A 10-minute drive from Wish Town is this intersection of hole-in-the-wall shops and street food carts, where labourers gather each morning in search of construction work. Many are dressed in caps and sweaters not warm enough for New Delhi’s winter temperatures this year. They stand for hours hoping to get picked up by builders who need the extra hands that day. (Bloomberg)

9/13

Day labourers seeking work speak to the driver of a truck.Suraj Kumar, 25, a construction worker, who migrated to Delhi from Bihar, and among those waiting said, “Earlier, everyone would get work for about 25 days in a month, but now even five to 10 days is a lot.” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

Day labourers seeking work speak to the driver of a truck.Suraj Kumar, 25, a construction worker, who migrated to Delhi from Bihar, and among those waiting said, “Earlier, everyone would get work for about 25 days in a month, but now even five to 10 days is a lot.” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

10/13

To feed his two-month-old baby and already reeling from paying off loans from his relatives, Kumar told Bloomberg he has taken a job as a night security guard. Breakfast is just a cup of tea and bread and salt make his meals. He hasn’t bought clothes in a long time, has sold his wife’s jewellery to make ends meet and looks for additional work during the day to survive. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

To feed his two-month-old baby and already reeling from paying off loans from his relatives, Kumar told Bloomberg he has taken a job as a night security guard. Breakfast is just a cup of tea and bread and salt make his meals. He hasn’t bought clothes in a long time, has sold his wife’s jewellery to make ends meet and looks for additional work during the day to survive. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

11/13

The links between the construction industry and rural incomes are strong, according to Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Mumbai. About two-thirds of India’s population live in rural areas and many flock to cities to find work and send money home to their families. Bhandari estimates 70% of rural people draw their income from activity outside of farming, especially construction. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

The links between the construction industry and rural incomes are strong, according to Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Mumbai. About two-thirds of India’s population live in rural areas and many flock to cities to find work and send money home to their families. Bhandari estimates 70% of rural people draw their income from activity outside of farming, especially construction. (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

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“The blood in the finance system has got completely choked and capital is difficult to come by,” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

“The blood in the finance system has got completely choked and capital is difficult to come by,” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

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Back in Wish Town, a state-owned company has been selected to complete construction over the next four years. But home buyers like Manish Choudhary remain bitter. “We can’t plan vacation and buy even normal stuff. I would have sent my child to a better school if the mortgage and rent wasn’t there,” Choudhary told Bloomberg. “The slowdown has hit the class which is paying taxes.” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

Updated on Feb 01, 2020 6:05 PM

Back in Wish Town, a state-owned company has been selected to complete construction over the next four years. But home buyers like Manish Choudhary remain bitter. “We can’t plan vacation and buy even normal stuff. I would have sent my child to a better school if the mortgage and rent wasn’t there,” Choudhary told Bloomberg. “The slowdown has hit the class which is paying taxes.” (Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg)

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