Okhla Bird Sanctuary ruling: Good news for homebuyers in the offing, but not for birds One man’s meat is another man’s poison – this clichéd idiom holds true for homebuyers whose projects are located within 10 km radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Of course, in this case, the wellbeing of some 20,000 domestic and migratory birds will be compromised but the interest of homebuyers will be safeguarded. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is expected to revisit its order on instatement of a 10 km radius eco-sensitive zone around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. Stakeholders have been speculating that the Tribunal will bring down the limit to about 2 km. The Tribunal had earlier rebuffed the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Governments’ proposal to fix 100 m radius around the bird sanctuary as a no-development zone. However, now it is considering a revision of the order. No booking cancellations as yet though prices dip marginally, say proprietors A month ago, the NGT order seemed like a major blow to homebuyers and developers alike. However, the dust has settled now. Considering the number of projects at stake, industry pros are confident that the Tribunal would reduce the no-development zone limit to something between 100 m and 2 km. Proprietors say that property prices have dipped marginally in certain projects. As per reports the prices dipped marginally by 2 per cent in some projects. It is also claimed that selective projects witnessed price declination by 3 and 25 per cent. Dasnac Designarch Group, who is collecting the second instalment for its under-construction project, The Jewel of Noida. The developer has given a verbal assurance to all its clients that the proposed no-development zone would be reduced to 2 km. It is further said that there have been queries about the future of projects; however, no one expressed a wish to cancel their bookings as yet. The developers are trying to attract buyers by introducing payment schemes, such as 20-40-40 or 30-40-30. According to these schemes, buyers can pay the amount in instalments – may be the first 20 per cent on booking, the next 40 per cent in the second instalment when half the construction work is completed and the last instalment before possession. No perceptible impact on sold properties, say developers The developers claim that they witnessed no perceptible impact of the NGT order. Anil Kumar Srivastava, GM of Exotica Housing, one of the developers whose project is located within the radius proposed to be a no-development zone, said that the NGT hype was created by the media. Those who are withdrawing from projects are investors and not end-users. Srivastava rationalizes that it is normal for investors to sell off their flats since there are plenty of projects in that zone whose construction work is nearing completion. He also explained that there is no scope for price depreciation as the market has been performing excessively badly since the last two years. Ashok Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Ajnara India, is of the view that homebuyers are aware that the NGT is re-examining the order. “A new and revised decision will come out which will avoid all the current affected projects,” he elaborated. However, property prices are stable although demand has become static. Gupta attributes customers’ tenacity and price stability to the strategic location of the projects which is slowly turning into a corporate hub. Corroborating Gupta’s views, Deepak Kapoor, Director, Gulshan Homz said, “The decision…did leave a set back on the customers for a while, not hurrying upon it.” Kapoor also added that the property prices in the region were soaring till the NGT’s decision was announced. At present, price are seeing an upward trend but at a slower pace. Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing, maintains a hopeful stance. He offers a slightly different but not divergent view of the current state of affairs in his projects. He states that the developers are not in a position to offer anything lucrative to customers. Therefore, everyone – developers, end-users and investors – have adopted a wait-and-watch strategy. Prices of projects in the proposed sensitive zone have stopped appreciating. However, Gupta believes it to be a “temporary” matter. Although there are no new investors in the region, “those who had invested are holding on”. He upholds Ashok Gupta’s and Deepak Kapoor’s views that buyers are not exiting projects because they “are…hopeful… that the sensitive zone distance will be revised....” What is clear from these statements is that homebuyers, in general, are unfazed by NGT ruling. This can be attributed to multiple factors, such as: • it is unlikely that the government would compromise the interest of one lakh flat owners’ • exiting projects at this stage and investing funds elsewhere is not feasible for most buyers • the market is depressed and selling off distressed properties is not pragmatic • builders are offering possession without the occupancy certificate Prices in the area have not declined but sales-purchase has come to a halt. At present, buyers and developers are eagerly awaiting fresh orders from the Green Tribunal.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 05:51:19 +0000
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