With big infrastructure projects and freight corridors coming up in north India, a new wave of development is soon going to sweep the region, especially the States of Punjab and the tri-city region.
This was stated in FICCI — Ernst & Young Report “Transitioning from Urban to Realty lab” — released on Friday in a conference here
on Housing & Urban Development in north India with focus on Punjab and tri-city. The aim of the conference was to bring together the key stakeholders of this sector to discuss policy issues, challenges, partnership opportunities in North India
Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Shivraj Patil inaugurated the event and stressed on the importance of research and development in construction technology to create easy and cheap housing.
He said that India is getting urbanised at a very large scale demanding employment, facilities for educations, health and good infrastructure. There has to be a collective effort from Government and private sector to find solutions to the urban challenges.
On one hand, vision and appropriate policy at national, State and at local level Government is required, on the other hand, methods to deal with issues also need to be devised, he added.
While speaking at the conference on “Simplifying approval process to achieve Housing for all,” the UT Home Secretary Anil Kumar said that affordable housing in Chandigarh is different from other States as the availability of limited land is a major factor here. He talked about the ‘Slum Rehabilitation Plan’ which is in process in Dhanas, Chandigarh.
He said that Chandigarh is a pioneer when it comes to the rehabilitation of the EWS. He mentioned that after the distribution of 8,440 small flats to the slum dwellers another 5,000 flats will soon be ready for distribution.
“These flats are being made keeping in view the needs and necessities of the slum dwellers. The aim is to provide adequate housing with clean water, proper sanitation and other such basic needs,” he added. He went on to say that with the great success of the ‘Slum Rehabilitation Plan’, work is still on to make Chandigarh a “Slum free city”.
The State of Punjab and tri-city region including Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are now emerging as new hot spots and attracting a large number of real estate players to this sub region. The implementation of well-planned social, economic and physical infrastructure in the tri city enables it to offer a good quality life. With AKIC traversing Ambala (only 50 kms from Chandigarh), the tri-city area is expected to benefit from increased industrial activities likely to be conducted along the corridor.
The report released during the conference stated that there is huge demand for housing in the region and with many new cities being planned there is a huge market for development of urban infrastructure.
The presence of industrial towns of Baddi, Parwanoo and Solan has driven the real estate market in the tri-city region. However, lack of infrastructural and residential development in these towns has led to dependency in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali’s residential markets, it stated.
Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI that Chandigarh enjoys the distinction of being the first planned city of India and is witnessing an exponential growth in real estate and infrastructure development along with Panchkula and Mohali.
A Venu Prasad, Secretary, Housing & Urban Development, Punjab Government highlighted the development planned for Chandigarh and tri-city in the coming years.
The issues discussed during the conference were state initiatives in new city planning and urban infrastructure development in Punjab, simplifying approval process to achieve ‘Housing for All, Planning Smart & Sustainable Cities & Transit Oriented Development, impact of AKIC (Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor) on Punjab and tri-city, envisioning the future of real estate industry in Punjab.