Vision of Life; by Sanjay: Real Estate, 4 FSI & City !!

“Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance”…. Ban Ki-moon.

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. Well & it’s his such clear vision about development which has made his place in one of most respectable personality in UN an organization which thrives to make this world a better place! Though there has been many Indians also who has represented our country at UN but sorry to say when it comes to development our all intelligence, vision, thinking whatever you call dries up & when it our Smart City Pune, well lesser we say its better! As nobody opposes development but we have forgotten the term sustainable before it or else we wouldn’t have been coming up with policies one after another which one day are going to doom the city is not just I say but look at the history of the every big city around the world & you will agree to it!

Yes, I am referring to current developments like Metro or BRT (well, please don’t ask what it means, really bored of it) i.e. Bus Rapid Transit, Ring Road as well there were some thing like Mono Rail & oh yes Hyper Loop also & last in thing is HCMTR i.e. High Capacity Mass Transport Route (or road, does it really matters)! If I am sounding like a perfect Sadashiv Pethi Joshi Kaka (read critics) then indeed I want to be as had the most of Punekars' really aware about all above issues then this same would have been their tone speaking about every these development but all Joshikakas’ (read puneakrs) are busy in protesting against Helmet or angry for Water Cuts or held up in traffic jams! So I took on their role for a while & I repeat it’s not about the development but the cost we will be paying for is what I am warning about! For e.g. read all recent news regarding city’s top list of development projects I mentioned above i.e. Metro to latest HCMTR, one best thing is whenever we gave such fancy names, we (read our rulers) feel very happy & elated about the project thinking they are doing something like space-ship which in a way true as the way these projects often ends up may it be BRT or even some fly-over, they cost like space ship & crash in the end making big bang like a space-ship only! Sorry again Joshi kaka in me but no more, well what I meant is the expense we are doing in terms on money but then our "Mai-Baap" govt (read PMC) doesn’t have money then what, and then FSI is the master key to all our answers! And why not, as look at the budgets of our local bodies i.e. PMC? PCMC which are supposedly responsible for all the developments & what you see? On one side every year budgets figures are increasing (read swelling) at the same time every year the actual collection (revenue ) figures are decreasing & no one asks where this so called supposedly to be collected money has gone & who is responsible for the same! At the same time govt keeps killing (yes that the word) real estate means dream of every home buyer by adding burden on home prices directly or indirectly; recent addition of 1% stamp duty for funding Metro is classic example! Why the new home buyers only should pay for city development & why not add the burden on all tax payers (property tax) is the question I will ask. And then what about millions of residents of this city which are living in illegal homes which pays zero tax but enjoys every facility the city infra offers, why their contribution is to paid by real estate segment? Why can’t such so called city infra tax is added on every single automobile sold in this city, as they are the real culprits for traffic jams on city roads! Hundreds of such questions are there but who cares, as it’s a builder & his flat buyers are getting burdened not some auto industry or slum dweller, so let be it!

One more thing "Mai-Baap" Govt kindly thinks from humanity angle & is keen to regularize every illegal construction by so called charging some fine/ premium (whatever you call it, what difference it makes any way) on such homes (illegal) but has someone ever asked how much money has been collected from all such fines as these homes are there but where is the money collected from regularizing them & why this income head has not been added in every city’s civic body’s budget? Well, answer to all above questions are simple, you won’t add any burden on automobile sales as the owners of these industries are big shots & they are respected (read celebrity) citizens of the country, how can they be burdened when they are actually serving the Nation via their industries! About increasing property tax; are you mad, suggesting something like this, don’t you know this is election year, who will give votes to the Party (political & not night life party) which demands increase in property or any such tax! The recovery from illegal home’s residents; well, had they got money why they would have stayed in such illegal homes in first place! At the same time attitude of citizens is also equally responsible as citizens wants service from the city but are not ready to pay for it or else every time there wouldn’t have been oppose to any type of hike in property or such taxes! As well millions of defaulters are there when it comes to payment of taxes as why PMC has to issue notices as well go for amnesty schemes in first place & why the citizens doesn’t pays the tax which they are supposed to pay on their own! On this point many citizens says why we should pay tax when we don’t get proper service, well to all such citizens go to places like Marathwada & Vidarbha & then you will realize how comfortable your life is in Pune! Ask every migrant coming for education or job to this city from remote parts of the State why he is leaving his home town & coming to this city, if it’s not capable of offering good life to the citizens, & he will tell you the reason! We may not be best city but scene is lot worst in other cities & if we don’t want to end up as worst then we need to pay taxes as well keep pressure on civic body to give value for our taxes!

But then best way every planning authority, civic body & the Thaliva (the Boss) of all urban planning i.e. UD thinks the best (read only) way is increase FSI & get money generated from it & use that money for all Metro, HCMTR, BRT & Hyper Loops! But then what about the supporting infra required for people who will be living in this additional FSI generated homes & oh yes, what’s this 4 figure thing, why every time its 4 FSI, I am sure that some study must have done but I am curious where this 4 times FSI figure comes whenever its some infra development is there! And then if all the money generated by selling this TOD i.e. 4 FSI for the so called Metro or HCMTR the from where the money for road, drainage electricity, schools, play grounds, open spaces, gardens, water supply & many such will be coming from; will we be making Stamp Duty 100% then for the new homes? And what about the existing DP’s fate, is it not more that 10% change in DP when entire city’s FSI is getting 4 times increased in a way, as all above routes covers nearly whole city! As all the present amenities (schools, hospitals, gardens and many such) except Metro or HCMTR are designed for 1 FSI population, is what my childish engineering brain tells me so what about gardens, open spaces which are required to be kept in proportion of 1 FSI, from where we will be creating such open spaces? Oh, yes one more thing, what you think, the Land -prices of such 4 FSI plots will come down or increase; interesting food for brain isn't it? As this is directly related to rates of real estate i.e. Homes!

Unfortunately 4 FSI can be generated virtually but public places for the people living in these 4 FSI homes won’t or can’t be ever created virtually! And then to my knowledge any project above 2 lacs sq ft build-able potential need Environment Clearance with detailed Environmental Impact Assessment Report possibly happen due to such development, what about crores of millions sq ft build-able potential which will be generated by giving this 4 FSI, well we be not requiring any Environmental Impact Assessment for this decision; is one more childish question which got popped up in my brain!

I repeat Real Estate welcomes every infrastructure in the city & don’t mind paying for the same (read contribute) but then I appeal to all the Urban Planners do consider that, taking responsibility & burdening are two different things! Real Estate is taking every possible responsibility for city’s needs but if we keep burdening it then we are killing city in the end by killing Real Estate & the end is not far, mind it!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/g3lx1Nq7pBs

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html