“We expect too much of new buildings, and too little of ourselves.” …
“Not TV or illegal drugs but the automobile has been the chief destroyer of American communities.” …
Both quotes are by the Goddess of Urban Planning i.e. Jan Jacobs & when the subject of sharing is Real Estate & our beloved city Pune then she has been always there to rescue me from doing the bad job i.e. to criticize! Its end of one more year, a significant year it had been for Pune as not only the Covid wave has gone away physically but even from the minds of the masses too & we have new govt (well, old new govt we can say) in Country & State for next five years, so everything is set on policy making level! Though hardcore Punekar will smirk & say, what difference it makes to us as our problems seem increasing every day, whichever govt it may be anywhere & I don’t blame them! But the best part of Punekars is when it's about boasting about their city they are at the top of the list but when it’s criticizing their city, they don’t need anybody else to do the job, that’s being Punekar!
Interestingly when my journalist friend asked me to write about Pune city ‘s journey ahead in 2025, on the very same day two things happened. Firstly, I met my friend Amit Karode who is a Punekar but resident of Dubai for the last twenty-five odd years (yet a very much Punekar at heart) & we were discussing about difference between the two cities, and the attitude of the citizens of the respective cities! Simple things like not following traffic signals or parking under No Parking Board, cleanliness or even getting in & out of Metro, indiscipline is an inherent part of our life making others as well our own life stressful, is what his observation about Pune of-late & he is not wrong! He said he can’t dare to ask his friends from Dubai or Europe to visit Pune as what they will think about us the way things are happening around on the roads, again he is not wrong! And second thing was when I opened today’s newspaper, all I could read was fatal accident on road by a dumper taking many lives, smoke-fog-dust filled morning image of city, a news showing Idrayani river (one of the three rivers flowing through city) fish got dead because of pollution & right in December itself suburbs of Pune facing water shortage!
I understand this is not something to start when you are supposed to write about a city & how real estate is prospering here but it's high time for us to know about the hurdles the future is going to throw at us when we are marching ahead as only a fool walks on the path without studying the road ahead, right? As now, no more Pune is a town-city which used to start from Peth (Pune 30) & end at Kothrud, Aundh, Camp or Swargate but it’s a region which consists of two Municipal Corporations, Cantonments, PMRDA & part of town planning with total population touching one crore (unofficially)! And we are already facing the heat of this One Crore population with first signs of traffic jams & water shortages even in the centre of the city! Just two decades back we used to proudly tell people that we can cross the entire Pune city in thirty minutes maximum & abundant good quality water is the core strength of this city along with the culture! Indeed, when we compare ourselves to many other cities in the country, we still are way ahead but then if we want to improve then we must look at the cities which are ahead of us & not behind, is the core of my sharing! Unfortunately for the last two years civic body’s (PMC/ PCMC) elections are at hold thus the entire working of the city under bureaucracy & if its boon on one side then problem is whom to complain about working of those who are in control of everything!
On all such backgrounds yet Pune is growing in leaps & bounds on all fronts but, like an orphan which feeds on everything offered to it, by anybody & if you think I am exaggerating then let’s read ahead! Here we have Sassoon like a public hospital which has excellent doctors but poor infra yet its way better than any medical establishment available in the State. We have a railway station which is hundred plus years old & yet its handling millions of passengers everyday but we need more trains connecting to other major cities is a fact as on any given day you won’t get a ticket on a smaller duration of dates! We have three rivers, five dams & yet we have water cuts & water tankers on the roads is a common scene because we need the right distribution system & funds for the same as well reducing groundwater levels is a red alert too! In this year the number of trees falling in rains is the highest in the last five years & reducing green cover in & around the city as well as the heat island effect is a matter of concern. Education is the backbone of Pune but affordable good quality education is the key which is missing & its directly getting related to increase of participation of the youth’s numbers in crime incidences! Pune traffic & public transport, well I need not have to comment on it as just google & your PC will get hang with the information you come across, we have Metro but all around the country its in loss barring few cities such as Bangalore & hopefully Pune will use Metro for its best! Last but least coming to my bread & butter i.e. Real Estate (read as homes & work spaces)! What Pune needs is a strong leader who will understand the city's needs & take the city on the right path by balancing nature, culture & growth as that’s what urban planning is about!
Here, in Pune region scene is frightening as every day hundreds of new projects are being launched at the same time you don’t get land (clear title) in many areas & the piece of land which is available, comes with Ritu Kumar price tag (google it plz) yet after few days you come to know it got sold! Same way, if this is scene in suburbs then on redevelopment front the picture becomes scarier as just a decade back when you could get redevelopment proposals by offering mee 15 or 20% extra to the existing residents now the ratio has gone double or even triple times more area to the residents! So, the city's real estate is in demand, is what you can tell from the land availability, point is, how many new home & work space buyers we will need & can they afford the finished product! At the same time from all around the Country & State, people want to come to Pune for job, for education & they will need homes as well work spaces, key is striking balance between need & affordable supply for that need. If we won’t do it in right way, then the outcome, we are already looking at i.e. rampant illegal construction all around (and within also) the city on which we don’t have any solution!
For those who want to buy a home or office, these are indeed good times but I will suggest (not advice) keep your eyes open & senses too, as well be patient, don’t run behind the “big savings” figures in the offers. Understand your needs, study the growth pattern of the city & then take the decision of buying a home at the right place & with the right builder. At the same time just the way you don’t buy a Merc or BMW but lift yourself from Hyundai or Maruti to that level the same way you can think about buying your Home or Office. As gone are the days that these were one time buy for most buyers, now supply is abundant, options are many at the same time no more Pune is about some Peth or few suburbs like Kothrud! With Swiggie, Zomato, Instamart, grocery also comes at your door step even at midnight, so choose your destination of home & type wisely!
This is the right time to buy real estate because builders are in mood (read as forced to) negotiate also a bit but don’t look only at the price tag you are getting discounted, look for quality of the home on different scales & then only close the deal! Even a ready possession flat may give headache on many fronts such as maintenance, outside view to commuting to parking to legality to neighbourhood to basic needs like water & many such if not chosen wisely but only on rate per sft aspect! At the same time, you will be part of Pune’s culture by buying a home here & what you will behave (read as your lifestyle) will decide the fate of the culture of this city, never forget this basic fact! Last but not least, do keep the aspect of conservation of nature in the mind while you choose your home as this is how you can conserve the future of your next generation also & this is applicable to redevelopment seeking societies also. Ask why you left your home town & shift from your existing location & tomorrow your kids should not be needed to do the same by your wrong choice today, that’s wisdom, adios with this note (warning), Happy Home Buying for 2025!
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...
https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345
Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/01/choosing-your-home-along-with-future-of.html
http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below
www.punecorporation.org
Take your issues to Hon PM at link below...
Think Green, Think Life
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