Artificial hike in land prices in Hubli -Dharwad

Artificial hike in land prices
The Newindpress.com

Saturday August 4 2007 12:22 IST

HUBLI: Although the City Development Plan (CDP) has nothing to do with real estate, the realtors are creating an artificial hike in land prices in the city.

The soaring land prices could be attributed to the much-hyped IT investment and airport upgradation, as the realtors and land investors are manipulating the land prices for land banking purpose at the cost of the commoners dream to have a plot in the city.

Admitting the artificial hike in land prices, M F Samoji of Ganesh Real Estates said that the city has been witnessing a huge growth in the number of developers and realtors in recent times, following the overall growth of the city. However CDP is yet to be recommended for revision by HDMC.

Shashikumar, Deputy Director of Town Planning, HDMC said that CDP has nothing to do with the real estate business.

As per the section-25 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, the CDP can be revised every ten years and there were clauses to revise it before completing the tenure following the sudden and unexpected growth in the city.

The present CDP drafted in 2003 does not see any unexpected and sudden developments for premature revision as the equation of land and population has not gone beyond the calculations of CDP in HDMC limits, he said.

“Both realtors and land investors who acquired land at lesser price are falsely forecasting land scarcity to get more for their layouts coming up on the outskirts”, he stated. Local ministers and media are to be blamed for this artificial hike in prices, as both gave a wrong picture of the IT potential of the city, said Ashok Bhat of Ashok Real Estates.

The magic of Vastu consultants has also been playing a key role in the artificial hike in land prices, particularly in Gokul Road area as it comes under the North-Eastern zone which is said to be auspicious for residences.

Ashok Kheny, MD of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) on his recent visit to the city had stated that the soaring land prices had disrupted the development work in the city and sought the intervention of authorities concerned to check the price.