Pradhikaran – the return of ambient living in Pune
Pune's real estate boom, which took off on the heels of the IT /ITeS rollercoaster, has given rise to various evils of unregulated development. The fact that Pune’s traditional ease of living and clement climate have always been its ultimate selling points was ignored. Hills and trees made way for the ever-expanding concrete jungle that we witness in central Pune today. The city’s town planning authorities were unable to keep the development mania within reasonable, sustainable boundaries.
PUNE – THE TROUBLES MOUNT
Pune's ever-increasing population put more and more pressure on the available land and infrastructure in the city, thereby pushing the city limits outward. However, the pattern of development has again been mercenary, factoring in little more than accessibility to newer IT hubs and the usual real estate activity that they spawn. The rise of Hinjewadi raised demand for homes in its immediate vicinity. However, Aundh soon felt the hammer of unplanned mass development, and Baner and Wakad saw steep price escalations that finally had to yield to realism.
SOFT FOCUS – PCMC
Today, many areas in central Pune are unable to put forth on its traditional deliverables, and an increasing number of homebuyers are looking at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation as the last outpost of the erstwhile residential comfort levels.
It does not make sense at first – after all, PCMC has always been known as an industrial area. What can a manufacturing belt deliver that the central city cannot? The answer is planned development. Real estate growth in the PCMC area has since decades been closely controlled by the PCNTDA, which worked in close conjunction with the PCMC to ensure that the entire Pimpri Chinchwad belt grows in a planned manner - rather than in the haphazard fashion seen in most industrial belt.
As many areas in central Pune groan under the effects of pollution, vanishing greenery, traffic congestion, water and power shortages, generalized infrastructure deficit and over-the-top property rates, an area like Pradhikaran gleams like an oasis in a desert. As a primary recipient of the PCMC’s progressive thrust towards rational development, this area is now a veritable showcase of the benefits of the planned approach to growth. Moreover, even a cursory demographical study of Pune’s growth pattern will show that Pradhikaran is where the growth of the city in the North/North-Western direction is headed.
HARD FOCUS – PRADHIKARAN
Over the years, the PCNTDA has been acquiring land in the PCMC area, planning development, allocating specific areas for functions such as industrial activity, residential use, public parks and open spaces, shopping complexes, commercial buildings, roads, utilities, etc. and then making this land available to builders. To indicate the level of foresight - water supply in these areas is planned sector-wise, with giant water tanks with several million litre capacities put in place before the sector is opened for development.
Moreover, the master plan under which all development takes place in the PCMC area has provided for far greater road widths than seen anywhere else in Pune. This is an extremely important factor in preserving one of Pradhikaran’s USPs – the clemency of its natural splendour and hygiene. Apart from the ongoing industrial activity, there has been a significant increase of residential property buying in the Pradhikaran area over the last two years. This has naturally led to increased traffic It is not an immediately apparent fact that air pollution is not caused by free-flowing traffic, but by traffic bottlenecks. The exceptional road widths in the Pradhikaran area, coupled with the plentiful greenery which is carefully maintained by the master plan, have been largely responsible in maintaining the ecological status quo here.
With giant international companies operating in nearby Chakan, the entire development profile assumes a different dimension. These companies generate several thousand white and blue collar jobs, and the general economic level of the area has taken a quantum leap forward. The demand for housing and every conceivable services has grown in leaps and bounds.
Loosely based on the Chandigarh model of closely monitored and controlled development, Pradhikaran has been evolving over the years. It started out with a few hundred acres and has now grown to about 7000 acres. Development activity started in the Akurdi and Nigdhi areas (which is why many still erroneously assume that Pradhikaran is, in fact, limited to these areas.) Because of the town planning principles that have been implemented here, this part of Pune has seen a vastly superior grade of development than the traditional areas.
Pradhikaran is also the one area in Pune where original landowners got a fair shake on their holdings. Here, the Government of Maharashtra came up with the 12.5% formula – 1/8th of the land that has been acquired from erstwhile landowners is given back to them, to be sold at prices of their choosing. When builders wishing to launch a project in Pradhikaran purchase land there, it amounts to a three-way transaction between the landowner, the Pradhikaran authorities and the builder. This ensures that the landowner gets the going market rate, and that he does not fall prey to antiquated land valuations.
Pradhikaran is seeing massive infrastructural enhancements on all fronts, including in terms of roads, water and electricity supply and digital connectivity. In stark contrast to traditional Pune, this area features 4-6 lane roads and abundant greenery. There is a remarkable lack of traffic congestion.
SHARP FOCUS – PRADHIKARAN’S SECTOR 14
Pradhikaran’s Sector 14, which is now the venue of Pharande Spaces’ massive integrated township Woodsville, is a nexus of all market drivers that have propelled Pradhikaran into the limelight. Situated off the Pune-Nashik Highway, it encompasses the upcoming International Convention Centre and benefits most from the demand spinoff generated by nearby Tata Motors, Hinjewadi, Talawade, Chakan and the Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt. The fact that it is located very near to the Mumbai-Pune highway and Expressway gives it the added advantage of excellent accessibility to and from the financial capital. When these factors are viewed in conjunction with the vastly superior lifestyle quotient that this area offers, it emerges that Pradhikaran’s Sector 14 is simultaneously a highly lucrative residential real estate investment hotspot and the best bet for homebuyers. After Woodsville, the trends of quality living set forth by Sector 14 will eventually percolate into the rest of Pradhikaran.
For more information, visit pharandespaces.com.