Gurgaon-based developer Orris Infrastructure has said it will invest Rs 700 crore in its upcoming township. As a part of its expansion, the company will also be setting up schools, besides setting up hotels through a tie-up with Holiday Inn. “We are creating commercial, residential and retail spaces. As a part of this, we will be setting up 10 schools in the K-12 space and one university,” Mr Amit Gupta, Managing Director, Orris Infrastructure said. He said the company has tied up with Vasant Valley School. Orris will construct the school, and Vasant Valley will be managing it. The first such school will come up in Gurgaon. The company said it is also setting up two business hotels in Gurgaon and Greater Noida. Mr Gupta said all these projects will be launched within the next 2-3 years, and completed in the next 5-7 years.

The township would come up on the Yamuna Expressway. In the first phase, the Gurgaon-based firm is offering 850 plots. “All the projects haven't been finalised yet. We have fixed the group housing and the township projects so far. These four projects could entail a combined construction cost of Rs 400-Rs 500 crore,” he said. The company claims to have a land bank of approximately 1,200 acres in NCR, and it will develop these projects on these areas. On the source of funding, Mr Gupta said, the investments will come through internal accruals. Orris had received a private equity investment of Rs 80 crore from Kotak Realty Fund six months ago.

CREDAI calls for system reforms

Real estate developers have represented to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to intervene on their behalf to expedite project clearances and enable reforms in systems and processes.

In the letter, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), which represents more than 8,800 developers and 114 city and 20 state-level associations, has asked for the creation of a sub-group of National Development Council for developers. The industry body has also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister to represent the issues in real estate development, said a press release from the Confederation. The developers have blamed Central Government agencies, including environment, defence, archaeology and aviation, for delays in clearances for projects and issuing orders “arbitrarily and without consultation.”

CREDAI will represent a range of issues, including delays in issuing statutory clearances, which drive up housing costs, problems associated with compulsory reservation of 20 per cent land, or built-up space for the poor coming under the economically-weaker Sections and Low Income Groups in private projects, issues relating to Budget provisions, Real Estate Regulatory Bill, impractical SEZ and IT park regulations, and escalation in input costs.

The real estate developers also hope to suggest administrative reforms in plan approval process, land, tax and financial issues that would contribute to the growth of the sector, which is a major contributor to the economy. The release quoting Mr Lalit Kumar Jain, National President, CREDAI, says that the developers hope the intervention would help alleviate the problems the industry is facing. If needed, the real estate developers will decide on further course of action, including demonstration and strike to reinforce their demand. The decision is to be taken after its general council meets on May 12 in Mumbai, the release said.

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