GOA FOR SALE --
Goa was on sale recently, at the Goa Property Show organised by Magicbricks.com, a company belonging to India's largest newspaper, The Times of India, at New Delhi, on 15 and 16 March. It was a painful sight to see real estate developers, many based in New Delhi and one even in Kanpur, who are putting up huge luxury housing projects in Goa's little villages -- houses that the Goan middle class will never be able to afford -- says Navendu Shirali, an IT consultant based in Bangalore, who just happened to be in the national capital at the time. -- [SOURCE: Herald March 30, 2008 | Herald Mirror] It was sheer destiny that took me to the Goa Property Show organised by Megabricks.com (run by Times Business Solutions Ltd, a company belonging to India's largest newspaper, The Times of India) at Tivolli Gardens, New Delhi, on 15 and 16 March, 2008. I am not sure about the expectations of the real estate developers who had paid very handsome amounts to this Times of India venture for their stalls. Shockingly, the first day saw a very low turnout, with less than 300 viewers registered. Even more shockingly -- for me, that is -- most of the real estate developers were based in New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), one was even from Kanpur. All of them were showing images and videos of ready-to-move properties, and hawking dream homes to the affluent 'Delhi-ites'. Typical sales promises such as, "When do you plan to visit Goa next? Just give me a call and we will pick you up at the airport and take you to the site," rolled readily off the practiced lips of the sales staffers. Some of the developers who had their stalls at the Times of India show were Acron, Line Property Developers, Chowgule Real Estate & Constructions, Integriti Real Estate Developers, Nirvana Nest Buildcom, Jai Bhuvan Builders, Rivera Construction, Tarika Lifestyle, Bullion Limited, Expanse India Buildcon, Geo Realtors, Gold Touch Developers & Promoters, Decolive Reality Developers, Le Gardenia, Akar Creations, Property Management Group and Heritage Real Estate Developers. It was sad to see so many young Goans who were manning these stalls selling potential buyers how 'easy' it is to get a 'home near the sea'. It was painful to see many of these sales representatives and the developers themselves grossly mispronouncing the names of almost all the places in Goa where they had development plans. It just made me realise just how easy it is to buy, develop and sell properties in Goa for anyone, even those who know next to nothing about the name of the place, its culture or its people. One stall named Goodwill, operated by young Goans, told those who showed interest how they could get any kind of property -- from plots facing a beach to hillside bungalows with a great view of the sea. "Just send me your requirements and give me few weeks to get back with various options," were teh young salesman's words. Another painful sight was the selling of plots and apartments in the serene and sylvan side of Goa, like in: * Assagao, by Expanse Buildcon and the Delhi-based Decolive * Near Nagoa Church, where the Kanpur-based Geo Realtors has a project. * Arpora, where Riviera Constructions has a project called Foothills and Integriti Developers is setting up 'Aldeia Miraflor'. * Vagator, Aldona, Bogmalo and Anjuna, all with projects by the Delhi-based Nirvana Nest. * Paithona, Bardez, where the Chowgule Real Estate is building apartments complexes called Meadows. But Goans don't like it when people put their motherland on sale, and to balance the might of the Times of India's much hyped Goa Real Estate Show was an unnamed Goan who, standing outside the exhibition area, was distributing pamphlets with 'Save Goa' printed on them, spreading awareness among the visitors and buyers and warning them to be extra cautious when anyone promises them a home near the sea, as it could violate the Coastal Zone Regulations, and also beware of houses on hills, as they could be in breach of the hill-cutting rules in the Town & Country Planning Act. The pamphlet that this long ranger was handing out said: "Unprecedented demand in real estate is killing Goa's natural beauty, where once existed serene beaches is now filled with concrete cement and high walls." Going a step further, he urged them to control their aspirations and profit motives to preserve a better Goa for the next generation. There seemed to be great interest in the audience at the Times of India show to know about the feelings of the locals in Goa. He mentioned that just as the real estate lobby was doing their job -- selling Goa -- he was doing his; of listening to his inner voice and spreading awareness about the socio-cultural and environmental impact of these affluent projects. There were more surprises at this Times of India event. A Delhi-based real estate developer -- GoldTouch -- advertised plans to start a complex of 70 flats in five-storeyed apartment blocks, named Ruby Residency, in the forests of Chaudi, Canacona! The developer softly mentioned that there was a 'nominal fee' of Rs 50,000 for water and electricity connection for each apartment. I was surprised by his supreme confidence in doing this kind of business in an alien state, when the director told me about ready-to-move apartments near Patnem Beach. I wondered about possible violations of the hill-cutting regulations when I was told about projects like Clairemont on the Kadamba Plateau overlooking the Mandovi river, in pursuit of providing the promised "priceless view from your apartment", each with a starting price tag of a crore of rupees (ten million) and upwards. Another surprise at the Times of India show was that many of the brochures had prices in pounds sterling! I wonder how many Indians would like to use that currency. It was very evident that there was an even greater story in the offing, of selling these properties to NRIs and, possibly, foreigners. The Chowgule Real Estate project, 'Meadows', in Paithona, Bardez, distributed CDs that started with a video of a Google Map, showing the journey from Great Britain to Paithona, Goa. It seemed like a fairytale in search of an abode. Another sad observation was the monotonous architecture of these upcoming projects. It was a typical metro architecture, expertly engineered to extract every last ounce of Floor Space Index (FSI), sacrificing aesthetics in favour of being extremely lucratively and cost effective. I wondered why Goa, unlike so many towns in Europe, doesn't have a set architecture pattern set, based on its unique Indo-Portuguese architecture displayed so wonderfully in the museum 'Houses of Goa'. Goa is all set to become a land covered with matchbox-type apartment complexes filled with pigeon boxes for Indian families. With so many real estate projects in the pipeline, all showcased at the Times of India exhibition and everyone of them priced so far above the afford-ability standards of the large Goan middle class, I wondered who would buy them. A second questions that came up in my mind was about the numerous existing problems, such as sewage, garbage disposal, malaria, pollution, traffic jams, water and electricity shortages, expensive private healthcare, drug trafficking, prostitution, foreign land mafias, etc. Will government officials, panchayats and the government be held responsible for the 'unprecedented' real estate splurge and its collateral damage in the shape of aggravation of existing problems? Or should we fix the problems first and then start the real estate bandwaggon? To change the land rules, what is the Goa government waiting for? Another land scandal, another foreign mafia expose, another exponential rise in the crime rate, even greater disparity between the rich and poor, or another 'aam admi' movement to vote the government out? All the politicians in the recent turbulent political history of Goa will be remembered for all the wrong reasons; from greed to power hunger. I often dream of seeing Goa as the most developed state in India. But then I wonder, where are the leaders to take Goa towards its rightful destiny? Perhaps many of them, driven by sheer selfishness, with no time to introspect on their actions, will be remembered as martyrs of development. Back home in Bangalore, I wondered why none of the real estate tycoons in Goa think of building sustainable and affordable homes for the poor and deprived people who stay in the slums of Chimbel, or on the slopes of Moti Dongor in Margao. Perhaps this is a trade that is only about the profit motive and greed. On introspection, I found I could relate to it, as many of my breed of IT consultants choose to work for development of global MNCs rather than those institutions working to improve the Public Distribution System, Traffic Management System, etc. All I can hope is that this realisation turns into reality. I conclude with the words of that unknown activist grimly and determinedly carrying out this lonely mission outside the Times of India Goa Real Estate Show in Delhi, "Wrong will always remain wrong, even if everyone does it. Right will always remain right, even if no one does it." -- The writer is a consultant based in Bangalore. He can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
