On July 2,three districts — Bhiwani and Mahendragarh in Haryana,and Bharatpur in Rajasthan were added to the 16 other districts across three states,which from the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. While the move will,in effect,bring these areas under new focus in terms of development of traffic linkages,health and drainage facilities,the ramifications will be felt beyond the confines of these three districts,and will change the contours of the real estate market in NCR.

When the urban development minister Kamal Nath announced the inclusion of the districts after a meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB),he said,“There is need to develop selected urban settlements with urban infrastructural facilities such as transport,power,communication,drinking water,sewerage,drainage. To promote sustainable development in the region,to improve quality of life,these three districts are included in NCR.”

To many involved in the real estate sector in Bhiwani,Mahendragarh and Bharatpur,the words went down well. “For several years,we have been campaigning that we be included in NCR. Essentially,what this means is,there will be an increased emphasis on connectivity to Delhi,and better mechanisms for the delivery of social services. With increasing development,will come an interest in investing in homes and office spaces,leading to a rise in prices. We are extremely happy with the development,” said Mahendra Pratap Singh,a real estate agent in Bhiwani.

While Bhiwani and Bharatpur have seen progress over the past two decades,real estate agents say that the move to include Mahendragarh is way to develop the area counted as one of the poorest in Haryana. It is one of the two districts in the state receiving aid from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF) and in 2006,and found itself counted as one of the country’s poorest districts in a study by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

An official of the district administration of Mahendragarh said,“Now Mahendragarh actually has an opportunity to develop. Thus far,the focus in terms of urban settlements have been concentrated in other areas,agriculture was the only recourse. However,the land in the district is not very fertile,and most had already turned towards trade. In the next few years,when housing colonies grow,these traders that have remained small scale,will have access to bigger markets and people with more affluence,therefore furthering the growth of the district as a whole.”

The official also spoke of the added incentive that development will occur faster,with the influx of accessible loans from the NCRPB. “With the inclusion,there will be additional funds for infrastructure projects,as well as the availability of loans at low rates for priority sectors such as urban housing,” he said.

Anil Kumar Sharma,president of real estate developer’s body CREDAI-NCR said,”It is a decision with vast ramifications for NCR. Reports have said that there will be an 11 per cent increase in urbanisation of this area by 2021 and to reduce the pressure on Delhi,there was urgent need to expand to meet future housing needs. However,the move has to be followed up with the preparation and implementation of a Master Plan as soon as possible. If that does not happen,builders will start accumulating land,leading to speculative price rise.”

The move to include the three districts in the NCR,however,has seen reactions from other satellite regions of Delhi. Builders in Noida for instance,beset by legal tangles and issues of land acquisition,are apprehensive,that buyers will head the way of these three districts.

“Greater Noida was an attractive proposition for buyers until a few years ago. Organisations like ours benefited from the fact that other satellite towns like Gurgaon became increasingly saturated,and the real estate space in Delhi itself has very high prices. However,despite there being lots of projects in Greater Noida,people have started backing out because of land acquisition issues,” said a representative of Ajnara Builders,adding that even after the Allahabad High Court allowed the building sites to continue in 61 of the 64 villages in Noida and Greater Noida,the farmers have gone in appeal to the Supreme Court. “There is a fear that buyers will look towards these three new districts,as they don’t have to face the fear of the projects they have invested in being cancelled.”

For buyers,while there is cause for optimism is the increase of housing options in the vicinity of Delhi,most have treated the news with caution. “I want to wait and watch. I intended to invest in Noida,but the land acquisition issues there threw me off. In Gurgaon,the civic amenities like roads,and sewage have not kept pace with growth. I want to first watch how these three districts handle them differently. Only then will I think about investing. I am glad,though,that the option exists,” said Raminder Singh,a trader in Delhi,who plans to retire in a few years.