No slowdown in Pimpri-Chinchwad, PCMC collects record revenue from building permissions
Updated: April 2, 2018 5:36 am
WHILE the Pune Municipal Corporation has collected only 40 per cent of its target of Rs 1,400 crore from building permission charges by the end of the 2017-2018 financial year, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has not only achieved cent per cent target but even exceeded it by 10 per cent. Collection of a higher amount from building permission charges reflected that there was no slowdown in the realty sector in Pimpri-Chinchwad, said civic officials.
The PCMC had set a target of collecting Rs 405 crore by the end of the fiscal year. However, it has collected Rs 453 crore, 11 per cent more than the set target. Civic officials said the figure of Rs 453 crore was the highest in civic history, and was Rs 192 crore more than what was collected during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, when the PCMC had collected Rs 261 crore. In 2015-2016, the PCMC had collected Rs 286 crore from building permission charges.
Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said higher collection from building permission charges meant that in the RERA regime, the real estate projects were being registered. “It seems to be an outcome of the RERA regime, where legalised projects are the order of the day,” he said.
PCMC Joint City Engineer Rajan Patil said several residential and commercial projects were underway in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “In areas such as Pimple Saudagar, Wakad, Pimple Nilakh, Pimple Gurav, Tathawade or Chikhali… several residential and commercial projects are coming up…,” he said. “In fact, the collection of Rs 453 crore from building permission charges is the highest in the history of the PCMC, which shows that realty sector is doing brisk business,” said Patil.
Hardikar said while Pimpri-Chinchwad remained a favoured e destination for flat buyers and investors, some sections of the real estate sector had seen a slowdown. “In the affordable housing sector, there is no slowdown and there is a high demand for flats… Flats worth Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh are in greater demand than those in the premium sector, where the flat rates are up to and beyond Rs 1 crore,” he said.
A large number of premium flats have remained unsold and “the focus has shifted to affordable flats,” said the civic chief.
In January, builders’ association CREDAI-Pune had urged the state government not to hike Ready Reckoner rates due to the slump in the market and low property sales. “They should maintain the same rate as last year… as the realty sector is going through a bad phase,” CREDAI had said in a letter to the government. On Saturday, the government announced that RR rates will not be hiked.
Source : The Indian Express
