Commonwealth Village: Dream or Nightmare?

As Delhi is gearing up for the Commonwealth Games, all eyes are set on the Commonwealth Village which promises state of the art facilities specially designed to be the home for over 8000 finest athletes of the participating countries.

Clausura Commonwealth Games - 99.JPG
Photo by anselmogz
It is being constructed in partnership between the Emaar MGF and the Delhi Development Authority. It’s being built next to the very famous Akshardham temple with easy access to and from south and central part of the capital. The village consists of 34 towers spread around 27 acres of land that have 1168 flats (2-5BHK) with five star amenities. It is full of plush green lawns, a swimming pool which could host competitions as well and that’s saying something, a world class health club with fully equipped gymnasium, tennis court, basketball court, kid’s crèche, play area and what not.

It was said that after the games are over the village will serve as the hostel for the students of Delhi University. The plan looks on hold as of now.

The approximate prices of the houses eyed by the real estate players are:

2 BHK (1443 sq. ft.) – Rs. 13250/- sq. ft. (Approx. Rs. 1.85 cr onwards)*
3 BHK (2092 sq. ft.) – Rs. 13250/- sq. ft. (Approx. Rs. 2.60 cr onwards)*
4 BHK (2535 sq. ft.) – Rs. 14000/- sq. ft. (Approx. Rs. 3.50 cr onwards) *
5 BHK (3278 sq. ft.) – Rs. 15000/- sq .ft. (Approx. Rs. 4.50 cr onwards)*

*Preferential Location Charges as applicable

But the candy of the eye will be the village going green. The building will be certified ‘Green’. On Saturday the Chief Minister inaugurated a 66/11 kV grid sub-station that will provide uninterrupted power supply. The Rs. 40 cr sub-station has been constructed by the power distribution company, BYPL, in a record time of 13 months.

She expressed confidence that the Commonwealth Games would prove to be a “memorable event and will be able to showcase Delhi as a developed, historical, modern and vibrant city.”

But to all this there is a flip side as well, the Environmentalists claim it’s not a smart thing to build these massive buildings on the banks of the Yamuna. They believe that the village will hamper the flow of groundwater that replenishes the seasonal river, effectively choking it which in turn will increase the shortage of water supply in the city.

Anyways amidst all this the excitement and the speed of preparation for the games the nature has been left to the mercy of gods and the babus. The city people can just sit, pray and watch.

Emaar MGF Launches New Project in NCR


Photo by paul goyette
India`s one of the leading Real Estate Developers, Emaar MGF Land, recently announced the launch of a new mid-income family housing project `Palm Hills` in NCR.

It will be located on NH-8 at a prime location in Sector 77, Gurgaon. The total investment will be Rs 500 cr on an area spread over 29 acres with the scenic view of the Aravalli Hills.Palm Hills are located at only a 20 min drive from Delhi`s International Airport and surrounded with green landscaped areas with Spanish styling architecture.

Palm Hills offers to house about 1250 units with an expectation to rise up to Rs 3,850 cr. With a starting price of Rs 48 lacs the company has already sold 650 units in the first phase. These apartments will give a feeling of a villa with unique features that no other developer serves. These will include 3BHK and 4BHK apartments with 1450sq ft to 1950 sq ft per villa. The villas have efficient floor plans and offer the choice to make amendments to maximize living space.

“The launch of Palm Hills marks the obligation of Emaar MGF to continuously develop properties with modern design concepts and gives the experience of living in a gated master planned community a new definition.”  Said Mr. Shravan Gupta, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emaar MGF. He further added that “The exhilarating response on the very first day of the project launch is an indication to the predominating huge demand for quality housing in the mid-market segment”.

The rocketing success of Emaar MGF can be guessed by taking a look at their reserves. They have a land bank of 11,340 acres including the Commonwealth Games Village. They are currently working on 29 projects.

Emaar MGF which is a joint venture between domestic firm MGF and Dubai-based Emaar Properties is planning to utilize Rs 1,972 cr for part re-payment of debt of over Rs 5,800 cr. It will also be investing Rs 276.8 cr in paying development and license renewal charges in the coming year.