On the dusty roads of Noida Extension,property brokers are fast asleep or are playing with mobile phones in their tents. This wasnt the case last year when tents sprung up everywhere to announce the latest destination for affordable housing. Today,many of the tents are gone. In those that remain,brokers wait haplessly for prospective buyers to arrive and enquire about an upcoming property. Spotting a Maruti 800,Sanjay Yadav,working for Sang Real Estate Solutions,rushes from his chair with the brochure of a housing project,which is in Haibatpur village. Some from the village,taking heart from the Supreme Court verdict that struck down state acquisition of farm land in Shahberi,have also decided to move the Allahabad High Court. From their car,an elderly lawyer and his wife enquire about the fate of the housing project. Yadav tries to allay their fears. He tells them that he is from the same village and knows what its residents want. We have been given 100 per cent compensation. It is unlikely that there will be a stay on the Haibatpur projects. And if a stay does come,all that villagers will possibly ask for is a slight increase in compensation. But the lawyer is not convinced. He is carrying a list of names of villagers who have gone to court. He asks Yadav whether he or his family is on the list. Yadav doesnt look at the list he cant read English. His cousin Pintu Yadav walks up: Sir,work has already begun. The soil has been mixed with concrete and is no longer fertile. It is of no use to us. Wed rather you own a dream home. Or,you can wait till the judgment. Pintu and Sanjay Yadav are among those from Haibatpur that real estate brokers have roped in as frontline salesmen. K K Singh,an associate of Sang Real Estate Solutions,says: They help boost client confidence,which has plummeted since the SC verdict on Shahberi. The first question people ask us these days is whether a project is on disputed land. Nobody can convince them better than the villagers themselves. Today,the cousins are paid Rs 6,000 per booking they process,along with a monthly salary of Rs 6,500. Pintu has earned Rs 60,650 in the last three months. Bharat Yadav,all of 21,has earned Rs 84,500 in the same period. In an adjacent canopy of another real estate firm,Pramod Kashyap,also from Haibatpur,earns Rs 4,000 as commission per booking,and Rs 6,000 as monthly salary. There are other perks too. Our boss recently gave us tickets to watch Murder 2, says Bharat.
