Some people have nothing better to do but complain

There are a lot of places like Navi Mumbai and Rajarhat in Kolkata. They have the potential,but they need a good government and a good policy. Why was Gurgaon developed? Because the Haryana government made policies that was conducive to development. The atmosphere has to be made like that. Patna is a good place,but the regional planning is bad. Prices are high,we are making a slum into another slum. That is not real planning. There should be another Patna made from the existing Patna. Like in Bhopal,there is a new Bhopal around the highway. The same with Indore and Gwalior. They have good city planning and good infrastructure. This again is a job for a regulator.

There is also talk of you starting a public offer.

There are a lot of companies in India whose turnover is far less than us who are into IPO. I am happy that we arent. Real estate industry as a whole is not mature enough to go for IPO. In the real estate industry,as soon as you get clearance of land,you start selling the project,you start getting the money. Your project is funded by the bank as well as the buyer and a bit of your own cash. IPO is just branding a brand. We are going to go for IPO but not in real estate. We are going to go for the hotel industry. See,in the hotel industry there is a gestation period of three years. You wont get anything till the construction is complete and you throw it in the market. You cant get 100 per cent funding for these projects and then we may think of IPO

Developers have been accused of altering plans and deviating from what was originally projected. What is your take on this?

Generally,developers dont deviate from the brochure much. In India,the culture of staying in societies is not very old. Staying in an apartment has good and bad aspects. The bad part includes the developers mentality,in which you can include me. The developer is a businessman,he wants to make money. He doesnt want to loose buyers or their good will. I know the mentality of these residents. At least there is some line you should draw,and that line you cannot draw in a consumer society.

Your company also has a history of problems with RWAs in your projects.

Everywhere RWAs have problems. If some angel comes and says,Mr Sharma you have to pay Rs 50,000 a month for an RWA in each your projects,I can write on a stamp paper and say For the whole life I will pay. The RWA is only made to abuse the developer. The RWAs should undertake some of the work. But then there is a financial aspect. They do not want to pay. Out of 350 people living in a society,10 people have nothing better to do but send you mails and telephone calls complaining. But in my case,in Amrapalis case,they will buy their next home with us. They will abuse us,but will buy only with us.

Are you able to put across your point of view to the government adequately?

We put our views across to the government through various trade bodies like CREDAI and NAREDCO. They are quite effective. However,these arent mature organisations as they are very new. We provide our own studies and suggest it to the government through these bodies.

Does their lobbying work?

It doesnt work as a lobby. Everyone is afraid of the government,No one can fight with them. But the associations do a good job. If the lobby was strong,no project is going to be delayed. I wont blame anyone,but the synchronisation between government departments is lacking in every state. No state is ideal for development.