Realty launches will hinge on ODPS 

After remaining sluggish since demonetization in November 2016, launches of real estate projects in Ahmedabad —residential and commercial — are likely to see an uptick this Diwali. Developers, however, fear that new projects may be adversely affected if clearance of building plans under online development permission system (ODPS) is not smoothened out. Real estate industry estimates suggest that 100-odd projects, both residential and commercial, will likely be launched during Diwali this November. “Several projects are in the pipeline and many are expected to be unveiled around Diwali,” said Ashish Patel, president of industry body GIHED-CREDAI. Realtors’ optimism stems from the fact that the industry has seen some traction with land deals being finalised and demand and as well as sales showing improvement. “New launches in Ahmedabad appears to be rising Diwali. Several projects that were on hold are likely to hit the market as inventory levels have reduced. Property prices have remained stable in Ahmedabad and demand is also good,” agrees Balbirsingh Khalsa, director – Ahmedabad, Knight Frank India, New launches last Diwali had taken a major hit as realtors were grappling with compliance issues pertaining to the new RERA, and goods and services tax (GST). “Developers have come to terms with RERA and GST now. Sales have seen an improvement. New launches will pick up n Diwali,” added Dipak Patel, former president of GIHED-CREDAI. “A lot depends on quick clearance of building plans through ODPS. The technical problems in it have slowed down building plan approvals considerably. If the issues are not sorted out by the state government, there may actually be a decline in launches,” Ashish Patel added. Since the launch of ODPS this May, only 75 of 337 building plan applications in Ahmedabad have been approved, due to software problems in the ODPS. Under the previous system of manual scrutiny, about 215 plans were passed every month in Ahmedabad. The Ahmedabad real estate market has already seen a considerable drop in launches of residential units, which declined by 29% to 1,323 units in January-June 2018, compared to 1,874 units in the same period of 2017. The number of launches dipped to its lowest level from its peak in January-June 2011.