Tatas planning ‘Nano’ houses for Ahmedabad

After shifting the main Nano manufacturing plant to Gujarat from West Bengal, the Tata Group is now planning a residential township in the state, the focus being on affordable housing.

The proposed township, which is likely to come up in Sanand taluka, will have apartments in the price range of Rs3.9 lakh to Rs6.7 lakh. These will be a room kitchen (small and large) and bedroom hall and kitchen (BHK) apartments.

Officials of Tata Housing, a subsidiary of the Tata Group of industries, told DNA on Wednesday that the company had plans to build a ‘mixed residential township’ near Ahmedabad. This announcement was made after Tata Housing launched its new venture - the first ‘Shubh Griha’ township - in Boisar near Mumbai. The company proposes to build affordable ‘value homes’ under the ‘Shubh Griha’ brand in several other cities of the country.

The size of the flats in the Boisar township will be between 283 sq ft and 465 sq ft. “But the company may increase the size of the flats in the township it plans to build near Ahmedabad if it gets land at cheap rates,” said a company official. He added that the officials of the company would be meeting state government officials after the elections, for land at subsidised rates.

Tata Housing wants to acquire around 1 lakh sq yard land in Sanand taluka, somewhere within 4-5 km of Ahmedabad city for its ‘mixed residential township’ - ‘mixed’ because it will have houses for different segments of society, including the lower and middle income groups.

In the first phase, the company plans to build around 1,500 housing units. It will decide how many more units it can build only after assessing the response to the flats built in the first phase.

The flats of the first phase would be ready in two years from the day construction work begins. Tata Housing officials said work on the first phase will start by the end of this financial year.

“It is not only because of the Nano plant coming up in Sanand that we want to build this integrated township in the state,” Brotin Banerjee, MD and CEO of Tata Housing, told DNA over the phone from Delhi. “The main reason is that the state has good overall prospects for growth and development.”

The company is also exploring the possibility of tie-ups with local developers for the proposed township or of building it in public-private partnership (PPP) with the state government. This will enable the company to build affordable flats for potential buyers, company officials said.

The township will be designed to be ‘self-sustaining’, i.e., it will have a hospital, mall, retail shops, school and all other amenities necessary for comfortable living. Facilities for recreation will also be available.