Sukhraj Nahar, Chairman & Managing Director, Nahar GroupFor this company, there’s only one way to go: up! Having built over 5 million sq ft of residential and state-of-the-art industrial properties in Pune, Mumbai and other parts of India, today Nahar Group is constructing almost 1 million sq ft of space annually. Besides the residential and industrial segments, the group also plans to venture into commercial properties in the future. Sukhraj Nahar, Chairman and Managing Director, shares his views on the company’s upcoming projects, its future plans and the current realty market with Shubhangi Bidwe.Tell us about your recently launched project Yvonne. What is its USP?Yvonne, a luxurious residential tower at Nahar’s Amrit Shakti in Chandivali, Powai, Mumbai, is a significant addition to our residential townships. Its USP is the colossal size of its apartments. Located on one of the largest podiums in India, the project is being built on an area of about 5.15 lakh sq ft and will have a grand view of the landscaped gardens, open spaces, exquisitely designed water bodies and thriving greenery.How does the company benefit from the 20/80 scheme for residential towers?Nahar Group pioneered this housing loan scheme for its township project Nahar Amrit Shakti around seven years ago. The scheme was launched in collaboration with HDFC and enables home-buyers to resolve their most critical need of finance. It also ensures the timely sale of our flats. Over 50 per cent of our customers at Nahar’s Amrit Shakti have availed of this facility.Having forayed into the affordable housing segment, you will be developing a township of 1,000 houses in Ambernath. What will be its salient features?One unique feature of our township in Ambernath is the beautiful and scenic backdrop of the hills. Also, the vast expanse of land available enables us to offer reasonably priced apartments with several amenities for leisure, sports and shopping. The project Sarvodaya Nagar is conveniently located from Ambarnath and Badlapur, and will have 1,000, 1/2/3 BHK space-efficient apartments in each of the 16 buildings of six stories each. In addition to a huge parking space, its other amenities include a play area for children, clubhouse, indoor games facility, swimming pool, shopping area and common area power back-up.What’s the status on the Nahar Amrit Shakti Township project? How many more developments are you planning in it and what will be its total size?Currently, we have completed over 3,000 apartments in 40 luxury residential towers and buildings in this township. We have taken into consideration all current as well as future requirements of its residents by providing them with world-class education, healthcare, shopping, entertainment and recreation facilities. These include a departmental store, medical centre, the Nahar ICSE School, a multiplex and a business centre. In addition to an office complex, we are also planning to develop service apartments in the project.The podium of this township is designed to house 22 luxurious residential towers, and will have a three-storey parking facility for 4,000 cars below the ground floor level. This will prevent car movements or parking level, thus allowing residents to enjoy uninterrupted walks in the surroundings. Another distinctive feature is a 50,000 sq ft clubhouse equipped with a gym, swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, indoor games area, fine dining restaurants and other facilities. On its completion, this clubhouse will be one of the largest clubs in any residential complex in Mumbai.Also, the company is yet to foray into the construction of commercial complexes like malls and hotels. Any plans in that direction?Our township project in Chandivali, gives us immense scope to build commercial complexes for our residents. We are already developing a multiplex and a business centre in here, and an office complex and service apartments will be included in future. Similarly, plans for a mall and a hotel are in the offing. Besides Mumbai, we plan to launch major residential projects in Pune and Chennai in 2012.What’s your take on the current realty market in India? Do you see an improvement after last year’s sluggish period?Despite reservations in some quarters, we foresee a promising future for the Indian realty sector. Our optimism stems from increasing demand in all real estate segments, strengthening of the dollar and other currencies in 2011, significant rise in lending to the housing segment by Indian banks, and improvement in Indian infrastructure.Fact Sheet:Year of Establishment: 1973No. of employees: 148Top Management (Promoters): Sukhraj Nahar, Chairman & Managing Director; Manju Yagnik, Vice ChairpersonCentre of operation: MumbaiOngoing Projects:Townships: Nahar's Amrit Shakti, Chandivali; Sarvodaya Nagar, MulundUpcoming Projects:Yvonne, Burberry & Bryony (residential towers at Nahar's Amrit Shakti); Nahar Insignia, Chennai; Nahar Greens, PuneKnow of a builder who made it big in the industry? Write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com