HBS picks Shrachi project as case study

After picking up the largest slum in Asia, Dharavi, as a case study, Harvard Business School (HBS) will now take up four more real estate development stories from India, including the public-private partnership model in which Kolkata-based Shrachi has collaborated with the Burdwan Development Authority (BDA) to develop a township, as case studies for the class of 2010 and henceforth.

John D Macomber, lecturer, HBS, who was in Kolkata on Wednesday to interact with leading city-based real estate developers, said HBS intended to nearly double the number of real estate case studies from India, out the total 200 odd-case studies on real estate from across the world, at its library. “We are currently looking at four case studies from India, which includes Dharavi slum and Sharchi. We are also looking at business strategy for real estate companies, like whether there should be one product strategy for all studies or all whether it should be city-specific,” said Macomber. Shrachi Burdwan Developers Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company between BDA and Shrachi, is developing a satellite township, namely Renaissance, spread over 256 acres, on the outskirts of Bardwan town.

Formed in 2002, the BDA is a statutory authority under the Government of West Bengal, with the vision of developing Bardwan as an ideal destination for industry. It was instrumental in acquiring land for the Renaissance project, and Shrachi had emerged as the highest bidder for it. The project is a part of emerging markets case studies by HBS highlighting the success of urban-rural settlement model, and the challenges faced by developers in rural areas.

Macomber said, it was interesting to note the Bengal government's participation with private developers for mass-housing project, as the model was not in vogue in many developed countries or in other parts of India.