Rs 10-cr housing project in Jammu

United Build Tech Private Ltd has taken up a Rs 10-crore project to construct Heritage Apartments in the heart of Jammu. The firm claims it is the first housing company in the private sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

Heritage will have about 36 apartments of various sizes, ranging from two-bedroom to five-bedroom units. According to company sources, 80 per cent of the apartments have been sold since the booking started about two months ago.

According to Vinay Saraf, a director of the company, United Build Tech has been promoted recently to provide cluster living to the people of the state and to build a strong business in the Rs 600-crore housing sector in J&K.

So far, the major player in the housing sector in J&K had been the government, while a few private sector builders existed in the unorganised segment. United Build Tech has projected itself as the first corporate entity in the state in the business of constructing and selling apartments.

"Heritage Apartments is a new concept for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, where they will own accommodations with all the facilities one gets in metros, including 24-hour water and electricity, gate security, and a vast green patch," Saraf said.

According to C P Gupta, another director of the company, "Besides conducting business, the company aims at promoting apartment accommodation culture (vertical development) in Jammu and Kashmir and provide those facilities to the inhabitants that are enjoyed only by those living in metros.

Gupta, the brain behind the company and the project, said, "Housing in J&K is a niche industry, unexploited by the private sector so far. "With our foray into this segment, we have set certain standards, which in the coming days will only see an upward trend," Gupta added.

Gupta further said, "We expect the state government to liberalise its attitude towards private builders and promote a policy that encourages it to invest in housing.

Unless that happens, ever-growing housing needs of the people of J&K cannot be effectively addressed. And, if the government liberalises its policy, the time will be not far when big houses like DLF and Ansals will start opening shop here."