Why your Gurgaon real estate investment could start stinking in another 10 years. Here are 4 smelly facts!

All that glitters is not gold. Old jungle saying. 

One of our colleagues recently returned from a long trip. He was canoodling around UK, meeting friends and family. Amidst all the catching up, he met people, NRIs and foreign nationals mostly who wanted to invest in Indian Real Estate. So what is the incentive, we asked him.

"India is looked at by these blokes as a place where you simply double your investment in 5 years. Period. Yes, a guy from Qatar would not look at working with governments here. But a guy from UK could be open to work with governments in India. The ways and methods are varied but the core remains the same. Invest a dollar today. Get 2 dollars after 5 years. Simple arithmetic", our man replied in a very matter of fact kind of way. He also added that Delhi NCR was a prime investment zone with Gurgaon topping the charts.

Some Smelly Facts contradicting the 5 years double your money scheme:

#1. In 2006, the water level in Gurgaon had fallen to 51 metre (m) below ground level. The Central Groundwater Board had projected that if the water table hit the 200 m mark, Gurgaon would be left with nothing but dry rocks.

An analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) suggests that something like that might happen sooner than later. By 2011, the millennium city of the National Capital Region had over 30,000 tubewells sucking out a phenomenal amount of groundwater (an estimated 70-230 million litre per day), leading to a decline in the water table by 1.2 metre (m) every year.

However, all your real estate contacts will tell you that Rs. 1.5 Crore is a lower than required budget for a 3 BHK apartment in upmarket Gurgaon. Holy Heavens. We spoke to some people living in such apartments and they told us two things. 1. When you live in a DLF home, power and water are nothing to worry about. The generator back up is 100% and so is the water supply in your tap, tub and jacuzzi. The Olympic size swimming pool is always up to the brim. 

"Hey, we even have a weekly rain dance thingy. All is good. 2. If there is a water and power shortage, it must be temporary and not a matter of concern.", says a cool IT consultant living in Gurgaon's Sector 56...

#2. As per official estimates, in 2021 the NCR township, with a population of 3.7 million, will have a water demand of 666 million litres per day (MLD). From where will it get this water? We asked around and found that only the One Above has that answer. Even with the upcoming Chandu Budhera plant, Gurgaon will only be able to treat and supply 573 MLD. 

What’s more worrying is that all these figures might be way off the mark, as civil society groups point out. An estimation done by the Joint Association of Federation of Residents Welfare Associations (JAFRA) puts the 2021 demand at a mind numbing 1,080 MLD! That, dear friend is like diverting a full river to Gurgaon. A river flowing with Bisleri!

You should also know that almost 70% of all water used is discharged as waste. This waste, today, is mostly free flowing and happily joining the potable water resources back again, ensuring that it slowly kills you and your children as you use up thousands of litres in that rain dance party you hosted. Thank you!

#3. By 2021, the township will be generating 533 MLD of sewage. But it will have a capacity to treat a mere 255 MLD, presenting the frightening prospect of sewage overflows – literally, a city drowning in its excreta.

#4. The Indian facts and figures, thanks to amazing inter departmental coordination and constantly greasy palms is quite like the 2008 economic collapse. You think that everything is pink and glowing, till one fine morning, you realize it was just cancer eating you up all the time. Here is an example - The estimates vary: while officially, in 2005-06, groundwater constituted just 6 per cent of Gurgaon’s supply, according to the Central Groundwater Board, almost 70 per cent of the city’s supply came from ground sources.

The writing is on the wall. With global warming and the general Gurgaon weather (try it for a couple of days without that AC running full time and you will know what we are talking about) the need for electricity and water is only going to rise. Meteorically.

The diesel that runs the gensets, giving you 100% power back up and isolation from the truth (not peace of mind) is going to be so expensive that you would be paying 20 grand a month in 2020 just to watch TV in your air conditioned bedroom.

Add to that the fact that you would be able to flush the loo twice a day only. Imagine the stink!

Now, what kind of a dolt do you think would pay Rs. 6 crores for your 3 BHK investment in Gurgaon in 2020? Not us. Not anyone. This is not a mere thought provoking write up. It is a train at the end of the tunnel. Coming towards you, to total your home, your investment and your life in 10 years' time.

Get it? You should!