State to soon build homes for elderly…..Shalini Nair
Will ensure affordability, says minister
Will ensure affordability, says minister
Maharasthra may be on its way to becoming the first state in the country where the state government is set to foray into construction of dedicated housing for senior citizens.
While the trend of senior citizen housing has been rapidly emerging in India in recent years, so far only private players have capitalised on the growing demand from the segment. Housing Minister Sachin Ahir said the government involvement will bring in the added dimension of affordability.
The housing scheme will be an extension to the draft policy for senior citizens being prepared by the social justice department. Last Thursday, officials from the department as well as the housing department held the first meeting to chalk out a possible model for creation of such homes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
We are exploring various options. One is where the social justice department could provide grants for senior citizens groups who want to construct such colonies, said Ahir. In the second model, MHADA would create houses through joint ventures with landowners in the peripheral areas of Mumbai. Ahir said such a housing scheme is the need of the hour owing to the trend of nuclear families and the subsequent need to provide a secure environment for the elderly. In the light of the increasing number of crimes against elderly, it will be easier for the police to provide security and keep tabs in colonies for senior citizens.
There are barely any dedicated residential societies for the elderly in the MMR barring the Dignity Lifestyle Retirement Township at Neral in Raigad district. Pune has a few projects for senior citizens, such as five Athashri housing projects by Paranjape Schemes and Ashiana Housings project in Lavasa City. Such homes have wheelchair-enabled designs with skid-free flooring and grab-rails in bathrooms and balconies with add-ons such as housekeeping, laundry and medical camps. A few also provide for medical emergencies and geriatric care by way of doctors and ambulances. For instance Fortis has a tie-up with the retirement home project, The Golden Estate in Faridabad, for providing priority healthcare at preferential rates for residents.
Saumyajit Roy, head of social infrastructure at JLL, said that in the US almost 12 per cent of the senior citizens live in residential projects designed specially for them, while in India there are not more than 10 such projects operational. On a pan-India level, developers have over the past few years launched retirement projects mainly in Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Chennai and Hyderabad, he said. He added that affordable areas such as Kalyan-Dombivli, Virar in MMR have tremendous potential for such projects both due to lack of supply and proximity to Greater Mumbai.
Shashank Paranjape, managing director of Paranjape Schemes, said while the first such colonies were luxurious gated communities aimed at the elite, many developers are now constructing houses for the middle classes. The real demand is from the middle class as they live in smaller homes and there is always a need for more space at an affordable price. Such self-contained complexes provide a complete support system and assisted living for senior citizens, he said.
The homes in these integrated townships are mostly on ownership basis. A few also offer retirement homes on lifetime lease model such as Life Insurance Company Housing Finance Limiteds 10-acre retirement village in Bangalore and upcoming projects in Bhubaneswar and Jaipur as well as Acron Groups retirement complex Vivara residence in Goa and proposed ones at 10 locations including Coorg, Pondicherry and Kerala.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/state-to-soon-build-homes-for-elderly/871753/0