As belts are tightened and spending squeezed, Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia is facing severe delays in the construction of his proposed 11,000 acre IT hub, known as Nano City. There is even a possibility that it may not be completed. If completed, the Rs500 billion development will be located at Naraingarh in Panchkula district in Haryana.
The project is a public-private partnership between the Haryana state government, the Sabeer Bhatia Group and Delhi-based real estate developer Parsvnath. Bhatia owns a 52% stake in the proposed project, while Parvsnath has a 38% stake. The remaining 10% is owned by the state government.
According to NDTV, the state government has hinted that Parsvnath may be planning to abandon the project. In a statement, the developer denied any such plans, saying: “Parsvnath Developers Limited has no intentions of pulling out of the prestigious Nano City Project.”
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Differences began arising when Parsvnath said the government had failed to provide land nearby for the project. Government officials have said they were only expected to provide 25% of the total land needed for the project, and only after Parsvnath had acquired its share of land.
“As a matter of policy, acquisition of land has to be done by the private developers on a willing-buyer, willing-seller model,” said Shiv Bhatia, spokesperson for the Haryana government, in an NDTV report. “We are in regular touch with the developers. It’s a prestigious project for the people of Haryana. There may be minor glitches here and there, but we are confident that the project will sail through.”
There have been concerns regarding project funding ever since Parsvnath bought a stake in the project. The developer’s investment coincided with a sharp drop in real estate values and a general slump in the sector.
The mission of the Nano City project is to develop a sustainable city with world class infrastructure in which innovation can be nurtured while a healthy economy, ecology and society are protected and promoted.
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