Why the heck not? DLF chairman emeritus KP Singh seems to have lived by this maxim, using it as an apt title for his new book as well. Sitting dapper at the book’s launch on Thursday, the real estate baron is ready for an evening king-size, complete with a police band.
His life and work have been that as well in magnitude, and as his company, DLF, is set to launch the country’s costliest residential project, The Dahlias in Gurugram (at Rs 80,000 per square feet), does he look back in satisfaction at the legacy he has created? “My legacy is to be better than the best, and that is how I have shaped my company,” he said in an exclusive interaction.
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Credited to be the man behind Gurugram, Singh, however, regrets in the book that Gurugram’s civic infrastructure has not kept pace with its glitzy towers. Asked if the millennium city would have looked different had he had the political powers of a Partap Singh Kairon (who is credited with building Chandigarh), Singh said: “Yes, definitely. We need to look at the next hundred years when planning urban development. But unfortunately, that hasn’t happened in India. Immediately after Independence, we were inspired by Russia, and thought small, making up for shortages. Nobody thought ahead that India will be on its way to becoming the third-largest economy.”
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He added that the private sector was discouraged, and even farmers were not compensated for their land adequately, which he said, was set right by a Supreme Court ruling that farmers have to be paid market prices for their land.
Writing that he found DDA construction in Delhi to be myopic and ignorant of the future, one wonders if Gurugram hasn’t been over-ambitious in contrast, given that the high rises lack even the basics of sewerage, drainage, roads, etc. Singh agreed, saying,
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