Debate

Property booms and impact

Jayantha Senevirathna

"This will be the most exciting real estate business ever," said my friend, an arrogant but a lively businessman, as we entered the site planning another kill off. It might have been the hottest noon in mid April, but the garden was comfortably warm and wet.

And, styles from the past simply created a sense of timelessness. But the insipid auctioneer interfered. "My clients are so passionate of this, and that's why they want me to spare them too much waiting," jumped in the auctioneer.

Driven by open economic fundamentals, property booms have been inspiring the most creative of architects on modern infrastructure. However, this early 19th century villa on the city suburbs hasn't given way to the trend so far.

Even during a season of stifling heat, passing views of the villa make us feel like sightseers breezing off through cool air. The beautiful structure, a city dweller's dream, has ever been the cynosure of all's eyes.

Its one thing the passers-by have set their hearts on for ever.

What's so appealing and lasting about it? We always wondered. I think it's the setting. And, for sure, it's the harmonious relationship between the environment and the dwelling.

Among the shady growth, interspersed with several grassy patches, there were small avenues, walks and steps offering fine views not only of the distant mountain range, but also of the salubrious countryside nearby. But the rapid urban sprawl and growing population saw the villa off the suburbs.

In an economy where markets set the trends and serve the basic consumer needs, cities swell. Moreover, the city is the economic hub where entrepreneur and the employer meet each other.

Decent education for children, theatre, sports and so on may make the list longer. Most important, cities offer freedom and opportunity for all. No wonder, adventurers by instinct, irrespective of race, religion or creed, humans wish to share the cake.

Migration is a time-tested technique an eager youth may try out to make his fortune, and the city invariably meets his economic needs. At the lower end of the skills spectrum, innocent village lads escape the tie of their feudal masters to land and maids from domestic labour.

Now, numerous employment opportunities are abound at fast developing industrial zones. So it invariably paves the way for a happy escape into realms where freedom, choice and independence reign.

At the high-end, thousand of ambitious youth training themselves careers in technologies have to stay in the metropolitan. It serves no purpose to go back home. Since there are no distinctive enclaves in the city, they simply assimilate and assume the urban way of life.

They also deserve some decent place (space) to live (exist). The typical suburban four-bedroom house seems rather gloomy for them, and they opt to exist in space, may be the 13th floor apartment with a balcony in the metropolitan district.

If you take each and every yuppie sipping champagne at the ballroom as an unmistakable city beast from the urban gentry, you are thoroughly mistaken.

Many are so called go-getters, high-fliers or star-performers migrated from the countryside, and more to come day-by-day. For worse, social historians have hit the nail on the fact that the tide has been one-way so far. With dogged persistence, some may end rather high-up in a condominium, while the less-blessed roost at an abandoned suburban poultry shed.

Consequently, real estate has become one of the biggest businesses in town. And, most important of all, property is by far the world's biggest single asset class.

Provided with a percentage of disposable income, for the urban middle-class, buying property is by far the safest investment they can make. Any real estate trader or broker, professional or itinerant, may offer the advice cost free round the globe. House prices have been increasing at its fastest rate ever in real terms.

Property trade has been flourishing with less respect for environment, sanitation, sewerage and other crucial infrastructure facilities.

Though sales agents boast over property sales on newspaper advertisements, many of their projects are dismal failures. Ostentatious advertorials pretend building houses as a moral issue, but disillusioned clients witness how they destroy communities. Initial verbal assurances concerning public services have never been taken seriously.

Unscrupulous estate agents certainly know how to sell things. They are so adept in matching idealistic images of poor clients with realities. Hence those lovely kingdoms appear in weekend advertorials.

My friend, the estate agent, owning several kingdoms, has become an emperor killing off many fertile suburban plantations. Many of his kingdoms are environmental disasters by being smelly, nauseating, and stinky stretches making life hell even for passersby.

Poor clients, having no concept of their right to a clean, healthy green environment, contrary to what they read over advertorials, wonders off aimlessly trying to resell their lands or partly built houses to another prospective but gullible aspirant. Thus these lists of classified advertisements in weekend newspapers are getting longer and longer. If you contact such an advertiser, you will be answered by a crooked middle man appearing for an innocent client.

An uncontrolled influx of new resident into the inner city and outskirts not only causes traffic excesses, but also a shortage in parking spaces. Then there is air, sound and water pollution. And, as the numbers are getting bigger, sewage and water disposal will also become a problem.

Since safe water supply, sanitation and drainage, solid waste management and so on are not the auctioneer's concern or expertise, severe degradation of urban land and water resources takes place day by day.

Though it's a commonplace to read, listen or see such environmental mishaps over print media, radio or television, authorities rarely response to such reminders. Housing sector's impact on the environment seems not a sensitive affair to them. Lands typically used for agriculture must be spared, and certain stretches should be left to nature.

Moreover, environmental friendliness and energy efficiency must be a serious concern as in the developed world.

At present, urban housing seems a social burden upon the lower-middle class, let alone the down trodden. And, urban infrastructure improvements must be handled by professionals rather than crude businessmen. For ordinary citizens, houses are their largest form of wealth.

Homes do much more than shelter them from wind and rain. It might be collateral for an educational loan. That's why they break their legs, fingers and sometimes backs, in the practical pursuit of building own homes.

Fragmented lands and desertified agriculture

Miran Perera

Many definitions of what constitutes sustainable development have been said and definitions of sustainable agriculture are equally plentiful. The plethora of definitions implies that there are several concepts of what constitutes sustainable land and Agriculture development.

By far the largest use is for agricultural and forestry purposes.

The most concise and acceptable definition of sustainable land management is that proposed by Greenland in 1994 which states; A sustainable land management system is one that does not degrade the soil or significantly contaminate the environment while providing necessary support to human life.

There is no hope at all in fragmenting lands as a solution to the housing problem. Instead land agglomeration is a panacea to fight the present evil. Aggregating land and running it as viable commercial units under single ownership with many units of labour is believed to be beneficial to the marginalised segments as well as the country at large. This will also help relieve the pressure on water distribution.

By using a comparable yardstick sustainable management of plantations can be defined as one that combines policies, technologies and activities aimed at integrating socio economic principles with environmental concerns so as to simultaneously enhance production and productivity, protect the potential of natural resources, reduce level of production risks, be economically viable, be socially acceptable and be politically supportable.

If any of these elements are lacking sustainable development of land and Agriculture will not be achieved. Since recent years in Sri Lanka after the open economy was introduced property development for housing and commercial purposes has gathered momentum.

Many agricultural lands are being desertified and is being fragmented and sold to get better economic returns. Vital national important plantation crops are being cleared to make way for construction purposes. This would directly affect the overall yield of cash crops such as coconut and rubber.

Production would undoubtedly deplete and we will not be able to produce to suffice even local consumption leaving alone exporting them. Sadly there is a scarcity of coconut and the price per nut has risen. Many coconut cultivators find hard to regain their inputs and the depletion of labour in such obvious circumstances make cultivation difficult for many planters.

The threshold yield of a significant proportion of the plantations still remains under exploited. The hall mark of equal development in construction and Agricultural sustainability centres on the strategies for reducing the in put load.

By adopting systems involving integrated nutrient supply and plant protection and given the operational skills of the estate personnel it should be possible to sustain a level of productivity which is in close approximation to the maximum attainable by optimising the use of input materials.

Fragmentation has compelled man to a choice of construction within limited space. Perhaps sometimes this may lead to less healthier living habits spending large sums of money.

Readymade houses by property developers with a luxurious finish has already tempted potential buyers. Sadly desertification has caused natural trees around the fragmented land to be cut and has left only a concrete jungle despoiling a much valued environment.

It is common knowledge that fragmentation and other such efforts disturbs the natural ground water reserve. A conglomeration of tube wells will lead to the unreserved consumption and dilution of unearthed water reserves proving the point of limitations on the extraction of natures bounties if life on earth was to survive.

Farmers and plantation owners should not be disheartened by reduced profit for their crops and opt for fragmentation and sale of such land. We should expect not only land agglomeration but also a gradually mechanised agricultural sector which could enhance profit.

Land and irrigation authorities should plan and develop under utilised Government and private land and launch an islandwide programme to encourage Agriculture and farming projects. The Government should make more effective use of land resources and not allow the misuse of land.

Most of the people who have encroached on State land for housing and cultivation purposes are politically influential people and although laws that restrict land ownership still exists, it has been found that there are people who own hundreds of acres of land while most farmers have less than one acre.

There is an inundation of work regarding land disputes. Most people who encroach on state land cannot afford to buy fragmented land.

There is an urgent need to balance fragmented property development and plantation Agriculture. We need a proper land policy which satisfies our economic needs. We should be in the process of drafting such a policy.

There should be a proper distribution of land among the poor or else they would be stranded as the rich plantation owners would be compelled to fragment and sell their lands. Specially it would amount to deceiving the labour is such plantations faced with housing problems.

Sadly we do not have a proper land utilisation policy. Because of this we have given the best coconut lands to set up large scale industries and industrial zones.

We should be aware that there are so many poor people who have encroached on areas such as railway lines, irrigation sites canal banks. But they are not the real problem. The real problem is the large areas of land taken by various persons who are politically or otherwise influential. Such influential people have done over 75% of the encroaching.

One of the solutions we could consider as far as the poor is concerned is to provide them land on a concessionary basis. In developed countries where there are proper land policies the governments and the experts decide the areas which are suitable for residence, agriculture and forests and they stick to these plans. No Agricultural land is given for residences or industries.

We should legalise the land utilisation policy. In the future we should plan to legalise the whole system so that politically influential people will not be able to acquire land by wrong methods.

No agricultural system especially in the land hungry Third World countries can remain in isolation from government intervention and tea and rubber are no exception.

Given the current scenario the sustainability of the conventional plantation structure as a large scale and corporate enterprises will be increasingly questioned. An examination of this scenario has a political as well as an economic dimension.

We should prepare a land policy which aligns with the national economic policy. We need to expand development activities throughout the country without restricting everything to the big cities, towns and major provinces.

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Lands: Balancing interests of property development and agriculture

Sri Lanka is developing fast. There is a huge housing and construction boom throughout the country. The burgeoning middle class is building more houses, getting away from rented houses. Commercial buildings are being built everywhere. This construction boom has naturally led to a demand for more land.

We see hundreds of advertisements for land blocks in Sunday newspapers, replete with beautiful colour photographs. These lands are often advertised as "fully developed" meaning they have been cleared, tarred and provided with water. But what the advertiser wont tell you is that the land has probably been a fertile coconut plantation or even a rubber plantation. It is also not uncommon for them to fill up marshy lands.

This has become a serious issue. On one hand there is a need for development. On the other, we have to save our remaining coconut and rubber lands which produce precious agri commodities.

This is a dilemma that the State and the public face.

What are your views on this crucial issue ? We like to hear from you as the Daily News Debate shifts its focus on to "Lands: Balancing interests of property development and agriculture." Make your views known in less than 1,000 words. 'Daily News Debate', Daily News, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, PO Box 1217, Colombo, or via e-mail to [email protected] before January 31, 2008.