Godrej claims its apartments have 10 times purer air than outside, but they also cost a few lakhs more than standard apartments in the same Gurugram sector.
New Delhi: Real estate giants like Godrej Properties are now selling ‘clean air’ with their realty in cities like Gurugram and Bengaluru.
Godrej put out full front page ads in a national daily Wednesday for its ‘Godrej Air’ project at Sector 85 in Gurugram. It claims to offer apartments with air that is more than 10 times purer than the air outside.
A Godrej Properties representative wrote in an email to ThePrint that the company’s own survey at its Gurugram property recorded a difference of 209 μg/cubic metre in the particulate matter between the air outside and inside — 227 and 18 respectively.
The catch, however, is that an apartment at this property costs a minimum of Rs 73 lakh, whereas one in the non-air-purified Orris Astor Court in the same sector sells for approximately Rs 65.5 lakh.
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How it works
The ‘centrally treated fresh air’ system that makes this possible runs by “removing stale air, controlling levels of carbon dioxide and eliminating harmful germs up to PM2.5. At the same time, it also traps harmful bacteria and doesn’t allow it to breed again”, the representative wrote.
In addition to air purifiers, the Gurugram property also houses 16 different oxygen-producing medicinal plants and trees to heighten air quality, and “make this health and environment-conscious township complete”, the representative wrote.
Barun Aggarwal, CEO of air purifier manufacturer Breathe Easy, who is familiar with Godrej’s project, said the technology is widespread in Europe, and has been used for decades.
“They’re called heat exchangers,” he said, and added that the heat exchange process would simply need to be reversed to work in India.
Commodification of air
Access to clean air is a fundamental human right, but the possibility of a pollution-free Delhi-NCR in the future is dim at best. By commodifying air, realtors can monetise Delhi’s annual, deadly smog. And business is picking up.
Anita Kapoor, a prospective buyer of the Godrej Air property, said: “These days, clean air is the biggest issue. It’s what we want.”
So far, Godrej is among the few realtors offering an apartment complex with purer air. Earlier this year, five-star hotel The Oberoi New Delhi reopened after renovation with a similar claim of maintaining a higher air quality within.
Aggarwal believes it’s only a matter of time till other realtors follow suit.
“Air quality is becoming a major challenge. As more and more people are becoming aware of the problem, they want solutions,” he said.
“We’ve been working on several projects with commercial real estate developers as well as residential real estate developers to address it.”
Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants, agreed. “Builders are also coming up with ways to make their projects greener and pollution-free,” he said.
“As long as these new trends and the rising consciousness among the stakeholders concerned are done right and not just a marketing gimmick, the Indian real estate market welcomes all proactive steps towards greater sustainability and a healthier environment for a better tomorrow.”
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