Plan for cities for 100 years, think big and create bigger spaces: DLF’s KP Singh

K.P. Singh of DLF Ltd, the country’s largest listed real estate developer, believes India needs to completely overhaul its approach to urbanization. “Plan big, but enforce plans with rigidity. In my view, a complete reorientation of thinking is required in urban planning at the top level," he told Mint.

In his new book Why the Heck Not, co-authored with Aparna Jain, Singh urges Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a high-powered cabinet rank committee to prepare a blueprint for the development of urban infrastructure in all major cities that can support $5 trillion economy. “With a clarion call, I beseech our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently convene a high-powered cabinet ranking committee, composed of farsighted planners and developers from the private sector in every major city, along with environmentalists of repute, all of whom should possess the experience or capability of envisioning India 100 years from now," Singh said.

“Plan for cities for 100 years, think big and create surplus bigger spaces," Singh, chairman emeritus at DLF, told Mint, as the book hit the stands.

The 95-year-old billionaire emphasized that there is no shortage of spaces but there is a shortage of vision. “India’s position in every aspect of urban infrastructure should be based on future thinking. You think ahead, but how much ahead, I say 100 years," he said.

“This (big thinking) cannot be done by people who have grown in scarcity, myopic thinking, bigger vision has to come from the top," he cautioned.

He cited the examples of roads in Lutyens’ Delhi and Chandigarh where “you don’t see traffic mess even today." The reason, he said, was that when it comes to urban planning, one needs to think far ahead, and the people who planned these roads were visionaries.

If a mistake is made at the time of initial urban planning, course correction may be difficult, Singh cautioned.

“Initially, therefore, you have to plan much bigger than what you think. And as time goes by, you cannot make roads that are narrow, and cannot demolish those houses. In urbanization if a mistake is made at the time of initial planning, it is very difficult to set it right," he said.

“India will grow more than $5 trillion, take it from me. Entrepreneurs will grow India. But, what will happen to this infrastructure?" he asked.

He pointed out that the Mckinsey Global Institute had in 2010 said that India needs to build one Chicago, a large, populous US city, every year to meet its urban development needs.

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“But after that not a single city has come up. My gut feeling is that it may not come also. To make a city is the most difficult job - but when you think of new cities, it requires planning, how to get the land, amass land, it is difficult to arrange money, and how to have confidence in people. Take the case of Lavasa… they could not do... Sahara City failed, it is not necessary that every city you make will be a success story, it has to be done very well," he said.

Eviction of tenants and redevelopment in cities

His advice to scores of real estate developers undertaking redevelopment projects is that people cannot be forced out of their homes. “In my view, it is the art of negotiating…your ability to convince so that they leave amicably," he said.

On wealth creation through land

Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh, K.P. Singh’s father-in-law, had anticipated the post-independence influx of migrants into the city and the subsequent surge in housing demand. He knew that providing land for housing was going to be a massive business opportunity. It is this vision that led to the establishment of the Delhi Land & Finance (DLF) in 1946.

From then on, “whoever associates with DLF—it was the farmers first, then the property owners and even the government, because you finance them through external government charges—anyone who associates with you—you must ensure that they also must profit from you," Singh said.

“Whoever bought property from us, there was largescale appreciation—that happened due to one factor—there was a shortage of properties in the market. In Delhi, ₹4 per square yard was the price of land after Independence. In Gurgaon, the first sale started at ₹80 a yard," he said.

On PM Modi, Elon Musk, and Jack Welch

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “I think Mr Modi is steering the government very well notwithstanding the compelling pressures of state federalism."

Elon Musk “is a genius," he added.

Speaking of his association with Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) who passed away in 2020, Singh said that the association “led to major gains to the country and I just accidentally got involved."

K.P. Singh played a significant role in India's first inter-state gas pipeline project—the HBJ gas pipeline. He also advised GE on other businesses such as power generation, aviation, locomotives, defence, aerospace, medical equipment and consumer durables. He was also on GE’s international advisory board as well as their national adviser. He was, in a way, instrumental in bringing GE to India.

On the KP Singh Foundation

In 2020, Singh set up the KP Singh Charitable Foundation to support the vulnerable sections of society in the country.

“Earlier, I set up the DLF Foundation, then I thought I should do something more. The intent is to give scholarships to talented kids, preferably from the vulnerable sections of society, identify talent and then handhold them to help them succeed," he said.

“We hope over a period of time, it will be a large initiative, something similar to the Rhodes Scholarship," he said.

“We are also evaluating working on women empowerment. The direction is to do a few things but to do them well, from small areas, grow to bigger areas. We are following the principle that you must bite as much as you can chew," he added.

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He said a ‘substantial’ amount has been committed to the foundation, without disclosing the details.

Advice to companies wanting to launch an IPO

He believes launching IPOs (initial public offerings) is a “good thing" and that more real estate firms will want to go in for an IPO “because after RERA, it is quite cleaner, but it will certainly take time for more companies to come forward to go in for IPOs."