BUYING A HOUSE IN PUNE - Part
18
THE POLLUTION FACTOR
Musings
of a Clueless Novice Self-Styled Property Guru Part 18
Continued from
POLLUTION AND YOUR HOME
Are You Buying a Polluted House
Home Buying Tips from a Clueless Novice
Self-Styled Property Guru Part 18
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Disclaimer:
I am a simple end-user novice and not an expert in Real Estate and these are my
personal views. Please take my views with a pinch of salt and take your own
views into consideration before you make any property decisions.
There are many factors you consider while buying a house, in particular
when selecting the location of your home.
I am sure you take into account various exoteric aspects like:
1. Class and Type of Locality (Status Value, Snob Appeal and Standard of Living Factors)
2. Amenities, Facilities and Social Infrastructure (Quality of Life Factors)
3. Connectivity and Proximity to your Workplace, Children’s Schools, Marketplace,
Closeness to Residences of Relatives and Friends, Public Transport and
Commuting Time (Convenience Factors)
4. Financial Factors like Price,
Affordability and Investment Merit (appreciation and rental value)
5. Reputation of the Builder and Developer and Quality of Construction (Reliability Factors)
6. Architectural and Design Facets (Aesthetic
Factors)
In addition to various exoteric factors, you may also consider some esoteric concepts like Vaastu Shastra and Feng Shui.
But tell me, do you think of POLLUTION
when you buy a house?
Health is more important than Wealth, and pollution can affect your
health.
You can earn back lost money, but health once lost is lost forever.
So
while financial aspects like property rate and appreciation prospects are
important, you must factor in the pollution aspect as well while making property
buying decisions, especially if you are an end-user and from the long term perspective.
TYPES OF POLLUTION
There are 9 types of Pollution
you must consider while buying a home:
1. AIR POLLUTION
2. WATER POLLUTION
3. SOIL or LAND POLLUTION
4. NOISE POLLUTION
5. ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION or
ELECTRO-POLLUTION
6. THERMAL or HEAT POLLUTION
7. LIGHT POLLUTION
8. OLFACTORY POLLUTION
9. VISUAL POLLUTION
In a nutshell, let us see the sources and effects of each of the above
types of Pollution relevant to the context of residential property.
1. AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution can be in the form of particulate matter such as dust or in the form of gases and vapours.
In cities, Vehicle Exhaust is
the major cause of air pollution. With ever-increasing traffic, Diesel, Petrol
and Gas Fumes are densely prevalent in urban areas.
Dust and Debris from
ongoing construction work is a major source of air pollution especially in the
newly developing suburbs of a city where extensive new construction,
redevelopment or infrastructure building activity is in progress.
Air Pollutant Gases and Vapours may be present near Industrial Areas,
Manufacturing Units, Distilleries, Chemical Factories, Steel Plants and Oil
Refineries and even near places like crematoriums, brick kilns, Garbage Bins
and Rubbish Dumps, Solid Waste Processing Units etc where items are burnt.
Air Pollution can seriously affect health, especially in children,
causing and exacerbating various ailments, especially lung diseases and asthma.
2. WATER POLLUTION
Water pollution involves contaminated water, whether from chemical,
particulate or bacterial matter that degrades water quality and purity.
When buying a house you must check up the source of water supply.
Is properly treated water from the municipal water treatment plant being
supplied to the building or is it being sourced from bore-wells or some other
place.
In Pune, there have been cases where possession of houses has been given
without (or before) the connection of safe and treated potable water from the
municipality.
In cases where the water is sourced from local or underground water
bodies, soil pollution, infectious organisms and organic material decay may
cause water pollution.
Water Pollution can also be caused by defects in plumbing (where sewage
or contaminated water seeps into potable water lines).
The effects of water pollution on your health can be quite severe and
cause diseases like jaundice.
3. SOIL or LAND
POLLUTION
Soil Pollution sources include Garbage Dumps, Hazardous Waste, Sewage Spills,
Pesticides and Dumping during construction activity.
Soil Pollution degrades hygiene and exacerbates other types of pollution
including air, water and olfactory pollution.
4. NOISE POLLUTION
In Urban India, Noise Pollution is one of the most serious forms of
pollution which is increasing at an alarming rate.
Sources of Noise Pollution include Road Traffic Noise, Air Traffic, Rail
Traffic, Industrial Noise and irritating Noise created due to ongoing
Construction Work.
In India,
one of the main sources of Noise Pollution is Neighbourhood Noise.
Neighbourhood Noise can be due to proximity of Religious Places which
may use loudspeakers for Devotional Music or Call for Prayers or during
celebrations and festivities.
Noise Pollution due to Community Noise increases during the festivals,
celebrations and marriages due to cracker bursting and loud music.
Marriage Halls, Recreation Grounds, Restaurants, Eateries, Liquor Shops,
Bars and Discos, Night Life Entertainment Places, Cinema Halls, Educational
Institutions like Schools and Colleges and Commercial Places are sources of
Neighbourhood Noise too.
Living in a “Noisy Neighbourhood” can be a continuous irritant and
annoyance which can affect your mood and take a toll on your health.
If your house is near a road, airport or railway line, be prepared for
perpetual noise from various annoying sounds like honking of horns, flying
aircraft, passage of trains and plying of vehicles.
If your house is near or above a parking lot or a busy road
intersection, be prepared for unremitting house pollution.
In India,
vehicular traffic is a big source of noise pollution.
Are you prepared to live in a noisy neighbourhood?
Or do you desire to live in a calm and quiet place?
You must consider both present and future Noise Pollution while
selecting your home.
Today the place may seem quiet, but as the area gets developed the noise
level may increase tremendously.
Today’s quiet neighbourhood may turn into a place of chaotic cacophony.
In most cities in India, noise pollution levels in residential areas is way
above the safe norm due to poor urban planning and in some areas the noise may
reach hazardous levels.
Noise pollution affects both health and behaviour – noise pollution
affects you physically and mentally and causes you stress and hypertension.
Noise Pollution can damage psychological health, cause annoyance and
aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep
disturbances, and other harmful effects. Besides affecting your health and
disturbing your peace of mind, Noise Pollution can seriously degrade your
lifestyle.
5. ELECTROMAGNETIC
POLLUTION or ELECTRO-POLLUTION
Electromagnetic Pollution or Electropollution is a relatively new form
of pollution.
Electropollution occurs due to Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) from
various sources like Mobile Cell Phone Towers, Electricity (HT) Power Lines,
Radar, Microwave and Various Communication Lines and Transmission Antennas that
are proliferating in urban areas which create Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)
around your house.
Ongoing studies indicate that Electropollution may be hazardous to
health in many ways.
In the past, most transmission antennas were located outside the city
limits far away from human habitation, but nowadays with the expansion of
cities and due to modern wireless communication needs like mobile phones,
internet and wi-fi we live in an increasingly “wired world” and have transmitters
all around us.
The least you can do when you buy a house is to look around and see
whether there are any Mobile Phone Transmission Towers, Transmitting Antennas
or HT Power Pylons and Electricity Transmission Lines nearby.
6. THERMAL or HEAT POLLUTION
Thermal pollution is excess heat that creates undesirable effects over
long periods of time. Concrete Jungles due to Urban Sprawl is a major cause of Thermal
Pollution in cities. It is also caused by Heat Emitting Devices like Airconditioners,
Gensets, Electrical and Electronic Devices, Power and Refrigeration Plants and Air
Pollution Particulates that trap heat and Deforestation.
7. LIGHT POLLUTION
Light pollution is garish over-illumination of an area that is
considered obtrusive.
Sources of Light Pollution include illuminated signs and advertisement
hoardings, Malls, Mulitplexes and Night Life Entertainment Places.
At night, stand in a place and look up at the sky. If you cannot see the
stars in the sky clearly, it is indicative of light pollution.
In residential areas, light pollution can degrade your quality of life and
affect your sleep.
8. OLFACTORY POLLUTION
Olfactory Pollution (Foul Smell, Unpleasant Odour, Disgusting Stench and
Horrible Stink) can seriously affect your quality of life.
Smell the air in your house.
Go to your balcony and breathe in the air.
Does it smell pristine and pure?
There are many sources of odious and unpleasant smells like Disgusting
Stench from Sewage Lines and Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), Nauseous Smell from
Vapours due to Diesel and Gas Fumes from Petrol Pumps, Vehicles and Gensets, Toxic
Smelling Industrial Odours, Perpetual Stench from Garbage Bins, Waste
Processing Units and Rubbish Dumps, Repulsive Stink from Gutters and Drains,
Putrid Vapours from Crematoriums and Burning Debris, Foul Odours from nearby
vegetable, meat and fish markets etc
Here too you must consider the futuristic situation too and see what is
coming up around the property in the future as the area develops.
9. VISUAL POLLUTION
Visual Pollution includes various “eyesores” and undesirable,
unattractive views which spoil the landscape.
Visual Pollution affects the aesthetic value of a place and degrades the
quality of life in certain areas.
In the premium high-end segment where home buyers pay for aesthetics,
visual pollution can impact property values.
Sources of visual pollution include anything obstructing or spoiling the
view from your house like neighbouring constructions and buildings, debris,
neglected and incomplete structures and abandoned buildings, advertisement
hoardings, power lines and mobile towers, filthy environs and repelling
surrounding areas and any such other “eyesores”.
While visual pollution may not have immediate health or environmental
effects, it can affect your mood due the constant eyesores around you. After
all, everyone wants a “room with a view”.
BUY RATHER THAN BOOK - The Pollution Point of View Home Buying Mantra
From the pollution point of view it is always better to buy a
ready-to-move-in house in a fully completed project in a built-up locality where
all buildings and infrastructure are completed and ready.
Let me exemplify the above point and also tell you a bit about the
various types of pollution with the help of a apocryphal hypothetical illustrative
example.
“A” booked a house in a pre-launch scheme, even before construction had
started.
He did this because he thought was getting the property at a lower rate.
Of course, he suffered time and cost overruns due to execution delays.
That is why they say that if you are an end-user who intends living in
the house it is always better to “buy” rather than “book”.
(Booking a house in pre-launch or under-construction stage
may be a good idea if you are an investor looking only for appreciation. You
are never going to live in the house and you may even sell it off before it is
completed if you get the profit you desire. So you won’t be bothered with
factors like Pollution unless this affects the property price or rental value)
When “A” booked the house the site was pristine tranquil quiet
unpolluted place with pure air and a beautiful view and verdant cultivated
fields all around. It was a perfect retirement paradise not far away and quite
well connected to the city.
The project was delayed due to execution delays.
Since his retirement date was fast approaching, “A” was desperate to
move into his house so he took possession and moved into his new home the
moment his flat was ready (luckily his flat was in the first building of the
project).
He moved into his flat while construction work continued full swing in
the neighbouring buildings of the project due to which he suffered air pollution due the dust and debris
and noise pollution due the noisy
construction machinery.
(“A” suffered asthmatic attacks and was driven
crazy by the constant irritating noise which caused him mood swings).
The municipal water line had not yet been connected (since the project
was not fully complete) so water was temporarily sourced from a borewell due to
which “A” was subjected to water
pollution and soil pollution.
(“A” got a bout
of jaundice due to this and his health was affected quite badly for a few months)
A Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) was soon commissioned under his flat and
poor “A” was engulfed in the foul smelling stink 24/7 (Olfactory Pollution)
(“A” felt claustrophobic as he had to keep his
windows closed because of this terrible stink – despite this the foul odour
from the STP was all pervading)
In due course, a mobile antenna tower cropped up in the adjacent plot
opposite his balcony. “A” was thus subjected to Electropollution and also to Visual
Pollution since the tower was an eyesore which spoilt the beautiful view.
Later, the place would turn into a dense concrete jungle (thermal pollution).
Soon, the place would be surrounded by commercial places, entertainment
joints, hotels, lounge bars, restaurants and busy roads choked with traffic (further Noise Pollution, Air Pollution, Olfactory Pollution, Visual Pollution and Light Pollution)
“A” never imagined that his “dream house” which he had contemplated as a
tranquil pristine “retirement paradise” home would turn out to be such a
polluted house. He had never imagined that the all-pervading pollution would affect his health and lifestyle.
So, Dear Reader, if you are an end-user who intends to live in the house
you want to buy, do consider the Pollution Factor along with all the other
aspects. Do take a futuristic view of pollution, and remember, at least from
the pollution point of view, it is better to buy a fully completed house in a
well developed locality rather than book at the pre-launch or
under-construction stage.
HAPPY HOUSE HUNTING
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
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About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
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