Quick Take
A real estate project has a defined chain of responsibility. Developers must follow approved plans, meet RERA commitments, complete required compliances and deliver the project within applicable timelines. But a project does not exist in isolation.
Once residents move in, they depend on external roads, drainage, public transport, traffic management, water supply and other civic infrastructure much of which falls outside the developer’s control. This creates an important question for Indore’s rapidly expanding growth corridors:
If a developer delivers the project on time, but the surrounding public infrastructure takes years to catch up, who is accountable?
A Project Can Be Ready Before Its Neighbourhood Is
Across corridors such as Bypass, Nipania, MR-11 and Super Corridor, private real estate development has moved rapidly.
Residential projects, high-rises and townships have added thousands of homes, while developers have built internal roads, parking, landscaping and amenities within their projects. But the infrastructure outside the project can follow a different timeline.
A completed residential project may still face:
- Inadequate external road capacity
- Traffic bottlenecks and junction congestion
- Drainage and waterlogging concerns
- Limited public transport
- Inadequate street infrastructure
- Gaps in supporting civic utilities
This creates a fundamental mismatch:
Private development can move faster than public infrastructure.
RERA Accountability Has a Clear Boundary
RERA plays an important role in making developers accountable for their projects. The promoter is responsible for delivering the project according to approved plans, applicable requirements and legally enforceable commitments. Internal infrastructure and promised amenities also form part of that accountability.
But there is an important distinction:
A RERA completion timeline applies to the project not automatically to the surrounding public infrastructure.
The road outside a project may belong to a government or local authority. A city-wide drainage network cannot necessarily be upgraded by one developer. Public bus services are not something a private housing project can independently provide beyond its own premises.
Therefore, responsibility needs to remain clearly aligned with control.
The Real Estate–Infrastructure Gap
The bigger challenge emerges when multiple projects are approved within the same growth corridor.
Imagine an area where 10 projects become 20 projects → thousands of homes are occupied → population increases → traffic rises → water and drainage demand grows.
At that point, infrastructure cannot be treated as an afterthought.
Before large-scale development gathers momentum, planners need to answer:
- Can the existing road network handle future traffic?
- Is drainage capacity sufficient?
- Can water supply support the projected population?
- What is the public transport plan?
- Which junctions will require upgrades?
- Which agency is responsible?
- By when will the infrastructure be delivered?
The issue is not simply whether infrastructure will come. It is when it will come.
Developers Also Feel the Impact
Delayed public infrastructure doesn’t only affect residents. It can affect the developer’s project as well. Poor external connectivity, traffic congestion, waterlogging or limited public transport can influence buyer perception, sales velocity and the overall attractiveness of a location.
In some cases, developers may also invest beyond their core project requirements to provide better immediate access or supporting facilities.
But there is a limit. A private developer can build a project. It cannot permanently substitute for city infrastructure.
From Project-Wise Planning to Area-Wise Planning
Indore’s next phase of expansion requires a broader approach. When large-scale residential development is approved in an emerging growth corridor, public infrastructure planning should move alongside it not years behind it.
An area-level infrastructure roadmap could establish:
Road Upgrade → Drainage Expansion → Water Supply → Public Transport → Traffic Management → Supporting Infrastructure
More importantly, citizens should be able to see:
What is planned?
Who is responsible?
What is the expected timeline?
What is the current status?
A transparent public dashboard for major growth corridors could make infrastructure delivery far more measurable.
Developer Deadline vs Government Deadline
This is where the conversation needs to evolve.
We rightly ask a developer “When will your project be completed?”
But for a rapidly developing neighbourhood, we should also be asking the relevant public agencies “When will the infrastructure supporting this neighbourhood be ready?”
The two deadlines serve different purposes.
Developer’s Deadline → Project Delivery
Government’s Infrastructure Deadline → Neighbourhood Liveability
And the coordination between them determines whether a development becomes a genuinely functional part of the city.
Indore Talk Realty Take
This is not an argument for reducing developer accountability. RERA, CC, OC and buyer protection remain essential. But accountability should not stop at the project boundary. If a developer fails to deliver what it has committed, it should be answerable.
At the same time, if a public authority’s road, drainage network, public transport or other essential infrastructure remains pending for years, there should also be measurable, time-bound accountability.
Because a developer can build a building. A developer cannot build a city alone.