What is township?
Also called: integrated township, special township, self-contained township
Townships are large planned developments, usually 100 acres or more, where homes come with schools, shops, offices and the developer's own roads, water and sewage systems. Several states give them planning concessions in return for building and running that infrastructure.
Maharashtra has the most developed township framework, and Pune shows what it produces: Magarpatta City and Amanora Park Town in Hadapsar are both townships where people live, work and send children to school without leaving the gates. Palava near Dombivli and Hiranandani Gardens in Powai are other well-known examples. In Haryana, large licensed colonies do much of the same job, and several states have their own integrated township policies.
For a buyer, the attraction is predictability. Roads, water and power are planned together, and the neighbourhood you see in the masterplan is, in theory, the neighbourhood you'll get. In practice, a township is built over 15 or 20 years, one phase at a time. The school, hospital or metro link shown in the brochure may be in a phase that hasn't started. Each phase has its own RERA registration, and only what's in your phase's registration is a binding promise.
Costs are layered. You'll pay your society's maintenance, a separate township maintenance charge to the developer's estate company, and in some places property tax to a municipal body that provides very little inside the township. Water may come partly from the developer's own supply. Find out who will run the township once the developer finishes, and whether a handover to the local body is actually planned.
Visit an older phase. It will tell you more than the show flat.
A buyer in a Hadapsar township pays ₹3 per sq ft a month to the housing society and a separate township charge to the estate management company. On a 1,200 sq ft flat the two together come to about ₹6,000 a month.
Buying on the masterplan's promised school or hospital. Check which RERA phase includes it, and whether that phase has a commencement certificate.
Questions people ask about township
Is a township the same as a gated community?
Every township has gates, but not every gated community is a township. A township includes schools, offices, retail and its own infrastructure; most gated communities are purely residential.
Who maintains a township after completion?
Usually the developer's estate company for many years, with a federation of housing societies taking over later. The handover terms should be in the agreement.