‘We should avoid band-aid solutions’
IRFAN RAZACK, 69 CMD, Prestige Group
Razack recalls Bangalore as a sleepy little town in the ’60s. Today, he is possibly the largest builder in the city, who has been instrumental in its growth into a giant megapolis. Starting as a real estate broker, Razack saw his company’s growth skyrocket in the 1990s after the IT sector boom. He has put up over 250 highrise office complexes across the city, including the snazzy UB City for Vijay Mallya. He dismisses claims that it was the politician-builder nexus that led to Bengaluru’s civic woes. “I can tell you that the building laws in the city are clear-cut. It would be a crime to stop development. But at the same time, we shouldn’t do it mindlessly. Whatever we do now to improve the infrastructure shouldn’t be band-aid solutions.”
Razack believes that the private sector should be roped in to improve accountability. He is not in favour of pouring resources into a ‘twin city’ that many experts are proposing. “It’s like I need a heart surgery and instead the doctor decides to do it on someone else in the hope that it will cure me,” he says.