Practical or promoting ghettos? Noida builder offers flats only for Muslims

As builders attempt to attract niche buyers for projects, a new project by a builder in Greater Noida has raised questions whether the company is reinforcing stereotypes or merely providing a practical solution to members of the Muslim community.

The Times of India reported that the Adarsh Group is building a apartment complex with 268 units called the Gulistaan Golf View Heights and is selling them with a focus on Muslim buyers in the Sports City area of Greater Noida.

Among the features being offered by the builder include: "a mosque, a madrassa, and will face Qibla - the direction a Muslim faces when offering prayers."

While Saleem Zafar, CEO of the Adarsh Group justified the project saying that it would give Muslim buyers the chance to experience "best-in-class living experience" and wants people to move to the new apartments from their existing colonies, members of the community quoted in the report have already questioned the rationale behind it.

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Many members of the Muslim community in urban areas have complained of not being able to find homes on rent or for purchase and in some cases have to settle for areas where the majority of the residents are of the same community, irrespective of their purchasing power. The concept of community-based apartment complexes isn't new or uncommon in urban India any more,.