Manoranjan Moitra wanted to buy a flat. Working for a Fortune 500 company, he could have bought it in Calcutta itself. But he chose Madhyamgram.

Strange, did you say?

Not at all, says Moitra, in his mid-fifties. “I want to live in peace away from the city, close to nature in a less polluting environment. The roads have been widened in Madhyamgram and communication has improved. So why not?”

Moitra represents a small yet fast-growing section of city dwellers who are willing to live on the outskirts of Calcutta and closer to nature if — and this is important — the facilities are good.

In Madhyamgram, on the northern fringe of the city, the facilities Moitra has in mind are being ensured.

Take, for example, the Sisirkunja project. It boasts a mall with Pantaloons as the anchor-retailer. A multiplex and a food court complete the picture.

“My shopping, food and entertainment needs are being taken care of. And I am paying a lot less than what I would have had to if I bought a flat in a city project with similar facilities,” he points out. “So it makes sense.”

That the Sisirkunja project has taken off can be gauged from the response of India’s largest retail group — the Future Group, the owner of the Pantaloon brand.

It snapped up the entire mall from the developer, Bengal Shelter Housing Development Ltd.

The response has spurred Samar Nag, the managing director of Bengal Shelter, to scout for sites in other smaller towns.

He isn’t the only one looking beyond the city.

Harshvardhan Neotia, of Bengal Ambuja Housing Development, has already completed two projects in Durgapur and Burdwan.

Now, he is focusing on a bungalow project in Santiniketan, an over 400-acre township in Siliguri and a mall in Haldia.

“I see a lot of potential in organised housing projects in district towns,” he says.

While private developers, especially those who have tied up with the West Bengal Housing Board, are increasingly looking outside Calcutta, it is the government that has led the way so far.

Debaprasad Jana, the vice-chairman of the West Bengal Housing Board, says the board is looking for land in district towns for projects within the reach of the middle classes.

“Collectors have been involved in the process to identify land. Some of them have come back to us. We are trying to find out the viability of the projects,” he says.

Purulia, Birbhum and Malda are among some of the districts where the government is looking for land.

If the prices are reasonable, the housing board is also open to buying private land in districts like the North and South 24-Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly and Burdwan.

Among the joint sector companies, Bengal Shelter seems the most eager to invest outside Calcutta. It has identified plots in Behrampore, Siliguri, Chandernagore and Krishnagar.

The company is also focusing on composite development with malls and multiplexes.

“I strongly believe there will be a new phase of development by organised players along the highways in Bengal. From Bengal Shelter, we are going ahead with many projects and I am sure many others will follow,” says managing-director Nag.

Real-estate observers agree.

“Globally, the trend is people stay away from the cities and travel one to one-and-a-half hours everyday to work. In Calcutta, the practice so far has been to stay closer. As communication improves and civic infrastructure develops on the outskirts, more and more people would prefer to live away from the hustle and bustle of the city,” says one observer.

Multiplex players and retail giants are following the trend closely.

One national brand, Adlabs, is keen to tie up with Bengal Shelter for projects in the district towns. Reliance, too, is thinking of setting up malls across the state.

Did you say Moitra’s decision was strange?