Home-loan discounts add to festivities

Banks lower home-loan rates to cash in on the festive mood of customers during this festival season, discovers Manoj Kumar Concerned by the slow down in growth of home loans after a sharp rise in interest rates over the past one-year, the banks are trying to woo the customers by offering discounts during the ongoing festival season. Time to construct your dream house as banks lower home loan rates during the festive season. — Photos by Manoj Mahajan and Malkiat Singh

Windfall for Dera Bassi farmers
Farmers of Dera Bassi are literally laughing their way to the bank. Close on the heels of Zirakpur, it is windfall for the Derabassi farmers with big realtors coming up with mega housing projects in the township situated on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway.

Building bylaws needed for rainwater harvesting
The government should make it mandatory in the building bylaws to adopt rainwater harvesting in all structures, asserts Vishal Gulati
With the rise in population, changing lifestyles and rampant urbanisation the groundwater is being pumped out in large quantities to meet the ever-growing requirements of public and irrigation.

TAX tips
Capital gains tax payable even if you are not assessee
Q. My mother had owned a flat since 1980 at Ludhiana. We sold it for Rs 8 lakh in September 2006.

IT-enabled real estate boom in Tamil Nadu
Due to increasing information technology (IT) activities in Tamil Nadu, even smaller cities like Coimbatore are witnessing a real estate boom in the state.

Return of the native
Over three decades after he left Shimla, where his family owns a successful hotel-cum-restaurant, Mr Chander K. Baljee is headed back to his roots. After having proven his mettle in the hospitality business, independent of his family that runs the Baljees group in Shimla, Mr Baljee is currently scouting for properties in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Chandigarh to start four and five-star hotels.

Farmers shortchanged, land sharks grab the moolah
AP Government finds itself in trouble over Outer Ring Road project, says
Ramesh Kandula
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh has got bogged down in real estate controversies, as its land deals in recent times have acquired political ramifications.