Road a RAGE The four laning of the Amritsar-Wagah road is pushing up the prices of property in the vicinity, write Sanjay Bumbroo and P.K. Jaiswar With the commencement of the four-laning of the Amritsar-Wagah bypass road, the prices of real estate alongside this 35-km-long stretch have almost doubled within a few weeks. The rates have increased from Rs 4000-Rs 7000 per square yard to Rs 13,000 per square yard, depending upon the size and location of the land and property.

Falling flat S.M.A. Kazmi The real estate business has nosedived in Uttarakhand. After witnessing a boom in the initial years following the formation of the state, the realty business has taken a beating in the past about one-and-a-half year. Flats under construction at a site in Dehra Dun. — Tribune photo by Vinod Pundir

Matter of disinterest The latest hike in loan interest rates will make people disinterested in purchasing houses for the time being and also push developers to look at other sources for funding, writes S.C. Dhall The latest twin hike by the RBI — in repo rate and cash reserve ratio — will expectedly affect the bottom line of the developers directly and also adversely impact the purchasing power of property buyers. — Illustration by Taranpreet Kaur

GREEN HOUSE SCREEN TEST Satish Narula After a day’s hard work when one comes back, there are two options, either to relax in the confines of the home or outside in the garden. Those who are close to nature prefer to be out. But there, they may have to shield themselves from the prying eyes of Peeping Toms.

Uppals to build new luxury hotels, one in city
Expanding its business in the hospitality sector, real estate firm Uppal Group plans to develop seven luxury hotels by 2010, adding about 1,400 rooms across the country. The group has tied up with global hospitality major Marriott for developing and managing two five-star hotels, each in Gurgaon and Chandigarh, entailing a total investment of over Rs 500 crore.

TAX TIPS Right returns S.C. Vasudeva Q. We sold our ancestral agricultural land on November 2006 purchased by my grandfather in 1957. The land is within the 10-km municipal limit. To calculate the capital gain we got the price of the land evaluated from a government-approved valuer.