REAL ESTATE
 

 


On track to prosperity
While traders oppose rail line to Katra, property prices jump in anticipation of the good times
A view of Katra town.
WHILE extension of the rail line to Katra town — base of the revered Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine — has been vociferously opposed by Jammu-based transporters and traders, prices of commercial and residential property is witnessing an upswing. Buying land around the railway station and other parts of the township seems to be the best idea in Katra these days.

A view of Katra town. — Photo Anand Sharma

TREND MILL
A house in the hills
As Shimla loses its preferred-destination tag, small villages and towns en route to the Queen of the Hills are turning into fashionable addresses. Choose from flats, luxury apartments and penthouses - there is one for every budget!
HILLS along the road to Shimla are fast turning into happy hunting grounds for nature lovers chasing dreams of buying summer vacation cottages, even flats.

GREEN HOUSE
For a green future
Just planting a sapling does not mean the environment is taken care of. It is the aftercare that matters. SATISH NARULA lists some dos and don'ts of urban planting
Scorching heat, dust, glare, polluted air, noise and ugly surroundings can be a cruel test of human physical and mental endurance. Growing trees is the cheapest and one of the most effective methods of bringing about improvement in our physical environment
Environment Day has just gone by. It is not a big deal to plant a tree. What matters most is the aftercare, saving it from vagaries of weather, insect, pests, diseases, animals and human beings. Many people are now environment conscious but it is a must to learn and follow the practices of saving plants the right way.

Greening urban habitat
THE degradation and degeneration of our cities and towns has attained shocking proportions for lack of effective green cover. Most highly populated urban areas are treeless and bare. The scorching heat, dust, glare, polluted air, noise and ugly surroundings in which people are living and working is a cruel test of their physical and mental endurance. Growing of functional trees is absolutely essential and primary.

Tax tips
Without Conveyance Deed,
land title can’t be transferred
Q. A residential plot was allotted by PUDA to Mr A at Mohali for Rs 6.5 lakh in 2000. The plot was immediately purchased by my father from Mr A and PUDA issued a re-allotment letter in the name of my father. Full payment was made to PUDA and a no dues certificate (NDC) was also issued to my father in the year 2000 itself. Construction was carried out on the said plot in the same year after raising loan from bank but CD could not be executed due to limited availability of funds. He has been residing in the same house since 2001 and the loan has been completely repaid to the bank. PUDA (now GMADA) has suddenly awakened to the reality that most of the allottees have not got a CD done for their plots.

 






 

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On track to prosperity
Jupinderjit Singh

While traders oppose rail line to Katra, property prices jump in anticipation of the good times

Blocks are many

THE track has been laid. The station is ready. But train services can't be started. Water is filled in one of the tunnels through which the train has to pass. Besides this block, political will in starting the line is also missing. The transporter-trader lobby wants it to be delayed as long as possible, fearing loss of business once the service starts.

WHILE extension of the rail line to Katra town — base of the revered Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine — has been vociferously opposed by Jammu-based transporters and traders, prices of commercial and residential property is witnessing an upswing.

Buying land around the railway station and other parts of the township seems to be the best idea in Katra these days. One kanal of land was available at about Rs 80-90 lakh four years ago but now it could set you back by Rs 1.2-1.5 crore. This despite that a kanal in Katra is smaller than one elsewhere. "A kanal here is 3,440 sq ft as against the standard 5,440 sq ft," says hotelier Rakesh Wazir. "This has been the measurement since time immemorial. Maybe it had something to do with the slopes and the hilly terrain."

Due to limited availability of land in the town, there was always scope of high rates, but some terrorist strikes in and around it hit the Vaishno Devi yatra and real estate hard. But renewed interest in property investment and finished deals has given an instant fillip to realty in the hilly as well as holy town. Article 370 of the Constitution accords special status to Jammu and Kashmir and allows only state residents to buy property but outsiders can take land or buildings on a lease of 99 years.

The track came at the best possible time. The town was already witnessing major development activity after the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board took control. New and wide roads to Katra, better facilities for pilgrims, alternate routes to the shrine and now the announcement of making a separate route for horses has given a boost to trade and property business.

"Markets in Katra are open 24 hours. This is the most unique part. Pilgrims travel round-the-clock and hence business is booming. The rent of a shop is as high as Rs 2.5 lakh a month," says hotelier Rakesh Wazir. The shrine board annual rent for a 12x16 ft shop is a whopping Rs 2.65 crore. "You can well imagine the cost of land that has been leased out at such rates," he says.

With tourists came a number of popular food chains as well. Nearly 20-25, 000 pilgrims visit Katra daily. "Café Coffee Day, Sagar Ratna and Country Inn have already opened outlets. There is talk of more food chains coming in. These companies have given further push to rentals and land prices. Traders are asking for more than Rs 1.5 crore now," says hotelier Shiv Kumar Sharma.

With so many traders and businessmen coming to Katra, there is pressure on residential land as well. Sharma says the town has a population of about 35,000, including a floating population of nearly 20,000 employed directly or indirectly with the yatra. A roof over their heads is the least they need. Consequently, property prices along new roads being made by the shrine board are now looking upwards.

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TREND MILL
A house in the hills
Saurabh Malik

As Shimla loses its preferred-destination tag, small villages and towns en route to the Queen of the Hills are turning into fashionable addresses. Choose from flats, luxury apartments and penthouses - there is one for every budget!

HILLS along the road to Shimla are fast turning into happy hunting grounds for nature lovers chasing dreams of buying summer vacation cottages, even flats.

That’s right! Shimla is no more the preferred destination, all because of haphazard construction with more concrete pillars than trees, honking cars drowning the whisper of the cool mountain breeze blowing soft across the pine trees, ever increasing vehicular traffic creating bottlenecks even on the restricted roads, pollution taking away the charm of pleasant mornings in the mountains, water woes, and insensitivity of the tourists, topped with the effects of global warming.

No wonder, as you negotiate the sharp curves on the highway meandering its way through the hills, you realise small villages and towns like Kumarhatti, Barog, Koti and Kandaghat are fast finding themselves on the buyer’s map of Himachal Pradesh.

Logging on to the Internet only confirms your belief, as you find even property dealers-turned-builders and real estate developers concentrating on the small towns situated along the national highway.

And it’s not just flats costing anywhere between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh they are coming out with; you even have penthouses and luxury apartments that will leave your bank balance lighter by something like Rs 70 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Even plots are up for grabs. The price varies in accordance with the size and the accessibility factor. In fact, the cost is directly proportionate to convenience and approach. The ones along the road are, of course, costing more than the plots down in the gorges linked by kuchha roads, sometimes not even by that.

If you are wondering why the prospective buyers are turning towards these areas, ask Harminder Singh, Mohali-based real estate developer with operations in Himachal. “Living in a material whirl of mobiles and malls, people want peace,” he asserts. “They go for meditation and yoga and look for a house in the hills where they can lose their city blues and relax in the pristine environs of the lush green hills. As life in almost all major cities of Himachal is now akin to existence in the plains due to the rush and pollution, they are fast turning to lesser explored areas, which until now were nothing more than transit stops.”

Rubbing his enthusiastic hands, he says some of the areas are no way less than the boomtowns of the hill state. Quoting an example, he says in Kumarhatti the nights are romantic and mornings captivating and enthralling. The pines of Kumarhatti are full of frolic and pleasantries. To top it all, you are very near Kiarighat, Shimla, Renukaji, Dagshai and Kasauli. In fact, 63 km away from Kumarhatti is the point to Nahan and Dagshai, an erstwhile British cantonment surrounded by pine trees with an old church and a boarding school.

Kumarhatti is just short of Barog, almost the same height as Shimla. “Once just a brief stopover on the Kalka-Shimla highway, Barog town has now grown as a destination in itself. Surrounded by pine and oak trees, Barog is located in idyllic settings,” he says. “This is not all. The magnificent Choor Chandni or Choordhar peak, poetically denoting `mountain of the silver bangle’, is clearly visible from Barog. And, when the moonlight lavishly pours itself on the slopes of the peak, it appears as though countless shimmering, silver bangles are sliding down in the night.”

Ask another real estate developer Naresh Kumar Sharma, and he says the area right from Koti to Jubberhatti near Shimla is ideal for purchasing a chunk of land for building a cottage. Just about 19 kilometers short of Shimla, Jubberhatti, he says, is in fact fast emerging as a hot spot because flights from Delhi and other cities land at the Jubberhatti airport, popularly known as the Shimla airport.

“Not just the tourists, but even the hoteliers are investing in the area by buying land up to 50 bighas,” he asserts. “Some of the nearby villages like Poabo are ideal as these provide you with a clear glimpse of the airport, as well as the Queen of Hills.” So folks, what are you waiting for? Buy your dream house, now!

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GREEN HOUSE
For a green future

Just planting a sapling does not mean the environment is taken care of. It is the aftercare that matters. SATISH NARULA lists some dos and don'ts of urban planting

Scorching heat, dust, glare, polluted air, noise and ugly surroundings can be a cruel test of human physical and mental endurance. Growing trees is the cheapest and one of the most effective methods of bringing about improvement in our physical environment

Environment Day has just gone by. It is not a big deal to plant a tree. What matters most is the aftercare, saving it from vagaries of weather, insect, pests, diseases, animals and human beings. Many people are now environment conscious but it is a must to learn and follow the practices of saving plants the right way.

At times there are certain practices that are followed through generations. For example, raising a platform around the main trunk of the tree. You can still find such structures near temples and at the village chaupal, the common sitting place. These were primarily made to create a sitting place and to 'protect' the plant roots and main trunk from injury. But it had just the opposite effect. Nothing could be more damaging. See any old such tree and you will find the structure badly damaged and roots coming out of the cracks gasping for breath. The main trunk is mostly damaged due to close contact with the pucca structure and the roots are starved of water (see accompanying picture).

Another way of decorating the tree base has been devised. Stones have been pitched around it but do not touch it. The roots at the base are also not blocked. Another big advantage is that animal access to the tree is denied! At times gardeners erect earth mounds near the base of the trunk. The lose earth between the plant and structures acts as the perfect breeding place for insects and diseases. And if you thought that such an earth mound provided support to the tree, then nothing is farther from the truth!

Similar is the case of urban planting. At most places we find tiled pavements. Trees are stuck between the road and boundary walls of houses and concrete at the base. And then it has to brave natural calamities of insect and disease infestations. In such cases, provision should be made at the base. A basin space of at least five feet by five feet should be given. The soil level at the base should be sloping down towards the base so as to capture and confine even a single drop of rain. In case of compulsion of having concrete structures, one could use porous tiles or the ones with holes that allow percolation of water.

One thing more I would like to stress on is proper planting of a tree. While planting, we assume that it is a roadside tree, therefore hardy and can be planted anyhow. But that is not the case — proper procedure must be followed. Remember, proper planting provides the plant the best initial start and helps it develop a strong network of roots that also provides good anchorage. Any tree should be provided with a round pit of three feet diameter with a similar depth. This pit should be kept open for a few days. The upper half of the soil could be used and the lower rejected. The selected soil should be mixed with equal quantity of well rotten farmyard manure, about 30 gram of lindane dust and refilled about six inches above ground level so as to let the soil settle at the ground level. The plant is then planted in the middle of the pit. Whole of the planting should be done in a straight line using a rope.

This column appears fortnightly. The writer is a senior horticulturist at PAU and can be reached at satishnarula@yahoo.co.in

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Greening urban habitat
Hardial Singh Johal

THE degradation and degeneration of our cities and towns has attained shocking proportions for lack of effective green cover. Most highly populated urban areas are treeless and bare. The scorching heat, dust, glare, polluted air, noise and ugly surroundings in which people are living and working is a cruel test of their physical and mental endurance. Growing of functional trees is absolutely essential and primary.

Trees provide shelter from scorching heat and glare as well as sleet and blast of winter, serving as natural air-conditioners. Apart from sheltering, greening and improving environment, trees help to create macro and microclimate, reduce air, dust and noise pollution and most of all, better the health, efficiency and productivity of humans.

Functionally suitable trees are essential for all places of living, working and recreation. We must plan and grow trees not as decoration but as living building materials to create and reinforce our urban spaces.

Growing trees is the cheapest and one of the most effective methods of bringing about improvement in our physical environment. The cost of creating and maintaining ground materials such as lawns, hedges, flower beds, ground covers, hard surfaces and water features is very high as compared to trees. Moreover, it does not contribute to improving the environment.

A basic flow in the existing policy on environmental improvement is that while amenities like roads, water supply, sewerage and disposal of garbage is adequately provided, practically nothing is done for growing trees. This programme is unfortunately relegated to the last position while fixing priorities for developmental works.

Moreover, the administration normally wants to adopt schemes that produce quick results. Trees, however, take long to get established and, therefore, this programme is never taken up. But trees are the lungs of the town without which human habitat is in danger of complete degeneration. It is, therefore, essential that massive green structures are developed and created in every city and town without any further loss of time. It is of utmost importance that a breakthrough is made and planting policy is formulated.

Needed: Planting policy

JUST as a man is a unit of society and for creating a better social order in the world, the total thrust is on the development of his psychologies and culture, similarly, a tree is one of the important units of improving the quality of our physical environment. It is, therefore, essential that trees chosen for urban plantation programme have maximum possible qualities in them.

Only varieties that are structurally big, sturdy, hardy, durable, extremely functional and which stand abuse on account of environmental pollution which are beautiful and meet our aesthetic requirement, need minimum care and maintenance and which are ideally suited to our agro-climatic conditions are selected and used for urban plantations. Such trees should be given the status of 'State Trees' and should be adopted by all agencies and departments carrying out plantation drives.

By doing so, a lot of time, money and effort involved in planting will be effectively utilised. Presently, most trees that are planted are not suitable for the conditions of the region. All nurseries should be given direction to raise State Trees. Modern technology should also be used in nurseries to raise large-sized, well-developed plants in the shortest possible period.

Eye on results

EVERY year we plant innumerable saplings yet nothing grows. We are wasting years without analysing the real cause of this failure and finding a solution to this problem. There should be stress on the number of plants that have been successfully grown and not merely on the countless numbers planted with nil results. Planting one street adequately would be decisively a better choice than planting ten streets with poor standards, not only wasting money but also numerous years without any achievement. Here are some steps to obtain 100 per cent result in this programme.

n Raising large size plants: Plants in nurseries should be developed to as big a size as possible. In advanced countries, tree saplings of around 3 to 4 inches caliper thickness of the stem and 8 to 10 feet height are developed in nurseries and then taken for plantation. Small young saplings are like new born children. As a small child needs extraordinary care up to the age of two-three years, similarly, a young sapling cannot be taken to the field to face extremes of weather conditions such as extreme heat, cold, exposure to wind and excessive rainfall, including no timely availability of water, food and shelter. All latest polyhouse facilities should be provided in nurseries so that within the minimum period the required large sized plants are raised. Unless we develop a huge stock of the right kind of plants in the nurseries we cannot take up any programmed for plantation.

n Standard specification: Pits of suitable size should be prepared filled up with right kind of mixtures consisting of good quality soil, sand, manure, bone meal and superphosphate. Since phosphate, which is one of the major food for plants, does not get dissolved in water and penetrate in the root zone, this fertilizer — both in the organic and inorganic form — should be mixed in the soil so that it continues to become readily available to the feeding roots of the plant for a period of at least six-eight years of its initial life till the plants get fully established. This practice is adopted practically in all advanced countries. It is also felt that most imaginative selection, arrangement follow-through. It is necessary to adopt the best possible norms of maintenance which include the programmed of watering, feeding, hoeing, plant protection and training. Even periodical washing of foliage should be done.

n Protective tree guards: Trees in cities have to survive high level of physical abuse. Damage to the trunk and bark by animals and humans is common. It takes about one to two growing seasons to heal such a damage, which means a considerable loss. It is observed that a tree over five inches caliper thickness of the stem can survive significant amount of physical damage. At that time, the tree guard can be removed and reused.

Planning & execution

AS far as planning is concerned, the task can be assigned to experts with thorough and extensive knowledge of plants, experience of practically techniques as well as skill in design and arts of management. Designers will prepare plans for each urban habitat giving details of trees to be used, the concept and taking important design principles into consideration, especially pertaining to density, diversity, scale, arrangement, form and colour. For intensive maintenance, each city and town must have some gardening supervisors and malis responsible for all kinds of maintenance operations.

(The writer is a landscapist and horticulturist)

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Tax tips
Without Conveyance Deed,
land title can’t be transferred
S.C. Vasudeva

Q. A residential plot was allotted by PUDA to Mr A at Mohali for Rs 6.5 lakh in 2000. The plot was immediately purchased by my father from Mr A and PUDA issued a re-allotment letter in the name of my father. Full payment was made to PUDA and a no dues certificate (NDC) was also issued to my father in the year 2000 itself. Construction was carried out on the said plot in the same year after raising loan from bank but CD could not be executed due to limited availability of funds. He has been residing in the same house since 2001 and the loan has been completely repaid to the bank. PUDA (now GMADA) has suddenly awakened to the reality that most of the allottees have not got a CD done for their plots.

Recently, GMADA issued a deadline of six months to get the CD done at the prevailing market rates, the major objective of which seems to be to harass the public and collect revenue. However, the state government relaxed the rates for the original allottees allowing them to get their CD done at the allotment rates by September 2009. However, my father, being a re-allotte, shall have to get the CD executed at the prevailing rates amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh, which is too big an amount for a retiree like him.

Under the above situation, my queries are as follows:

  • As per rules, is my father bound to get a CD executed?
  • If he does not get CD executed, what are the legal implications?
  • Can my father plead to the state government /GMADA /Consumer Forum for allowing the facility of getting CD at allotment rates only on the basis of the fact that the allotment rate was the same at the time of original allotment and the re-allotment?
  • Is there a way to counter the current situation in the interest of my father, legally or otherwise?
  • Can a rebate/ deduction be claimed on the CD charges payable to GMADA under IT Act?

— Baljit Singh

A. Your queries are replied hereunder:

  • Conveyance Deed is a must for the transfer of title of land from one person to another. Therefore, in case the Conveyance Deed is not executed in favour of your father the title of the plot of land allotted by PUDA will not be transferred in his favour. I would therefore suggest that the Conveyance Deed should be executed in case you are interested that title of land should be transferred in favour of your father.
  • As indicated hereinabove, if the conveyance deed is not executed, your father would not have a legal title to the plot of land.
  • He has all the right to approach the authorities for getting the conveyance deed executed at the allotment rates. If he so desires, he can also approach the consumer forum.
  • If the state government does not agree, your father has a right to go to the High Court for seeking the desired relief.
  • There is no rebate or deduction allowable in respect of the charges incurred for the execution of the conveyance deed. The amount so incurred will be added to the cost of land.

No tax on Rs 5 lakh gift

Q. My mother is likely to receive about Rs 5 lakh from sale of ancestral agricultural property share of my late father. She has committed to give it to her daughter-in-law for purchase of a residential plot. Is this episode covered under the LTCG ? If yes, how much will be the capital gain? If in case mother decides to give gift of Rs 5 lakh to her daughter-in -law for purchase of residential plot, is this gift taxable? If so, how much will be the tax?

— Raza Sharma

A. Your queries are replied hereunder:

  • It is not possible to work out the long term capital gain as the figures with regard to the cost of the property, the period of which it was held and the sale consideration arising on the sale of such ancestral property are not indicated in the query.
  • She can gift the amount of Rs 5 lakh to her daughter-in-law without attracting any liability of income tax on such gift.

Complete construction within three years

Q. I sold a house more than two years ago. The amount is lying in capital gain account in the bank. I want to construct a house by purchasing a plot. Can I invest the amount of capital gain in purchasing the plot and construction there on both?

I also have another plot allotted to me long time ago. Can I invest this amount of capital gain for the construction of house on this old allotted plot?

— Archhit Kochar

A. Your queries are replied hereunder:

  • You are required to utilise the net consideration (i.e. amount of consideration for the sale of the plot less expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in connection with such sale) for constructing a residential house within a period of three years from the date of sale of plot so as to claim the exemption from leviability of capital gains tax on the capital gain arising on the sale of the plot.
  • It would therefore be advisable for you to construct the house on the plot that is already held by you so that the construction is completed within a period of three years from the date of sale of plot.

Apportion consideration between sale of building, land

Q. Ours is a partnership concern that is carrying on its business of manufacture of paints. The old factory building has been sold as a new building in the plot allotted by the government in an industrial area has been constructed. The new factory has been started. The sale deed has been executed reflecting the sale of building. We have been advised that the short-term capital gain would be chargeable on the sale of the building. Is it possible to take out the value of land for the purposes of computing the capital gain so as to reduce the tax liability in respect of the capital gain?

— R.S. Makhija

A. It is a decided law that when a single asset like a building is transferred, the consideration has to be apportioned between the depreciable portion i.e. super structure and the portion on which depreciation has not been allowed e.g. the land. You should get the fair value of the land ascertained as on the date of sale and sale consideration should be apportioned between the sale of building and the sale of land on the basis of such fair value of the land. You may seek help from a decided case on the subject reported in 162 Taxman 167 (CIT v. Yamuna Syndicate Ltd.)

This column appears weekly. The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com

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