Thermal High for Rajpura

With the work on the 1320-MW thermal plant likely to start soon at Nalash village in Rajpura, residential activity on the outskirts of Patiala is likely to increase, writes Umesh Dewan

With one of the India’s largest engineering companies Larsen & Toubro Ltd setting up a 1320-MW thermal power project in Rajpura (Patiala district), the real estate activity along the Rajpura-Chandigarh and Rajpura-Patiala stretch has suddenly picked up momentum and land prices on both these roads have gone up. This has improved the overall sentiment in the realty sector in the area as investors have started showing interest in property along this stretch.

According to property consultants, initially the officials and the employees of the thermal plant would be putting up in Patiala, which is just 27 km from Rajpura.

But once the plant became operational, the demand for suitable housing in the area close to it would increase manifold.

Notably, the apartment culture is yet to pick up on the outskirts of Patiala. So far, only two major township projects — Tricone City Patiala and Omaxe City are coming up on the outskirts of Patiala. “But housing projects would get a boost once the thermal plant becomes operational. The township projects and the flats culture is now not far away for the royal city of Patiala ”, said Manoj Sood of Sood Property Consultants.

Five star future

Apart from the Rs 9,000-crore thermal plant project, L & T is also going to start a five-star hotel in Chandigarh. This, as per the realtors, would bring a lot of physical infrastructure along the Rajpura-Chandigarh and Rajpura-Patiala stretch, following which land prices are expected to double in the next few years.

“It is a known fact that areas where big corporate houses invest witness fast-paced development.

Now, prestigious thermal power project and the proposed five-star hotel by L & T have given a sudden thrust to the realty sector in Rajpura-Chandigarh and Rajpura-Patiala belt”, said Rajesh Gupta, proprietor of Gupta Real Estates company. He added that land prices in the area had already witnessed almost 30 per cent increase since the announcement of the thermal power plant project.

Commercial boost

The area has also caught the fancy of major companies that are planning to set up a shopping mall on the Chandigarh-Rajpura highway. Besides, some companies are planning to open up retail outlets of different products on the Rajpura-Patiala road.

“Obviously, when the shopping malls and other business centres would come up, the demand for land would go up, which would not only increase the land prices but also give a major boost to the real estate business”, said another real estate agent Jatinderpal Singh Saluja.

Wake up PUDA

Interestingly, most of the real estate agents are extremely unhappy with the way PUDA has been functioning in the area. “PUDA has failed miserably to develop residential colonies on the outskirts of Patiala. The Urban Estate developed by PUDA several years ago still lacks basic civic amenities. Now, there would be demand for the residential accommodation and hence it is a golden opportunity for PUDA to develop some colonies on the outskirts of the city. If PUDA acquires land for developing colonies and ensures that civic facilities are provided, it would be not only good for PUDA but would also put Patiala on fast track of residential development”, opined majority of the property consultants.

As major chunk of the land available on the Rajpura-Patiala stretch is under cultivation, farmers, too, are expecting to make a killing once housing projects start raining in the region.

“When the land prices would further go up, farmers would definitely be interested in making good profit by selling their land. The coming days seems bright for the farming community as well as the real estate sector”, asserted Bacchitar Singh of Sandhu Property Dealers.

DLF hints at jacking up prices

Following the interest rate hike by a few leading banks and the government proposal to slap service tax on the realty sector, the country’s largest real estate developer DLF has said that properties would turn dearer as developers would have to pass on the service tax burden to end-users. “If the signal from the bank and government is to raise the price, then why prices will not go up? That means the economy is ready to take a price hike. It will be wrong to assume that developers would not raise prices. How can you have two contradictory signals?” DLF group executive director Rajeev Talwar said on the sidelines of a seminar here.

While a few private sector lenders, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, recently increased home loan rates by up to 100 basis points, the Budget proposed to impose service tax on the realty sector both on commercial rentals as well as on sale of under-construction housing units. The service tax would come to be about 3.5 per cent of the cost of the apartment that includes the value of the land and also the cost of construction, realty body Credai said. However, Talwar did not quantify the likely jump in the prices, saying, “it will vary from location to location, project to project,” — PTI

‘Go Green is the new buzzword’
Pradeep Sharma

Ritu Singal

Credited with busting another male bastion, Ritu Singal, Managing Director of the Raglan Infrastructure Limited, is a well-known name in the realty sector in Chandigarh. In fact, her company pioneered the concept of “affordable and trendy housing” in the strategic Zirakpur-Dera Bassi belt and have provided housing to over 2,000 end users in the past decade.

Having taken various occupational hazards and the recent recession in her stride, Ritu believes that the builders must inspire trust and confidence among the prospective buyers to make housing a reality for the millions of “homeless” people. Excerpts from an interview:

What kind of development do you foresee in Chandigarh’s periphery?

A: Chandigarh’s periphery is the area of future as property in the tricity has gone out of the reach of common man. So over the next few years Derabassi, Kharar and Zirakpur would be to Chandigarh what Gurgaon is to Delhi now.

Q How do you see government policies vis-a-vis the real estate sector in India?

A: The government policies are not very encouraging as is evident from the imposition of service tax in the 2010 Budget. On the other hand, the Punjab Government has recently taken certain decisions that will be beneficial for the real estate sector.

You are one of the very few women builders in a primarily male-dominated sector. Any challenges you faced/face as a builder?

When I started work that time more than me it was the other people who felt a bit out of place dealing with a woman builder. Challenges are there in every profession and I have dealt with them on "one day at a time" basis. However, slowly I have learnt the tricks of the trade and now challenges and opportunities go hand in hand.

Q: What are new architectural trends in the realty sector?

A: "Go green" is the new buzzword in the housing sector. As environmental concerns are paramount, eco-friendly designs with solar lighting and water harvesting systems and optimum use of sunlight are the in thing.

The writer can be contacted at psharma@tribunemail.com

TAX TIPS
Loan from wife
S.C. Vasudeva

Q. I am a 62-year old retired government employee. I am getting my pension. I am a taxpayer. My wife is a homemaker. She does not have any source of income.

I have a house in Patiala. I have demolished the old building and am constructing a new residential building on the same plot. The demolition started last year in the month of June and construction in the month of August.

For the construction of the house I am using my own savings and in addition I have taken a loan of Rs 10 lakh from my wife at the rate of 15 per cent per annum in the month of May, 2009 for a period of 10 years. Over a period of time she has saved this money from house expenditure and cash given to her by her parents and relatives on various occasions.

My queries are:

• Can I claim tax rebate on the interest that I will be paying to my wife i.e. Rs.1.5 lakh during the FY 2009-2010 and in the coming years.
• What all documents I have to furnish as far as the loan taken from my wife is concerned.
• Will a simple certificate from my wife that she has advanced this loan to me suffice giving the amount, rate of interest and period?

Go for mutation

Q. There is a leased property in Delhi — Four builder flats on an area of 150 sq. yd — for which my father has made a registered Will for one of the flats in my name. My father has since expired and the flat is occupied by a tenant-company on lease. My problem is:

• The tenant company is not paying rent on the plea that document relating to mutation or ownership right may be submitted by me.
• Is the registered Will not a legal document sufficient to show my ownership? iii) Should I obtain probate through court or declaredly suit or go for any other process, so that I may be able to get proper title for the property. What will be the expenditure involved in this?

The six-month rule

Q. I sold my house and the payment was received on May 15, 2009 (the day of execution of conveyance deed). To save income tax on capital gain arising from sale proceeds I had to invest the capital gain amount in REC tax saving bonds under Section 54 EC of Income Tax Act within six months of the sale. I therefore, submitted my application in the designated bank of REC i.e. HDFC bank on November 13, 2009, alongwith local cheque. The bank acknowledged receipt the same day. The bank, however, credited the amount in the REC account on November 17, 2009, and the REC issued me the bonds by showing the date of allotment as November 30, 2009. Kindly clarify whether the investment would be treated to have been made within six months or not.

• I purchased a flat sometime back. Some funds for purchasing this flat were arranged by me from my husband, son, daughter and son-in-law, who all are in employment. All payments were received through cheques. So kindly advise how the transactions are to be accounted for. From which relations these can be shown as gifts and what are the formalities for the same?

Tax rebate on under-construction house

Q. I have purchased a flat on Power of Attorney (POA) from the original allottee in May, 2008. The said flat is under construction and is being built by Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) under a self-financing scheme. I am paying residuary half yearly instalments to LIT since the date of purchase from the original allottee. LIT is issuing me receipts in the name of the original allottee as transfer in my name will happen only after the payment of all the pending instalments. Possession will be given to me after completion (possibly in May-June 2010). The said instalments are inclusive of interest @ 12 per cent p.a. w.e.f April 1, 2009. At present I am living in a rented house and I don’t have any other property in my name anywhere.

Now my queries are:

• Can I claim deduction on principal payment to LIT under Section 80 C? Can taxman raise question on the receipt being in the name of some other person (i.e. in the name of allottee and not the deduction claimant)?
• I feel deduction of interest can be claimed only after construction of such property and that, too, in five equal instalments. But what about the principal payment deduction? Will it be allowable for the period till the property is constructed? If not, then will it be allowable after completion?
• Can I claim 80C deduction on principal payment alongwith House Rent Exemption under Section 10 (13A) as I am living in rented premises at present and the property owned by me is under construction?

GREEN HOUSE
Tree Aesthetics
Satish Narula

Trees are the backbone of any aesthetic beautification plan. Though these are an important element of landscaping, yet one finds improper use of this element very often. In most instances trees are either not studied properly or are not given ‘due respect’ while landscaping. As a result this important element becomes an eyesore or a nuisance rather than being a thing of joy.

You must be wondering as to how a tree can be an eyesore or a nuisance. This happens when it is wrongly placed. For example Millingtonia, otherwise an ornamanental tree, grown in a parking lot may be dangerous due to its brittle branches. Similarly a neem tree in a parking lot or in a market is nothing but a nuisance as its falling fruit not only causes a mess, but also emnates an offending smell when it gets crushed under feet. So is the case with kadam, an otherwise fragrant tree. This tree could be an eyesore due to its distorted shape caused by forced pruning when the “misplaced” tree starts interfering with overhead lines.

All this is due to the wrong planning by those responsible for planting trees. It is important to look up also while planting a particular tree and be aware of its potential height and spread. Haphazard pruning makes the tree misshapen as well as dangerous, too, as it may attain lopsided growth. The branches may snap any time as the repeated cuts, which are invariably irregular, invite borer and various fungi.

Polyalthea longifolia pendula (named due to the pendulum branches), also called Ashokan is another tree that usually gets poor placement. The columnar tree grows in discipline till a particular height, say 10 to 15 feet. Beyond this height, its branches go haywire and start bending outwards, pulling the tree to the side where these are heavier. The best way is to head it back at eight to 10 feet every year and maintain this height. Don’t worry, the emerging growth will hide the cut end and gives the tree its original shape.

There are trees with definite shapes, for example, the Moulsari. This tree has a definite round shape, like an umbrella. It can further be clipped at the terminals to make it look like a dome. Repeated cuttings of braches at the ends also make the growth thick and the tree forms excellent shape. A large number of these form the main beauty spot of the famous Mughal Gardens at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi.

This column appears fortnightly. The writer can be reached at satishnarula@yahoo.co.in