Small towns, big potential
Charandeep Singh

If you have been cherishing the dream of having a second home in the midst of hills and are willing to think beyond the Shimla, Solan area, then the Mandi-Sundar Nagar belt on NH-21 is worth a dekko. However, you may have to make a thorough hunt for an ideal spot and deal (that includes considering the non-Himachali clause). This is one place which is still unexplored; prices are in the affordable range. Though not much activity is going on at present in the realty sector as such, the area is likely to get going in the next few years as some important developmental projects are lined up for the area.

Factors that count

Mandi, an important town en-route Kullu is known popularly as “Kashi of Hills”. It basically has an agrarian economy. Almost 15 per cent of the total land available for cultivation of fruits trees in Himachal is in the Mandi district. Mandi is home to some ancient temples and the picturesque Rewalsar and Prashar lakes. But the town has not completely evolved as an important tourist destination of Himachal. “It has to do a lot with the political intent. I have always felt that in spite of being an important commercial centre, Mandi has continuously been ignored by successive governments. Otherwise today Mandi could also have been an important tourist spot” says 71-year-old Sukhdev, who has been born and brought up in this town.

But now things are beginning to pick up. A medical college has been set up over here, and there is a proposal to set up an IIT, too. Besides this a host of other developmental initiatives are being taken up by the authorities.

Mandi is a major wholesale market of grocery products. Retailers from various parts of Himachal pick up their supplies from here. A lot of commercial activity takes place here and the town is frequented by merchants from all over the state. “If some kind of an affordable housing project comes up over here, then I am sure that most of the traders who come to pick up their supplies would invest in it and have a permanent address here rather than staying in hotels”, says Keshav, a retailer of grocery goods.

Another factor which has not contributed to the growth of Mandi in the real estate sector is its distance from the plains, due to which the developers as well as investors have turned a blind eye towards it. “Mandi is quite far off from plains, and is not convenient for a short or a weekend trip. This is one of the major reasons for no massive real estate activity in the area and low real estate prices as compared to those in Shimla, Solan or Manali. But now with these places reaching a saturation point, Mandi, with its low range pricing and pristine scenic beauty, can become the next big destination in Himachal”, analyses Amandeep Garg, the Deputy Commissioner of the district.

A visit to Mandi reveals that over the past one year the number of vehicles on the roads has increased.

This hints at the increase in the number of visitors frequenting the town.

“A colonizer is constructing a colony on the outskirts of Mandi, which would be a huge success if the pricing is right. Impeccable town planning coupled with the developmental initiatives being taken up by the state government, Mandi has the potential to develop into a top notch centre in a couple of years”, says Mandi-based advocate Deepak Guleria.

Though HIMUDA has developed certain colonies, the response has been moderate as there was no external demand for housing as the people from plains preferred to invest in Shimla, Solan or Kullu. These colonies were developed in Chakkar, Dhiuli and Bhaundi Bagla, and had plots as well as apartments. Plots were sold at the rate of Rs 2 lakh per biswa and the cost of 2-BHK flat is around Rs 20 lakh. “You don’t get a flat for Rs 20 lakh even at a distance of 15 km from Shimla”, says Guleria.

The main commercial centre is Indira Market and Bhoot Nath market, where the space is available for rent at around Rs 50 per sq ft. “These are the wholesale markets and as of now they are choc a bloc with no space available for subletting. Off late we have seen many corporate houses scouting for premises as they want to open their offices in Mandi”, says Keshav.

The main residential areas are Jawahar Nagar and Palace Colony. There is no land available in Palace Colony where as in Jawahar Colony the rate is pretty steep, to the tune Rs 4 lakh per biswa.

Since it is agrarian economy, a lot of real estate deals involve sale and purchase of orchards. “There are various factors which determine the rate of an orchard like, proximity to road, the number of trees, and the life of trees, total area under cultivation etc,” informs Bharat Thakur an orchardist. The rate varies from around Rs 2.5 lakh to around Rs 4 lakh per biswa.

Another place in the vicinity of Mandi that has very high property rates is ‘Gutkar’ on NH-21. Gutkar has earned itself sobriquet of Mandi II, as land over here is costlier than that in Mandi. It is situated on Mandi–Sunder Nagar highway and a lot of commercial establishments are being developed here.

Here the cost of a showroom is around Rs 5 lakh per biswa. Orchards in its vicinity can cost upto Rs 8 lakh per biswa. “All the new commercial development is taking place in Gutkar”, says Garg.

Gutkar

Another place in the vicinity of Mandi where property prices have gone up tremendously in the past few years is ‘Gutkar’ on NH-21. Gutkar has earned itself sobriquet of Mandi II, as land over here is costlier than that in Mandi. It is situated on Mandi–Sunder Nagar highway and a lot of commercial establishments are being developed here.

Sunder Nagar

The biggest hydro electric project in Asia, Beas-Sutlej Project, that irrigates one fourth of the northern plains of India, has brought unprecedented prosperity to the hitherto neglected town of Sunder Nagar. As such Sunder Nagar is a small town, at a distance of 25 km from Mandi on NH-21. It is town with a population of 1.5 lakh, but of late there has been some activity in real estate of Sunder Nagar because of ‘Kol Dam’ being constructed by the NTPC.

“Large tracts of land were acquired by government agencies at exorbitant rates for the construction of the dam. It is because of the circulation of this money in the market that there is an upward movement in the real estate graph of Sunder Nagar”, says Sanjay Malhotra, who runs a computer centre in Sunder Nagar.

A large cement factory is also being constructed by the Aditya Birla Group, on the outskirts of Sunder Nagar. With these two major projects coming up, there is an increased demand for housing in the town. The state government, too, is constructing a bypass for Sunder Nagar. As a result of this the rates are increasing and the owners of the land where the bypass is to be constructed are asking for almost Rs 3.5 lakh per biswa.

“A local builder who had launched a housing project here has managed to sell about 20 plots out of the 64 in around nine months”, says Anshit Pathak a school teacher. The main commercial area is Bhojpur market where a premise of the size of a showroom was sold for Rs 1.5 crore in August.

A number of banks like UCO Bank, HDFC and SBI have become operational in the area. They have given a fillip to the rentals in the area as these banks are now paying a monthly rental of about Rs 50,000 per month, a figure that was quite unheard of in Sunder Nagar a few years ago. A two-bedroom independent flat is available for rent at around Rs 2,500 per month. The main residential area is Haripur, where the price is somewhere around Rs 2.5 lakh per biswa. Sunder Nagar is having a dental as well as an engineering college so PG culture is also gaining ground here.

Divali Décor-I
Glow of the conventional

It is that time of the year again! The warmth of festivities in the air seems to be challenging the nip that is slowly sneaking in. It is time to add the touch of tradition to light up your décor this Divali. Conventional lights are the mood of this year, writes Saurabh Malik

Lights in conventional styles are dazzling the onlookers like never before this Divali. That’s right! The psychedelic intelligent lights brought to the Indian markets all the way from China have lost some of their gleam, as traditional lights are making a bright comeback. They are, in fact, adding glimmer to the festivities this year.

So folks, forget all about those unending translucent plastic pipes. The ones with blue, yellow or red bulbs! They are not so attractive, after all. Leave them for the petrol pumps; or for the taverns for the delight of the drunkards. They look good there.

For lighting up your homes and your lives, better and brighter illumination ideas hovering around conventional lights are in place.

The sheen of the stuff you purchase will remain intact long after the din of Divali subsides — that’s the best and the brightest thing about the traditional lights.

Old is new in apparel, and in lights! Come on, what are you waiting for? Give the Festival of Lights a new meaning by bringing in all that is brilliant and time-honoured.

Don’t know what to pick? No issues! A drive down the memory lane to the arcades will leave you illuminated. To begin with, you can go in for a chandelier. The one with candles all around! It can be birdcage, cartwheel or pendant shaped. The choice is yours, entirely.

“Traditional lights recapturing classic Victorian and Edwardian designs are fast out-dimming all other lights,” says Chandigarh-based builder Kamal Joshi. “People are going in for renovation in their houses to get the candle-lit chandeliers fixed”.

And it doesn’t cost a bomb to get the antique aura sparkling in your living rooms. Some of the chandeliers are not very expensive if you know where to pick these up from. Go to the right shop and you get it for as less as Rs 1,800. However, the range can go up to Rs 10 lakh depending upon the intricacy of design.

This is not all. Gods, too, are finding their way into the homes of so many people in this part of the region. Backlit, the gods not only add a touch of piousness to the surroundings, but also lend a traditional look to the décor.

You can pick up lord Ganesha lights. These are in. “Illuminated with a bulb from behind, the multi-hued light is carved out of glass in lord Ganesha’s form,” says another Chandigarh-based developer Aman Gupta. “It is easy to install.” You can also go in for lamps of goddess Lakshmi and lord Ganesha. Place them in a well defined corner of your room, preferably the one visible from the main door. More intricate ones will cost you anywhere between Rs 3,000 and Rs 10,000. But the traditional baked mud or terracotta lamps that cost just about Rs 100 are equally good, if not better.

Another thing! You have LED candle-shaped Christmas lights. They are meant for adding glitter to your Christmas tree, no doubt about it. But you can use them for Divali celebrations as well. The lights use up to 90 to 95 per cent less energy than your regular illuminations. They are long lasting also. They light up your mood for more than 200,000 hours before blowing out. You can keep them in your dining room for a perfect evening with your pals.

You can even pick up blown-glass lights in vibrant colors. The delicacy of the design comes to light, when illuminated. So vibrant are the myriad colours that they remind you of all things Rajasthani.

So folks, throw some light on your preference for the “established” by going in for the conventional. Just remember, all that glitters this time is, indeed, traditional. Happy lighting.

GROUND REALTY
Work wonders with WOOD
Jagvir Goyal

Woodwork is the most time consuming activity during the construction of the house. All the activities, including polishing of floors, are finished but some woodwork always remains pending. House builder should, therefore, plan the woodwork the day he begins excavation work at site. Here are a few useful guidelines for taking woodwork in hand:

The right wood

The first step is to choose the wood for your house. Choice of wood depends entirely on your budget. Undoubtedly, MP Teak is the best wood. But it is very costly. Other woods used these days are deodar, sal, kail, hollock, champ, tahli, chir, red meranty, yellow meranty, pine, mango, ivory coast, maple, white ash, steam beach, white cedar, Burma teak, rose wood and a few others. By teak wood here, we mean, Madhya Pradesh or Malabar teak. Many other teaks have arrived in the market but these are not comparable with MP teak.

Choosing the type of doors

These days, machine made or factory manufactured doors are becoming quite popular. The house builder should decide whether he wants to buy factory manufactured doors or get them fabricated at house site. If you are using MP teak, then you should go for site fabrication of doors. If you are using other woods, then you have both the options.

Windows

For door shutters, your choice may be factory manufactured doors but window frames and shutters should be fabricated at site only as most of the window shutters are glazed and it is better to fix glass panels at site itself. Even in case of door shutters, if you are choosing factory manufactured ones, then those with glass panels should be assembled without glass in the factory and the glass panels should be fixed at site only. Shutters with wooden panels or wire gauge may, however, be brought in finished state.

Factory-made doors

The number of door manufacturers is growing in India. They are using all varieties of wood, display unlimited patterns of designs, and have fixed price for each door listed in the catalogues thus eliminating the bargaining botheration. All the popular door sizes and thicknesses are covered by these manufacturers. Even customised doors are produced by them if the quantity ordered is suitable to them. Many door manufacturers have launched their websites. The house builder can conveniently check all designs and wood varieties and can make his choice as per his budget for woodwork.

Another plus point of factory manufactured shutters is that the joints and finish are excellent and wastage of wood is avoided. In woodwork done at site, wastage of 20 to 30 per cent occurs depending upon the sizes of wood purchased. The cost comparison of factory made shutters and those assembled at site should, therefore, be made by accounting for the wastage.

The present trend

More and more house builders are getting attracted to factory-manufactured doors because of the convenience and attractive designs which can be produced in a factory only. But the key concern of the house builder remains whether the quality of wood used is the same as told or not. That’s why it has been suggested above that if you can afford to use MP teak, doors should be fabricated at site itself, under your own supervision.

Always check the reputation of shutter manufacturers from some good engineer or architect. Avoid a manufacturer having a history of using inferior wood and covering it with attractive finish. Ask for manufacturer’s guarantee. A minimum 10-year guarantee should be secured. The manufacturers try to settle for a five-year guarantee. This is a short period.

Seasoning

An advantage of factory-manufactured doors is that most manufacturers go for bulk seasoning and chemical treatment of wood. Many of them have these plants installed in their own factories. Such seasoning and treatment saves wood from warp-age, moisture gain and insect attacks. Ask for the seasoning and chemical treatment of wood certificate also. If you don’t like any of the displayed designs, ask for production of computerised designs and select the one you want.

The choice within

Factory-manufactured doors carry high dimensional precision and finest finishes. Further, the doors can be of solid wood, veneered, lacquered, laminated and hand carved or flush doors. Solid wood, veneered and lacquered doors are protected with PU coatings which enhance door’s beauty and protect the wood from stains, water, spills and chemicals. Lacquered doors provide many colour options. The frames being manufactured by door manufacturers are mostly of 60 x 150 mm size irrespective of the door being single rebate or double rebate. You can keep the main door of the house large sized to add elegance to your house. For bedrooms and bathrooms, select solid wood-paneled doors or flush doors. For lobby and kitchen, select doors with glass panels.

Flush doors

There is a fascination for factory-made flush doors these days. Choose solid core type decorative flush doors. The core of these shutters has block board or particle board or medium density fibre board (MDF). A frame of wooden stiles and rails is fabricated to hold the core. The face may be of plywood or particle board or block board. Go for commercial or veneered decorative plywood face. Ideally, the particle board used in core should not swell by more than 5% when tested as per IS 2380. But you can’t check that and you have to rely on the manufacturer’s guarantee. The plywood panels are fixed by gluing under pressure in a hot process method. To ensure quality, see that the shutters carry IS 2202 mark. Flush doors are either totally blind or with an opening of 6”x10” at the top or a Venetian opening at the bottom. Choose the blind ones.

Glazed shutters

In glazed shutters for doors and windows, use thicker glass panes. In no case the thickness of glass should be less than 4 mm. Prefer 5.5 mm thick plain float glass. Take measurement for glass panes carefully by leaving a margin of 1/16 inch. Otherwise the wrong sized panes may go waste. Check glass to be free of flaws and bubbles. There is a revolution on glass front and superior glasses such as sheet glass, plate glass or pin head glass may be used if the budget permits. Choose glass manufactured by a reputed firm. Consult an engineer for the latest and durable brands.

Site fabrication

During site fabrication of door shutters, fix all types of panels in stiles and rails by providing grooves and beading except glass panes for which no groove is to be provided. In all types of panels except glass, prefer to provide beading on both sides. For fixing glass panes, provide beading on one side only. For external glass doors, keep beading on the outer side, and not on inner side. Support the panes on other side by the rebate in stiles and rails. Wherever wooden beading is used to hold the glass panes in position, apply putty between glass panes and rebate and press the glass pane against the putty. The putty can be prepared at site or ready mixed putty can be bought.

Keep these few points in mind and have a better woodwork.

Happy building!

(This column appears fortnightly)

REAL TREND
Affordable and loaded with facilities
Fazle Ghufran

The revival of the realty market has led to cut-throat competition in the residential segment with a new project being launched almost every other day. The customer is surely the king with so many choices at his disposal. Two major fallouts of this stiff competition that are surely in favour of the customers are: comparative prices and added facilities like 24-hour power back up, sports and recreation facilities, security and eco- friendly construction. For the maximum contentment of customers the builders and colonisers are promising more and more facilities at a reasonable cost.

The extra facilities include several eco-friendly apartments/homes, sanitation, water and power facilities.

Several groups, including Amrapali Greens, Gaur City, Morpheus Green etc have residential projects coming up in Noida, Noida Extension area and in other parts of the NCR. All of them are claiming to sell 2/3 BHK apartments in the price range of Rs 13 to 23 lakh.

Roshan Prakash, the co-founder and Managing Director of the Morpheus Group that has projects coming up in Sector 78 in Noida and in Noida Extension area, says, “Now-a-days there are so many options before customers. Keeping this in mind we have tried to fulfill all the primary needs of customers at an affordable cost. We have added five facilities in our projects, so that the customers could get the full value of their hard-earned money.” The five facilities include energy-efficient system, natural light, seismic zone-5 besides hospital, in-house crèche, ATM and transportation facilities (particularly for airport and railway stations).

The special features of these projects also include CCTV cameras for security, 24-hour power back-up, ample green areas, fire-extinguishers, and earthquake-proof buildings. Houses have weather-proof insulation, and the rainwater harvesting system on the roof of the apartments also keeps the rooms cool in the summer months. Swimming pools, jogging tracks, gyms, yoga centre, steam bath and spa centres are some of the other features that the customers can enjoy in these projects. As for the sports facilities several projects like the Morpheus Green have table tennis, lawn tennis and basket ball courts.

Bhim Yadav, the CEO of Falcon Real Estate Service that has projects in Gurgaon and Bhiwadi, said that his group in collaboration with the Rajasthan Government is providing quality low-cost eco-friendly homes to lower middle income group customers. The apartments also have solar and wind energy facilities. “We have also followed the projects like organic farming, water recycling and harvesting besides green cover, so that the homes are built in accordance with international environment standards,” Yadav added.

Realty bytes

Auction

MOHALI: Punjab Infotech has earmarked and developed a commercial site in the heart of ELTOP IT Park in Phase VII Industrial Area, Mohali, spread over an area of 2.15 acres, which would be put to auction on November 3.

The entire commercial complex comprises 20 SCOs, measuring 90.75 sq yd each, and 16 single- storey shops (mezzanine) measuring 44 sq. yd each. Currently 10 SCOs and booths have been put up for auction.

The commercial complex is ideally located and offers vast opportunity to tap the potential of the area. ELTOP IT Park is spread over 289 acres with presence of a large number of IT and ITeS companies, including Vodafone, Reliance Infocomm, AS Infonet, IIPM campus, Vodafone, Punjab Communications Limited, Seasia Consulting, Gilard Electronics, Bhasin Packard, to name a few. More details and forms can be downloaded from Punjab Infotech’s website, www.punjabinfotech.gov.in.

Alpha International City

AMRITSAR: Real estate group Alpha G:Corp has signed an agreement with Venus County Developers Private Limited to bring to Amritsar the city’s largest integrated township on the GT Road. The company has recently got the CLU (Change of Land Use) for its township development from the Department of Town and Country Planning Punjab.

Gurdeep Singh Jujhar of Venus County Developers said, “Setting up an integrated township offering best-in-class facility in the holy city of Amritsar has been our long-cherished vision. I’m sure that this project will redefine the standards of urban living not only in Amritsar but across Punjab.”

Col. R.S. ‘Pickles’ Sodhi, Managing Director, Alpha G:Corp said, “Alpha International City will be the largest integrated township in the city backed by post-contemporary infrastructure and superlative civic amenities.”

Strategically located on the G.T. Road and in close proximity to the corporation limits of Amritsar, this township will be just an eight-minute zip-drive through the elevated corridor to the Golden Temple.

This township will offer an international school, state-of-the-art medical facilities, a shopping complex, a club, modern sports facilities such as swimming pool, squash, badminton and tennis courts, indoor games and a well-equipped, elegant banquet hall. A large central green area and premium plots overlooking lush greens will be a delight for the township’s residents. Designed by ARCOP, leading architects of Montreal, Canada, the township will also offer living conditions of an international standard to residents across different socio-economic categories.

New MD

NEW DELHI: Building solutions firm, Everest Industries, has announced the appointment of Manish Sanghi as the company’s new MD. The development follows the current MD, M.L. Gupta taking over as the Vice-Chairman of Everest Industries.

Sanghi who has been with Everest Industries for the past nine years as Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer will now oversee entire operations and activities across Everest Industries and spearhead growth and business in the domestic and international markets. — TNS

TAX TIPS
LTCG calculation
S.C. Vasudeva

Q. I am a senior citizen. I had purchased a residential plot in July 2003, for Rs 5, 60, 000 and sold the same in August 2010, for Rs 12, 94, 000. Kindly calculate the long-term capital gain and the tax payable thereon. What is the time limit for depositing tax on long-term capital gain with/without penalty? Can I club the capital gain with my other income by way of interest on bank/post office deposits which is estimated to be Rs 3,65,000 for the FY 2010-2011 (AY 2011-2012) besides the rental income of Rs 15,000 (small portion on rent) from self-occupied house. In that case what will be my total tax liability? Otherwise kindly work out separately tax payable on interest income as stated herein. During the current year I have also invested Rs 1 lakh in SCSS u/80. Further kindly advise which ITR Form should be used for FY 2010-2011 (AY 2011-2012).

Further, you had advised in your column (dated July 10, 2010) that property sold for Rs 30 lakh or above must be disclosed in ITR. If it is so, then how to show the tax paid on LTG in the ITR without giving the details of property sold for less than Rs 30 lakh as is the position in this case.

— Rishi Kochhar

A. Your queries are replied here under:

• The long-term capital gain on the sale of residential plot would work out at Rs 4, 34, 043. This is based on the indexed cost of Rs 8, 59, 570. The tax payable there on would be Rs 86, 809 plus 3 per cent education cess there on. The tax should have been deposited to the extent of 30 per cent by September 15, 2010. The balance 70 per cent is required to be paid in two installments on the following dates:

Buy a costlier flat

Q. I have a residential house which I am going to sell. I want your advice on saving tax on the long-term capital gain. I have worked out that my capital gain will be Rs 1 crore. I propose as under within six months of the sale.

• I will buy flat worth Rs 35 lakh and capital gains bonds for Rs 50 lakh. On the rest of the money I will either pay tax or
• Buy capital bond for Rs 50 lakh and pay the tax.

You will thus to have pay tax on net capital gain of Rs 15 lakh. It will be advisable to buy a flat costing Rs 50 lakh instead of Rs 35 lakh, so as to save tax on capital gain of Rs 15 lakh.

Tax on sale of inherited plot

Q. I had inherited a plot from my father after his death in 1989. He had purchased the land in 1965 but had got it registered in his name only after 1974. It was sub-divided among my brothers and sisters on his death.

My queries are as under:

• I expect to sell my plot for Rs 55 lakh. What will be my capital gains tax liability in case I do not buy an alternative property?
• If I invest the proceeds in the Capital Gains Infrastructure Bonds, what will be my tax liability after the three-year lock-in period? Will I have to pay capital gains tax or only the normal IT on the interest earned?
• From the date of sale of my plot do I get some grace period of six or 12 months to decide about utilizing the money?
• I know that one can put the proceeds in a Capital Gains Account only with the SBI and a property purchase has to be made within three years. What happens if I cannot purchase any property within three years. Is there some provision for extension?

The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com