Steady climb
Geetu Vaid

The chill of recession being long over, the sun of revival and growth is shining high on the realty sector on the whole all over the country. The commercial rental market, too, is basking in the golden rays of the ‘revival sun’, maintain industry experts.

A survey conducted by realty portal 99acres.com recently has revealed that rental prices of most commercial hubs in the country have shown an upward movement as compared to rentals of Q3-2010(July-August-September) over Q3-2009. Barring a few localities in Mumbai, all other commercial localities across key metros have seen an upward movement in rental prices.

Commenting on this trend Vineet Singh, Business head, 99acres.com, says, “As far as the commercial rental trends are concerned, I see rentals increasing over this period. Renting of commercial space is preferred vis a vis buying, and lack of new supply coming in immediately in the near term, we will observe rental values continuing to escalate.”

Rentals in commercial hubs in Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali tricity area, too, are mirroring the upward trend in metros, though in some moderation.

Spaces for corporate offices, BPOs, shops and showrooms and mall space are the main components of commercial rentals and investors generally prefer to rent a commercial space as it means less maintenance worries and low risk factor. With more brands planning expansions post recession, the demand for commercial space has increased leading to an increase in rents. “During the downturn major brands had shelved their expansion plans so there had been a lull in the commercial rental market and the rentals had remained stable for some time, but now the buoyancy is back”, says Aman Ralhan, a city-based property consultant.

Retail space

In Sector 17, the heart of Chandigarh’s commercial buzz and biz, the rents in the main block are between Rs 5 to 10 lakh for a standard sized ground floor showroom in Plaza, and the current rents being quoted are up by about 20 to 25 per cent from those in 2009 end. In other business hubs of Sectors 22 and 35 also owners are demanding at least 20 per cent more rents than those last year.

Mohali also has maintained the 20-25 per cent upward trend in rentals. In Phase VII main retail area a ground floor space (900 sq ft) is fetching up to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, where as the rent for the same space was around Rs 1.10 lakh in 2009.While in the industrial area in Phase VII and VIII where BPO sector penetration is there, the rent is about Rs 20 to 24 per sq ft. In Phase V, where most of the eateries are located, the rentals are in the region of Rs 1.3 lakh for ground floor (900 sq ft), as against Rs 80,000-90,000 last year.

However, Panchkula in spite of its better planned market space, has not seen much growth in the rental value. Main reason for this is the slow influx of big brands in the city. Though high rentals are being quoted at several places, not many takers are there at present. But the mood is very upbeat in NAC market in Manimajra as far as the rental market is concerned. With several major brands setting up shop in the Pocket I the rentals have soared to around Rs 2.75 lakh for half ground space (1,000 sq ft) from Rs 2 lakh sometime back. In Pocket II the asking rate is in the range of Rs 1.50 -1.60 lakh at present.

Office space

Rentals of cabins (office space) has also gone up by 15 to 20 per cent, as per consultants in different parts of tricity. Cabins in Manimajra area are available for Rs 80-85 per sq ft at present, whereas the rent in Sector 26 and other markets along the Madhya Marg are in the range of Rs 140-150 per sq ft now as against Rs 100-110 in the beginning of the year. In Sector 38 area 500 sq ft area on first floor now can be rented out for around Rs 70-75 per sq ft in comparison to Rs 50-55 last year.

Mall space

Mall space comes at premium generally as it is considered an excellent option for regular rental returns rather than for capital appreciation. It is also believed to be the one that offers returns higher than the ones for office and residential space. “Improvement in the scenario in corporate sector has given more cash in the hand and more spending power to the salaried class, which forms the major percentage of the footfalls for any mall.

In the NCR region this improvement has once again set the trend of ‘Mall-Visit’ which can surely be seen as the Resurgence of malls and have certainly improved the rentals of commercial properties in the area”, says Ashwani Prakash, Executive Director, Paramount Group. But in the tricity malls the story is a bit different. The rents here have rather stayed stable. Paras Downtown Mall in Zirakpur has had some good response from major brands and the rents there are in the range of Rs 70-75 per sq ft. The other mall that has seen stable rentals is the DT mall in Chandigarh IT Park, while rest of the malls in Chandigarh and Panchkula are yet to attract enough footfall to lure major brands on their premises.

Thus, looking at the rental trends of key commercial hubs in the country we see that the commercial market has bounced back and the real estate scenario is expected to remain upbeat even in the coming months.

real issue
Need to set house in order
Sandeep Goel

The building bylaws in Punjab are the most complicated set of laws. In fact, they are in shambles with new notifications about amendments in building bylaws issued by various departments every now and then leading to confusion among the common man.

In spite of the fact that Punjab is one state governed by one government, there are multiple governing bodies controlling realty sector, and rules in different areas of the state are different. There are many land development bodies in Punjab such as Municipal Corporation, Municipal Committees, PUDA, GMADA, Improvement Trust, PIDB, Punjab Mandi Board, PDA, private developers’ land, PEPSU Board, Wakf Board etc, and all are governed by different ministries. Little wonder then that all these bodies have their own set of building bylaws having different specifications and stipulations for the construction/ development of land in different areas.

Different bylaws

Different procedures are being adopted by different development/competent authorities for granting clearance to building plans and real estate projects in different areas in the state. The licence fee structure varies as per the location as different licence fee is charged by different bodies. The bylaws regarding the construction of outer and inner plinth levels, roof level, maximum height, basement ventilation norms, chajja extensions on all four sides in owner’s land and in public land/roads, FAR norms, basement usage and height, ground coverage norms, sewer and water disposal, boundary wall height, main and side gate heights, are different which has resulted in haphazard development in cities.

The Punjab model building bylaws — 2010, that were issued by the Director of the Department of Local Government (vide letter Memo no CTP(LG)-2010-474, dated April 23, 2010), and addressed to all Regional Deputy Directors, Local Bodies and commissioners of Municipal Corporations for implementation of the same have not been adopted or implemented so far Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees etc in Punjab. These bylaws had notified modification like increase in maximun height permissible for residential houses from 33 ft to 50 ft, increase in chajja width from 3 ft to 4 ft etc. This either is nothing but a mockery of state government’s authority and policies or a proof that the government notification is just eyewash.

Consider following examples to get an idea of the confusion prevailing among those constructing houses or buildings in the state.

The maximum height permissible for residential houses by PUDA is 33ft whereas as per Municipal Corporation/ Committee bylaws it is 50 ft, as notified though not implemented. Similarly the width of chajja is 3 ft in Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees etc and 4ft as per PUDA bylaws.

The PUDA building bylaw on residential plot stipulates that boundary wall and main gate in entire Punjab is 2 feet 10 inches high on roadside, and 6 feet high on back/neighbours side. These laws are outdated and without any logic and need to be amended for security reasons also. On the other hand the Local Bodies department bylaws are silent on this and as such nothing has been defined. The portico columns on neighbours wall is also invalid, but practically entire residences are built with columns of porch on common wall. These laws need to be amended.

What can be done

l Building Application fee on Basement parking areas should be waived to promote the maximum basement parking. Single basement parking should be made mandatory for individual housing constructed on plots measuring 500 sq yd and above.

l Two-tier basement parking in total land areas should be made mandatory for group housing /commercial constructions so that there is no parking along the roadside which usually leads to traffic chaos. To promote the culture of maximum parking area in buildings in basement, the government should at least not charge the building application fee on this area, as this area is already out of permissible FAR.

l Rainwater harvesting, solar water heating system, structure safety norms etc should be made mandatory for construction in plots measuring 500 sq yd and above.

l Public friendly, simple and need-based uniform bylaws should be formulated and outdated, impractical, obsolete bylaws should be scrapped.

l Government should act as a regulating and guiding agency rather than creating hurdles.

l The entire Public shall be trusted and not be treated as defaulter until proved otherwise. n The officials concerned should also be held accountable/liable for giving clearances within a stipulated time limit and responsibility should be fixed for delays by government departments to stop corruption/exchange of underhand money to some extent.

l Application along with the submission of plan as per the bylaws along with other charges, under seal of registered architects/draftsmen should be enough, at least for residential plans. And any manipulation by registered architects/draftsmen to help the promoters to under value to said fee etc should be treated as a criminal offence under various sections of the IPC.

l The building plans approved by the state should be valid for five years and the extension procedure should be simplified.

Conclusion

The building bylaws, thus, should be consistent all over the state and not change with the regulating/controlling agency. The same building bylaws should be applicable for new constructions irrespective of the fact that the plot under construction falls in area controlled by the municipal body, PUDA, GMADA, Improvement Trust, PIDB, Punjab Mandi Board, PDA, Private Developers land, PEPSU Board, Wakf Board etc.

This will help the government to regulate development work and earn more revenue and also be convenient for people in general.

GREEN HOUSE
Operation COVER UP
Satish Narula

As we snuggle into layers and layers of clothes to cope with the winter chill, plants too need a good cover to “live” through the winter months. The practice of using “protection” cover for plants is becoming popular as more and more people are using nets and other coverings to save the plants not only from extreme weather conditions but also from attack by pests, insects and birds etc.

Nature has also given the self-protecting mechanism to some species but it is so not with all the species. The deciduous plants shed leaves to go into a short slumber suspending or minimising their biological activities till the weather conditions turn favourable. This holds good in case of fruit-bearing plants like peach, plum, pear, grapes, mulberry, fig and various other species like bauhinia, lagerstroemeas, mussaendas etc. Such plants do not need any external help to survive in winter months.

But in case of evergreen species generally the new growth in case of normal occurrence of frost and whole plant mortality in case of severity of occurrence of the frost is not uncommon. The newly planted plants are very prone to damage. They should be protected with a cover made by using parali or thatch erected on them. A word of caution: normally we see the gardeners covering the whole plant, but this is a wrong practice. The plants need light and sun to carry on photosynthesis activity to live. It is advisable to keep the south-east direction open.

It is important to follow weather broadcasts in case of large plantations and if any danger of frost is predicted, the trees could be irrigated. Watering gives strength to the trees against such vagaries. For protection against cold, the sensitive plants are moved under shade when these are in pots. They are also kept near the south wall in order to get maximum sun.

Plants need protection not only against cold weather but also against hale, too. For this hale nets are available and are being used by orchardists in several areas in Himachal Pradesh. These nets also protect plants from birds. In case of institutions where research material is used, the plants are protected by erecting glass house or poly-house structures. But in plains, anyone going in for such protection should consult experts first as the temperatures become very high in summers and such structures need to be provided with temperature lowering devices also which are very costly. Low cost technologies have been developed as are being followed in net-culture of growing vegetables. The enclosed structure protects the plants against insect-pests not only from the direct plant injury but also against the spread of deadly diseases for which they act as vectors. In case of kitchen gardens also, one could use protecting net bags in the beds. The plants like peach, guava etc that are normally attacked by birds and thus could be covered with shade nets to save the fruit. We have seen that the attack of squirrels is also minimised in such cases. 

REALTY BITES
Dhoot Group bags 210 cr project

Kolkata-based conglomerate Dhoot Group has bagged a prestigious project worth Rs 210 crore from the Director General, Married Accommodation Project, Ministry of Defence for the construction of 380 blocks — 2,236 Units for Army at Ferozepore, Punjab.

The group has its diversified business interests from real estate, infrastructure, aviation, manufacturing, power, finance, solid waste management, education, healthcare and hospitality. Making the announcement at the start of the project Pawan Dhoot, Managing Director, said, “This is a prestigious project for Infrastructure Division. Construction of 19 lakh sq ft on an area of 197 acres will create thousands of jobs and strengthen our relations with vendors and suppliers. We have kept a 27-month timeline for the completion of the project, and the work at site is in full swing to meet the set deadline“.

Real Estate Convention

India’s first ever real estate convention for Brokers — RE/MAX Realty Rendezvous, organised by RE/MAX India, a part of the world’s leading real estate network – RE/MAX will conclude on December 12. The convention, which started on November 29 is focussing on different facets of the real estate broker community. Sam Chopra, Director, RE/MAX India said, "The vision behind RE/MAX Realty Rendezvous is to announce the arrival of organised and professional real estate brokerage in India, the role of the broker has undergone a paradigm shift in the last few years and many young turks in this domain have showed that despite the lack of government regulation and attention, real estate brokerage has the ability to evolve into an organised sector and with little more effort towards providing education, training and professional identity for this segment, it indeed has tremendous opportunities from both entrepreneurial as well as employment perspective. " — Agencies

LAUNCH  PAD
Southcity

The Singla Builders Group launched their latest venture – SouthCity — in Zirakpur recently. The project, which is spread in over nine acres, will have 2/3/4 BHK premium apartments available in two variants. SouthCity will offers all modern facilities, including jacuzzi, sauna, steam bath, premium club with gym, swimming pool, pool/ billiards, aerobics, meditation and yoga centre, coffee lounge with library, party room, badminton court, guest parking, CCTV cameras, WI-FI and many more features. The Managing Director of SBP Group, Aman Singla, briefed the media persons about the current trend of modern housing and the prospects of global housing standards in the region at the launch.

Mahagun Mywoods

Mahagun group has launched group housing project — Mahagun Mywoods — at Noida Extension. The project is being developed on 60 acres area which includes residential saleable area and the green area. The project has been designed keeping in mind the lifestyle and aspirations of inhabitants who want to live in an eco-friendly surroundings. The apartments will be between the price ranges of Rs 15 lakh and Rs 33 lakh.

Speaking on the occasion, Dhiraj Jain, Managing Director, Mahagun Real Estate Pvt. Limited, said, “The demand for this kind of international standard lifestyle among today’s citizens is only growing. Mywoods has been designed by internationally renowned architect Hafeez Contactor and contains around 6 acres of largest central park with in the premises”.

The project will have approximately 7,500 apartments with specifications of 2BHK, 3BHK and 4BHK with areas starting from 935 sq ft to 1810 sq ft.

Marbella

EmaarMGF Land Ltd. has launched its ultra luxury project – Marbella, in Gurgaon. Strategically located at Golf Course Extension Road, Sector-66, Gurgaon, Marbella is an exclusive, impeccably planned signature villa community.

Marbella is a splendor of Spanish Architecture —spread majestically over 110 acres of sprawling green with 4/5 BHK luxury villas in the range of Rs 4.5 to 8.5 crore. This villas-only development is amongst the largest in Gurgaon with avant-garde facilities management set-up and a club house. For the first time facility management of the level of luxury apartments is being provided in a township (villa) format. This would include power back-up, elevation control, exterior maintenance, lawn maintenance, concierge services, central security and monitoring.

Earth Sapphire Court

Earth Infrastructures Limited organised the bhoomi poojan of its residential project — Earth Towne — which is the first LEED certified township in Noida Extension area based on Green building concept designed by EIGEN UK. EIL also launched its first commercial project Earth Sapphire Court on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion Vikas Gupta, Director of Earth Infrastructures Limited said, “We felt that there was a need for local office space-cum-shopping complex to meet daily needs in Noida Extension area as so many residential projects are coming up here. Thus we thought of launching this project and the main idea was to have a good shopping space for residents of the nearby areas”.

Orris Business Sqaure

Orris Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., a Gurgaon based real estate developer has launched “Business Square”, in Sector 82A, New Gurgaon. The project is the premium new age commercial complex having office spaces and hotels.

The Business Square is spread over an area of 9.5 acres of land, with a 5-star hotel being built on 2 lakh sq ft. The project also has office spaces for upscale multi-national offices, budget hotels and a convention centre spread over 6.8 lakh sq. ft. The price of the plots is approximately Rs 6,500 per sq. ft.

Designed by international architect ACPL, well furnished lobbies, widely spread out central atrium of triple height showered with natural light, landscaped park and paved pathways are the key highlights of the project. Artistically designed, the project offers world class infrastructural facilities like central air conditioning, 100% power backup, 24 x 7 security, hi-speed elevators, multi-level basement parking, gym and open terrace restaurant, wi-fi enabled fast internet access and Fire safety as per international standards.

The construction of Business Square will start in January 2011 and is expected to be completed by December 2013.aAccording to Vijay Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Orris Infrastructure, “Gurgaon has become a perfect business hub and Business Square definitely will best suit the need of every company because it has all kind of infrastructure and facilities. It will be an ideal destination for all MNCs and Corporates.”

tax tips
Conveyance deed clause JUSTIFIED

Q. To achieve expeditious development of urban estate of Haryana, it passed HUDA Act 1977. During 80s/90s, there were numerous state/central govt/semi-govt departments seeking land for the welfare of their personnel under "Self-Financing Housing Scheme". To meet their requirements HUDA carved out Sector 20 at Panchkula. The sector was to have exclusively multi-storey buildings of over 110 Group Housing Societies having more than 6,000 dwelling units.

All societies were/are self financing, cooperative and limited in nature. HUDA sold land under sub-regulation (I) of regulation (5) of HUDA (disposal of land and building) Regulations 1978 wherein first party (vender) being Estate officer HUDA and second party (Transferee) being Project Director of the respective Group Housing Society alongwith its lawful successor, representatives, assignees, persons in occupation of land or building erected thereon. Conveyance deed was done accordingly with Sub-Registrar, Panchkula.

All members kept pooling in the funds as installments periodically till the completion of the construction. Then the houses were allotted on lottery-basis. From the purchase of land till the construction of houses the money spent was of the members. All societies have limited houses and memberships. Whenever any member sells the house, some societies issue Rs 100 share certificate and some only a certificate of change of ownership of the house. And society sends intimation about this change to the Estate Officer, HUDA.

My queries are:

l Does the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act 1983, apply on these Group Housing Societies? Please give reference of decided cases?

l How the ownership title of the house should first vest and then flow after the sale of house?

l HUDA is insisting that all members should get the conveyance deed done. Is it the right thing?

—Surender Dutta

A. Your queries are replied here under:

l A bare reading of Section 2 of the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act, 1983 makes it clear that the said Act would be applicable to the group housing societies formed for the construction of residential houses whether such houses are constructed before or after the commencement of the said Act.

l According to Section 5 of the said Act, each apartment owner will be required to execute a Deed of the apartment in relation to his apartment in the prescribed manner. The Haryana Apartment Ownership Rules 1987 have prescribed a Deed of Ownership (Form B) for the said purpose.

l The requirement to get the Deed executed from all the members, thus, seems to be in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid Act.

Errors in computation

Q. Kindly advise me regarding the following points:

Can I sell my house that I had purchased on April 28, 2010 with LTCG amount taking into consideration the following details:-

I purchased an LIG category house on April 28, 2010, for Rs 1,90,000 + stamp charges 18,340 (total cost Rs 2,08,340). Now as this new house of 43.870 sq. m area at Jodhpur does not suit my requirement I want to sell it. Kindly guide me about the implications, if any, of selling this house and purchasing another one with help from my son.

— B.K. Rattan

A. I have gone through the computation sent by you for the purpose of claiming exemption under Section 54F of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (The Act) in respect of the capital gain earned on the sale of plot which seems to have been acquired in year 1997-98. The computations made by you are not correct on account of the following reasons:

l The requirements for claiming exemption under Section 54F of the Act is to utilise the net consideration received on the sale of the plot in the purchase or construction of the house within the specified period. The specified period for purchase is within one year before or two years after the date of sale and for construction within three years after the date of sale.

l The amount required to be utilised for the purchase or construction of the house should, therefore, be Rs 5,91,000 being the sale consideration of the plot. Since you have utilised a sum of Rs 2,08,340 towards the purchase of the house, the amount of capital gain would be proportionately exempt. On the basis of figures given in the query, the amount of exempt capital gain, would work out at Rs 1,51,262. The balance amount Rs 2,77,824 would thus become taxable. In case you don't have any other income and your only income is of long-term capital gain of Rs 2,77,824, for the assessment year 2010-11, you would be able to claim the benefit of basic exemption limit of Rs 2,40,000 as applicable to a Senior Citizen.

l On the basis of facts indicated in the query, the sale of the house purchased on April 28, 2010 within a period of three years of the date of sale would be treated as sale of short-term capital asset and any gain arising on such sale would be taxable as short-term capital gain. The short-term capital gain would be computed by taking the cost of the house purchased on April 28, 2010 as 'nil' in case an exemption to the extent of Rs 1,51,262 is claimed in the assessment year 2010-2011.

No issues over gifted property

Q. We are three brothers and live separately. Both my parents are alive. In 2003 my father, who owns 15 kanals, transferred 10 kanals of his self-acquired property in my name under a gift deed through the court. This was done by his own choice and he did not disclose this fact to my mother and two brothers. Accordingly, I got my name entered in the revenue records of Patwari in 2003. The 10 kanals are still in my name.

I want to know whether in the unfortunate scenario of my father's demise, my mother or brothers claim their share or take a stay on the land gifted to me by my father.

— Davinder Singh

A. A gift is the transfer of a certain existing moveable or immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration by one person (called the donor) to another (called the donee) and accepted by or on behalf of the donee. In order to be a valid gift, it is essential that the gifted property must vest in the transferee i.e. the donee.

There cannot be a gift in law without vesting of the property gifted in the transferee (donee) and such vesting cannot take place without the consent of the transferee -donee. The essential conditions of a gift, therefore, are making of the gift voluntarily, its acceptance by the donee and vesting of such property with the donee. Your father has full right to dispose of his self-acquired property in any manner he desires, and therefore, in my opinion, your brothers or mother would not be able to succeed in case the gift made by your father was made validly.

Get documentary proof from records

Q. A house constructed around the year 1933 was demolished by the legal heirs of the deceased owner and the plot was sold for Rs 15 lakh in the financial year 2010-2011. The sale proceeds were divided among the three claimants. The original cost of the plot/construction is not known and no documents are available in support of the purchase of the plot and construction there on.Does the sale involve any tax liability on account of capital gains? If yes, then what will be the amount? And how is it calculated?

— P. K. Verma

A. Your queries are replied here under:

l A search of the records maintained by the Registrar should be made which would enable you to get the duplicate of the relevant documents with regard to the ownership of the property which was acquired in 1933.

l The records of the Municipal Corporation/Municipal Committee would enable you to establish the existence of a house property because house tax must have been levied on the said property by the municipal authorities.

l A valuation report of the house property should be obtained from approved valuer for estimating fair market value of the house as on April 1, 1981. Such value will be indexed to ascertain the amount which would be deductible from the sale price of the subject house property. The balance amount would be the amount of capital gain on which tax would be payable by the legal heirs on the basis of their respective share in the said property.

l The tax payable on the amount of the capital gain by the legal heirs would depend on their individual incomes. It is not possible to compute the amount of capital gain as the relevant figures for the fair market value on April 1, 1981 is not available. Further the shares of the legal heirs have not been indicated to enable the computation of tax payable by such legal heirs. It may be added that long-term capital gain is leviable at the rate of 20 per cent of the gain plus education cess of three per cent thereon.

NEW PROJECTS
Tourism’s new address in Kashmir
Ehsan Fazili

Tourism “lost its address” in Kashmir when the historic Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) in Srinagar was gutted following an encounter between militants and the security forces personnel on April 6, 2005, on the eve of flagging off of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service.

With this the necessity of having a full-fledged facilitation centre for the tourists, both domestic and foreign, was felt and this led to the idea of having a Tourist Facilitation Centre. Thus, the site was chosen at Nowgam on the city outskirts, close to the Srinagar Railway Station. It took about three years to decide about the site and the design of the centre, and the work on the prestigious project was started on March 23, 2008. The first phase of the centre has already been completed and it will be inaugurated on December 5 on the birth anniversary of the founder of the ruling National Conference Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

While the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) would continue to function from the old site in the city, the new Tourist Facilitation Centre would be providing all facilities to the tourists.

The complex designed by the J&K Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), is a blend of colonial and old Kashmir architecture, and is being constructed by the Tourism Department of the state government. The centre, with the completion of first phase at the cost of Rs 11.59 crore, will have a second phase with more facilities to be completed within the next two years.

With the completion of this complex, the Tourism Department of Jammu and Kashmir Government would be equipped with a complete facilitation centre to provide all requisite information and facilities to the tourists visiting the picturesque Kashmir valley.

The entire complex is spread over an area of 100 kanal, of which 30 kanal will have permanent structures. These include the main TRC block, two accommodation blocks and a restaurant. The main TRC building has all the facilities, including lounges and waiting space, tourist information centre, pre-paid taxi stand, cloak room, hotel info, Internet café, banks, ATM, call centre, post offices and other related facilities for the tourists. The two accommodation buildings have 23 centrally heated bedrooms each, while one of these buildings has a health club; the other has a multi-purpose hall. The second phase will be having other related facilities like amusement park, rock climbing, shopping malls etc.

The buildings on the premises will showcase the colonial style of architecture which was the style followed for public buildings in Kashmir during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. The buildings will also exhibit traditional decorative elements. The decorative elements, include Dour, Pinjarkari, Khatamband, carved wooden columns. The building is designed in an environmental friendly manner with sustainable architecture and it incorporates special features such as cavity wall to reduce the overall energy consumption for heating and air-conditioning. According to Saleem Beg, Convener of the J&K Chapter of INTACH, the agency has been engaged in restoration of old buildings in the Valley, particularly in Srinagar city. 

Largest food court in Tricity
Rajmeet Singh

US based JJ Gumberg and Co is coming up with the largest food court (36,000 sq ft) in the region spread over an area of on 21.6 acres in Mohali.The food court that also includes fine dining outlets would be part of North Country Mall that is expected to become operation al by 2012.

Located along the busy Chandiagrh-Kharar National Highway, the upcoming facility would offer nine screen 1,800 seat multiplexes, including iconic IMAX theatre, 100,000 sq ft hypermarket and over 250 outlets.

Being developed by Gumberg India, a subsidiary of the US-based company and co promoted by Sun Apollo Real Estate Private Equity Fund, the Mall would offer largest retail space in Punjab. Designed by US based architects, the overall Mall concept is western style and the emphasis is on creating a uniquely fun and exhilarating shopping experience, featuring high ceilings and adequate parking.

“Our emphasis is to create a uniquely fun and exhilarating shopping experience, featuring high ceiling, wide corridors, multiple points of access, superior parking in excess of 3,000 spaces, contemporary western mall race track design for ease of customer traffic flow, distinctive and inviting storefronts and eye catching architectural elements. Important off site improvements to NH 21 are also being done by the company like slip roads, traffic control and road widening to ensure that our customers may access the mall both coming and going with no traffic congestion,” said Director& CEO B. Anantharaman.