Realty bounty in holy city
The realty sector is on a high in the holy city of Hardwar,
writes Charandeep Singh

Hardwar, the abode of gods, owes much of its significance to its spiritual connection in Hindu mythology. But in the current scenario it has become an important hub of economic activity in Uttarakhand. As economic activity is bound to have a cascading effect on the real estate scene of a place, the realty sector in Hardwar has seen a steady growth over the past few years. The city attracts thousands of tourists as it is one of the most famous pilgrimage centres of Hindus. People come from all over India as well as abroad come to this city that is situated on the banks of river Ganges. Thus there is ample demand for property in Hardwar. To cater to the ever growing demand for housing, the development authorities along with other agencies have initiated several real estate projects here. Top builders of India, too, are constructing projects in the city.

Favourable factors

The peaceful ambience, the sound of rituals in the numerous temples, the sparkling waters of the Ganges, all have been major factors in consolidating the growth of realty sector in the city. “I always wanted to make Hardwar my retirement home as I wanted to be closer to God. And with “branded” property available, I prefer to go in for that rather than buying from open market”, says V. Shyamulu, a retired bureaucrat from Delhi, who has purchased a 3BHK apartment in one of the upcoming townships near the city.

Shyamulu’s statement mirrors the sentiment prevailing as far as the projects of private builders are concerned. Ravi Saund, Head, Business Development, CHD Developers Ltd., feels, “We at CHD believe that life begins at 55. Our project at Hardwar is aimed at providing luxury living to that section of society which is retired and would like to stay in a religious and calm environment. Sri Gayatrilok in Hardwar is one such destination which has been perceived as a project that will offer closeness to God along with a touch of luxury.” Approved by the Hardwar Development Authority (HDA), Sri Gayatrilok is an aesthetically designed residential complex which has all the modern in house facilities that are available in any new township in any of the metros. Hero Honda, too, launched a 50-acre township — Hardwar Greens — in March this year. The company spokesperson said, “Hardwar Greens aims to meet the needs of the local population, those who have migrated to the area and others from India and overseas who consider Hardwar a special place — the true Dev Bhoomi.”

Industry fillip

Apart from these upcoming residential projects, Hardwar also boasts of having a good industrial setup. Foremost amongst these is BHEL, Ranipur Township spread across an area of 12 km. The set up employs over 8,000 skilled employees, and the entire township is divided into six sectors providing excellent residential, schooling and medical facilities. SIDCUL is a massive industrial area spread over 2034 acres, developed by the State Industrial Development Corporation Uttaranchal Limited (SIDCUL), a state government body. With big enterprises like Hindustan Lever Limited, Dabur, Mahindra & Mahindra, Havells, moving in, SIDCUL is set to develop into another industrial township within the city just 3 km from the Delhi-Hardwar National Highway.

Slew of projects

The state government, too, has played a major role in making the real estate scene in Hardwar more vibrant. In order to facilitate housing at affordable rates, HDA has played a vital role by announcing the Inderlok Residential Scheme. Owing to this the prices of property and plots in Hardwar and areas like Indralok have escalated tremendously. “Since the plots sold by HDA were not big (maximum being 300 sq. yd), these sold like hot cakes and their rates have also appreciated considerably”, says Shubhra Das of Sargam Estate Properties.

Aarogyam is a world-class resort comprising furnished air-conditioned residential apartments, furnished air conditioned service apartments and a 30,000 sq.ft. spa spread over 19 acres. According to Rajesh Mehta, VP, Sales, Aarogyam, “In the first phase of Aarogyam we had about 480 units for sale and about 70 per cent of the project is sold out and we plan to wrap it up in another two months’ time. There has been an appreciation in prices here, too. We sold the first unit at about Rs 2,600 per sq. ft and the current rate is Rs 2,800 per sq. ft”.

In ‘Jurs Country’, a project which is being executed by a local coloniser, 2BHK apartment is available for Rs 17.53 lakh and a 3BHK apartment for Rs 23.77 lakh. Similarly there is much buoyancy in the rates of flats in HAD-developed colonies. The current market rate is about Rs 2,500 per sq. ft up from Rs 2,100 per sq ft about six months ago.

“See Hardwar is a very compact city and now a number of international brands have also set up shop here because of the high density of educational institutes in the city and its vicinity. And with the BHEL and SIDCUL townships being there the demand for housing has increased and so the rates have also appreciated”, says Sumit Dawar, city-based a real estate consultant.

Graph goes up

In the prime residential areas like Model Colony, Adarsh Nagar, Govindpuri, Raj Vihar etc, the current rate is around Rs 6,500 per sq. ft. Rental market, too, is lucrative with a one-room apartment fetching around Rs 3,000 per month. “The main commercial area which is New Hardwar, known popularly as the ‘Connaught Place’ of Hardwar, fetches a rent of Rs 80 to 100 per sq ft per month. Even the prices of agricultural land on Delhi-Rishikesh road are sky rocketing with one bigha costing around Rs 1 crore and further towards Roorkee the rate varies from Rs 35-43 lakh a bigha”, adds Ramesh Chand, a coloniser from Hardwar.

The growth track

Post-the economic downturn and capital restructuring, the Indian real estate sector is back on the growth track with realty companies' interest burden declining by 10 per cent, according to a report by Dun & Bradstreet.

The increase in equity capital by realtors led to a sharp fall in their debt-equity ratio to 0.66 from 0.83 in FY 09, a positive development for the sector, the report 'India's Leading Real Estate Companies 2010' said.

Dun & Bradstreet is a leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight.

The report, that studied the profiles of 68 leading real estate companies, not only provided insight into the current trends and challenges in the sector ahead but also gave a detailed analysis about the financial performance of 30 listed Indian real estate companies.

“The real estate industry has shown positive signs of recovery in FY 10-11 after a preceding year of slump in property demand. Our study revealed that many real estate companies undertook various debt and capital restructuring measures owing to an increased debt burden in FY 09,” D&B India’s President and CEO Kaushal Sampat said.

He further said the companies started to off-load their expensive short-term loans and replaced them with lower cost long-term loans, which had a positive impact in FY 10. Further, the companies focused on de-leveraging by increasing their equity capital which in turn leads to a fall in the debt-equity ratio, Sampat added.

The study also indicated that improved sentiments in the capital markets in FY 10 and FY 11 also meant that real estate developers were able to raise capital through IPOs and QIPs, he said.

Real estate developers were able to raise Rs 1,658-crore through QIPs in the first-half of FY 11 and Rs 7,240-crore through QIPs and Rs 650-crore through IPOs in FY 10.

The report also stated that in FY 09, real estate companies faced a 38 per cent decline in sales against 82 per cent growth in the previous year. However, in FY 10 as the economy showed signs of recovery, sales grew by 4 per cent. — PTI

TAX TIPS
Tax on agricultural land

Q. Punjab Government is going to convert the Municipal Council, SAS Nagar into Municipal Corporation and all the villages falling under the Master Plan of Mohali are being included in the Corporation area.

I want to know that if agricultural land or land falling within phirni in any village being included in the corporation area is sold after the formation of corporation, will be taxable under capital gain tax or not?

— Parvinder Singh

A. You queries are replied hereunder:

n The agricultural land within the Municipal Corporation area would be treated as a capital asset and the capital gain arising thereon would not be chargeable to tax provided

(a) such agricultural land within a period of two years immediately preceding the date of transfer has been used for agricultural purposes by the individual or his parent, and

(b) The transfer of such agricultural land is by way of compulsory acquisition under law, the consideration of which is to be determined or approved by the Central Government or other state government. In case the above conditions are not satisfied, the agricultural land within the Municipal Corporation area held for a period of more than three years would be treated as a long-term capital asset and capital gain arising thereon would be taxable at the rate of 20 per cent plus education cess of 3 per cent thereon.

n The government has issued a notification which specifies the distance from the municipal limits in order to ascertain whether a particular agricultural land would be treated as a capital asset. The taxability of capital gain arising on transfer thereof would depend upon the agricultural land being situated within the prescribed distance. You will, therefore, have to ascertain the exact distance for the purpose of determining the taxability of the capital gain arising on such a land.

Right registration

Q. I would like your advice on the following points:

I inherited agricultural land in 1962, which being in backward area of Hoshiarpur is not chargeable to capital tax on sale. I have entered into an agreement (iqrarnama) with a party for sale of a few acres of this land at an amount x. The agreement is on stamp papers. The original has been kept by the party, while a signed photo copy has been given to me. The agreement is not registered. I have received about 25 per cent of x in cash as advance. Usual conditions of sale by me in three months’ time and party to purchase within this period have been incorporated in the agreement. The party has told me that they will make the payment in cash only. But all this is verbal.

I have found that government rate is y which is about 70 per cent of x. The agreement is silent on this point. Now, I want to know:

n Is there any problem if I accept cash from the party?

n For what amount should the Registration deed be made? Can I ask the party to execute the deed at the amount mentioned in the agreement or I have to execute at amount y (government rate) if they insist? What is the legal position?

— Harbans Lal

A. Your queries are replied here under:

n There is no objection in accepting the consideration for sale of property in cash. However, it would be advisable to deposit the said amount of cash in the bank immediately after the receipt of such an amount.

n The sale deed should be executed at the actual amount receivable by you for the transfer of the agricultural land. You should, therefore, insist on the sale deed to be executed at x amount. I may add that in case the consideration reflected in the sale deed is less than that, at which the stamp duty is required to be paid, then capital gain is required to be computed with reference to the value adopted or assessed or assessable by stamp valuation authority for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of the transfer of land.

More clarifications

Q. Thanks for your reply to my query in last issue (dated November 20, 2010). Kindly clarify the following points also.

n The paternal house has been financed from the income of my late father, but registered in the name of my mother. My mother never had or has any source of income.

n My father never filed any income tax or wealth tax return. My mother, too, has never filed any income tax or wealth tax return. In addition my father never informed his office about the acquisition of this property despite the fact that he was a government servant.

n Now please advise if my mother can debar any of her children from having any share in this property? Can I claim my 1/6 th share of this house? Can she dispose off this house without concurrence of all her children or can she Will it in the name of her eldest child, a son.

— R. Singh

A. The queries raised by you are replied here under:

n The facts given by you indicate that the house was financed by your late father and your mother was only Benami holder. This is in view of the fact that your mother has no source of income to purchase or construct a house property.

n You have all the right to claim 1/6 th share in such property on the basis of the provisions of Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

n She has inherited 1/6 th share in the property in respect of which she has a right to make Will. She cannot dispose off the property without the consent of other legal heirs. As pointed out herein above, it is possible for her to make a Will in favour of your elder brother to the extent of her share in the property.

I may add that you will have to approach the court to get the matter settled in accordance with the provisions of law.

Rights of a daughter

Q. What are girl's rights in her father's property?

— Anshika

A. A son and a daughter have equal rights in father's property. In other words, a daughter would be entitled to same share as other legal heirs have in the property of a deceased male Hindu.

No exemption on buying commercial land

Q. I want to sell a residential flat that I had purchased in 1980. Please advise whether I have to pay tax on capital gain if I purchase a residential plot. What if I purchase a commercial plot within the time allowed.

— Vishal

A. The Capital gain arising on the sale of a residential flat would be chargeable to tax in case only a residential plot is purchased and no construction thereon is effected within a period of three years after the date of the sale of the residential flat. The exemption from the liability of tax on capital gain in such a situation can be availed provided the following two conditions are satisfied:

n Capital gain arising on the sale of the residential flat is utilised towards the purchase or construction of a residential house. The purchase can be made within one year before or two years after the date of sale of residential flat. The construction of a residential house can be carried out within a period of three years after the date of sale of the residential flat.

n So much of the amount as is not appropriated towards the purposes referred to in (a) above is deposited in a bank under capital gain scheme before the due date of filing the return of income. The amount so deposited thereafter can be withdrawn and utilised within the aforesaid period for the purposes of purchase or construction of a residential house, as the case may be.

You would not be able to claim the exemption from the taxability of capital gain in case capital gain is utilised towards the purchase of a commercial plot within the time period mentioned earlier.

Consult a lawyer

Q. My father owns the following agricultural land:

n 2.5 acres: Inherited from my great grandfather (ancestral land)

n 2 acres: Inherited from his mother who had got it after the death of her husband who had, in turn, got it from his father (ancestral land).

n 3.5 acres: Received from sisters through a “reliable deed”. His sisters had got this land from my grandfather and great grandfather (ancestral land).

My queries are :

n How much land I can legally claim if my father plans to gives all land to his son only.

n Can my father deny me my share through a Will? We are one brother and one sister only.

— Mehak Singh

A. The issue raised by you involves civil law. You should, therefore, consult a lawyer who can guide you in respect of the said matter.

The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com

Bathinda gets a taste of luxury

Choice Hotels India announced the launch of its new property Comfort Inn Tulip Heights in Bathinda, Punjab. With the opening of this hotel, Comfort Inn now has presence in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Haldwani.

Speaking on the occasion Vilas Pawar, Chief Executive Officer, Choice Hotels India, said “We are delighted to add one more hotel in Comfort Inn category and to partner with the Mittal Group, in this venture. Our vision is to present an international experience with world class services at best value proposition. The warmth of international hospitality at Comfort Inn Tulip Heights will help redefining the service standards offered to the traveler.”

Bhatinda, the cotton capital of Punjab, boasts of having Asia’s biggest railway junction well-connected to each and every part of India. It will emerge as a modern industrial hub in the coming years with upcoming Guru Gobind Singh Refineries Ltd (GGSRL) and two power plants. Besides this the city will soon have an international cricket stadium and domestic airport.

This first international brand hotel in Bhatinda offers a wide range of services. It has 84 rooms (including 6 suites) and each room features WiFi Internet Access, Wall Mounted LCD TV, Mini Bar, E-Safe and Tea/Coffee Maker.

Other offerings at Comfort Inn Tulip Heights include a Wellness Center, Swimming Pool, Doctor on call and Interconnected rooms for families. The hotel also offers state-of-the-art conference and banquet facilities with 4 banquets: Ferns, Carnation, Gulmohar and Palm Garden. — TNS

GROUND REALTY
Perfect storage mantra
Jagvir Goyal

Whenever we visit a grocery store, the items demanded by us are produced within minutes by the store owner and his workers. It is possible only because the store owner has classified all the items and kept them in a systematic and accessible manner. The same rule is applicable to our kitchen also. Here, however, the number of items is much lesser than those in a grocery store. Therefore, it should be all the more easy to locate items in the kitchen. This will be possible only if the storage space in the kitchen is rightly planned.

Governing parameters

Two parameters govern the planning of storage space in a kitchen. One is the size of the kitchen and other is the number of items to be stored in it. Obviously, bigger is the size of the kitchen, more of ‘accessible storage space’ it can have. The size of the kitchen decides its basic design. In a smaller and narrow kitchen, a straight line design has to be used. A medium-sized kitchen can have the gallery type or L type design. A large-sized kitchen can follow U type design. In a very large sized kitchen, island type design can be followed along with a breakfast counter with two or four chairs. So the size of kitchen decides its design, the design decides the storage space and storage space decides the items that can be stored in it.

Essential items

While the hob, the chimney over it, the sink, the gas cylinder and the microwave or OTG are the five essential items for a kitchen, a refrigerator can be accommodated in it only if the size of kitchen is medium or large. Balance of the space after accommodating these items has to be provided with such drawers, baskets, trolleys and cabinets that all the utensils, consumables and non-consumables are stored well in them and remain within the user’s reach.

Planning storage space

Once the design of kitchen is decided as per its size, divide the space available for storage purpose into two categories:

Space above the counter.

Space below the counter.

Choose to provide drawers and trolleys in the space below the counter and shelves and cabinets in the space above the counter. Provide the worktop counter at 32 inch above the floor level. Divide the net vertical space below the counter in four-drawer levels of height 6 inch to 10 inch. Keep the bottom level of the cabinets above the worktop counter 24 inch higher than the worktop. This otherwise means that bottom of cabinets is 56 inch above the floor level. Keep the depth of overhead cabinets as 12 inch or less. More depth of the cabinets makes the things lying in them inaccessible. Thirdly, provide corner storage units in free corners of the kitchen. If a corner is completely free, provide a tall unit there.

The drawers

It is best to provide four layers of drawers of varying depth below the worktop. Optimum depths are 4 inch, 6 inch and 10 inches. However, you may vary depths as per your requirement. Ensure that all drawers come running out on small tapping by them. For this, these must be provided with best runners. Label the drawers. A glance at the label and you know which drawer contains what. Use adjustable partitions in the drawers so that you may vary the size inside. Classify them for kitchen cutlery, consumables and non-consumables storage. Create a drawer below the sink in such a manner that its central portion is hollow and without a back to accommodate the sink depth. Store sink items like detergents, dish bars, cleaners, steel brushes, bottle brushes, scrubs, clothes, napkins, disinfectants etc in this drawer. While the finish of outer wall of this drawer may match that of others in the kitchen, let the inner walls be in perforated steel sheets. Check the design of drawer inside very carefully. These days, these can be a mix of wood, stainless steel and perforated sheets. The partitions, too, can be shaped specially to act as holders cum partitions.

Trolleys

Provide trolleys below the worktop. Provide swivel wheels to these trolleys accommodated below the worktop to pull them out easily. Let some trolleys be of CP stainless steel wire mesh. These should store the copper bottomed pans, pots, lids. Add some pull out cane baskets. These should contain vegetables like onions and potatoes, bottles, trays and big sized steel plates. The baskets available are of many types, including right-angled drawer baskets, trolley type and corner type. Choice can be made keeping in view the items to be stored.

Cabinets

Don’t provide any open able doors to cabinets. Choose sliding doors or stay lift doors. Stay lift doors are best for full shelf space usage and open upwards. Earmark the cabinets near the sink for utensils. Add a drip tray to the dish rack. Always have a ladle cradle provided on the wall near the utensil cabinet.

Tall unit

Look for adding a tall unit to the kitchen. It normally has six to seven shelves and very convenient. Pickle jars, chutneys, sauce bottles, vinegar bottles, transparent glass and poly containers, oils, spice packs etc can be stored on these shelves. Mostly, these shelves are open type and provided with railings so that any jar or bottle can be picked up easily. The shelves can be pulled out also better access to the items in the back rows. It is better to choose a customised tall unit from a reputed kitchen company rather than getting one fabricated.

Corners

Corners are often the neglected or remain wasted space in kitchens. Provide a corner unit specially designed to have swivel tray shelves for easy picking up of stored items. Corner drawers are also becoming very popular. On being pulled out a right-angled drawer flows out which can be used for storage of any type of items.

Go ahead, plan your kitchen and happy cooking!

— This column appears fortnightly

Space management for enhancing efficiency
Harinder Singh

An efficient work space not only adds to employees’ convenience but also reduces the logistic costs involved. With increasing cost per square foot, every occupant struggles to get more space within the one available. Area efficiency is more critical in the corporate space where every work station is calculated on the basis of cost paid as the rental for the space. On the other hand, corporates are equally concerned about the exterior look, the interior finish, common conveniences and common passages in front of offices.

The usable area in a facility can improve substantially if adequate attention is paid while allocating space for immovable fixtures. Established practices of super area and carpet area calculations by developers often mislead the occupants resulting in inefficient space distribution. There are several building characteristics which affect the efficiency of the individual floor and each office facility inside it. If not calculated properly, you may lose on space and it has an impact on your employee productivity. One can utilise the space available more effectively by concentrating on a few important points which can offer an organised office layout.

Columns

Is there always a column in the way of the desk arrangement you want to create? Although it’s difficult to get bigger space without permanent walls constructed within but interference of too many pillars may affect optimal furniture layout and space usage. Column dimensions greater than 24 x 24 inches will create inefficiencies. Bulky structures or inconsistent column spacing have a tendency to create unusable pockets of space and reduce the maximum achievable densities.

Building design

A beautifully designed building may not necessarily be very space efficient. One should focus on more intelligent designs of buildings to enable maximum space utilisation. Edges, corners and dead ends waste a lot of space, so common preference is for a rectangular area with 1:2:5 ratios between the front and depth of it. Proportional dimensions increase the space usability and is vaastu compliant. Buildings with curved exteriors are not very efficient and affect the space distribution of individual facilities by disrupting the workstation layouts drastically. In an efficient building, primary circulation might be anywhere between 10 and 15 per cent of the net internal area, but this can rise significantly in older, more irregularly shaped buildings.

Ceiling height

Better ceiling height and the wall space around the perimeter of the office virtually doubles the storage capacity without compromising floor area. Higher ceiling gives an illusion of bigger space; luminaries reduce the eye stress while working on computers. Sloped ceilings will restrict the use of the space.

Window glazing

Office area square feet (usable square feet) is typically measured from the inside of the dominant feature of the exterior wall, which in most cases is the window glass. When window systems are situated in "deep pockets" of drywall, the result is more unusable space. Though windows improve the illumination inside the office but existence of too many windows reduce the storage space and wall units. Size of windows and distance between them needs to be considered since it poses problems while creating partitions.

Wet shafts

Since these are fixed features; presence of too many shafts may disturb the distribution of space for work stations and non common areas. Fewer shafts may not be sufficient to serve the people sitting in that facility. Placement of shafts has a tendency to disrupt space planning and reduce maximum achievable densities.

Fire escape

Does the position of fire escape relate well to the natural locations of primary circulation routes? The presence of emergency exit should not interfere with the furniture arrangement since adequate space needs to be keep vacant near emergency door.

Vaastu compliance

Vaastu orientates places and dictates the proportions of every detail as in building lines, skylines, elongations, levels, slopes, toilets, staircase, heights of ceilings and roofs, entrances and windows, compound walls and so on. In absence of vaastu compliance of the building, you may need to leave the area vacant to avoid any wrong positioning.

The shape factor

The historic character of a building and its layout can create major inefficiencies where the primary circulation routes, for example, common passages which are often wide, significantly affect the amount of net usable space available. Configuration describes the geometry of a typical floor within a building. Thus, a square or oblong plan, with a single central core will be inherently more efficient than a plan form that is highly irregular (driven by plot shape), with distributed service corps. Single centre cores centrally placed in a building require less space for common passages and increase usage efficiency of the floor area.

Floor Plates

Some buildings have a reputation of being "inefficient" because floor plans have odd angles, curves, cut-outs, or atriums. Full floors measuring 20,000 - 26,000 square feet in a rectangular shape are most efficient allowing convenient workstation layouts and adequate provisions for meeting rooms and common facilities at one level. Such space offering encourages interaction and communication between the staff.

With deliberate actions and initiatives one can achieve optimum efficiency in the workspace with strategic placement of furniture, wall and floor designs, but it is impractical to bring any change in the physical shape of the building or its immovable fixtures. Hence, evaluation and detailed study of the building features is obligatory to steer clear of operational hurdles later.

Though one can analyse the features mentioned above but it is suggested to take advice of a professional real estate consultant who can guide you beyond the leasing services. Moreover a consultant can also provide you a comparative analysis of the chosen properties in the said area and check for the most efficient and suitable facility.

The writer is the Managing Director of Realistic realtors Pvt. Ltd

HOME DECOR
CLASSY CHAIRS
Geetu Vaid

Home, the ultimate retreat, the place to rewind and recuperate from the stresses and strains of the outside world — all these and other associations of being in your own domain and in the company of your loved ones undoubtedly add a spring in the steps of someone returning home after a hard day’s work.

Every homemaker takes extra care to create that special corner where one can rewind, relax and enjoy that lazy afternoon or quite evening while relishing that refreshing cup of tea or reading a book.

With changing décor trends this small “unwinding” space, too, has taken different forms from time to time and from home to home.

So it can either be a grandfather’s chair, or a recliner or an ottoman that can serve as the right place to relax in your home.

A new addition or a new look can be given to this space by putting up a hanging basket or a bubble chair. The hanging chairs are fast becoming popular in homes of all shapes and sizes.

Shaped like a hemisphere these are ideal to let your hair down and relax. These chairs create a very contemporary and aesthetically advanced ambience. Their versatility and unique design can light up any room.

Hanging chairs are a cross between a chair and a swing and are usually elevated about 15 inches from the floor and are ideal for those tricky corners and look stylish even when placed outdoors. The transparent ones allow one to enjoy the view all around and merge into the colours of the surroundings.

Add multi-hued fabric cushions or leather cushions to up the plush quotient of your décor. Chintan Doshi Director of Tangent Private Limited, says, “No contemporary living space is complete without a few designer pieces. The chair is neat with very innovative and progressive designs that invite you to fall back in it for hours.” The company has introduced its latest range of hanging chairs in futuristic designs.

PROJECT WATCH
Bookings on for Tuscan Heights Phase-II

TDI group has introduced Tuscan Heights Phase-II as a part of the sprawling 53-acre Tuscan City at TDI City at Kundli. Nestled right beside the NH1 in a clean-green ambience, it is 15 minutes signal free drive away from upmarket residential hubs of north and North West Delhi. For its strategic location on the border of Delhi along NH1, Kundli is considered the gateway to prosperous states like Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Uniqueness of the location and land rates has also made this fast developing city an ideal destination for investment. Apart from the three existing industrial zones nearby - HSIIDC, Kundli Industrial Area (KIA) and Rai Industrial Area (RIA), the growing industrial and business zones here are likely to generate significant job opportunities. Tuscan Heights also boasts of having the upcoming 5000-acre Rajiv Gandhi Education City in its proximity that is likely to emerge as a global academic hub. Top universities from around the world and a number of their Indian counterparts have already expressed interest to be a part of the Rajiv Gandhi Education City.

Kamal Taneja, Managing Director, TDI Infrastructure Limited says, "Apart from being a business destination, Kundli has evolved to be a fantastic place to live in. Considering the strategic location and appreciation of value, at Tuscan Heights our aim is to provide high quality and international flavour in architecture, integrated in a township with world class infrastructure and amenities. The USP of Tuscan Heights is luxury within your budget." — TNS

REALTY BYTES
Indians top buyers of space in Burj Khalifa

Indians top the list of buyers in the world’s tallest tower having acquired space worth $ 7.9 million in the first seven months of the skyscrapers opening. Prominent buyers of swanky apartments in the 100 floor Burj Khalifa tower include London-based NRI businessman Raj Kundra, who presented an apartment to his wife Shilpa Shetty.

Local businessman of Indian origin B.R Shetty, who is managing director and CEO of the New Medical Centre Group of Companies in Abu Dhabi, has also bought the entire 100th floor in the tower. Rizwan Sajan, Chairman of Danube Group is also reported to have recently purchased an apartment in the tower. As the world still reels under economic downturn, the local UAE nationals come second having spent $ 2.62 million on buying space in the tower, a news report citing real estate information company Reidin.com has said.

Other major buyers of tower’s space include Australians $ 1.25 million, Omanese $ 1.14 million, Chinese $ 0.62 million and Iranians $ 0.73 million.

According to Reidin.com, the figures are based on the actual transactions registered with the Land Department of Dubai. — PTI

Allotment on at Wave Hi-Tech City

Wave Infratech Pvt. Ltd., a part of industrial conglomerate Wave Inc (the erstwhile Chadha Group), has announced the commencement of the allotment of the first batch of applicants of its Wave Hi-Tech City, a high-tech township in Ghaziabad. The company is expected to be complete the allotments by April 2011.

Talking about the development, Manpreet Singh Chadha, CEO of Wave Infratech Pvt Ltd, said, "It is our pleasure to start the allotment of the first batch of applicants in Wave Hi-Tech City. We have always remained committed to quality, and Wave Hi-Tech City is one of our ambitious projects which will be a living solution to middle and upper middle class people and also create wealth for them."

The construction and development of the township is underway and its Phase-I is expected to be completed by middle of 2013. Wave Hi-Tech City, the Group's self-sustainable integrated township, is among the largest integrated city development projects being developed in the NCR region. It will span more than 4,500 acres with all the modern infrastructure and lifestyle facilities.

Bhoomi poojan

Construction work at Supertech Limited’s two projects Eco-Village-III and Oxford Square located at Noida Extension Greater Noida began with the bhoomi poojan ceremony earlier this week. The puja ceremony was performed by R.K. Arora, Chairman and Managing Director, Ms Sangeeta Arora, Joint Managing Director and Mohit Arora, Director. Oxford Square comprises independent and duplex floors. The possession of Oxford Square will be given in 18 months and Eco-Village III within 24 months.

Tata’s target

Tata Housing Development Company Ltd plans to sell about 13,000 housing units, mostly in the affordable segment, this fiscal for an estimated realisation value of over Rs 2,000 crore.

“We are currently developing about 20 projects across the country. In this fiscal, we are targeting to sell 12,000 units in the affordable segment and about 1,000 flats in the premium segment, company’s Managing Director and CEO Brotin Banerjee told PTI on the sidelines of a realty conference organised by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Banerjee said affordable housing is being developed by its subsidiary Smart Value Homes under two brands — Subha Griha (sub Rs 10 lakh) and New Heaven (Rs 12-30 lakh) — in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.

The company would invest about Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal on development of these projects, he added. Asked about the impact of housing finance scam on realty sector, he said the banks would tighten the lending process to developers and might not restructure their outstanding debt.

“There is a huge loan overdue to banks from real estate industry. If banks do not reset these loans, then developers might cut prices to sell their housing stocks and meet their repayment obligation,” Banerjee opined. — PTI