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Area Watch: Sirmaur
The wait for single-window clearance system may be over soon
first person
Quick construction tech
decor
trend
Green house
tax tips
Launch pad
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Area Watch: Sirmaur
While the district town of Nahan has witnessed minimal real estate activity in the past over a decade with just a lone housing project in the Dhameria area on the Nahan-Kumarhatti Road showing signs of any sort of real estate activity in the town. However, this particular project has not been a losing proposition as the three-bedroom flats in this project covering an area of about 1,200 sq ft each have all been sold out. The promotor of the project Sachin Jain said that being the lone such venture the apartments had attracted prices between
Rs 20 and Rs 25 lakh. Nahan as such is the centre of administrative offices and apart from the public sector-owned Resin and Turpentine Factory, little industrial or commercial activity has been witnessed here. Acute shortage of serviced land, presence of forest areas and steep sites have acted as a deterrent for undertaking commercial activities. With most of the land suitable for development either belonging to the royal families or the Municipal Committee and the Army, only minimal linear growth along the main road has been witnessed here. Interestingly, the district has recorded a high population growth of 15.5 per cent in the latest census but the growth appears to be focused towards the twin-industrial towns of Paonta Sahib and Kala Amb, where large scale industrial activity has been witnessed. These two towns house as many as 600 large and medium and small scale enterprises. Paonta Sahib, has, in fact, emerged as the fastest growing town of Himachal leading to an influx of migrant population of skilled and un-skilled labour. However, lack of proper infrastructure has been a major hurdle in the growth of this town. Though industry is here but most of the executives prefer not to stay here as there is no good educational institution here. Kala Amb, which is 12 km from the district headquarter of Nahan, too, is yet to witness any appreciable growth in the realty sector. Though some hotels have come up on the NH-71, colonisers have failed to set foot here. The Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) have, however, made a beginning to develop planned housing colonies after acquiring land at several places in the area to make flats and plots available to homebuyers. About 62.11 bigha land had been bought at Jurja, on the outskirts of Nahan town, by HIMUDA and development work is underway here. Umesh Sharma, Executive Engineer of the authority said HIMUDA will construct flats and will also sell plots. He, however, added that the price of land was yet to be fixed as HIMUDA will take into account various factors like the value of the land and cost of development apart from other aspects. This land was bought for
Rs 5.31 crore by the state urban development body. The HIMUDA has also bought land at three sites in the Moginand area for ~6.89 crore, and at Tirlokpur for
Rs 4.28 crore. Development work and planning of various realty ventures has already been started by the authority. Even though the state body plans to construct apartments too in its projects, there is very little demand for these here. The locals prefer to buy plots and construct independent houses, and the employees of different industrial units generally prefer to live in nearby areas like Panchkula, Barwala etc, opines GS Chauhan, General Manager, District Industries Centre, Nahan. So, it remains to be seen whether the urban development body’s efforts to give a thrust to the realty market here will bear fruit or the area will remain a dormant territory. PROPERTY PEEK Rates of commercial properties Nahan Town Kala Amb Rampur Jattan Suketi Paonta Sahib Moginand Sainwala
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The wait for single-window clearance system may be over soon
When it comes to construction-related clearances India is ranked 182nd in 185 countries. With around 34 clearance procedures starting from the local municipality to the top, the average minimum time for approving a project is about 196 days Studies have shown that delay in obtaining approvals often increases the cost of a housing project by as much as 1.5 times. At present as many as 34 permits are required for a housing project. All stake-holders in the housing sector are waiting for the single-window system to be implemented. “The Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken is making efforts in this direction. Though we are already late in implementing this for the housing sector, it is better late than never,” says Samir Jasuja of Prop equity. The ministry is formulating a single-window system to speed up the clearance process throughout the country following the report of a committee for streamlining approval procedures for real estate projects. It may be recalled that the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ministry plans a major shake-up in the sector based on key recommendations of the Dhanendra Kumar Committee report. The committee was set up in mid-2012. It was asked to recommend how the single -window system could be implemented. Sanjay Khanna, director of Delhi based Kailash Nath Projects, says that despite the fact that the realty sector is such a key sector, it has hardly got the due attention from the government. “Even though we are asking for a regulator for it, the government is not taking any decision. That speaks volumes about government’s seriousness for the housing sector”, he added. The real estate market in various parts of the country is in a sorry state due to delay in the completion of projects and the rising costs. “Realty firms have to spend a lot of time and money in getting clearances at present. Hopefully, things will streamline once this system is in place,” says Rajeev Chopra, CEO of ILD Developers. Meanwhile, some of its key recommendations are already at an ‘advanced’ stage of implementation. Some others, including setting up of a IT-based system for proposals like a single-unified form to be put up at local municipality Websites, are being discussed. . “Now, the government itself is admitting that due to their policies, projects take a really long time to get completed. Naturally, at the end of day, customers are worst sufferers. The government is duty-bound to clear the mess that has damaged the realty sector,” says Gaurav Mittal, managing director of CHD Developers. As this is not enough, the government is all set to give big boost to clear the affordable housing projects within stipulated time. Dr Arun Kuman, who has authored highly acclaimed book Affordable Housing is of the view that the affordable housing movement will not make any headway as long as government doesn’t provide land for construction of cheap houses.
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first person
The presence of harmful radiation in buildings and construction sites has been a cause of concern for the residents as well as workers and this has increased the need for radiation management. Synergy Environics is a company that is providing solutions in this regard for better health of people living and working in a space, and also for improving productivity in organisations. Pranav Poddar, Director, Synergy Environics, shares information about the new technology in an interaction. Excerpts:
What is the genesis of Environics? Environics is a science and a practice that looks at energy flows and the presence of radiations in any built environment. It then prescribes non-intrusive solutions to ensure that the environment where one lives or works is positive and in sync with the earth’s natural energy flows for better health and productivity. The science of detection of geopathic stresses (earth’s natural sources) has been in existence for over 40 years now. What are principles on which this is based? The practice of detection of earth’s natural source of radiations is based on the principles of Geomancy and Geo-biology. The entire process of detection and correction of radiations and their harmful impact is carried out scientifically with instrumentation. One of the instruments used for detection of radiations is known as “Lecher Antenna”, which was developed by a scientist — Ernst Lecher in Austria in the 1960s. How does it ward off radiation? The harmful effects of geopathic radiations are corrected by placing special chips at the two ends of any single geopathic stress line or on the intersection of two geopathic stress lines. These chips change the nature of energy being emitted by a particular source of geopathic stress. The harmful effects of microwave radiations are corrected by fixing an Enviro Chip on the device emitting that radiation at certain strategic positions. These chips change the constant nature of waveforms emitted by those devices to a random nature, which is compatible with the human body. What services does your company provide? Our company is in the field of providing radiation management solutions. We have services to detect and correct the impact of geopathic stresses and radiations from certain building materials which cause harm to the health of the occupants of a building. Our company is also producing a product which when fixed on a particular device (mobile phone, laptop, desktop PC, etc) neutralises the harmful impact of microwave radiations emitted from these devices. Recently, our company has also introduced a Health Awareness and Diagnostic Programme, where a full body scan is carried out in 10 minutes through a machine which has been imported from USA. Which are the projects you have worked on? Since the year 2005 when the company was formed, we have implemented our services in more than 1,000 establishments. These include 10 oil refineries, 5 steel plants, 5 power plants, 3 airports, many industries, oifices, Institutions, homes, etc. Out of 3,000 people whose feedback has been received, more than 50 per cent have shown improvement in health and interpersonal relationships, and more than 70 per cent industries have shown better productivity and growth. How much does radiation management cost? The cost of implementing this technology is probably one-tenth the cost of painting one’s establishment. We charge on a per sq.ft basis and the cost ranges between Rs 2.00-12.50 per sq.ft, depending upon the area of the establishment. The larger the area, the lower the cost per sq.ft.
— TNS
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According to Gregory Martin, Technical Engineer Strata International Inc. this technology does not use steel, bricks or concrete for constructing a structurally strong, light weight, fire retardant, highly insulated and termite-proof buildings that can be built quickly and uses very few trained personnel. A sample building consisting two cottages has been constructed by Enfocus for Stopover Resorts located approximately 3.5 km from Raipur Rani on Panchkula-Barwala-Paonta Sahib road. Construction of this sample building was started on May 17, 2013 and was completed in seven days (see pic). Giving details of this one-of-its-kind project in India, President and CEO of Clarusys Inc. USA, Sarabjit Grewal, said in Chandigarh earlier this week, “Buildings constructed using this technology are lightweight and structurally strong. The fire retardant capability enables the structure to withstand temperatures as high as 2,000 degrees without transferring any heat to adjacent rooms. Despite its numerous advantages over the conventional building technologies, the cost of construction with this technology is highly competitive and affordable.” — TNS
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decor
trend Interior designing may have a few ground rules and techniques which are fundamental to good decoration but each country will have its own style and indigenous material which is used in interiors. Style and material depend a lot on environment, tradition, habits, climate and culture, Japan is an example of the amalgamation of the above factors. Being an island it has a long coastline, which is prone to typhoons and with volcanic pressure in the ocean it is in constant fear of tsunamis also. It gets a lot of rainfall with high degree of humidity. The worst fear is of earthquakes which are a regular occurrence.
Why am I talking geography? No I have not forgotten that I am writing on interiors, this is just to highlight that Japanese interior designing which has become famous, has been shaped by its environment and tradition. Small and simple are the two key words in their decor, there is very little ostentation. The minimalistic approach that people of this country adopt in their interiors is intriguing as well as fascinating. We Indians who are basically hoarders and cannot throw even old raddi will find their interiors bare. But due to their culture which celebrates privacy, also because they have paucity of land and also because they are visited by natural disasters, they have made a virtue out necessity. The houses are small. The roofs are sloping and made of light material like thatch or wood so that water can be drained easily. Danger of earthquakes and typhoons, makes them use light materials in construction. The structure is made of wood logs, and the walls are made of wood board or engineered brick tiles. Small and simple Even their tradition and culture is based on the philosophy of Taoism which emphasises the S&S line. For them true beauty is in its empty spaces, which is a tradition that comes from laozi ( Taoism) which is aesthetic ideal of emptiness. Believing that the mood should be captured in the imagination and not so heavily dictated by what is physically present. The influence of Buddhism also celebrates less is more. So you will not see over clutter in their rooms. Close to nature The emphasis is also on the use of natural materials, fine wood, bamboo, silk, rice straw mats, paper screens called Shoji are used. The inner space divisions are fluid. The interior of the building normally consists of a single room at the centre called Moya. The division of space is by sliding panels or sliding doors. These walls can be made of panels called Fusuma and are traditionally hand painted. The furniture is minimal, Japanese prefer to use cushions to sit on the floor or light wooden backrest, used again with cushions around a low table. This sitting arrangement doubles as sitting as well as eating area. Japanese design is based strongly on craftsmanship , beauty and delicacy. It is low maintenance, and has a connection to nature. Even the colour schemes are neutral palettes, including black, white, off-white, grey and brown. Impermanence is a strong theme in their tradition. The room size can be altered, cupboards built smoothly into the wall, Futon used as mattresses, which can be hidden in the walls and pulled out at night. For us sitting on those low chairs was a problem because we are not as flexible but the Japanese are light and supple. On the floor are placed Tatami mats, made of rice straw (chatais as we call them ). Again this is dictated by culture where everyone sits on the floor, it is easily maintainable, carpets would be difficult to manage in that climate. There is an area called Tokonoma, which is the focus of the room. It can be a painting or calligraphy or a Japanese art which can be a sculpture or a beautiful piece of pottery. Another traditional aspect of the house is an alcove and is part of the reception area. The curtains are only placed on the outside door and these are not full length , they are also cut into panels and are half the length of the door. Interior space is effectively used for human activity. The bathrooms and kitchen may be small but are functional and technically well designed, these are modernistic, they have warm WC seats and sauna baths. In limited space the kitchen is functional and has all appliances. Japanese design is simple yet the attention to detail is very strong, for example their entrance though unpretentious will have a beautifully crafted wooden design. They might technologically have moved to the 21st century, or be way ahead of most other countries but in their living spaces they have beautifully blended tradition, indigenous material with modernity, they are in sync with their homes. An important aspect of Japanese decor style is the division of rooms by Shoji screens made of translucent paper that allows light to be diffused through the space and create light shadows and patterns. Another way of dividing the rooms is through sliding panels made of wood and cloth. The Shoji screens are made of paper attached to thin wooden frames that roll on a track when pushed open. The spaces are used as multi-functional rooms. The rooms can be opened to create more space for an occasion or closed to provide privacy. Even in a small space, the love for plants is evident. Plants are grown even in a small space in boxes or they have bonsais. To add to the beauty the Japanese rely on ikebana which is such a beautiful way of adding colour to any area, each flower arrangement has a message to convey. They use pebbles, water, bamboo — material they are familiar with and which is easily available— to add to the design.
Japanese design is simple yet the attention to detail is very strong as can be seen in this unpretentious entrance with a beautifully crafted wooden design
Indegenous material has been used artistically to highlight a wall
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Green house Hedge The shape, colour and texture of the foliage of hedge plants are vital for an all-season design of the garden. Hence, evergreen hedge plants that retain their foliage throughout the year should be selected in order to lend beauty to the garden all year round. People talk of flowering hedges, but you can either have a finely trimmed hedge or an indisciplined flowering hedge; you can’t have both of these at the same time as flowering occurs at the terminals that get pruned. Flowering shrubs such as Hamelia patens, bougainvillea, hibiscus, gardenia, murraya, lantana and ixora are suitable for hedge, but don't expect flowers when trained as a hedge. It should be kept in mind that foliage lasts much more than flowers. Species of foliage plants that do well and respond well to trimming in this part of the country are clerodendron enermi, green variegated or golden duranta, ficus benjamina and Indian hawthorn. To keep the hedge compact and in the desired shape and size, it should be pruned at the advent of spring and once during mid-summer; while trimming, care should be taken to remove the dead and diseased branches also. Height of the hedge, if need be can be increased a little every year. A border that is used to separate paths and beds to create new well-defined areas in landscaping is also a hedge, but it is kept at a height of about two feet or so. Climbers Climbers and creepers are a group of plants that have soft stems with special structure of aerial roots or special tendrils to climb or creep on support to sustain themselves. With this unique tendency, some of these ornamentals can be creatively trained to transform and decorate walls, fences, trellis, arches, rocks, buildings, pergolas etc. This renders flexibility and an additional vertical space to provide extra foliage interest or additional flower power to jazz up the garden. Climbers also provide an important element as an aid to beautify the garden outside by carefully selecting and planting them at suitable places; these can be a source of attraction when grown over other plants. The best part of these climbers is that they can be controlled to grow at any height by pruning which also gives them a bushy appearance. Most sought after climbers are those which are evergreen and even more are flowering evergreen climbers. Beautiful cluster-flowering climbers that are deciduous in nature and suitable for this region are qusiqualis indica with orange trumpet shaped flowers, clerodendrum splendens with brilliant red flowers, bougainvillea flowers in a range of colours and jacquemontia with blue bell shaped flowers. Flowering evergreen climbers are bignonia venusta with bright orange tubular flowers, clerodendrum thomsoniae (Bleeding Heart) with crimson petals emerging from a white base, thunbergii grandiflora (Bengal clock vine) with blue to white blooms. Philodendron, Ivy (hedra) and variegated ivy, Epipremnum aureum (pothos), Ficus repens are good as creeping foliage plants. Tending tips The columnist is the President of National Cactus & Succulent Society of India
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tax tips As regards the payment 25 per cent of the initial deposit, including earnest money, was also deposited jointly by "my mother and me". Rest of the 75 per cent was to be deposited in six annual instalments beginning April, 2005. Subsequently, this plot was transferred by my mother by way of Family Transfer in 'my and my wife's' name in November 2004 - say as gift/gesture of goodwill. Re-allotment letter dated November 16, 2004 was issued accordingly. After this the remaining 75 of the cost of plot was jointly paid by us (me and my wife) in six annual instalments regularly from our savings and first instalment of this was deposited on April 26, 2005. The paper possession of the plot was offered and taken over on December 1, 2005 and a copy of possession letter duly signed by us and by junior engineer, HUDA was issued. The conveyance deed has not been executed as yet and no construction has been carried out. The extension fee is being deposited regularly. Kindly advise me on the following points: How will the 25 per cent amount that was deposited jointly by my mother and me before the transfer of the plot be treated for the purpose of working out capital gain on the sale of this plot? Do we need to pay property tax on this property. What is the new rate of Extension Fee revised by HUDA, and the date from which it is applicable? — satish kumar A. Replies to your queries are given hereunder:
Q.I had brought a flat in Karnal under a construction-linked plan for Rs 24,50,000 and sold it for Rs 26,75,000 before getting the possession by just transferring it to the new owner. Kindly let me know if I need to file for short-term or long-term capital gain and what would be the total tax that I will have to pay? — neeraj bagai
A.In case the flat was held by you for a period of more than three years, then it would be treated as a long-term capital asset and any gain arising on the sale thereof would be treated as a long-term capital gain. Long-term capital gain is chargeable to tax @20% plus education cess @3% thereon. These rates are applicable for assessment years 2013-14 and 2014-15. In such a case you would also be entitled to claim the benefit of indexation. In case the flat has been held by you for a period of less than three years, any gain arising on the sale thereof shall be treated as a short-term capital gain and taxable at the slab rate applicable to your total income. It is not possible to compute the amount of tax payable on the capital gain as the information with regard to the status of the flat i.e. whether a long-term capital asset or short-term capital asset has not been provided in the query.
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Launch pad
Realty services for HNIs British lender Royal Bank of Scotland has launched a real estate services vertical aimed at high networth clients. “The Real Estate Services is a referral based offering which will offer a comprehensive range of real estate solutions to high networth clients,” it said in a statement. The bank staff will work with clients, understand their goals and risk appetites, and then help them select a real estate service provider, the statement added. Product head Anand Moorthy said investors are looking beyond purchase of premium homes and are also attracted to pre-leased commercial and retail property which creates the need for real estate solutions. — Based on information provided by the developers Trade Centre project in Noida Urbtech India Developers launched Urbtech Trade Centre adjacent to the Expressway in Sector 132, recently. The trade centre will have state-of-the-art office spaces, business suites, and high-end shopping options besides a club, gaming zone and a swimming pool. The trade tower will be equipped with fully operational workplaces, state-of-the art security systems, high speed Wi-Fi & Internet facility.
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The sleepy district of Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh is yet to witness any substantial developement on the realty front in spite of its proximity to Uttrakhand and Haryana and housing the crucial industrial corridor of Kala Amb and Paonta Sahib.
While the district town of Nahan has witnessed minimal real estate activity in the past over a decade with just a lone housing project in the Dhameria area on the Nahan-Kumarhatti Road showing signs of any sort of real estate activity in the town.
The sleepy district of Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh is yet to witness any substantial developement on the realty front in spite of its proximity to Uttrakhand and Haryana and housing the crucial industrial corridor of Kala Amb and Paonta Sahib.
The long-pending demand of the sector for single-window clearance system to cut delays in getting approvals for housing projects and check cost escalation may soon be fulfilled as the government finally seems to have realised that this system will bring down the average approval time from 196 days to 45-60 days.
Panchkula-based construction company Enfocus Inc has launched a new technology of building houses at a fast pace. The company is representing Strata International Inc. USA for introducing a unique Alternative Building Technology, invented and patented by master structural engineer Nasser Saebi of USA and marketed internationally by Strata International Group USA.
Multi-functional set up
Love for nature
IMPRESSIVE
ENTRANCE
BLEND OF MODERN AND
TRADITIONAL
The type of hedge and climbers go a long way in adding grace to any garden, be it big or small.
Tending tips
Q.A 300 sq m residential plot was allotted by HUDA in Panchkula in the joint names of my mother (first name) and me (second name) in April, 2004. The application money was collectively paid by both of us.
Real estate group Techman Buildwell Pvt. Ltd, has launched Phase II of Moti Residency, in Raj Nagar Extension, Ghaziabad. The project is spread over an area of approximately 20,000 sq m and is located at Motra village near NH-48. Being constructed on 8,500 sq m the second phase will consist of 308 units of 2 and 3 BHK options in 950, 1325 and 1420 sq ft. Speaking on the occasion Vishwa Nath Agrawal, Chairman & Managing Director of Techman Buildwell Pvt. Ltd said, "We are expecting to deliver this phase within 36 of the beginning of the construction work". The basic price of the units is Rs 2700 per sq. ft.