The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Area watch: punjab Punjab market trips on policy turf Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi After the announcement regarding amendments in the property tax made recently by the Punjab Local Bodies Minister, here’s a look at the fault lines in the Punjab realty scene While the real estate market in the state saw falling sales and severe slowdown after the introduction of property tax last year, now the new regularisation policy for unauthorised colonies has brought the business in the realty sector to a halt in Punjab and especially in Hoshiarpur area. Ever since the regularisation policy was implemented a few months backand people were asked to get the colonies and the houses regularised by paying the stipulated fee, the real estate market has been passing through one of its worst phases. As the regularisation process has been stopped after March 31 this year, without the regularisation fee receipt, the Urban Local Bodies department is not issuing any No Objection Certificate (NOC). This has hit the sale-purchase activity tremendously. According to real estate consultants, the changes in the property tax, have not had the desired impact on the real estate market. Notably, amid growing dissent against property tax, the state government had already announced to exempt houses with an area of up to 125 square yard from paying the property tax. The government has also announced to delink the property tax payment from the collector rates. Besides, vacant plots would also be kept out from the ambit of the property tax. Speaking to TNS, Sunder Sham Arora, one of the leading builders and developers of Hoshiarpur said that the property market has been in the grip of a slump for the past almost seven years in this area. “I have been dealing in property for more than a decade, but I have never seen such bad situation as there is significant correction in the land prices. The imposition of the property tax last year certainly added to the woes of the real estate market. The two major blows for real estate sector were the imposition of property tax as per the collector rates and on vacant plots as well. Why will any investor invest his money to pay tax for avacant plot?” He further said that amendments in the property tax would show any positive impact only after the government issued a notification making everything clear for the stakeholders. Sanjeev Talwar, MD of Yeshu Constructions, one of the major real estate developers in the region, echoed similar views and said, “At present, the investors are totally disillusioned and are not touching the property market. Property tax and then the new regularisation policy have had a negative impact on this market. The collector rates of the land in Punjab are unrealistically high. In many areas, the collector rates are more than the actual market price. Though the government had announced amendments in the property tax system but a majority of the real estate developers and agents are of the view that unless and until a notification is issued, the investors are not going to take any risk.” As far as the issue of the regularisation is concerned, there are a couple of issues that had affected the realty sector. First, the coloniser has to pay the regularisation charges to get the colony regularised and then individual house owner are made to pay to get the building authorised. Objecting to this ‘double extortion’ Talwar says, “It doesn’t seem fair and logical at all. If a colony gets authorised, then how come a building remains unauthorised?” “Also, when the Tehsildar registered the deed of the property after receiving the due fees, duties and charges and authorities provided the water supply, sewerage and power connections to the colonies then how come they become authorised at once”, pointed out a majority of the developers, while adding that the regularisation policy needed a review in case the government was interested in giving a push to the sale-purchase activity in the state. Mohali-based real estate consultant Shailender Anand says, “Developers of the colonies are being asked to pay for getting the se authorised. There had been many cases wherein the fee being asked to deposit is more than the actual profit that the developer has earned in the colony. Because of such issues, the real estate market for the residential projects is passing through a tough phase.” He further pointed out that there were many colonies in the state that had came up almost three decades back. At that time, the government had no policy and no Act to control and regularise them. “Now, all of a sudden, how come the government forces the developers to regularise those colonies”. Meanwhile, Gulshan Kumar, a leading developer in Ludhiana says, “Successive governments in the state are responsible for the bad state of affairs as far as the real estate sector is concerned. In Ludhiana, no colony has been developed by the government since 1978 and the colonies developed prior to the implementation of PUDA Act in 1992, have now being declared as unapproved.” Majority of the developers are of the opinion that the state government should make a committee including the developers and colonisers having experience of more than 25 years in the real estate sector. The government should listen to the suggestions of the developers and make necessary changes in the regularisation policy as well as the property tax in order to bring back the real estate market on track.
	Is Chennai’s OMR stretch losing its sheen? Tracing Property Demand along Old Mahabalipuram Road A. S SIVARAMAKRISHNAN The 50 km-long stretch along Chennai's Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), or Rajiv Gandhi Salai, extends between the Madhya Kailash Junction at Adyar, Chennai, and the temple town of Mahabalipuram. It may be segmented into three sections-(i) Madhya Kailash-Shollinganallur, (ii) Semmencherry-Kelambakkam, and (iii) Kelambakkam-Mahabalipuram. The stretch developed as a designated IT/ITeS corridor over the last decade, in a city which is the second highest exporter of information technology in India. The growth of any industry on such a vast scale, typically paves the way for the growth of other businesses too; and consequently, a large IT workforce has fuelled real estate activity in the region. Even about five years back, reasonable property prices made this micro-market a desirable destination - but not anymore. The region has been increasingly losing its sheen among Chennai's home buyers. The notable micro-markets located along the initial stretch include Taramani, Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Karapakkam, and Shollinganallur. Although this is the stretch where most of the city's IT Parks, IT SEZs, and major IT campus developments are located, it is also home to several residential projects that mainly cater to the IT workforce and the catchment populace. In the absence of large land parcels, a number of residential developments are currently under various stages of construction in this area. A few notable examples being Jain Housing's 'Pebble Brook', India Bulls' 'Greens', and the Embassy Group's 'Residency' project. The 200-feet road connecting Thoraipakkam and Pallavaram offers a fair amount of land parcels, where close to a 1,000 residential units already exist. This road has been the prime focus of development firms, with social infrastructure (viz. hospitals, malls, education institutions, etc.) being in place too. Recent entrants in the micro-market include Ramanyam, Mantri Developers and Agni Estates, who are coming up with prominent residential projects. It is the second section between Semmencherry and Kelambakkam that has seen significant residential growth over the past 5-6 years. SIPCOT at Siruseri, where close to 50,000 people work, has been a major catchment. With large parcels of land being available here, developers have been offering gated communities and township projects targeted at the IT crowd. A few such large-scale projects that are currently under construction include 'Upscale' (Hiranandani), 'Swanlake' (Puravankara), 'Ouranya Bay' (True Value Homes), and 'Aurum' (Pacifica). The third stretch of the OMR is where developers have been able to acquire large land parcels at cheaper rates, leading to more reasonably priced housing units in comparison to other parts of city. The Rs.3,500-crore Japanese township spread over 1,500 acres (signed between the Tamil Nadu industrial investment facilitating agency, the Guidance Bureau, Ascendas, and a Japan consortium comprising Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation) adds more value to this stretch, besides offering more than 200,000 employment opportunities. Notable townships along this stretch are 'PBEL City'(PBEL) with integrated sports facilities, 'The Village'(Phoenix Hodu) with fully furnished apartments, and the 'Prime Hub'(Divyashree) with 'villaments' and plotted developments. In addition, a number of local and national developers have also been acquiring large land parcels here for future projects. Some notable developers with significant land holdings in the region include Vijayshanthi Developers, Marg, Akshaya Homes, and Hiranandani Developers. The connecting road between Kelambakkam and Vandallur has especially been attracting residential projects as a long-term investment option. With the state government planning to acquire 66 acres at Vandallur for a mofussil bus terminus, this stretch looks more promising than ever for property investments. As far as connectivity goes, over the years the OMR has developed various link roads connecting it to the GST (Grand Southern Trunk Road or NH 45), providing added development opportunities for available land parcels in the region. With the elevated highway set to come up soon, the last stretch of the micro-market looks particularly promising in terms of property investment options. The possible spillover of IT activity beyond Siruseri, along with lower land prices in this part of the area are expected to drive organised real estate development in this region. Furthermore, the expansion of the OMR stretch between Siruseri and Mahabalipuram into a six-lane expressway is also likely to amplify organised real estate activity in the long-term. Despite all such real estate activity, the OMR stretch has been losing it sheen with home buyers. Apart from the general subdued economic climate, it has primarily been the property pricing progression in this micro-market that has dampened demand. Consider the fact that between 2010 and 2014, price points rose by about 60-80 per cent, especially along the first two sections of the area - and it becomes clear why an area that was primarily desired for its affordability, should now be leaving the average home buyer cold. Even areas like Medavakkom, located off-Shollinganallur and recognised as one of the top 10 property locations in the country, have become comparatively unaffordable for the city's general home buyer over the past couple of years due to climbing price points. Add the fact that social infrastructure along the OMR is yet to fall in line with the price range of products on offer, and it becomes even clearer what it is that has been plaguing the micro-market of late. The ground reality is that affordable property today has shifted towards the peripheral stretches of OMR, beyond Padur, which is 35-40 km from Adyar. And despite social infrastructure along this last stretch having much left to be desired, home buyers have little choice but to invest here. However, residential property along the OMR will continue to attract demand in the long run, because of the large IT workforce that the region caters to. But till such time that property prices climb down, the region would have lost some of its erstwhile demand from the average home buyer in Chennai. — The writer is Head-India Retail Services, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd.
	Tax tips Can I divide the rental income to save tax? S. C. Vasudeva Q. I jointly own a house with my wife. She has not invested any money in it, but I took a house loan from my employer. I have given this house on rent and stay in a company-owned accommodation, for which I pay a nominal rent. Can I account for the rent received from the house and divide it equally in my and my wife's accounts, in my returns and the rest in my wife's tax returns? — Dinesh Verma A. The income arising from letting out of the house property is taxable in the hands of the owner of the house. In your case, even though the house has been registered in your name as well as in the name of your wife, the amount has been paid by you for the purchase of the house by taking a loan in your name from your employer. Therefore, you shall be considered as the owner of the house and the entire rental income shall be taxed in your hands as per Section 22 of the Act. Am I eligible for rebate of 2.5 lakh on home loan? Q. I had taken a home loan for a flat in April 2013 and immediately rented it out. I am showing the rent as my income. As per the bank's interest certificate for financial year 2013-14, I shall be repaying interest of around Rs. 2.5 lakh. I live in a rented house for which I get house rent allowance from my employer. Am I eligible for a deduction of Rs. 2.5 lakh (entire interest paid) or only Rs.1.5 lakh? If I am eligible for Rs. 2.5 lakh deduction, how can I prove this to my employer? — Praveen Kumar A. As per Section 24(b) of the Act, income chargeable under the head "income from house property" shall be computed after deducting any interest payable on the capital borrowed for acquisition, construction, repair, renovation or reconstruction of the property. In case of a rented property, the entire interest is allowed as deduction. The limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh is applicable only when the property is self-occupied. Therefore, you are eligible for deduction for the entire Rs. 2.5 lakh as the property for which the loan is taken is a rented property. The provisions of Section 24(b) of the Act along with the interest certificate will help you to convince your employer that you are eligible for deduction of the entire amount of interest against the income from house property. Tax liability in interest on amount in joint account Q. My wife sold her share of ancestral property and the sale proceeds received by A/c payee cheque in her name were deposited in the joint (either or survivor) saving bank account in my name (first name) and my wife's name (second name). Later on, a major portion of the sale proceeds was invested in Term Deposits in the same bank in a joint (either or survivor) account in my name (first name and wife's name (second name). My query is:- Whether the interest accrued from the term deposit in question will be clubbed with my income for calculation of income tax payable by me because the first name is mine in the bank account or will it be considered income of my wife along with the long- term capital gain etc. because the money invested in term deposits actually belongs to her. My wife is a senior citizen and not an income tax payee, but this year her income is likely to exceed the taxable limit due to LTCG receipts. Is PAN Card mandatory for filing the return and on what form number? — Ajit Prakash A. Your queries are replied here under: (i) The interest income on the sale proceeds of your wife's ancestral property would be taxable in her hands. Even the long -term capital gain if any, arising on such sale, will be taxable in her hand. (ii) She must obtain Permanent Account Number for the purpose of filing the Income Tax return so as to reflect the long-term capital gain earned on the sale of her share of ancestral property as well as the interest in the savings bank account on the term deposit. The Permanent Account Number is mandatorily required for the purpose of filing the Income-tax return. PAN can be obtained by filing Form No. 49A. The income tax return by her will have to be filed in Form ITR-1. How long can I keep LTCG in savings account? Q. I had capital gain from the sale of a residential house in March 2014. As I get six months time under 54EC, I want to invest in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) bonds in August or September 2014. How long can I keep the capital gain in my savings bank account to avoid paying tax? — Rajni Kant A. As per the provisions of Section 54EC of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (The Act), where capital gain arises on the transfer of a long-term capital asset and the assessee invests the whole or any part of the capital gain in long-term specified assets, such as bonds issued by NHAI or the Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd. within a period of six months from the date of such transfer, then the amount of capital gain so invested shall not be charged to tax. However, the maximum amount that will be allowed as a deduction shall not exceed Rs. 50 lakh during any financial year. Therefore, capital gain arising from the sale of your residential house may be invested in NHAI or REC bonds within a period of six months from the date of sale of the house. In this six-month period, the capital gain amount may be kept in a savings bank account but failure to invest the amount within the period of six months will make the entire capital gain taxable. Does a co-owner pay tax? Q. I have sold a flat and made long-term capital gain of Rs. 3.70 lakh. However, I have invested my entire gain along with another Rs.2.3 lakh to purchase a new flat that cost me around Rs. 18 lakh. For this house, my son has taken a home loan of Rs.12 lakh. Will I have to pay tax since I am a co-owner in the house? I have been advised that the agreement should have my name as the first applicant. Is it so? What other things should I consider? — Lalit Kumar A. As per the provisions of Section 54 of the Act, the capital gain from the sale of a residential house has to be invested in another residential house within a specified period to save capital gains tax. The important thing to be noted here is that the person who sells the house property should invest in the new property. If the person selling the property gifts the money to his children who in turn purchase a property, then the benefit under Section 54 is not allowable. Therefore, you have been correctly advised that you should be the first applicant in the agreement for the new house. You have not indicated the time period within which you have acquired the new house. Assuming that the flat was purchased within the stipulated time i.e. within two years after the transfer of old flat by utilising the entire amount of capital gain earned by you, as a co-owner of the new residential house, you don't need to pay tax on the capital gain arising on the sale of the old flat. Do I invest the entire sale proceeds in another property? Q. I have an ancestral property in my name. Now it is being sold for Rs. 50 lakh. To avoid capital gain tax, I plan to construct a house wherein the cost to be incurred towards purchase of land and construction would be approximately Rs. 70 lakh. I plan to take a housing loan of Rs. 25 lakh and use Rs. 45 lakh of the sale proceeds towards construction. Does it imply that I have to invest the entire sale proceed of the property into this new construction? What could be the tax implications? — Amitabh A. According to Section 54(1) of the Act, where long -term capital gain arises on the transfer of a residential house by an individual and a new residential house is purchased, within a period of one year before or two years after the date of transfer or constructed within a period of three years after the date of transfer, then the cost of the new house shall be reduced from the capital gain so computed and the balance amount of capital gain shall be taxed. Hence, the capital gain arising on transfer of the ancestral property would be exempt to the extent capital gain is utilized for construction of the new house. Further, the construction has to be completed within three years from the date of transfer. Since you have not mentioned the cost, it is not possible to compute the capital gain arising on the transfer of the property. The amount which is not appropriated towards purchase or construction of the new house before the due date of furnishing the return of income under section 139 of the Act has to be deposited in a bank under the capital gain account scheme before the aforesaid due date. The amount so deposited has to be used for construction of the house within the period of three years from the date of transfer. Email your queries to realestate@tribunemail.com
	Vaastu wisdom Plot should never be triangular Madan Gupta Spatu Q. I am planning to buy a plot to construct a house after a few years. Kindly let me know some of the main Vaastu points that should be kept in mind before selecting a plot? — Suresh kumar A. Here are some main points that you should keep in mind to buy a plot without any Vaastu dosha. Plots should be square shaped or rectangular - never triangular, circular, hexagonal, elliptical or zig-zag - and preferably sloping towards north, east and north-east. The soil should not be sandy, infertile or marshy. The ground level should be higher in south & west rather than north and east. Plots facing north or east are better than those facing south or west. A canal, a lake, river, nallah, a big well or pond should be in north or east only. Heavy construction or mountains should be in west or south of the plot. There should not be any big tree in north or east of the plot. There should not be any pit or well in south or west direction. All four corners should be at 90 degree. If only north east is extended i.e. if it is less than 90 degree, it will do. All rain water should flow from south to north and west to east. South west should be highest & north east should be lowest in level. If all the corners are not at 90 degree then you should correct it before starting the construction. If the dead end of a road is coming in your plot then it should be taken care of. There should not be any hills or mountains in east or north side of your plot. At the time of purchasing the adjacent plot purchase only in east, north or north-east plots. Never purchase adjacent plot in south or west or accept if even if offered for free. Q. What is the significance of a courtyard in the centre of a house. We are constructing a farm house and our architect has suggested this design. Is it ok according to Vaastu Shastra? — nitin bharadwaj A. According to Vaastu principle the central space of the home, known as the Brahmasthan, should remain vacant. In ancient India and in many existing old mahals and havelis, rooms were built around a central courtyard. The purpose of this central courtyard is to create a breathing space inside the home and to attract beneficial cosmic energies. So if you have the space then you should go in with your architect's suggestion.
	Realty bites Five-star grading for DLF Leading real estate company DLF has said that it has got a five-star grading from British Safety Council for its office complexes in Gurgaon. “It is an overwhelming achievement for us and a testament to our passion, drive and commitment to safety,” said Sriram Khattar, chief executive officer of DLF’s rental business. “It not only encourages us to continuously strive for excellence but also places responsibility of continued adherence to the highest safety standards,” Khattar said in a statement. This is the highest grading that is awarded by British Safety Council in occupational health and safety management system. The British Safety Council audited DLF’s office buildings located in Gurgaon on 66 parameters of occupational health and safety management system, before granting the grading. —IANS Internet influences real estate buying decisions More than 50 per cent of real estate buyers decisions are influenced by internet research, revealed a study by Google India. The study is based on a pan India offline research conducted by Zinnov and real estate-related search query trends on Google. Researching online for real estate information was not limited to metros but also extended to buyers in tier II cities, said a Google release in Hyderabad said. The overall influence of internet on real estate transaction value of both residential and commercial property, including rentals amounted to $43 billion, with $31 billion for residential and $12 billion for commercial properties. The offline survey conducted across 15 cities in India with more than 6,000 respondents revealed that 74 per cent of real estate research online was focused on residential buying and 26 per cent focused on residential renting. About 47 per cent respondents were indifferent to new or resale property as the criteria for research focused more on their space requirement, budget and location. About 23 per cent respondents were in the market for resale property only, and 30 per cent were looking for new property under construction. In the survey, respondents rated internet in the top three medium for information for real estate research. Print media and sales-broker offices were the rated as the other top two information sources for property information. — IANS
	better specifications (IV) Ground Realty Small details that go a long way Jagvir Goyal Whenever facing a choice or option at the time of constructing your home you should prefer the suggested specifications. If you are buying a builder’s apartment, then you should evaluate its provisions by comparing these with the suggested specifications. Here are a few more materials and components covered this week to equip the readers with better specifications: Wire-mesh specifications: The wire mesh used in the doors can be either of galvanised mild steel or stainless steel. General tendency of people is to go for stainless steel (SS) wire mesh these days. However, better specification will be to choose galvanised Iron (GI) wire mesh. It is difficult to check the grade of Stainless steel and low grade SS loses its luster very soon. It can’t be painted properly and is much costlier than GI wire mesh. GI Wire mesh should be of 22 gauge GI wire and having a mesh size of 12 X 12. The 24 gauge wire mesh should not be used as it sags with time. A 12 X 12 mesh means provision of 12 squares in an inch length of the mesh. Less number of squares in an inch reduces the stiffness of the mesh and allows the mosquitoes, flies and insects to pass through it. Main door specifications: The main door of the house at the entry point should be specified to have special design that may look beautiful and different from other doors. It should be wider and preferably with a door frame of full wall thickness. Lots of carving, squares and beading can be added to it. A wire mesh door should essentially be provided at the entry point and shouldn’t be avoided as most people try to avoid its provision. The main wire mesh door should be made to look beautiful by adding glass panels to it and having a combination of wood, glass and wire mesh. In some cases, change in position of wire mesh door and main door is noted and wire mesh door in the inner rebate while main door is provided in outer rebate. Avoid such a specification and provide wire mesh door on outer side only. Finishing of wooden items: The finish of wooden items in the house can either be in decorative plywood or laminate finish. While the decorative plywood finish looks more elegant and classy, it is much costlier and time consuming. Laminate finish though less costly, quite fast and durable, remains a shade below decorative plywood finish so far as the looks matter. Both specifications are good and one should go for decorative ply finish if there is no bar on time and money. Otherwise, laminate finish too is good and can look like wood finish if right choice of laminate design and colour is made. Wooden items to be finished include panels of door shutters, cupboard shutters, kitchen cabinets, vanity boxes in the toilets, wall panels for LCDs, crockery cabinets, pooja cabinet, study tables, and the partitions if any provided in the house. Laminate specifications: Laminates are produced in plain, wooden and metallic shades. Wooden shades are made to look like the grains of most woods and have all the popular wood shades of Walnut, Oak, Pine, Ash wood and others. Look for wooden finish laminates. For kids rooms however, bright coloured laminates can be chosen. Check the thickness of laminates to be not less than 1 mm. laminates should be scratch resistant, from a reputed manufacturing house and shouldn’t be resistant to glue pasting. On pasting with glue, these shouldn’t change color or develop cracks. These guarantees should be ensured from the supplier before taking supply of laminates. Choice of laminates can be made from high gloss, matt finish, texture finish, metallic finish and suede finish of laminates. Decorative plywood: If instead of laminates, decorative plywood is your choice as finishing material for the wooden items, be sure to buy a reputed and tested brand only as no chance can be taken in the quality of wood finishing material. Countless plywood factories are selling their product in the market and price variation is large. Quality must receive preference over economy. Choose teak finish plywood for the door panels and wood -framed glass partitions as this ply adds elegance to the wooden items. In teak plywood, ornamental decorative veneer slices are used on the face to make the plywood look like teakwood. In addition to choosing the required shade see that the plywood has passed the tests for moisture content, water resistance and water absorption. Chinaware specifications: While selecting chinaware items, the most important item to check is their glazing. Chinaware items are classified as first and second quality items depending upon their glazing quality. Always choose ‘first quality’ products. Don’t go for ‘commercial quality’ products. All chinaware products carry first quality or commercial mark on their backside. The glazing of commercial products fades very soon. Washbasins Washbasins can be divided into the categories of wall hung, pedestal supported and counter-supported washbasins. Among the counter supported ones, these can further be under counter wash basins or over counter wash basins. These days, counter-supported washbasins are most preferred and should be specified. In under counter wash basins, the counter overlaps the rim of the washbasin. In over counter wash basins, the washbasins are positioned above the counter. One should specify under counter washbasins as it is easy to clean and maintain them. Though many shapes of wash basins are available now, specify oval shaped or rectangular washbasins. Glass wash basins begin to look ugly vary soon. Therefore, specify chinaware wash basins only. Further, colour of washbasins should preferably be white or off white. While choosing wash basins, see that the manufacturer is a reputed one. Even triangular wash basins are available now to fit in a corner if less space is there. For wall- hung basins, look for stud holes at the back of basins for their secure fixing over brackets. See that there are no cracks or scratches. The waste hole should be of 2.5" diameter at least. Try the working of a similar washbasin fixed for demonstration and see that water does not splash out when the pillar tap is fully opened. Wire-mesh doors Provision of wire-mesh doors is essential under Indian weather conditions. Many house owners postpone the provision of wire mesh doors to a later stage. Avoid doing that and provide these doors in the first instance itself. Some builders also don't provide these and leave it to the apartment buyer. Here also, the buyer should insist on provision of wire mesh doors by the builder himself. Openable parts of all windows, big or small, also need to have wire mesh shutters. Their provision is essential to ensure day lighting and ventilation in the house. Kitchen specifications Today, modular kitchens are prevalent keeping in view their vast utility and thus should be specified for your house. Such kitchens are called modular because entire area of kitchen is divided into modules and planned. Take the size of your kitchen to the modular kitchen designer who can come out with best alternative plans after fitting all the appliances in each plan. Choose the plan you like most. Don’t compromise here as kitchen is one of the most used areas of the house. Further, while finalising further specifications in the kitchen area, choose a non-slippery floor for it, a highly polished granite counter top and glazed tile dado work on the walls above the counter top. For the counter top, prefer granite to synthetic counters available these days. Keep the width of worktop as minimum 24 inches and its height above the floor level as 32 to 33 inch depending upon the height of the user. (This column is published fortnightly)
	Floatel, Ferris Wheel for Mumbai soon A world-class cruise ship terminal, a Ferris Wheel on the lines of the London Eye, a 500-room floatel and floating restaurants are some of the mega projects planned to augment infrastructure in Mumbai, Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said here. While the floatel will be anchored off the Raj Bhavan near Malabar Hill in south Mumbai, marinas and jetties to promote intra-city water transport shall also be taken up. Gadkari has set up a committee headed by Rani Jadhav, former chairperson of the Mumbai Port Trust, and comprising urban planners, landscape artists and transportation experts to suggest ways and means to utilise around 1,800 acres of land under the Trust for these projects. “The committee will submit its report in three months after holding public consultation before arriving at conclusions. We shall then float international competition and award the projects on Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) basis,” Gadkari told mediapersons here. The minister said the estimated land value is around Rs.75,000 crore, but categorically ruled out handing it over to private realtors. “Port land is public property and none of it will be given to private builders. Mumbai is the financial capital of India and needs to have world-class infrastructure. It generates large amounts of revenue… It must gets due,” Gadkari said. — IANS