Buildings on riverbeds

Officials wake up after the recent bridge collapse in Baddi and mull a master plan for the industrial area, reports Ambika Sharma

In the absence of strict regulation to deter spate of construction activity, along the riverbeds, flood-prone spots have emerged the latest haunt of the realtors in the industrial areas of Baddi-Barotiwala and Nalagarh. There has been a phenomenal rise in such construction in the entire industrial area.

All major riverbeds, including Chikni, Kundlu, Mahadev and Sarsa have witnessed such activity. "It is the cheap availability of land, which has led to a hike in construction in these vulnerable areas. While a plot in the industrial area costs anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, land is merely priced between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in the riverbeds," confides a Nalagarh-based realtor Dev Raj Chawdhary.

This has, however, led to plethora of problems. An illustration to this point is the case of Chikni Bridge, which collapsed due to the diversion of water owing to development of a plot in its vicinity. Officials of National Highways, who inquired into the bridge collapse, found out that a plot measuring around 200 sq m was being developed bang in the middle of the river.

Expressing concern at this emerging trend, Chief Executive Officer of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) Amandeep Garg said the authority was now discouraging such constructions as they posed a grave danger to the area in case of floods. He said it was a serious issue and would be put under consideration before a crucial meeting where the draft master plan for the industrial area would be discussed.

The officials of the Town and Country Planner (TCP) department, who are primarily responsible for granting the final nod to the development, agreed that such a degrading trend had set in. They, however, opined since there was an immense pressure on the land, an interesting trend had come to sight wherein private entrepreneurs applied for lease of government land, which is often located along the river beds or khuds.

They usually set up units in such areas after gaining lease. Thy hinted at political pressures too.

The widespread damage caused to the bridges has now alarmed the national highways authorities.

Such cases have also come to the fore in other industrial areas of the district, including Parwanoo and Kamli, where industries have come up right next to Kaushalya river.

This has given rise to a serious question as to how the insurance companies have been clearing the cases. "In case a report conveys such sites as non-dangerous and later rain causes widespread damage then the responsibility of the surveyor is also fixed so much so that a legal action can be taken against them," confides a surveyor, S.K. Sood.

Heritage gets a burial in Amritsar

Citizens seek guidelines to preserve the glorious heritage, report
Sanjay Bambroo and Ashok Sethi

Unabated construction activity without conforming to maintain essential historic character of the Holy City have raised many a eyebrows, especially among the conservationist and the old citizens.

Recently the construction of a multi-storey complex on the Mall Road on the periphery of historic Ram Bagh Gardens, the summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been stayed by a local court on the complaint of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

The ASI, which is looking after the maintenance of the protected area of the Ram Bagh Gardens declared by the Government of India had objected to the construction of high-rise buildings within 200 meters of the garden.

A few more such ‘unauthorised constructions’ have also come under the department’s radar.

Unmindful of the norms set by the ASI, the construction activity, especially around the Ram Bagh Gardens, was going on unbridled by the civil administration and the corporation authorities.

A senior conservationist and a leading scholar on heritage, Professor Balwinder Singh from the Guru Nanak Dev University, had lamented that the government has not come out with a comprehensive master plan to preserve the glorious heritage.

He said the city planners must involve heritage experts to come up with a detailed plan to preserve the old historic buildings, a hallmark of Hindu-Sikh architecture, especially in the walled city. Even various traditional bazaars, including Atta Mandi, Guru Bazaar and Bartanwala Bazaar, situated in the walled city seem to be losing their character. The city has a number of landmark gates and buildings constructed with Nanak Shahi bricks and steeped in Indian style of house design.

The district administration and the department of town planning have recently undertaken a comprehensive study to prepare a detailed note about the old buildings and prepare guidelines for the future master plan of the city.

District Town Planner M.L. Kaushal, confirmed that a plan was underway which would seek various inputs from the NGOs and individuals to frame new guidelines for keeping the city’s character alive. It would be a blend of old housing traditions and modern architecture.

He said a new master plan would be submitted to the government for approval shortly.

BBNDA starts self-certification
Jagmeet Y. Ghuman

In a significant development that can avoid major hassles, residents of 171 revenue villages under 31 gram panchayats, out of a total of 228 villages in 41 gram panchayats under the BBNDA purview, have been authorised to get NoC for new construction from their panchayat concerned. The move thus avoids getting NoC from BBNDA (Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority).

The decision has been taken subject to the construction of two-storeyed residential buildings with covered area of 200 square meters at plinth level.

With the inclusion of more 124 revenue villages in BBNDA under TCP Act from Nalagarh area in May this year, people were required to get their building plans approved even for residential houses from BBNDA office at Baddi .

This move is expected to save a lot of time and botheration for residents as well as work well for BBNDA.

“Almost 90 per cent of the cases in our office are related to residential houses,” points Dr Amandeep Garg, CEO, BBNDA. “It will save a lot of time and effort and we will now be able to focus more on overall land use regulation and regulation of industrialisation. Also we have started a scheme for self-certification for further speed the work of Town and Country Planning clearances,” maintains Garg.

GROUND REALTY
Finish off with plaster

Jagvir Goyal tells how to use cement slurry on the walls

Howsoever expensive finishing paints we may use, their real effect, impact and ambience will not be visible unless the plaster work on the walls is not smooth and levelled.

Good plasterwork may make even dry distemper look attractive. Otherwise, even plastic emulsion may lose value if plasterwork is bad. Here are a few practical tips to have a plaster base for a velvet finish.

Rake the joints

Rake all joints of the walls to be plastered at the time of masonry work. If it is not done at that stage, get all joints raked with a hook to give a better bond to plaster. Don’t allow the use of trowel or hammer or tesi for raking. These tools chip off the brick edges. A hook is the best tool. See that joints are raked for a depth of 10 to 12 mm. Thereafter, get all loose material removed. Wet the surface well and keep it so for 24 hours at least before plastering. Avoid over-wetting of the surface to be plastered as it results in extra shrinkage of plaster and cracks may appear on it.

Prepare the ceiling

If concrete of ceiling is hard set, chip it off at intervals with a chisel and light hammer. Take care that the reinforcement steel of slab doesn’t get exposed. This chipping is to be done just to provide a strong bond of the plaster with the slab. This is very important if steel shuttering has been used as it gives smooth surfaces. Must apply slurry of 1:2 cement, sand and mortar to the ceiling before doing plasterwork. Note that this slurry is to be applied to concrete surface only and not brick masonry. Must remove all shuttering oil from the concrete surface before applying plaster to it. Otherwise, plaster will come off. Keep in mind that excessive shuttering oil is not applied to the shuttering at the time of laying the slab.Provide reference marks

When the masons take up plastering work, ask them to make reference marks in four corners of each wall and also at vertical intervals of 3 feet. If the wall is longer than 12 feet, make a 8’ x 3’ grid of reference mark. Ask to do so even if the masons resist. These marks will act as guide levels and a uniform level of plaster will be achieved. Use a wooden straight edge having length more than the distance between the reference marks to check level of plaster.

Use correct thickness

Most of the masonry walls in buildings are 9” thick. These have one smooth and one rough face. Smooth face needs ½” thick plaster. Rough face needs ¾” thick plaster. If a masonry wall is 13.5” thick, it can have smooth faces on both sides and will need only ½” thick plaster on both faces. If face work is to be provided on outer faces of 9” thick masonry walls, keep outer faces smooth and provide ¾” thick plaster on inner faces. If both faces of 9” thick wall are to be plastered, provide ¾” thick plaster on outer face and ½” thick plaster on inner face.

Way to plaster

When plaster is 20 mm thick, do it in two coats. First coat is called under coat. Keep it 12.5 mm thick. Apply it by dashing the material against the wall. Second coat is finishing coat. Keep it 7.5 mm thick. Must fill well the raked joints of masonry to provide a good grip of plaster on masonry. Well indent the under coat before applying finishing coat on it. This is necessary to create a bond between the two coats of plaster. Sometimes, masons have a special float available to make indentations in the under coat. Ask them to use it as generally they avoid using it. This float has some nails projecting on surface. When applied, it very well scratches the surface of under coat and makes it perfect to receive the finishing coat. Always give a gap of one week nearly between the two coats of plaster.

Float and the sand

For best finishing of plastering work, use wooden floats instead of iron floats. Use a wooden float of size 12” x 4” size. Of the total quantity of sand in mortar, use 30 per cent coarse sand instead of all fine sand. It will make the finishing work easier. See that no round or straight finishing marks of float are visible. Hurriedly finished plasterwork often shows such marks on walls in buildings giving them a really bad look.

Mortar ratio

Always use richer mortar for plastering of jambs. For internal plasterwork, 1:6 mortar may be used. For external plastering work, 1:5 mortar should be used. All ceilings should be plastered with 1:3 mortar. Do all jambs in 1: 3 mortar. Always use the same make and lot of cement for plaster work. This will help in avoiding dis-colouring of plasterwork. Also, always maintain constant water content in cement mortar. Variation in water content also results in discolouration of cement plaster.

Precautions

Don’t support the horizontal pipes on the walls by inserting these pipes in holes made for them. If this is done, the plaster over holes thus created and filled later will never match with the plaster of the wall. Also, these locations will become weak points for the peeling off of plaster at a later stage. These days, curing compounds applied on concrete surface are coming under frequent use. In case you have used these, see that these are removed well before start of plastering work. Otherwise, plaster will not stick to the ceiling.

Final check

Stand at a distance and always check the horizontal and vertical lines of plasterwork. Check these to be straight, without even a slight curvature and making parallel pairs. Soon your eyes will get used to note even minor defects. Get these corrected. Otherwise these are going to live with you all your life. Take special care of chajjas, fascias, lintel projections, strips made for design etc. Also see that the plaster is finished by cutting straight lines around chowkhats and electrical switch boxes.

Curing

Always take care that plastering work is cured well for 8 to 10 days by sprinkling water at regular intervals. Never allow the plastered walls to dry off during this period.

Go ahead. Happy building!

The writer is SE (civil), PSEB. He can be reached through www.jagvirgoyal.com

TAX tips
NRIs can file IT returns online
By S.C. Vasudeva

Q. I retired from govt. service. I along with my wife will immigrate to Canada in 2009. I have following queries:

I sold my urban plot. Sale proceeds of plot will be received in two instalments, that is half in this AY & half in next as also entered in the registry. Is the limit of Rs 50 lakh for depositing in infrastructure bonds under Section 54 from LTCG for the lifetime or can Rs 50 lakh be deposited every year to save LTCG IT, whenever LTCG is received?

If I gift a portion of the above amount to my wife after paying IT on LTCG & she deposits in FDs, can she file her return of interest received on this FD separately or will her income be clubbed with mine for IT purpose?

How will I transfer my pension received through bank to Canada after my migration? How will I transfer amount to Canada on maturity of infrastructure bonds, including interest?

How do I file IT return of our interest +pension after migration to Canada? Can we transfer this amount of interest or maturity value to NRE/NRI/NRO account when opened?

— Kulwant Singh, Dharamsala

A. The answers to your queries are as under:

As per the provisions of Section 54EC of the Act, the investment in the infrastructure bonds has to be made within six months of the date of transfer of the capital asset. In the case cited by you, the date of transfer of plot of land would be crucial as the capital gain will have to be computed in the year in which the transfer takes place. In case the possession of the plot has been handed over before the receipt of the second installment, the capital gain will have to be computed in the year in which the possession has been handed over as the date of possession will be taken as the date of transfer in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The proviso to Section 54EC of the Act added by the Finance Act, 2007, requires that the investment in infrastructure bonds made on or after April 1, 2007, by an assessee during any financial year should not exceed Rs 50 lakh. Technically, therefore, it may be possible to make investment in infrastructure bonds in the second financial year of an amount not exceeding Rs 50 lakh. However, this will have to be within six months of the date of transfer otherwise the benefit of the exemption would not be available.

In accordance with the provisions of Section 64 of the Act, any income earned on asset transferred to a spouse for a consideration otherwise than for an adequate consideration or in connection with an agreement to live apart, is includible in the income of an individual who has transferred such asset.

Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2000 issued under the FEMA Act 1999 now permit the remittance by Non-Resident Indians or persons of Indian origin of an amount to the extent of $1 million out of the balance held in NRO accounts/sale proceeds of assets etc; through an authorised dealer without the approval of Reserve Bank of India. Therefore, there should not be any problem to remit the pension amount and/or proceeds of infrastructure bonds.

The income tax return can now be filed on online basis and you will have no problem in filing the same from Canada. However, in case you would like to file it through your representative in India you can authorise such representative to file the return on your behalf.

The amount of the infrastructure bonds on maturity will be transferred to your NRO account if so instructed to the issuer of the bonds. The amount lying in NRO account can be remitted to Canada as indicated hereinabove.

Sale of plot

Q. I am a housewife and have no income. A plot of 6 marlas of HUDA was allotted in my name in 1987. Earnest money and subsequent yearly installments were paid from my personal savings (shagun/gifts). But the bank drafts for this purpose were issued by debit to my husband’s account, who is an income tax payee. Now I want to sell this plot. Will there be tax on Long Term Capital Gain? If yes, what is the rate of tax and how to save it?

— Poonam, Chandigarh

A. The query does not clearly indicate as to why the payment of earnest money and the yearly installments were made by issuance of drafts by debit to your husband’s account. I hope that the amounts for the issuance of such draft were paid by you to your husband prior to the issuance of such drafts and such amounts paid by you were out of your own sources i.e. gifts and shagun money received by you from your relatives. The capital gain arising on the sale of the plot will be taxable @ 20 per cent plus education cess of 3 per cent thereon. A surcharge of 10 per cent would also leviable on the aggregate amount of tax in case your total income including the capital gains is more than Rs 10 lakh. The above rates are applicable for assessment year 2008-09.

Know your limits

Q. We would like to know about the following:

“How the distance is measured from the Corporation Limits for the purpose of determining rural/urban agriculture land, whether by road or by any other method."

— Rajeev

A. Section 2(14) of the Act, which defines the term ‘capital asset’ does not provide any guidance with regard to the method of determining the distance for the purposes of the said section. The notification issued by the Government of India is also silent with regard to the method of determining the distance for the purposes of ascertaining whether the land is rural or an urban agricultural land. However, the most appropriate method in my opinion should be the measurement of distance by road. The reason for coming to this conclusion is the language used in the notification which specifies “areas up to a distance of __x____ kilometers from the municipal limits in all directions”.

The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com

Pay and be my guest

Smriti Sharma writes on how house owners prefer paying guests to tenants owing to the low-risk factor

Five years ago, when 22-year-old Palak from Muktsar got a job in one of the top banks in Chandigarh, the only thing that worried her was where to stay. With none from her family members, not even distant cousins, around, she had second thoughts on joining. Clearly, she didn’t want to stay as a tenant alone, managing food, laundry, paying electricity bills and everything on her own.

The situation has changed completely now. Paying Guest (PG) is the trend that has caught on.

Five years down the line, City Beautiful has become a hub for youngsters between 18 and 30 years, who come here for work and studies, thanks to the IT park, MNCs and coaching centres that have come up in the tricity and on its periphery.

Much to the convenience of youngsters, many of the house owners in the city have started converting their houses into PG accommodations. Not only are the accommodations convenient for the youth in terms of facilities they provide (it includes food, electricity and water bills, laundry) but also suitable for the house owners, as they don’t have to run after their tenants for rent at the end of every month. Plus, with interim paying guest in the house, the insecurity of ‘permanent’ tenants occupying the house vanishes. In short, PG accommodation concept works both ways.

Says Neha, a 24-year old bank executive: “ Since my bank was in Sector 9, I wanted a accommodation closer to my work place.

To my luck, I got one in Sector 8 with an air-conditioned room, refrigerator, television set, along with all necessary facilities. It feels like home outside home town.”

Ditto for Aarti from Solan, who has enrolled herself at an airhostess training academy. “My parents were worried regarding my stay in the unknown city all by myself. With my PG family in Sector 21, it is very secure to stay alone. Even my parents have no worries now,” she says.

Ranjana Batra converted her one-kanal house in Sector 11 into a PG accommodation three years ago. “We had an ugly experience with two of our earlier tenants. So we decided to lend the rooms rather than the entire floor. Moreover with girls it’s not difficult to manage. They pay the dues on time and are not demanding unlike tenants. At present, I am a host to about six girls. Three of them are doing professional courses in city and the rest work,” she states.

Vandana, who runs a PG accommodation in Sector 36, says: “After sometime, paying guests become like family members. I have two boys on the ground floor and three girls on the top. All of them take coaching at a private institute nearby. My children stay aboard. With these youngsters around, the whole house comes alive. And it’s manageable for me.”

So much has the concept taken off that it is making its presence felt online also. For example, for the convenience of accommodation providers and seekers in the tricity, information in the form of web directory is now available at www.payinguests.com. The site, run by Balbir Dhamrait, is a free-to-all portal wherein one can get PG accommodation according to needs.

Omaxe develops multiplex

Patiala wakes up to mall culture, writes Lalit Mohan

Patiala is all set to have first shopping mall. The shopping mall that is likely to completed by April next year would have 150 shops, three food courts, a 50 -room hotel with swimming pool, a banquet hall and four screen multiplex cinema hall.

The multiplex cinema has already been acquired by Shingar Cinema company. It would introduce the concept of cinema in Patiala.

The shopping mall is being brought up by Omaxe in partnership with a local land owner. DGM of the company Sanjay Sharma told The Tribune that 4.70 lakh sq feet constructed area includes 1.20 lakh sq feet area for parking.

The fully air-conditioned shopping mall with facilities as capsule lift and escalators would be first of its kind in the region. Already 80 per cent of the shops in the upcoming mall have been sold, he claimed.

The ultra-modern shopping mall is likely to affect the trading business, especially the retailers in Patiala city is big way. Experts opine that malls are the future of marketing and may have some adverse affect on the earnings of the small retailers. A few of the retailing marketing chains, being floated by the corporates, are also likely to open stores in the new shopping mall of Omaxe. Retail marketing chains can offer goods to consumers at minimum margins as they are eliminating the concept of middlemen.