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Lure of luxury
After having wooed the rich and famous in the metropolitan cities and the National Capital Region, these companies are now focusing on the smaller towns and cities in the region. These realtors are coming up with villas on well-manicured lawns, or condominiums and penthouses overlooking the greens of golf courses, and integrated townships with office space, malls and multiplexes, clubs, spas and star hotels. Theme based homes and ultra luxury housing complexes are primarily aimed at the NRI population, who like to come and stay here for some time, but miss the amenities of their own homes abroad, says Vineet Nanda, vice-president (marketing and sales), Omaxe. The group is coming up with an ultra luxury housing complex in Ludhiana, ‘Royal Residency’ which will have all amenities of modern luxury life, including a club and a village spa. “We are looking for a tie up with a Malaysian or a Thai company for setting up the village spa. We have already successfully developed a similar ultra luxury complex in Noida, ‘The Forests’ and will soon launch a luxury housing project in Raipur, which will overlook a golf course.” The condominiums and penthouses in Royal Residency will cost between Rs 75 lakh to Rs 2.50 crore. But high price is something that the realtors are not worried about. Parasvnath Developers, which is coming up with an ultra luxury housing complex in IT Park, Chandigarh , has kept a price tag of Rs 52 lakh for the one-bedroom apartment while the high end villas will cost Rs 6 crore. Similarly, the villas being developed by Emaar MGF in Mohali will cost anything between Rs 99 lakh to 2 crore. Punit Beriwala, managing director of Vipul, which is coming up with a mega ultra luxury housing project in Ludhiana, says “Nowadays, people do not mind spending money if they are getting value for money. We are now coming up with plots, lifestyle villas, premium apartments, high end commercial complex, a fully equipped shopping arcade, club house and a five star hotel.” Agrees D. Sachdev, COO of Ansal API, which is coming up with a housing project overlooking a golf course in Mohali, which will have 3,300 flats and penthouses, 100 villas and 600 plots, “It is only because of the demand for such projects that everyone is eyeing Punjab. We see a great potential for development in the Greater Chandigarh Region, especially Mohali and the cash rich towns of Ludhiana and alandhar, and thus most of our luxury projects are concentrated here,” he added.
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Multiplex saga unfolds in small towns
The multi-crore entertainment multiplex industry has now set its eyes on small towns. Going by the revenue collection figures, 65 per cent of the total box office collections in the country come from non-metropolitan and tier II and III cities. As in metros, in smaller towns too it is the retail boom that’s mostly driving the multiplex story. Mall developers all over the country are wooing multiplex developers to occupy the top floors as anchor tenants.
Analysing the trend, entertainment pandits reveal that India’s multiplex bandwagon is fast going beyond the metros to redefine entertainment in B and C class towns. In the first phase the multiplex boom saw the emergence of such centres of entertainment in metros. But now this growth is spreading to tier II and III cities like Ludhiana, Lucknow, Moradabad, Indore, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kanpur and Amritsar. In a young city like Chandigarh too as many as three mall-cum-multiplex complexes are scheduled to be come operational this year. “The great Indian multiplex saga is not just about watching films in a different ambiance; rather, it is about a change in the kind of films we watch. What started as an essentially urban phenomenon has now moved to smaller towns and more and more such cities are now housing the multiplexes that offer benefits like flexible show timings,” said Manpreet Singh Chadha, director of the Chadha Group. The industry yardstick in this case is well defined. Metro or non metro, if a town has a population of more than 10 lakh (1 million), the multiplex owners are more than willing to provide a place to enjoy world class entertainment. With an increase in incomes the standard of living is also rising in the smaller cities. People are looking for entertainment options and multiplexes offer the best option. About 38 cities in India would qualify for that, given that there is little or no means of entertainment in tier II and tier III cities, there is a huge potential for multiplexes. The viewers are being promised ergonomically designed luxurious seats that are wider and have more leg-room than the present industry standards. In comparison to the oil-soaked burgers, and soggy popcorns, which are a regular feature at the ‘old style’ cinema halls, the multiplexes offer fresh burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs, potato chips, with a variety of soft drinks and hot beverages served with utmost cleanliness. Going by the current trend after some years non metros will clearly be the drivers for film exhibition companies, feel foreign fund managers, who own and keep a track of multiplex stocks. However, skeptics are concerned about the wide gap between the supply and demand. Taking a cue from the real estate business in metros where the depleting number of genuine buyers is giving sleepless nights to the developers, they feel the multiplex bubble too may burst soon due to the high cost factor involved.
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Realty sector pitches in for more FDIs
The booming realty sector wants a status equal to telecom and aviation with amendments in the foreign direct investment guidelines to boost construction and infrastructure development in the country.
“The realty sector is growing at a dizzying pace of almost 30 per cent each year. The bulk of construction activity, 80 per cent, is dedicated to housing, while the rest is commercial, including offices, malls, hotels and hospitals,” said Akruti City Ltd Managing Director Vimal Shah. The double-digit growth in this sector is mainly on account of offshoring of business, including high-end technology consulting, and improved techniques employed here. “In order to give a further boost to this sunrise sector and make mass urban housing affordable, tax exemptions are necessary in the next union budget. Then, property prices can come down by up to 20 per cent, bringing more people into the self-owned housing net, and enable the industry grow in far flung areas rather than urban conglomerates,” Shah said. The realty industry wants this crucial sector to be given the same status as telecom and aviation with amendments to FDI guidelines for townships, housing, construction activities and built-up infrastructure. According to Shah, the real estate sector is among the highly taxed sectors in the country and there was need to rationalise tax structures. “At present, different types of taxes account for almost 45 per cent of the total project costs, which is passed on to consumers. This sector is already overburdened with taxes. Any further imposition of any form of tax would adversely affect growth,” Shah said. One of the steps that could go a long way in boosting the sector was to make the equated monthly instalments (EMI) and interest on the first self-owned house totally tax-free. Presently, only interest on housing loans is tax-deductible, not EMIs. There is a strong need to bring down the borrowing costs in real estate sector and at par with international standards. “At present it stands at 70 per cent, which is way too high. This in turn forces the builder to increase the rates thereby discouraging buyers from purchasing small and medium properties.” Realty is also unhappy with the leasing of commercial space that was brought under the service tax net in the last budget. “Leasing of commercial space should be taken out of the ambit of service tax.
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Winsome Walls
Let your dreams waltz on walls with a whole new range of exciting paint finishes available in market, says Harsimrat Kaur Painting your house is much more than a random pick of shades and textures because ‘har ghar khucch kehta hai’. Just like the colour of your clothes, the colours of your home too are an expression of your personality. Striking a right balance of shades and texture, a balance of bright, mute or nude, glossy, rough or matt is what transforms a plain boring wall to a plush brilliant one. You might be lured by the bright shades that Soha Ali Khan uses to give a special treatment to a wall in her brother Saif’s home or by the fancy combinations shown in ads for paints. ‘Plain walls are boring’ and more and more people are opting for textura, rustic and combinations of shades for their rooms these days. Textura not only makes the walls look stunning but also enhances the life of the surfaces. “Rustic and textura are in vogue these days. Textura is a white cement-based decorative and protective water-resistant finish for external as well as internal walls. It is available in a various shades to suit every kind of décor. It has high adhesive strength and can be applied on cement plasters and concrete surfaces as well,” says Rajeev Goyal, a Chandigarh-based distributor of paints. Along with the look customers also want durability and textura is water resistant, can be even applied to damp surfaces, it is washable, weather-proof, algae and fungus resistant as well as durable, adds Goyal. Designer roller finish, where roller with embossed designs like that of stars, dots, flowers, sand prints and geometrical patterns, can be selected for Textura Dotty, Textura Starry or Textura sand prints. Spray finish too looks good for your dream house. In textura spray coat, good combinations can be used to paint your imagination. Sonali Mehra, a homemaker, says plain walls look outdated and dull. So she has opted for textura with a starry pattern in pearl colour for her room. She says, “Textura gives a royal touch to your room, is washable, durable and fungus resistant, so I decided to bank on it. With Textura walls are embellished with style and beauty. It creates an ambiance of romance and joy especially when you light candles in the room.” But, Ambika Singh, an MBA, says she loves a touch of simplicity and elegance to her room, so she went for combinations of shades. “In combinations one wall is painted bright with a darker shade and the other three walls are in lighter tones. Darker colours are used to emphasise shadows and lighter colours to show projections. In fact dark colour is to highlight a portion of your room. If you want to highlight any painting, picture of your beloved or sweet memories, bright colours are used to get all eyes on that wall,” says Rajbir Singh, an interior designer. “But avoid extreme contrasts. Choose colours that belong to a same family,” he adds. He says shades of blue can be used for a restful or a bold effect. “Pale blue has a calming effect and gives space to a room. A darker blue will draw things closer and add depth. Blue teams up smartly with browns and whites. So, when used next to a wooden bookshelf, it builds up a striking corner.” “Yellow is a happy colour, it gives a lift to black and white. It merges effortlessly with pastels, warms to red, and makes wood glow. Rich gold is elegant and used for traditional settings while darker yellows are quieter and cut glare. Dark yellow teams up best with white and contrasts well with green, blue, and brown. So, think more than ‘mera wala pink’ and paint your dream house in dream
colours.
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Hospitality sector fails to bloom in Baddi area
Demand fuels supply, but this is not the case as far as growth of hospitality industry is concerned in the Baddi-Nalagarh-Barotiwala area. With industrialisation picking up in the belt there is a huge demand for quality hotel accommodation.
The area which has drawn investment worth crores has also seen the advent of MNCs which regularly receive foreign visitors as well technicians. This has led to a spurt in the demand for quality hotel accommodation. But very few top groups have set foot in the area so far. What seems to have delayed the arrival of renowned groups till now is the poor infrastructure, especially roads and sewerage, as well as the slow pace of development. Though queries have been received by realtors from renowned groups like Radisson, Tata, etc., yet little has been done by these groups to translate their plans into reality so far. With development still being in its infancy in this prime industrial area of Himachal, renowned groups seem to be playing safe by preferring to gauge the development quotient of the area. With renowned groups like Centaur Hotels, ITC-owned Maurya, ITDC-run Ashoka, Oberoi, Claridges, Park Plaza, etc., already having a base in the North, general expectation was that this area too would be patronised by these groups. Though a few good hotels like K.K Resorts, Royal Park, Gianz Residency, etc. have already come up in the area, yet there is a void as far as demand for good luxury hotels is concerned confided investors. “Though the Radisson Group had shown inclination to invest in Baddi, they couldn’t find their project worth Rs 50 to Rs 55 crore viable for this developing area and hence nothing materialised” confided a realtor from Baddi. Another realtor revealed that queries from The Taj Group of hotels, owned by the Tatas, had also been received some time back but things didn’t go beyond the initial stage. In this scenario tThe industrial houses have been left with no choice but to set up guest houses or utilise the services of hotels in Chandigarh or Panchkula to ensure a comfortable stay for their guests visiting the area. The most significant issue plaguing the minds of the investors is the fact that since the industrial package is available for a limited period of 10 years there could be a situation where a vast majority of the investors would migrate to other states and as a quality hotel requires a minimum period of five to seven years to break even, the renowned groups were hesitant to invest here. “The gestation period for the hotel industry to actually boom in the area would be a little longer as facilities like road infrastructure, quality healthcare and educational institutions will first have to be put in place before the advent of hospitality industry” opined Rajinder Guleria chairman CII Himachal chapter.
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Q. How is the capital gain computed? A. Section 48 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that the income chargeable under the head “capital gain” shall be computed by deducting from the full value of consideration received or accruing as a result of the transfer of the capital asset, (a) expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in connection with such transfer, (b) the cost of acquisition of the asset and the cost of any improvement thereto. Q. What is meant by the cost of acquisition? A. In ordinary course, the cost of acquisition would be the amount paid for the acquisition of the capital asset and the expenditure incurred in connection with the acquisition e.g. registration charges in case of an immovable property. The Income-Tax Act also provides that in case the capital gain arises from the transfer of a long-term capital asset, other than capital gain arising to a non-resident from the transfer of shares or debentures of an Indian company, the cost of acquisition shall be substituted by the words ‘Indexed Cost of Acquisition’. The Indexed Cost of Acquisition means an amount which bears to the cost of acquisition, the same proportion as cost inflation index for the year in which the asset is transferred bears to the cost of inflation index for the first year in which the asset was held by the assessee or for the year beginning on first day of April, 1981, whichever is later. The cost of inflation index for any year means such Index as the Central government may, having regard to 75 per cent of average rise in consumer price index for urban non-manual employees for the immediately proceeding previous year to such previous year may specify, by a notification in the official gazette. Q. What is meant by expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in connection with the transfer? A. Expenditure wholly and exclusively incurred in connection with the transfer means the expenditure which is necessary to effect the transfer. It has held in CIT Bradford Trading Co. Pvt. Ltd. (125 Taxman 632) (Mad) that the above said term has wider connotion than the words ‘for the transfer’. Thus any amount, the payment of which is absolutely necessary to effect the transfer would get covered in the above term. For example brokerage or commission paid for securing a purchase, cost of stamp, registration fees born by the vendor, litigation expenditure for enhancement of compensation awarded in the case of a compulsory acquisition of assets etc. Q. The method of computation of capital gain also refers to cost of any improvement thereto. What is meant by cost of improvement? Can the Inflation Index be made applicable to such cost of improvement? A. The cost of improvement is the capital expenditure incurred by the assessee in making additions/improvement to the capital. The cost of improvement would also include any expenditure incurred to protect/complete title to such capital asset. The provisions relating to the application of cost inflation index to the cost of the capital asset are also applicable to the cost improvement. In such a case the indexed cost of any improvement would be an amount which bears to the cost of improvement, the same proportion as cost inflation index for the year in which the asset is transferred bears to the cost inflation index for the year in which the improvement to the asset took place. Q. What would be the cost where the capital asset became the property of the assessee in the following cases: (i) on any distribution of asset on the total or partial partition of a Hindu Undivided family; (ii) under a gift or will; (iii) by succession, inheritance or devolution. A. The cost of acquisition of the asset in such cases shall be deemed to be the cost for which the last previous owner of the property acquired it, as increased by the cost of any improvement of the asset incurred or borne by the previous owner or the assessee, as the case may be. For example in case the capital asset has been inherited by a person from his father, the cost as incurred by the father would be taken as the cost of acquisition of the capital asset. Q. I understand that there is a possibility of full value of consideration being substituted by the value adopted by the stamp authority? If so what are provisions in this regard? A. Section 50C of the Act was introduced w.e.f. assessment year 2003-2004. The Section provides as under in this regard. a) There is a transfer of land or building or both. The asset may be long term or short term. b) The consideration reflected in the sale deed is less than the value adopted or assessed by any authority of the state government for the payment of stamp duty hereinafter referred to as ‘stamp duty authority’. If the above conditions are satisfied the full value of consideration will be as under for various situations. i) Where the assessee accepts the value adopted by stamp authority, such value is taken as full value of consideration. ii) Where such valuation is disputed by the assessee, the value finally assessed is taken as a full value of consideration. iii) Where the assessee claims that the value adopted by stamp duty authority is more than the fair market value. Fair market value determined by the valuation officer (if the same is less than the stamp duty valuation) is taken as full value of consideration. In case the fair market value as determined by the valuation officer is higher, the stamp duty valuation is taken as full value of consideration. The Valuation officer in this Section means the valuation officer as appointed under Section 12A of the Wealth-tax Act 1957.
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Liquid Asset
A water feature is not only pleasing to eyes but also has therapeutic value as the soft flowing acqua soothes frayed nerves, says Satish Narula Come summer and we all start looking for ‘liquid’ pleasures. After a hectic day, one wants to unwind and nothing soothes frayed nerves better than the sound and sight of freely flowing acqua in a garden. A fountain or a pond with soft-flowing water surrounded by greenery and the colours of flowers makes a perfect backdrop for a wonderful evening. Talk to the stressed professionals from the legal or medical streams, and all of them will readily admit that they draw immense relief in the lap of Nature after moolah hunting. Drown the myths
The general impression is that it is not easy to maintain a water feature in a garden at home. The water becomes dirty and may become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The pond gets clogged with plants and the whole effect is ruined. This misunderstanding is usually in the case of still ponds. But there is an answer for everything. In fact aquatic plants are the easiest to grow and maintain. And in case some of the species grow too fast and crowd the place, one could take them out and make the pond breathe freely. There are no serious insect, pest or diseases involved in having a pond or a waterfall in your garden. The mosquito problem can be solved easily by the introduction of small mosquito fish that thrives on the mosquito larvae in the pond. And if the pond is large, one could add a pair of grass carp that keeps the pond free of green matter. Even grass shavings could be used to feed them. For ornamental purpose, one can add a few gold fish too. They have a cordial relation with mosquito fish. The plants that can be used are usually of two types, the ones with that have roots in the soil and those others that float. In case of earthen ponds that have poly-lining to stall the water seepage, the latter type of plants could be used.
Sound of music
While going in for a fountain or water fall keep in mind the sound that the water is going to produce. You can have bubbling-sound geysers, gentle-sound fountains or ‘curtains’ gentle or soundless streams or high sound gushing or falling water. Using pumps is not a problem as far as sound is concerned as now certain submersible pumps are available. These do not require any extra space or structure to protect them from rain and sun. Moreover, foolproof methods to safeguard against leaking of electricity are also available.
Learning from Nature
Man has learnt the art of creating waterfalls from Nature. In order to create an exact ambiance a keen sense of observation and an eye for detail is required along with use of materials that lend an authentic and natural look to the water feature. The unkempt wild look certainly adds to the glory of the feature but it has to be carefully ‘groomed’ with proper elements. Different types of stones and boulders are available in the market. The ones frequently used, include the khokhla stones that have a mix of brown and white tinges, the green slate stone, black slate, mica stone, that shines in the sun or even the ordinary ghaggar stone. However, keep in mind the design or create one before you go in for such falls. Absolutely discard the standing almirah concept in which case the stones are vertically arranged. Use imagination and create natural contours keeping provision for greenery in between to get a perfect ‘liquid asset’ for your garden. The writer is a senior horticulturist and can be reached at
satishnarula@yahoo.co.in
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Banks gobble up major share in housing mart
Despite housing being the State’s responsibility, the share of public sector housing finance companies has dipped from 10.19 per cent in 2001-02 to 2.63 per cent in 2005-06, says India’s official auditor.
The share of private sector finance companies has also declined, with commercial banks cornering this lucrative and growing market, says the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a report tabled in Parliament. The report says the share of private housing finance companies registered a fall to 29.23 per cent in 2005-06 from 51.06 per cent in 2001-02. In the process, scheduled commercial banks increased their share from 35.90 per cent to 68.14 per cent, a factor that has come as a blow to traditional housing finance companies, says the report. “The growth of 584.37 per cent in the disbursement of housing loans by the scheduled commercial banks is slowly driving the small housing finance companies out of the market,” says the report. “The phenomenal growth recorded is attributable to their large network and access to low-cost deposits, which have helped them to offer home loans at competitive rates.” An official estimate says that over 73 million dwelling units would be required during the 11th plan period. The existing gap is of over 20 million units, seven million more than what was needed a decade ago. The report is based on the review of the performance of five state-run agencies: Housing and Urban Development Corp (Hudco), Bank of Baroda Finance, Central Bank Home Finance, IDBI Home Finance and PNB Housing Finance. As per the report, Hudco’s ‘Two Million Housing Programme’ was not performing well. Against the target of constructing 600,000 rural and 400,000 urban units in 2005-06, only 7,600 and 184,597 houses were actually built. The reason stated by Hudco was the non-availability of government guarantee and the lack of budgetary support for repayment of loans, says the report. State agencies, however, have better access to cheaper funds from the state-run National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), the Life Insurance Corp (LIC), and the small savings schemes, Hudco told CAG. The report recommends that housing finance companies should review their rural lending portfolio to establish effective strategies to increase their reach, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. “They should also draw up time-bound plans to take immediate legal steps for recovering the overdues.”
— IANS
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Rainwater harvesting, solar power to be mandatory in WB
Spurred by environmental concerns, West Bengal government is set to make it mandatory to have rainwater harvesting and solar power facilities in buildings. “Global warming and climate change are threatening us. We must therefore have the greenhouse concepts like solar power and rainwater harvesting in new buildings. I am talking to my urban development minister to include these in the Municipal Act so that it becomes mandatory for all,” Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said.
Inaugurating east India’s largest real estate exhibition "Realty Expo 2008" at the Science City grounds here, he said: “There should be both water harvesting and solar energy tapping facilities in the new buildings.” Some projects in the new township of Rajarhat here have already come up with such initiatives, he said. Bhattacharjee also urged the realtors to serve the lower and middle income groups. “Housing projects should not only be made for the rich, but also for those who fall in the lower and middle income group,” he said while announcing that the state government had collected Rs 150 million from real estate developers for the welfare of construction workers. Organised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI)-Bengal, the fair is spread over an area of 90,000 sq ft. The event showcases a plethora of real estate projects and allied industries under one roof. Exhibit categories include property launches, residential apartments, row houses and villas, plotted land, service apartments, e-homes/smart homes, malls and commercial space, building materials, home and office interiors, home and office security, and financial and mortgage institutions. Bhattacharjee encouraged private and public-private partnership (PPP) models to build housing and social infrastructure projects in Bengal. Kolkata as well as some other West Bengal towns are witnessing a real estate boom of late with many mega projects and even foreign investments.
— IANS
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Unitech to invest 9,000 cr in Hyderabad
Unitech, the country’s second largest realty firm, has bagged two real estate projects in Hyderabad that it would develop over the next eight years at an investment of about Rs 9,000 crore. According to sources, the company has bagged a mixed-use project located at Budvel from Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) for development of residential, commercial and retail space over 164 acre of land.
The total investment on this project would be Rs 3,000 crore, including about Rs 664 crore for land, they added. Unitech has also bagged a project from Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (APIIDC) to develop an integrated airport township in Hyderabad on public-private partnership. The project spread over 350 acres would have a built up area of 30.5 million sq ft with mixed use development plan that includes township, hotels and office space. The total investment in this project would be around Rs 6,000 crore, sources said, adding that the company would take five years to complete it.
— PTI
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Special invitee
CHANDIGARH: The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) has appointed Amardeep Singh Hira as a special invitee of its governing council board. Hira is the general secretary of the Punjab Colonisers and Builders Association. He is the first coloniser of Punjab to get this appointment. CREDAI is the apex body of the real estate developers and builders of the country. — TNS IHG to open two new hotels in Delhi
New Delhi: Hospitality major, InterContinental Hotels Group has announced its plan to expand its presence in India with the development of two new properties in the national capital. The international hospitality brand would start developing the two hotels, Holiday Inn and InterContinental at Mayur Vihar, in East Delhi this year and expects to complete them by 2011. “Both these properties will further add to our planned growth in India. New Delhi is one of the most exciting business cities in the Indian sub-continent. With its booming IT and ITeS and numerous other industries, New Delhi commands amongst the highest average room rate...in the country,” IHG South West Asia Director operations Michael Herrmann said in a statement. The site for the two hotels is part of the Mayur Vihar business centre, which comprises office space, shopping malls, corporate housing and public buildings.
— PTI
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Super deluxe condominiums and penthouses seem to be the flavour of the season for realtors investing in Punjab. From Omaxe to Vipul and Emaar MGF to DLF, and Parasvnath to Uppals, all major real estate players in the state are aiming to cash in on the deep pockets of Punjabis and the NRI population by offering them luxury homes.
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