 |
|
| REAL ESTATE |
|
|
|
|
|
Haryana’s apartment law on shaky ground
Twenty-five
years after its enactment, two notifications and one amendment later, the Haryana Apartment Ownership Act (HAOA), which seeks to regulate the development and administration of group housing colonies in the state, desperately needs a re-look. The law was passed when the first condominium to come up in Gurgaon was still another six years away. With no local know how, the government drew perfunctorily on the experience of other states. Lackadaisical drafting lead to a host of conflicts between the promoters and apartment buyers. An opportunity to correct the situation in light of ground experience, which arose in 2002, when the Act was amended to bring commercial complexes under its purview, was not made use of. The augury was not right for HAOA from day one. After the legislature passed it in 1983, it took the state government three years to notify it in the official gazette. Then, it was discovered, that the wrong department had notified it! It took another 11 years to rectify this error, and re-notify it. And the reason, it is commonly believed, was that the law, as its acronym suggests, is a ‘hawooa’ for the builders and they resisted its implementation for as long as they could. The basic premise of HAOA is that each complex will eventually be transferred to and administered by elected representatives of the residents. That means that the colonizers will have to part with lucrative common areas and facilities, which they are loath to do and which is the single major cause of conflict between them and residents’ associations. In Gurgaon, the first city in the state to get self-contained, promoter-constructed colonies, well known complexes such as Silver Oaks, Heritage City, Garden Estate and Central Park are embroiled in disputes over who will eventually own and run common facilities such as shops, school or club, constructed as a part of these condos. The builders have not followed a consistent policy. Wherever the residents’ associations are perceived to be ‘friendly’, these areas have been handed over to them. Where they are not so considered, either rival bodies have been floated, or the colonizers have retained these facilities. What helps the builders is that the law itself is double-faced. While its spirit demands that all areas within the complex, other than private residential units, should be common, collective properties of the buyers, there is a provision in HAOA which gives the builders the discretion to include in the ‘transfer declaration’ whatever is to be handed over, and what they wish to retain in their own possession, or sell separately as commercial properties. And this despite the fact that the law talks about ‘profits’ generated for the associations from ‘common areas’. For Som Vihar complex in Delhi, for example, shop rentals are a major source of revenue for the residents’ body. Much time and effort can be saved if this aspect of the law can be clarified, for the future if not retrospectively. It goes without saying that the spirit of condominium living would be wrecked if outsiders with crass commercial interests were allowed in. There are other defects in the law. For example, it states that contribution to common expenses and voting rights in any colony will be in the ratio of the respective values of all units (clause 11f). In a colony in which there are 300 flats, there could be 300 values because of differences in the location, size and floor of each apartment. The model apartment act circulated by the union Ministry of Urban Development, in 1992, specifies only ‘built-up area’ and not ‘value’ as the basis of voting rights, expense contribution and sharing of profits. The same clarification was issued some years ago in the case of Garden Estate, which brought down the number of ‘values’ from 373 to less than 10. But this was through an executive order. The law still harps on ‘value’ as the determining factor. Again, rule 48 under the Act says: “the Secretary may retain in his personal custody an amount not exceeding Rs 100 for petty expenses.” Most privately developed group housing colonies in the state would have annual budgets of over crores of rupees. How can any such association be ever administered with a ‘petty cash’ holding of just Rs 100? Even in 1983, when the law was first drafted, this would have been impractical. Twenty-five years is enough time to assess the working of any legislation, especially if it covered virgin territory to start with. It is about time that the government undertook a review of HAOA (and along with it, its big brother, the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975) to make them more user friendly and eliminate potential areas of conflict between developers, buyers and the government. And this time, involve all parties concerned in the exercise, instead of just a few bureaucrats undertaking the task and the responsibility on their own.
|
|
|
Cost factor hits construction work Along
with a slump in the real estate sector in the state the construction activity too has slowed down courtesy an increase in the cost of construction material on the one hand and shortage of labour on the other. This has forced several builders as well as home makers to postpone the construction work. From cement and sand to bricks and concrete, the rates of all construction material have recorded a steep hike over the past few weeks. The downward trend in the prices of steel, however, is the only good news that the construction sector has received in the past couple of months. But this too seems to be only for a short duration. The harvesting season has worsened the situation as most of the labourers prefer to work in fields rather than sweating it out at construction sites. A rough increase of 35-40 per cent is estimated in the overall cost of construction. “Several projects of ours, particularly large scale ones, have got delayed due to rise in the cost of building material. Most of the people have shelved plans to start construction of their homes,” said Sanjay Goel, a Ludhiana-based architect. As sand quarries in the state were auctioned at exorbitant rates this year, the rate of sand has recorded more than double increase. The price which was Rs 4.50 almost a month ago has now shot up to more than Rs 10 per feet. Auction of quarries in this district had fetched the government a revenue of Rs 10.02 crore this time, against Rs 1.64 crore five years ago. On account of the rise, contractors increased the royalty that they charge from truck and trolley operators who lift sand from quarries. “The trolley for which we earlier paid Rs 500, the prevailing rate is over Rs 1,000 and in case where we paid Rs 1,400 the amount they are charging now is almost Rs 3,000” said Gurbachan Singh Chawla of Chawla Builders. Rates of brick have increased. Only a few months ago, bricks were available for Rs 1,900 per thousand while the prevailing rate is Rs 2,000-2,100. On account of a slowdown in construction activity, owners of brick kilns have decided to shut operations for this season by May 31, a month in advance. The move, is expected to further trigger rate hike, spelling bad news for builders. “Construction has slowed down forcing us to shut operation almost a month in advance this time,” said Jasdip Singh, a brick kiln owner. A bag of cement is available for around Rs 235 in the market, also higher than the prices that prevailed some two months ago. Prices of steel, which forms around 10 per cent of the total cost of construction, have gone down only recently. “It has brought a little relief but as rates of other materials are hitting the roof, the overall cost component has not recorded much decline,” said a builder. Adding to the woes of builders is the acute labour shortage being faced this harvesting season. “As we rely on migrant labourers for most of the work, there is an acute shortage this time. They are opting for harvesting which is fetching them more money. Daily wagers are charging almost 50 per cent more. Despite that, there is a shortage. We are only hoping for the harvesting season to end and prices to stabilise,” he added.
|
||
|
Contractors to take refuge in escalation clause
With
profit margins going down from 15 to six per cent due to abnormal increase in steel prices, building promoters are contemplating going in for escalation clause for residential apartment projects to protect themselves from huge losses. Steel prices have witnessed over 50 per cent increase from January 2007 to March 2008 and the industry was ‘highly disturbed’ over this unprecedented rise, G.Srinivasan, president of a chapter of the Builders Association of India said. Since most builders operate with a 15 per cent profit margin, the unprecedented increase in cost of construction material has eaten into it, making them lose nearly seven per cent of profit margin, he claimed. The government has provided an escalation clause for projects, which will take over 12 months for completion. Though tenders have been floated nearly six to seven times for many small projects, to be completed in six to nine months, builders are hesitant to take them up for fear of escalation of cost, Srinivasan said. Claiming that the losses incurred by the construction sector due to the unprecedented rise in price of steel and cement was sure to reflect in slowing down of the economy as a whole, he said the huge losses by the industry had resulted in termination of important projects and also rendered millions jobless. “It is ironical that when every segment is growing, the construction sector, which provides the primary activity for growth, is put to huge losses,” he said. To tide over the crisis and also the reduced profit margin promoters have no other option than to go in for introducing the escalation clause, particularly private residential apartments, he said.
— PTI
|
||
|
Rent laws: Need to press
Refresh key THE Supreme Court while amending a provision in Delhi Rent Act, has recently upheld the landlord’s right to evict a recalcitrant tenant from a rented premises for his use. Landlords around the country will cite the judgement to buttress their claim for getting their properties evicted. In the tricity region rentals of both commercial as well as residential have touched new heights beating all previous records. It is because the demand has outpaced the supply. The situation is mainly attributed to the Apex court’s judgement in 2006 quashing the rent Act notification on constitutional grounds. If investors seem to be disinterested in investing in propositions for rental purposes, thousands of premises are intentionally being kept vacant for having no defence against lopsided tenancy laws. Having outlived its utility, the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act 1949, extended to Chandigarh, has turned out to be a source of misery for the owners and conflict in the society. The notification came in pursuance of government’s reformative and progressive policies. However the Administration had to face resentment from the tenants who were, naturally, upset on losing a privilege that was being enjoyed for the past three generations. Under certain emergent conditions like war, natural calamity like earth quakes when a large-scale displacement of population takes place, controlling provisions in the rent laws are purposely invoked but the decontrolling process ought to be initiated as soon as the situation normalises. But under the democratic setup the political bosses refrained from repealing the lopsided legislation even after decades of normalisation for fear of facing an obvious backlash from certain sections of society, especially the traders’ bodies. Status quo has been allowed to continue deliberately even at the risk of development and economic growth of the country. Model rent Act, duly assented by the President of India with clear cut instructions to the states to implement, too is gathering dust for want of implementing notification by the executive. Rent laws stuffed by tenancy protection dilute the ownership rights of the owners and subsequently discourage the investors to offer accommodation on rent. The obsolete legislation leads to undersupply of accommodation, stalling growth and jacking up the rentals and landlords-tenants disputes. Apart from the said anomaly, the Act has other ramifications too. There is a wide disparity between the prevailing market rents and properties grabbed on old rents – a major reason of social imbalance and cause of conflict. Benefits of low rents are not transferred to the customer but are pocketed by a few individuals; rather the tenants paying present rents have to compete with the ‘grabbers’. A tendency to declare low business turnover in proportion to the low rentals amounts to revenue loss to the state exchequer in shape of indirect taxes, a major source of black money; more revenue through income tax from owners receiving market rents can be generated. Apart from this property related crimes too get encouraged as occupied properties are purchased by influential ‘mafia’ through desperate sale and are got evicted with the help of underworld connections.
Legal Tangle In an affidavit submitted before the apex court while justifying the rent Act notification, the Chandigarh Administration declared that “Given the nature of Rent Control Laws, it is submitted that the balance of rights of landlords and tenants is tilted in favour of tenants by these laws resulting in deleterious economic and social consequences as noted in the Urban Reforms Policy of Government of India. Therefore, the balance of rights would be fully restored if and when Urban Rent Control Laws, as they presently exist are repealed and contracts between tenants and landlords are governed by the law of the land subject to such special provisions as may be required to regulate such contracts given their specific nature. In these circumstances the Administration's notification dated 7.11.2002 is a step towards improving the balance of rights between landlords and tenants’’. Upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High court, the said notification was quashed by Supreme Court on constitutional grounds. The Administration was then directed by the apex court to get the notification implemented through a legislation properly enacted by the parliament. Accordingly the redrafted copy of the notification was sent by the administration to the Union Urban Ministry for presenting in the parliament. But for obvious political reasons, politicians felt it appropriate to withhold the Bill.
Solution For a level playing field, the tenant-landlord disputes may be referred to transfer of property Act with certain special provisions for given specific nature of such disputes. A clause of mesne profit in favour of landlords against the hardcore usurpers of properties on low rents must be invoked to check the malpractice. It is a myth that in the absence of controlling provisions in the rent laws, the law empowers the landlord to throw the tenant out of the tenanted premises after serving 15 days notice. The transfer of property Act, though not lopsided in favor of any of the parties, is adequately provisioned to safeguard the tenant and the process of eviction takes years and that too on merit. Leaving aside the vote pleasing policies, the elected governments must concentrate on restructuring the rent laws for growth and development. The tenants, who have enjoyed the protection for as many as five decades, as such don’t need it anymore.
|
||
|
HRJ: Young at 50 H&R Johnson is India’s leading tile and sanitaryware production house and is currently celebrating its golden jubilee. Vijay Aggarwal, MD, shares the company’s vision with Vishal Gulati Q. H&R Johnson (India) Ltd has recently completed 50 years of existence in India. How would you describe this journey? A. H & R Johnson was established in the year 1958 and the first plant was at Thane where we started production in 1959. Initially, we were known as a wall tile company. In 1993, the share-holding pattern changed when the Rajan Raheja Group bought over majority stake of the company. This was followed by increasing the number of plants to four, entering into JVs, ISO certifications, launch of Marbonite (India’s first vitrified tile), introduction of industrial tiles and wooden laminate floorings to name a few. Later, in order to keep pace with the changing market requirements, we transformed from a tile company into ‘complete bathroom solutions provider’ in bathroom fittings, sanitaryware and accessories. The premium sanitary ware and bathroom products are available under our Milano brand. All these market strategies and product innovations have helped us grow year after year and today, we enjoy a market share of 30 per cent of the organised sector. Q. What are the growth drivers for the market segments that you operate in? Where does your maximum revenue come from? A. All our products have been performing extremely well in all major markets of India. In the financial year 2007 – 08, we touched Rs 1030 crore sales turnover benchmark. This growth is due to increasing production through capacity expansion, scaling up of institutional sales division, expansion of dealer network, offering one-stop-shop solution to customers and the introduction of new product lines. Presently, the company sells 36 million sq. mtrs. of tiles annually. Q. How satisfied are you with the government regulations and policies pertaining to your industry ? A. The government has definitely helped the organised tile industry from time to time. The anti-dumping duty, passed a few years back on import of vitrified tiles from China and UAE brought significant respite to the organised players. Similarly, the Indian Council of Ceramic Tiles and Sanitaryware has approached the government for tax rationalisation and to levy an anti-dumping duty on import of glazed wall and floor tiles from China, and if such a duty is levied, it will bring lot of relief to the organised players. This will prevent dumping of glazed wall and floor tiles from China. As per estimates, tiles worth Rs 500 crore were dumped in India. Considering that the market size for these products is Rs 5,000 crore approximately, the dumping has adversely impacted the domestic players to a large extent. As a result, the prices of glazed wall and floor tiles have already dropped by over 15 per cent over the past one year eroding the margins for domestic players. Q How many manufacturing plants are you currently running? A. We have four manufacturing plants and 4 JVs in total. All our manufacturing plants located at Pen, Dewas, Karaikal and Kunigal are ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified. The JVs for tiles are located at Vijaywada (one unit) and Rajkot (two units) and at Baddi for bathroom fittings. Q. Any special plans relating to golden jubilee celebrations A. At HRJ, we have set a very ambitious target of achieving the sales target of Rs 3000 crore in the next five years and increasing sales to 100 million square metres per anum. On reaching this goal, the country will acquire a distinct position amongst the top seven tile companies in the world. In addition, we will be introducing new products in the market and have plans to organise meets of customers, dealers, vendors, architects, masons etc.
|
||
|
Difference between ‘municipal limits and jurisdiction’ S.C. Vasudeva Q. Kindly differentiate between “municipal limits” and municipal jurisdiction”. — Amrit Lal, Model Town, Bathinda A. The terms ‘municipal jurisdiction’ and ‘municipal limits’ have been used in Section 2(14) of the Income-Tax Act 1961 (the Act). The difference between the two terms is clearly evident from a reading of the said Section. The first clause [clause (a)] dealing with municipal jurisdiction refers to an area, which falls within the aforesaid jurisdiction i.e. the area in respect of which the municipality has a jurisdiction. The term ‘municipal limit’ has been used in clause (b) of the said Section so as to give a specific coverage of any area beyond the local limits of the municipality etc. Thus the clause dealing with the municipal limits gives the yardstick for the measurement of the distance for an agricultural land, which would not be covered within the term ‘capital asset’. I may add that in effect both the terms mean the same thing. Distinction of agriculture land
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? The limit existing on the date of notification is 06/01/1994 or the draft notification on 13/02/1991, which date shall be taken? The authority that is empowered to issue certificate for this distance from the local limits. — S. Praveen A. The answers to your queries are as under: Section 2(14)(iii) of the Act, which deals with the inclusion of the specified agricultural land in the term “capital asset”, does not provide any answer to the question posed by you. The notification issued in this respect uses the following terminology: “areas upto a distance of X kilometers from the municipal limits in all directions” In my view therefore the distance should be measured with reference to the road. The notification is effective from January 6, 1994 and therefore the distance will have to be considered with reference to the notification dated January 6, 1994. In my opinion the certificate issued by a Partwari/Tehsildar should be an appropriate certificate for the purpose.
The writer can be contacted
|
||
|
Mirror magic Renu Mathur Symbols
of elegance and delicate grace, mirrors have been an important part of home décor since long. But these are also one of the most effective energy balance tools. Energy balance experts as also people who work according to tenets of vaastu and feng-shui have the basic underlined themes of using methods to reduce negativity and enhance positive energy level in an environment, room or a house. In the list of various materials used for this purpose mirrors play a major role. Mirrors can be used to enhance the effects of various factors thus, affecting the lives of the resident of the house and their personal relationships. The strategic placement of mirrors of specific shapes and sizes can mean the difference between an average and exceptional life for an individual and remember a broken mirror in your house could mean seven years of bad luck, so replace the mirror. As each room has a different energy level requirement and also needs a specific kind of energy, hence the use of mirrors in each room has to be planned accordingly. The house has specific areas designated for wealth, family, marriage and spirituality. As per the needs of the inhabitants of a particular house the effect of these areas can be enhanced or subdued. If a house is located near a T-point then the strategic placement of mirrors is of paramount importance. Choose oval for kitchen: If the kitchen is located in such a way that while working there the owner’s back is the towards the main entrance then an oval mirror should be placed on the wall facing the main entrance to enhance the flow of positive energy in the kitchen and to reflect the negative vibrations. Pa-kua for main entrance: It is important to make sure that the front door is protected from ‘shars’ or poison arrows. The worst possible ‘shar’ occurs when a street heads in a straight line directly towards the main entrance. Fortunately, according to energy balance experts what is not visible does not exist. Hence a hedge, fence or group of trees can be used symbolically make the ‘shar’ disappear. If this is not possible then a pa-kua mirror can be used to reflect the ‘shar’ back. Double the bounty in dining area: This room is related to abundance, prosperity and health. A large oval or rectangular mirror needs to be placed in this room to reflect the meals on the table symbolically making them appear twice the actual quantity. Be careful in bedroom: The placement of any mirror in the bedroom needs to be carefully examined. It is impossible to have too many mirrors from feng shui point of view and the mirrors need to be placed extremely carefully in the bedroom. Any mirrors that reflect you and your partner in bed symbolically represent other people intruding into the relationship. Some people place a mirror on the ceiling above the bed. This may work well for a short-term and highly passionate relationship but is disastrous for a long-term relationship. A ‘duet’ for bathroom: If the bathroom is located in the wrong part of the house i.e. the wealth or marriage section, then it could be remedied by keeping the door closed as much as possible and by placing mirrors on two opposing walls, put on all four if possible, inside the bathroom. Mirror should be hung on the outside of the bathroom door making the door disappear symbolically. Add life to living room: Hang a mirror on the western wall of this room to reflect negative energy left by unwanted visitors. As this area is related to good friends and health, as well as immediate family, it is important to increase the amount of light in this area in order to give a feeling of expansiveness and encouragement to visitors. As mirrors reflect what they capture, the missing part can be made to exist symbolically. So if there are no windows on a wall, placing a mirror there will remedy that. As far as possible use full length mirrors as smaller ones do not give the full reflection.
|
||
|
Dreaming big
WITH
Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panipat virtually reaching saturation point as far as real estate growth is concerned, smaller towns and cities of Haryana like Yamunanagar, Jagahdhri, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak etc are fast becoming the next destination for major realtors. And these private colonizers are wooing the small city denizens with ‘dream projects’, promising high class and exclusive metro-type lifestyle right in their towns where narrow potholed roads, waterlogging, encroachments, drinking water problems, burglars, old fashioned houses and lack of other civic infrastructure are part and parcel of their everyday life. The quality of development in tier-II towns in the state is not up to the mark. People want good roads and colonies, better water and power supply. They want schools for their children and markets in the vicinity, parking facilities and of course, security. Sectors developed by HUDA sectors planned, but the authorities have failed miserably to check encroachments on roadsides by house owners. Several house owners violate building norms with impunity. Newspapers are full of reports of complaints of deteriorating civic infrastructure in HUDA sectors. Private developers and builders are cashing in on the desire of people of these areas to get a feel of enjoying lifestyle of a big city by announcing projects with facilities like clubs, shopping areas, schools, sports complexes, parks etc. With land (if available) prices touching the stratosphere in bigger cities, private developers are moving to smaller towns by purchasing chunks of lands in tier-II towns hoping to get a licence to go ahead with their projects sooner or later. Ansals API has already started its projects in Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal and Kurukshetra districts of the state. It has also got a licence to develop a township ‘Sushant City’ in Yamunanagar on Ratoli – Kheri road (sectors 12 and 13 of HUDA). The integrated township project will be launched in the next few weeks. Demarcation and survey to develop the ‘plush’ township is in full swing. The company is going to invest Rs 250 crore in Yamunanagar project. “Our focus is on tier-II cities”, admits Nalin Chhabra, senior sales manager of Ansals API. He says that people are fed up of living in unplanned colonies and unhealthy conditions. According to him given an option they will not hesitate, even for moment to shift to better living condition, which they will find in Sushant cities. The company will offer freehold plots of 200, 250, 359 and 503 sq yards. Ansals API is offering built up houses, villas and bungalows in its projects in Panipat and Kundali and villas in Kurukshetra. The company has offered luxury apartments and penthouses in Sushant city, Karnal which will come up over 350 acres. In Karnal has also offered ‘Sushant Royale’, a premium group-housing complex within the township. The company has also offered Sonepat Greenscape in Sonepat and Sunshine county at Kundali. According to Chhabra, the focus of Ansals API is on fast habitation. “A town means people and we plan townships in such a manner that people can move in to a whole new lifestyle at the earliest. Local people are the target group”, says Chhabra.
|
||
|
A riot of colour for your garden Satish Narula WHILE going around the city you must have noticed some very sparkling red, yellow or pink giant trumpet-shaped flowers blooming in full glory in gardens as well as on berms outside the houses. These are bulbous flowering amaryllis lily plants. After the winter bonanza of colours in the garden, when there is not much of a range of colour and species to select from for the summer planting, away from the routine planting of gomphrena, gaillardia, kochia, portulaca, zinnia, amaranthus (cock’s comb) balsam and sunflower, one can brighten up the garden by including some bulbous plants. The bulbous plants are mostly amazingly showy and long lasting. Most of these also prove to be good vase specimens. They fill the garden with colour when there is almost none. A judicious combination of shrubs and bulbs can fill the gap. The bulbous plants are valued not only for their exhibition blooms but also for foliage in some species. Caladium is one such example. The heart-shaped strikingly beautiful foliage with shades of pink, red and a mix of white and red last from March to November. Maranta and calathea are other such plants. A bed planted for mass effect can outdo any other landscape feature. It is also suitable for the places that are normally subjected to comparative water stress, like the rockery. The Belladonna lily, King or Star lily has a wide range of colours and this is due to the frequent crossing in nature. But when grown from the bulbs, they give true to type colour. The most visible and liked colour is deep or blood red. The other colours available are snow white, pale pinkish red, bright scarlet, deep vermilion, crimson and deep orange scarlet. There are white-stripped hybrids too. Those with a bright colour petals and a throat with another colour is also not uncommon. Amaryllis lily is another ‘king of hot weather’ that suits any location, from border to a bed, box, pot or even window sill, provided it gets sun. The trumpet-shaped, about 20 cm across flowers appear in the beginning of summer months. They appear mostly in the clusters of four or in pairs. A bed planted for mass effect can outdo any other landscape feature. Another very hardy and summer flowering bulbous plant is zephyranthes lily. It is also a god sent flower during summer months as it flowers freely and in very soothing colours. It is also known by names like windflower and zephyr flower. The blooms appear singly as sparkling white, yellow, pink rising off the shining grass like leaves not more than 10 to 15 cm high. They are also suitable for sunny beds at borders, rockery and around the tree trunks and along the edging of the paths. You can plant them in pots too. The writer is a senior horticulturist and can be contacted at
satishnarula@yahoo.co.in
|
||
|
RealTY BYTES Mumbai: Real Estate Developer Nirmal Lifestyle will create 20 world-class townships under the brand name of Lifestyle City across India, with the phase one investment of $5 billion in five townships. Initial five locations will include two in Mumbai, one each in Pune, Indore and Panvel. These projects are expected to generate a revenue of $10 billion. Each Lifestyle City would be spread across 300 to 1,000 acres of land. Through Lifestyle City, Nirmal Lifestyle plans to deliver world class housing at affordable prices to the consumers. “Our endeavor has always been to set new benchmarks in realty development,”' Nirmal Lifestyle Limited Chairman and MD Dharmesh Jain said. “We would like to redefine the Indian urban landscape in line with the expectations of our customers,” he added.
— UNI
New mall at CP
New Delhi: Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers (PDL) will invest Rs 300 crore in developing a shopping mall at Connaught Place in Delhi. “We will invest about Rs 300 crore in developing a commercial property in the heart of the Capital. It will house retail as well as office spaces,” Parsvnath Developers Chairman Pradeep Jain told PTI. The Delhi-based realty firm has acquired 1.18 acres of land at 27 Kasturba Gandhi Marg for Rs 200 crore through a recently formed subsidiary, Primetime Realtors, he added. The mall would have a built-up area of one lakh sq ft and the construction work is expected to be completed within two years, he said.
— PTI
Rs 400-cr hotel in Gurgaon
New Delhi: Eyeing the upcoming Commonwealth Games, 32nd Milestone said it would set up a five-star hotel in Gurgaon with an investment of Rs 400 crore. “We plan to set up a 250-room five star hotel in Gurgaon. This will entail an investment of Rs 400 crore and the project will be completed before the Commonwealth Games,” 32nd Executive Director Mamta Sharma told reporters here. The company also plans to set up four boutique hotels in Goa and has already bought space. “We will invest Rs 50 crore for our Goa hotels,” Ms Sharma said. It will also set up a 22-room boutique hotel on Baga Beach, which will be operational by October 2008.
— UNI
Omaxe tie up for Spa outlets
New Delhi: Real estate major Omaxe Ltd has tied up with a Thailand-based company Thai Privilege Consultant Company, to set up a spa franchise in northern India. Omaxe has entered into a Spa Franchise Agreement for establishing and operating of 10 Spa outlets of Thai Privilege Spa in Noida, a company statement said.
— UNI
Residential project
Mysore: PBEL Property Development (India) Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Israel-based Property and Building Corporation (PBC), Electra Real Estate (ERE) and Incor Infrastructure, has invested Rs 20 crore in Mysore to build a residential township. In a press release here, PBEL Executive Director Anand Readdy said the company has invested Rs 20 crore in a 10-acre plot at Govanoor village along the Ring Road in Mysore to build a residential township. “This is in tune with our strategy to build a land bank in secondary cities across South India. The company, in addition to Mysore, has shortlisted Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Vizag in Andhara Pradesh for sizeable investments,” he said. PBEL has invested about Rs 500 crore so far and was actively pursing more investment opportunities in the real estate sector across South India.
— UNI
|
||
|
Tata Realty to develop IT SEZ in Chennai TATA Realty and Infrastructure Ltd
(TRIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd, has entered into an agreement with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation
(TIDCO) to jointly develop a Rs 3,000 crore IT special economic zone at Taramani in
Chennai. The company will also set up an International Convention Centre and a five-star hotel or service apartments in a joint venture with Indian Hotels Company Ltd
(IHCL). The IT SEZ, expected to generate direct employment to about 40,000 people and indirect employment to another 15,000, will be implemented in two phases, with first phase of 2.3 million square feet being ready by 2009-end.
— UNI
|
||
|
