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| REAL ESTATE |
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Chandigarh has been shedding its image of being a city of “hariyan jharian te chittian dariyan" (city of green belts and people with grey beards) with a perceptible transformation in its skyline, which is now dotted with towering structures of concrete as it’s on its way to being a major centre in the fields of media, entertainment, education and sports.
In fact, Sarangpur, a hitherto sleepy village on the Chandigarh-Punjab border, is driving the Union Territory's march towards a happening hub and major tourist destination of the North. Many mega projects of the Chandigarh Administration, including the Multimedia Centre-cum-Film City, the Education City, the Amusement Park-cum-Theme Park, the Equestrian Academy and the state-level Energy Park, will mark out the Sarangpur Institutional Area, making it into a hotspot this side of New Delhi. Eventually, the administration will develop the institutional area as an integrated township with state-of-the-art housing and supporting infrastructure. Already, the engineering wing of the administration is busy developing various facilities in the area to pave the way for various projects. And big names in the real estate and entertainment industry are evincing a keen interest in the projects in the hope of making mega bucks. Administration officials say the large chunks of land in the village provide an ideal setting for these mega projects. "Since a major portion of the land in the jurisdiction of the villages has already been acquired, all projects are on the right track," claims Vivek Atray, project director. "In fact, employment and entertainment Besides, the economy and tourism, including movie tourism, would get a boost once the projects take a concrete shape. As part of long-term planning, the authorities have proposed a corridor of its upcoming Metro from Sarangpur to Maheshpur (Panchkula) to cater to the future needs of the area and the commuters. Meanwhile, the institutional area has already spurred development in the city's vicinity with the big realtors making a beeline for the Mullanpur area of Punjab. The strategic location of the Sarangpur-Mullanpur belt will make it a much
sought- Sources say the projects will be completed on time as the UT administrator
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MARBLE: Rocky relationship
Jagvir Goyal Marble is among the favourite materials chosen by Indians for the flooring of their houses. Though the advent of vitrified tiles and wooden laminates has weaned away a large segment of marble admirers, it still remains the most used flooring material. Its sturdy look and durability are the two main factors behind its popularity. In the Indian psyche, marble continues to be a status symbol. Though its use Marble basics: Marble is a natural product, a metamorphic rock and, therefore, varies in colour, density, porosity and hardness. White, green and pink are its popular colours though it is available in browns, greys and black also. It accepts polish very well. Streaks and veins of different colours appear in it due to the addition of materials like mica, silicates, iron oxide and bitumen, to the primary rock during the formation of marble. Mica and silicates add green veins to it. Pink and reddish veins are formed by iron oxide. Bitumen lends grey and blackish streaks. Imported marble: Among imported marbles, the Italian one is the best, the kind that has a pure white, crystal-like appearance. The best marble came from Carrara but now it is not available. The Italian Botticino is an excellent, compact, dense and hard marble. Some Italian marbles are very soft and often given resin treatment to harden them to make all the slabs look uniform and natural. While choosing imported marble, always check that none of the veins in it are open. Choose marble slabs supported by a fibre backing and of a reputed brand. Some of the brands are Rover, Greek Thassos, Carrara, Statuario. The size of the slabs can be as large as 10 ft x 4 ft. The cost starts from Rs 400 per sq ft onwards. Don’t remove the fibre backing till the time of the final laying of the marble slabs. Makrana marble: This marble looks impregnable but in actuality, it is porous, though less than masonry. The one having low porosity, high density and hardness is considered good. The density of good marble is about 2800 kg/cubic metre. Marble mines are available at many places in the country but Makrana mines produce the best natural product. That’s why Makrana marble has become world famous. Makrana white is considered the best and remains the favourite. Its shine increases with time. It is the Indian Makrana that has been used in the Taj Mahal. It doesn’t get yellow with time. Also, it is stronger as compared to other marbles. So, choose Makrana white for your house if marble is your option. It is available at Doongri and Bhat. Other white marbles: Marbles with light shades and spots are available at Doongri, Albeta, Kola Doongri, Lodhi Doongri, Raj Nagar, Ambaji, Kumhari, Gulabi, Adanga, Chauseera, Ulodi. Their names have been derived from the places where the mines exist. While selecting marble, always check the slabs for pinholes or hair cracks. Pay special attention to edges and angles of each marble slab. No slab should have curved edges. All edges must be straight, forming right angles. Kishangarh marble is very porous, gets yellow with time and develops cracks when the flooring is complete. Marble markets have now developed in various states. These bring marble from the quarries and sell it locally. Cheeka, Bhucho etc are a few such places. Choosing size: Marble is available in blocks, slabs, tiles and cut size. The size of the blocks and slabs varies from 10 feet x 4 feet to 1 foot x 1 foot. However, blocks are quite thick, even up to 3 feet, while slabs are 3/4” to 6” thick. Thappi marble slabs that provide ‘book matching’ are costlier but give the real aesthetic effect. Book matching is the diamond shape formation of the streaks when 4 slabs are arranged together. Choose a supplier who has a good reputation. For instance, R.K. Marble of Rajasthan, supplying Makrana under the name ‘wonder marble,’ has become the world’s largest marble mining company and even entered the Guinness Book of World Records. Cost factor: There are hundreds of marble suppliers sitting in Makrana and the competition is tough. One can buy good marble at less rates by actually visiting Makrana, which lies on the Borawar bypass road in Rajasthan. Marble is available at Rs 20 to Rs 300 per sq ft. Makrana may cost as less as Rs 80 and as high as Rs 450 per sq ft. With time, some moisture from the sub-base may rise and pass through the marble, causing some discoloration. So, whenever buying marble, discuss this point with the supplier and get his guarantee against discoloration. All projected slabs (may be on the kitchen counter, stairs or verandahs) must have outer edges with ornamental finish as nosing. This nosing work is done at Rs 7 to 9 per foot. Keep a margin for the same in mind while choosing sizes. Also, bear in mind that marble needs polishing every five years if its real grace is to be maintained. Laying marble: Normally, marble is laid over a 0.5” to .75” thick bed of 1 : 3 cement mortar. However, add a polymer adhesive to the mortar for better grip. Use a liquid adhesive. Fevimate is excellent. For right use, mix 1 kg of the adhesive with 20 litres of water and stir it well. Add this solution to a dry mix of cement and sand till a uniform mortar is available. Spread this on the base and comb it with a notched trowel and fix marble slabs over it. When the adhesive is used, the cement mortar used may be 1 : 4 instead of 1 : 3. Thus, part of the cost of the adhesive is recovered. See that no air gaps are created below marble slabs by any unevenness of lean concrete or mortar. Select skirting pieces from the end pieces of marble. This will match the skirting with the flooring and make it look beautiful. Use long pieces of skirting to have a minimum Finer points: While laying flooring in rooms, maintain a dead level of floors. Provide a slope of 1 in 50 to 1 in 60 in the bathrooms, toilets and kitchen towards the floor trap. In verandahs, provide a slope of 1 in 50 towards outside. Marble soaks moisture. So, always keep the top level of marble flooring flush with DPC. Apply white cement to the edges of slabs laid adjacent to the walls and see that the slabs enter under the wall plaster. Always see that the surplus cement at the joints is wiped off after laying each marble slab. Avoid walking over laid marble for at least 7 days and cure it well during this period. Take special care that the veins are matched to the maximum extent while laying the slabs. Marble on walls: If you plan to fix marble on the walls in some area, the same adhesive as was used for the flooring can be used. However, for walls, keep the cement sand mortar of 1:2 ratio. You may also choose an epoxy-based, non-shrinking and non-staining adhesive. Such adhesives provide bonding strength for years to come but are costly. These adhesives are not to be mixed with mortar and are to be applied straight on the prepared surface before fixing the marble. Go ahead. Happy building! The writer is deputy chief engineer, civil, PSEB. He can be reached at www.jagvirgoyal.com
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Taxability of capital gain
S.C. Vasudeva
In an article on "What is meant by Capital Gain" published earlier, the terms 'capital asset', 'transfer' and 'capital gain' were explained. This article proposes to discuss more aspects relating to the taxability of capital gains under the provisions of the Income Tax Act 1961. Taxability of long-term capital gains in case of a resident of India with respect to immovable property owned by him: The capital gain is computed by deducting from full value of consideration received or accruing as a result of the transfer of the capital asset the following amounts. (i) Expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively in connection with such transfer and the cost of acquisition of the asset and (ii) The cost of any improvement thereafter. It is also provided by Section 48 of the Act that in case of long-term capital gain arising from the transfer of a long-term capital asset, other than the capital gain arising to a non-resident from the transfer of shares, or debentures of an Indian company, the cost of acquisition and that of any improvement, the words indexed cost of acquisition and the indexed cost of any improvement will be substituted. The indexed cost of acquisition has been defined as an amount which bears to the cost of acquisition the same proportion as the cost inflation index for the year in which the asset is transferred bears to the cost inflation index for the first year in which the capital asset was held by the tax payer or for the year beginning on the first day of April 1981, whichever is later. The indexed cost of any improvement has also been defined on similar lines. The cost inflation index in relation to a previous year means such index as the Central Government may, having regard to 75 per cent of average rise in the Consumer Price Index for urban non-manual employees for the immediately preceding previous year to such previous year, by notification in the official gazette specify in this behalf. The capital gain arising on transfer of an immovable property is taxable @ 20 per cent plus applicable surcharge and education cess. Taxability of long-term capital gain in case of an individual with respect to equity shares in a company and units of a mutual fund: (a) The long-term capital gain arising on the transfer of equity shares or units of an equity-oriented fund are exempt from tax under Section 10(38) of the Act, provided the transaction of sale of equity shares or units is subjected to the Securities Transaction Tax. An equity-oriented fund has been defined by the Act as under: (i) where the investible funds are invested by way of equity shares in domestic companies to the extent of more than 65 per cent of the total proceeds of such fund; and (ii) which has been set up under a scheme of a mutual fund specified under Clause (23D) of Section 10 of the Act. The percentage of equity shareholding of the fund is required to be computed (b) In case a long-term capital gain arises with respect to equity shares of a company which are listed on a recognised stock exchange, units of a mutual fund or zero coupon bonds and the sale of such financial instruments has not been subjected to securities transaction tax, such capital gain is taxable @ 20 per cent plus applicable surcharge and education cess. However, it is also provided that where such tax (excluding surcharge and education cess) exceeds 10 per cent of the amount of capital gain before giving effect to the provisions relating to cost inflation index explained herein, the excess shall be ignored for the purpose of computing tax. In effect, it means that the capital gain tax in such case would be limited to 10 per cent. This implies that long term capital gain arising on the transfer of shares of company which are not listed on the stock exchange shall be chargeable @ 20 per cent. In such a case, the benefit of indexation would be duly available. It may be added that the applicable cess and surcharge would be added to tax in all the cases. (To be concluded) The writer can be contacted at sc@scvasudeva.com
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Concrete Gain
