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HELL in the land of gods
The dream: A home in the hills, crisp, clean air, towering deodars, the perfect weekend getaway...
The reality: Totally the opposite! So, if you are planning to buy property in or around the Queen of the Hills, this one’s just for you
The existing, yet depleting, testimonies of colonial architecture that have survived the test of time and administrative apathy add to the charm; at once you start calculating the amount in your bank account for converting hard liquid cash into a concrete reality for your family. Your resolve is strengthened by the fact that there is a general slump in property prices worldwide, and, Shimla is no exception. In fact, any property dealer readily confirms the actuality that the property prices have been stable for past several months due to the slouch. Demand, too, has gone down, relatively, with ever-increasing prices playing havoc with your purse strings and your savings converted into investments taking a direct hit from the shaky share market. No wonder if you talk to some of the property dealers, they promise you heaven — a single-room flat for as less as Rs 5 lakh and a two-room apartment less than double the amount. But as soon as you embark upon the mission to hunt a house in the erstwhile summer capital, you realise it’s an uphill task. In the satellite towns of Vikas Nagar, Kasumpti, and Khalini, one, two and even three-room flats are available at relatively reasonable prices. But the areas where the locks are ready to be opened are by and large inaccessible, if you do not have leg muscles that compliment six-pack abs! The narrow bylanes meandering through the unending rows of bazars take a deep plunge right into deep depressions between the hills. You drive down, but at constricted sharp turns, you are forced to leave behind your vehicle, or risk the chance of being stranded with no place to turn. After you have walked as far as your breath takes you, there are rows of flats with open drains carrying soapy water, garbage and stink. One look is enough to tell you some of the flats are standing on concrete pillars “strong” only till the first earthquake tremor. You realise that a quiver can bring the entire structure down, or even incessant rains can wash it away in no time. Water is a problem, with supply restricted to a few hours in mornings and, perhaps, evenings. The washrooms are outside -- some do not even have a flush system. All along the walls are huge plastic drums lined with algae. The view of the deodars is simply blocked by the huge flat-roofed structure. Where are the slanting tin roofs with gables so characteristic of the hills? There’s no answer. With such environs, you may very well be vacationing in Jalandhar! In some parts of Sanjauli — particularly the area near Cemetery Road — death means grave trouble with little space to carry the body. Localites say at times a body has to be carried from one roof to another due to the cramped structures. In Shimla, the situation is hardly better. Almost one-and-a-half century ago, the British established Shimla as the summer capital to avoid summer heat and to stay in pristine environs but it's now nothing less than a mini metro. Walking was a fashion in hills. Now, honking cars with stereos blaring Singh is Kingg numbers is the in-thing. There's no peace and you just cannot hear silence in the chirping of birds. Standing on the Lower Mall, you realise the
paradise is an environmental disaster -- the Queen of Hills has been dethroned and is fighting a lone battle for survival. Okay, it was the mecca of tourists but nowadays, people hesitate to click on Shimla while making reservations through the Internet, all because of poor infrastructure, besides ever-existing shortage of water and electricity. "Parking too is a problem due to the large floating population. On an average over 50,000 visitors come to the town daily. It's also expensive," says disillusioned Delhi-based businessman Sachin Sagar, in Shimla for exploring investment prospects. But does all this mean Shimla is a big no for hill lovers? "No," says property consultant Dalip Kumar Kaushal. "Eighty per cent buyers are still investing in Shimla and surroundings in houses for self-use. If you wish to invest, nothing like buying a cottage for yourself. These are available in Mashobra, Naldehra. and so many other places." The tag: Anywhere between Rs 70 lakh to 1 crore. Another consultant Mukesh Mishra says the demand for vacation homes or cottages has gone up in recent times. But what about legal hassles? Well, a non-Himachali wanting to buy land outside the municipal limits has to satisfy the provisions of Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act. So,
happy buying!
Where to Buy
DEPENDING on your choice, you can go in for a vacation cottage around Kasauli, Dharampur and Kumarhatti. If
you wish to spend relaxing moments near Shimla, you can buy a cottage in the area around Chail. The price depends on size, accessibility, location and the quality of construction. Cottages in relatively inaccessible areas are
comparatively cheaper. The ones near the road are sure to cost much more.
The Deal
NON-HIMACHALIS can buy a constructed house or land up to certain size within municipality limits. They do not need government permission for this. But for property outside municipal limits, the process is complicated as Section 118 of HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act imposes restrictions on non-Himachalis wanting to buy land in the state. A non-Himachali has to apply to the deputy commissioner concerned on a prescribed form. The buyer has to state the reason behind the purchase of land. A report is sought from the patwari, who after verification submits a report to the DC's office.
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Protect, preen, PAINT Jagvir Goyal
You have many choices for the exterior surfaces and the elevation. You can have exposed brickwork or plastered surfaces or a combination of both or cladding of walls with various types of stones or textured finish. While choosing exterior finish, our main purpose is to make the elevation look beautiful and appealing, to have a durable finish that survives for a few years, at least, to choose a finish that resists dust and weathering effects and the one that breathes -- allows moisture of walls to escape without hurting their beauty. All these aspects can be well fulfilled through right choice of finish and proper workmanship. Here are a few guidelines for durable painting of exterior surfaces, but first choose what you want. Exposed Brick MANY homeowners prefer exposed brickwork on the elevation. Since ages, man has been seeing exposed brickwork in buildings, monuments and forts and an inbuilt desire to have part elevation with it remains. However, the decision to have exposed brick in the elevation should be made early and one should keep sorting out good bricks while doing the brickwork of foundations and internal walls of the house and use these bricks in exposed brickwork for a uniform look. Otherwise, use mechanised bricks. When the exposed brickwork of external walls is in progress, do raking of joints to a depth of 10 mm at least while it is still green. Before applying paint, make sure to do pointing. Pointing: Prefer deep pointing to flush. Flush pointing doesn’t look good on brickwork and mars its very character. Always begin deep pointing work from top downwards. See that all extra mortar is cleaned off and not smeared over the bricks. Do pointing work with 1:2 cement sand mortar. Take care that the vertical joints are truly at right angles to horizontal lines and any minor errors in brickwork are hidden by the pointing work. A very important point to see is that the vertical lines should not end away from horizontal lines nor should these extend into them creating ridges there. Cure the pointing work well for at least seven days.
Cement Paint If you choose cement paints, commonly known by the trade name Snowcem, on external surfaces, choose a reputed brand like Super Snowcem by Killick Nixon or the one by Asian Paints. Always choose from a fresh lot and see that the bags are IS 5410 marked. Open a bag, feel the Snowcem in your hand and see that it is free of lumps. In general, cement paint bags or sealed drums showing date of manufacture as within one year of purchase are considered fit but try to get a lot as fresh as possible. Reason for this is that cement paints are just a mixture of cement and pigments and cement attracts moisture from air and loses strength with time. So, don’t go by the expiry date on the bags or drums but get a lot as fresh as possible. Preparation: While preparing cement paint for exterior walls, take care that dry powder is added to water and not water to powder. First take 50 per cent quantity of water to make a paste and then add balance 50 per cent to make a workable mix. Always mix thoroughly. At one time, mix only a quantity that will get used up within an hour of mixing with water. Otherwise, the paint mixture will start setting, will lose strength and brush marks will appear on surfaces. The coats method: Clean exterior walls of dirt, dust, loose material and efflorescence with wire brush and then by washing, before applying the first coat of Snowcem. Thoroughly wet the surface before applying paint. Apply second coat after 24 hours of first. However, you need not wet the surface before applying second coat. After second coat, keep the surface fully wet for next two days by spraying water on the paint and not by throwing water with a pipe or container. I recommend a fog spray. It is a tried method and yields best results.
Texture Paint IN case you don’t want to paint the exterior plastered walls with Snowcem, consider Birla White Textura. Textura is also a cement-based paint but gives a textured wall finish — as the name suggests — instead of a plain surface. It comes in a variety of textures and designs. Unlike acrylic paint, no primer coat is required and is an economical textured finish. Above all, Textura needs no curing, has extra adhesive strength and resists water and weather. It is mixed with water and applied with trowel or roller or spray. Roller or spray finish textura is termed as RF while trowel finish textura is called TF. The method: Prefer to use RF textura on interior surfaces and TF textura on the exterior. Textura contains Birla white cement, some minerals, polymers, quartz sand and additives. You can apply it even on damp walls. Textura TF and RF are sold in 25 kg bags. A bag costs around Rs 700. Generally, a bag cover gives 100 sqft. area. Though the textura shade card may show many colours, it is applied only in white colour and then paints like Apex are applied over it. Its overall cost, including labour, should be about Rs 16 to 18 a sqft. While applying, take care that at one time, only that much quantity is prepared that can be used up in 1.5-2 hours. To prepare its solution, add about 45-50 per cent water to it. If you want to use the spray method, some more water may be added to make it sprayable with a gun.
Acrylic Emulsion CEMENT paints used for painting external surfaces of walls are not fully resistant to algae and fungus. Other paints available are semi acrylic and 100 per cent acrylic exterior emulsion paints. These paints give extremely good performance and also provide protection against fungus and algae. However, these are many times costlier than Cement paints. Therefore, you must make your cost calculations and buy paints your budget allows. All inclusive cost of semi-acrylic paints is around Rs 6- 8 per sqft. This includes labour component. Good semi-acrylic paint costs around Rs 100-125 a litre. One litre should cover about 50 sqft. area in two coats. No water curing of this paint is required. Cost factor: For really good results, choose a 100 per cent acrylic exterior emulsion paint. It costs around Rs 180-220 a litre and covers around 50 sqft area in two coats. All-inclusive cost of its application shall be about Rs 10-12 per sqft. Today, labour component is very high and tends to equal material cost if you engage skilled painters. Do no water curing for this type of paint as well. More tips on paintwork shall follow. Till then, happy
painting!
(This column appears fortnightly)
The writer is deputy chief engineer, civil, PSEB. He can be reached at
www.jagvirgoyal.com
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No escaping capital gains tax, but... S.C. Vasudeva
...you have a strong case
— Deepak A. Section 50C of the Act provides that in case the consideration received or acquired as a result of the transfer by an assessee of a capital asset, being land or building or both, is less than the value adopted or assessed by any authority of state government for the purpose of payment of stamp duty in respect of such transfer, the value so adopted or assessed shall be deemed to be the full value of the consideration received or acquired as a result of the transfer. The above section is applicable from assessment year 2003-04 onwards. Section 50C of the Act, therefore, provides for a deemed sale consideration in cases where the registration is effected at a price which is less than the value adopted or assessed for the purpose of payment of stamp duty. The agreement to sell in your case having been executed in 1995, you have a good case to argue before the authorities that in such case the above provisions should not be made applicable. As suggested in reply to the query, this will, however, acquire a decision by the stamp valuation authority or by the court.
...check for these
Q. I had inherited agricultural land owned by my father in a village near Sonepat. The Government of India has acquired the same for starting an educational institution. What are the tax implications with regard to the compensation received/receivable from the GoI? — Raghubir Singh A. The answer to your query is based on the premise that the agricultural land was such which was covered within the jurisdiction of the municipal authority or was within such distance from the local limits of municipal authority as has been notified by the Government. The capital gain arising on account of the compulsory acquisition is exempt from tax subject to the fulfillment of the following conditions:
In case you comply with the above requirements, the capital gain arising on such compulsory acquisition would be exempt from tax.
...there’s a favourable precedent
Q. I had inherited a property in Chandigarh from my father in 2002-03, which had been constructed in 1978. I have no intention to settle in the city and, therefore, intend to sell it. I will use the consideration received on such sale for the purpose of acquiring a suitable property in and around Delhi. I understand that the fair market value of the property as on April 1, 1981, will have to be ascertained and capital gain, if any, arising on the sale of the property will have to be computed after giving benefit of cost inflation index for the year 1981-82 onwards up to the year of sale. Is my presumption correct? — Asa Ram A. The issue raised by you is debatable in view of the language of Explanation (iii) to section 48 of the Act, which provides that the benefit of indexation should be from the first year in which the asset was held by the assessee. If literal interpretation of this explanation is taken, the benefit of indexation would be available to you from the year 2002-03 only. However, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, has recently held in the similar circumstance cited by you that in case various sections dealing with the transfer of a capital asset are read co-jointly, it will be clear that the liability for capital gain arises only when the capital asset is actually transferred by the successor and for the purpose of determining the period of holding by the successor inter mediate transfers on account of succession are required to be ignored. The Hon’ble Tribunal has therefore held that in such a case in respect of an asset acquired before April 1, 1981, the fair market value of the capital asset as on April 1, 1981 will have to be taken for indexation. The decision is reported in 117 TTJ 121. You should keep the above position in view before taking any decision.
Start construction
— A.K. Behl A. The answers to your queries are as under:
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HELL is under construction in the visitor's paradise. From a distance, Shimla’s chuckling blue mountains lure you, rising above the soft cottony clouds to meet the harmonising skies. 
EXTERIORS of a house are constantly exposed to severely acting elements of weather. In India, the weather effect is quite variable -- sometimes, it is harsh sunlight and at others, severe and unkind winter. Rain, fog, high and low temperatures also tend to fade the exteriors. As the appearance of cracks and infestation of algae ruin the first impression of a house, owners seek an exterior paint finish that is able to resist all these weathering effects. 
Q. Thanks for your reply in these columns. Kindly clarify further: As mentioned in the reply, u/s 53 a of Transfer of Property Act, transfer is complete when there is written contract, consideration has passed and possession has been given. Now, when the transfer is complete and in case purchaser asked for execution of sale deed on government-notified rate in 2008 for flat acquired in 1995 on GPA basis followed by written contract, consideration passed, and possession given, how will the liability of capital gain tax arise u/s 50C of Income Tax Act? Kindly advise on the following point:
Q. I own two houses in different parts of the country, both more than three years old. These were acquired during my service tenure, which made me stay at these places. The intention was to settle down at one of these places but the intentions did not fructify. I have now decided to sell these houses as I have retired and am going to settle at Faridabad. I have also purchased a plot there. My queries: