Around 84,500 more affordable houses for urban poor approved

NEW DELHI: The Centre has approved construction of around 84,500 more affordable houses for the urban poor in five states, including West Bengal and Punjab, with a total investment of Rs 3,073 crore, of which central assistance will be the tune of Rs 1,256 crore.

"The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has approved construction of 84,460 more affordable houses for the urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in five states with a total investment of Rs 3,073 crore for which central assistance of Rs 1,256 crore has been approved," an official release said.

To be built under the 'Beneficiary Led Construction' component of PMAY (Urban), West Bengal has been sanctioned 47,379 houses with a total investment of Rs 1,918 crore, while Punjab has got 15,209 houses with an investment of Rs 424 crore.

Jharkhand has been sanctioned 12,814 houses at a total cost of Rs 464 crore, Kerala got 5,968 houses with Rs 179 crore investment, while Manipur, for the first time, has got 3,090 houses approved for construction with a total investment of Rs 88 crore.

Under the 'Beneficiary Led Construction' component of PMAY (Urban), each eligible beneficiary belonging to economically weaker sections is provided central assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh for expansion or upgradation of existing house as per the guidelines.

With the latest nod, a total of 10,95,804 affordable houses have been approved in the last one year under PMAY (Urban) with a total investment of Rs 62,740 crore, for which central assistance of Rs 16,289 crore has been approved, the release said.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Qatar's Barwa Real Estate Q3 profit rises 136.2%

DOHA: Qatar's Barwa Real Estate , one of the Gulf Arab state's largest listed developers, reported a 136.2 percent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, according to Reuters calculations.

Net profit of 297.4 million riyals in the three months ending Sept. 30 versus 125.9 million riyals a year earlier. Reuters calculations based on financial statements in lieu of a quarterly breakdown. Barwa's nine-month net profit 1.50 billion riyals, down from 3.57 billion riyals a year ago, a bourse statement said. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Govt signs MoU with NBCC & CPWD to develop 7 GPRA colonies in New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The ministry of urban development on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for redevelopment of seven general pool residential accommodation (GPRA) colonies in the national capital.

While NBCC will redevelop Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, CPWD will redevelop Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Srinivaspuri and Mohammadpur.

Around 12,970 existing homes is planned to be replaced by 25,667 dwelling units, with supporting social infrastructure facilities in the next five years, in a phased manner.

"It is a path breaking initiative and MoUD along with NBCC and CPWD will be redeveloping the seven GPRA colonies," said Rajiv Gauba, secretary, ministry of urban development.

The project, with an estimated cost of Rs 32,835 crores including maintenance and operation costs for 30 years, will be implemented on self-financing basis by sale of commercial built up area of 8.07 lakh square metre constructed in Nauroji Nagar and parts of Sarojini Nagar by NBCC as a part of the project.

The government is developing a similar Rs 5,298-crore GPRA project in East Kidwai Nagar, with the project scheduled to be completed by December 2018.

The government has already completed a similar GPRA project in New Motibagh.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Average housing prices up 7.3% in Apr-June quarter: RBI

NEW DELHI: Housing prices increased by an average 7.3 per cent during April-June period of this fiscal in major cities after moderating for last four consecutive quarters, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

RBI on Monday released the quarterly House Price Index (HPI) for first quarter of 2016-17.

"All-India HPI (base 2010-11=100) has sequentially increased by 5.5 per cent to 231.1 in Q1 of 2016-17 from 219.1 in Q4 of 2015-16. All cities witnessed HPI increase in Q1 of 2016-17," RBI said in a statement.

The index recorded annual increase of 7.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2016-17 after moderation over four consecutive quarters from 17.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014-15 to 3.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16.

On an annual basis, Chennai witnessed maximum increase of 23.9 in the first quarter of 2016-17; whereas Jaipur witnessed maximum contraction (-4.4 per cent).

On a sequential basis, Kochi recorded highest increase in housing price index of 17.6 per cent; whereas Jaipur recorded the lowest increase of 0.6 per cent.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Authorities eye fast-track registry of over 50,000 flats in Noida

NEW DELHI: As buyers struggle to get their flats registered due to non-payment of dues and delays by builders, the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities have proposed a fast-track scheme for grant of NOCs for finished units even if the entire project is yet to be completed - a move that may benefit at least 50,000 buyers.

Under the proposal, which would come into effect after approval by the UP government, the NOC (No Objection Certificate) for registry of these flats would be granted after payment of proportionate dues and a 10 per cent surcharge by the builder.

In Greater Noida alone, up to 20,000 flat buyers may benefit immediately from the scheme, while the number is even higher in Noida where a large number of flats have been completed but are yet to be registered due to lack of NOC from the authorities. The number of such flats is relatively smaller in the Yamuna Expressway area, but the total number would exceed 50,000 flats across the three areas.

In many cases, the buyers have already started living in these flats and are awaiting registration of the flats.

"The Boards of all three authorities -- Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and the Yamuna Expressway Authority -- have approved the proposal and it will be now sent to the UP government. It (the scheme) will come into effect after the UP Government approves it," the Greater Noida Authority CEO Deepak Agarwal told .

He said that 17,000-20,000 flat-buyers can immediately benefit under this scheme as these flats are already completed.

Under the proposal, the builder will have to pay the proportionate dues -- total dues for the entire project divided by the number of completed flats -- and a 10 per cent additional charge to get the NOC.

Under current rules, NOCs are granted only after payment of all dues, including for the land and other charges for the entire project.

However, the proposed scheme may allow grant of NOC even for a single flat after payment of the proportionate dues and the additional 10 per cent charge.

A number of builders in the region are facing the heat of the buyers and the general public in the wake of years of delay in grant of possession.

While many builders have begun giving possession for the completed units, even if the entire project is not completed, the registration of flats is not happening in those cases.

This is causing difficulties for flat-buyers in getting benefits like electricity and water connections and they have to manage with alternatives like water tankers and generators.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Delhi may miss RERA deadline as govt seeks industry view on rules

NEW DELHI: The urban development ministry has asked industry bodies to submit their suggestions on rules of Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) for Delhi within a week in a signal that the deadline of October 31 to notify the rule would be missed.

Rajiv Gauba, secretary at the ministry, conveyed this to representatives from bodies including CREDAI, Naredco, Ficci, Assocham, PHD Chamber and DDA at a meeting to discuss draft rules of RERA for Delhi on Thursday.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016, which aims to regulate the housing sector and protect consumer interests, was passed by Rajya Sabha on March 10 and by Lok Sabha on March 15.

The rules were set to be notified by October 31, or within six months of the Act coming into force, according to a notification in late April.

“We had a meeting with the secretary of along with the industry bodies. We will be submitting the suggestions in a week,” said Getamber Anand, president at Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), the apex body of private realty developers.

Single-window clearance or coordination between the approving departments was one of the many demands of the builders.

“We have asked the government to consider the date of applying for the occupation certificate (OC) for a project as the completion date, and not the date on which it is issued finally,” said Parveen Jain, president at National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco), a self-regulatory body of the industry.

Abhay Upadhyay, national convener of homebuyers' body 'Fight for RERA', criticised the delay and said the government was setting a wrong precedent by not inviting consumers for these meetings. “A delay in notification of RERA norms means that the nexus between builders and authorities, which we were trying to break, is still at play,” he alleged.

The ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (HUPA) will bring out RERA rules for five union territories of Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep, while the urban development ministry will come out with RERA rules for Delhi.

Other states will either come out with their own rules or have the option to adopt HUPA-notified rules.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Code of conduct puts major projects at a standstill in Nashik, including Smart City

NASHIK: The code of conduct that has been imposed for the municipal council elections in various places of the district on Monday has put many of the major projects of the city at a standstill including Smart City.

After the municipal council elections, the code of conduct will be imposed for municipal corporation election which means that these projects will not take shape till few months after the election.

The code of conduct was enforced from Monday in Bhagur, Sinnar, Yeola, Nandgaon, Satana and Manmad for the municipal council elections scheduled on November 27. Soon after that the code of conduct for municipal corporation election will be enforced. According to the new rule, code of conduct in four or more places in the district will also be applicable for the municipal corporation as well.

"Earlier this was not the rule with the code of conduct. They have introduced it recently and we will have to wait for the elections to get over," said an NMC official.

Important projects like managing and maintaining compost plant on DFBOT basis, new system of garbage collection, auto DCR, property survey, tree census, tree plantation, garden maintenance and Smart City will take a backseat due to the municipal council and municipal corporation election scheduled on November 27 and February 2017 respectively.

"The most affected project will be tree plantation and I wanted it to happen before the code of conduct because by the time it will be lifted it will be summer time and we will not be able to plant trees then. We will have to wait for the rainy season," said municipal commissioner Abhishek Krishna during a media briefing on Tuesday.

Manish Deore, a consultant said that most of the projects were dilly dallied by the NMC since years.

"Now with the excuse of the code of conduct all the files will gather dust. Even the developmental works of various prabhags have not been started," said Deore.

Sukhada Bonde, a teacher said, "The gardens are in a shambles and we doubt if things will be any better this coming summer. NMC also does not fear violating the court's orders like tree plantation, tree census and compost plant."

Some of the major projects that will be affected:

Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) of compost plant - Mailhem Ikos Environment Private Limited that will be managing Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) compost plant on DFBOT basis for 30 years will have to wait for the civic election in February 2017 to get the work order. It will be able to start the work only after the civic election, mayoral election, standing committee election which means only in March-April. In November 2015, NGT withheld all the building permissions due to the improper management of MSW and the NMC. NMC has to manage the compost plant successfully in six months as per the MSW Rules after which the stay on building constructions will be lifted. The delay in starting with DFBOT of compost plant would further delay building constructions.

Garbage collection – Tenders have been approved for new system of garbage collection but the contractors have asked for 2-3 months for complying with all the conditions of the new system like buying new garbage vans, installing global positioning system, minimum wages for the sanitary labourers, biometric attendance, waste segregation etc. All these will be possible only after the civic elections.

Auto DCR (development control regulations) – The town planning department will have to manually scrutinize building plans until early next year as automating development control regulations for building plan approvals will also be delayed due to the code of conduct. It is a single window which is expected to have plans that do not deviate from the DCR. The approved plan will then be uploaded on the NMC's website and people will know the exact plan that has been approved.

Property survey - Property survey that is expected to bring everyone in the tax net and has been one of NMC's pet projects will have to take backseat as the agency Geo Emphasis an L1 company that quoted the minimum rate early this month is yet to get the work order. Leakages in the property tax will be checked and this will add to the NMC's treasury. This project was first discussed in 2012.

Tree census – The long-pending tree census will be delayed further as the work order to the agency Teragon Teragon, appointed early this month is yet to be given. Only one tree census was done by NMC eight years back. Environment activists have been demanding it from years and the Bombay High Court also ordered for it. Tree census will give the exact number of trees, species, height, age etc.

Tree plantation - NMC's standing committee approved tenders worth Rs 3.65 crore for planting 15,160 trees of 10 feet height across the city in early October. Out of the 21,000 trees to be planted, 5,800 are of 15 feet in height and are being planted. The high court has ordered NMC to plant trees and transplant the ones cut for road widening. Also, there has been negligible tree plantation by NMC in the past few years. Increasing the green cover would probably be delayed till next monsoon because after the elections it would be summer.

Gardens maintenance - Gardens maintenance put NMC under scanner for years, particularly since one year it has been grappling with the issue. Out of the 481 gardens 286 were to be maintained through self-help groups but failed to get any response for its tenders. Nine different tenders have been floated recently. Ironically, the city is known as the city of gardens and jogging tracks but maintenance of gardens has been a major issue. Like last summer, this summer too children may not be able to play in the gardens.

Smart City – Among 27 smart cities selected Nashik stands 11th. After the initial hiccups Nashik was included in the second list of smart cities. The first meeting of the board of directors for Smart city's s special purpose vehicle (SPV) took place at NMC under the chairmanship of principal secretary, planning department Sitaram Kunte on September 21. But all the smart projects will have to wait till summer.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Govt to start 15% stake sale in NBCC today, looks to raise Rs 2,218 crore

NEW DELHI: The government will sell a 15% stake in construction company NBCC (India) Limited to raise around Rs 2,218 crore through a two-day offer for sale beginning today.

The government has set a floor price of Rs 246.50 per share, less than NBCC's closing price of Rs 253 on the BSE on Wednesday.

The open offer to sell as many as 9 crore shares will open for institutional investors today, while retail sales will get a chance to make a bid on Friday.

The central government holds 90% stake in National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd. It diluted 10% stake in the company to raise Rs 127 crore in 2012 when it was listed on the bourses.

"20% of the offer size shall be reserved for retail investors subject to the receipt of valid bids," the offer for sale notice said.

Retail investors, or those individual investors who place bids for shares of total value of not more than Rs 2 lakh in total, will be allocated shares at a discount of 5% of the cut-off price.

"Any unsubscribed portion of the retail category shall, after allotment, be eligible for allocation to the unallotted bids of such non-retail investors who have chosen to carry forward their bids to Friday," the notice added.

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved 15% stake sale in the state-owned company on July 13.

The stake sale will help the company meet Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) norms that mandated public sector units (PSUs) to have a minimum public holding of 25%.

In March this year, the board had approved splitting of company's equity share of face value of Rs 10 each into five shares of Rs 2 face value each to make shares more affordable as well as increasing market liquidity.

The government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore in state-owned enterprises in financial year 2016-17, out of which Rs 36,000 crore is expected to come from minority stake sale in state-owned companies, and Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sales.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Multiple GST rates of 12% & 18% being weighed

NEW DELHI: The Centre proposed a four-slab structure with two standard goods and services tax (GST) rates of 12% and 18% at the latest meeting of the GST Council, keen to ensure minimal impact of the new levy on prices and revenue.But some states called for a higher rate on luxury goods.

The issue of compensation to states was sorted out at the first day of the three-day GST Council meeting, marking further progress on the much-awaited indirect tax reform, which the government wants to put in place by April 1.

The Centre's proposal to the council entails a lower rate of 4% for precious metals, a threshold rate of 6%, two standard rates of 12% and 18%, a higher rate of 26% and a cess on luxury items, pan masala and tobacco products. Services will be taxed at 12% and 18% under this dispensation. Most services would be taxed at 18% but those that have abatement will face a levy of 12%.

“At least five alternative options on rate structure have been presented to the council,“ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the day-long session.“Eventually, you must reach the target of revenue collection which you are likely to otherwise reach in 2017-18... Whatever has been suggested is a starting point.“

He elaborated on the guiding rule for the new tax. “The broad approach is that the rate structure should be such that it does not lead to any further CPI (consumer price index) inflation and the states have adequa te revenue, so should the Centre, in order to discharge their obligations and this has to be blended with only the least possible burden that has to be put on the taxpayer,“ he said.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the proposed rate structure takes into account the existing tax incidence on goods and the Centre was keen that goods that do not face any tax or face lower tax suddenly don't face a higher rate, hurting consumers.

Some goods such as consumer durables that face a higher tax rate of 31% now, including central levies and state taxes, could be moved to the lower bracket of 18% instead of 26%, the highest slab.

“As many as 50% items in the CPI basket would not face tax,“ he said. This would keep food and most items of common usage out of tax bracket.

The Centre has also proposed diffe rent rate scenarios for the standard and threshold rates of 18%,12% and 6%, respectively . In one scenario, standard rate is proposed at 17% and threshold at 7%, said an official privy to Tuesday's deliberations.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR CENTRE

Jaitley, who also heads the council that has state finance ministers as members, said the model should be such that the Centre has some additional resources that it could use for paying compensation to any state losing revenue.

This could explain the move to levy the cess, which will entirely accrue to the Centre, a proposal some experts . say will distort GST. The cess on ult ra-luxury goods such as high-end cars would be equal to 26% minus the current tax incidence. All existing cesses will be folded into GST except the clean energy cess levied on coal.

The proposed cess on luxury goods would help create a compensation fund to help states that sustain any loss of revenue due to the new indirect tax regime that will subsume a host of central and state taxes including excise duty , service tax and value-added tax (VAT).

Jaitley said all these were proposals on the table. “These are all possible suggestions, we have not come to a possible decision,“ he said.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said his state wanted the highest rate to be fixed at 30% so that items of common consumption would either be exempt or face lower tax rates. He also said the Centre's proposal to impose a cess to compensate states “is in contradiction with the concept of the GST itself“.

The view was seconded by experts. “The ability of the government to levy cess even if on some commodities at present may open a Pandora's box for levy of more cesses later, which will ultimately raise the tax burden,“ said Bipin Sapra, partner, EY.

The council will meet on Wednesday to discuss the GST framework and finalise the cross empowerment structure for administration of the tax, essentially giving powers to each other over assessees.

The first day of the three-day meeting finalised the compensation formula that entails a secular revenue growth of 14% for tax revenue of states on the FY16 base year over the five-year compensation period. The council also decided what would constitute revenue, which would include all taxes subsumed into the proposed tax.

SOURCE: ETRealty

THIS FESTIVE SEASON REALTY SECTOR PICKS UP PACE

With the first innings of the festive season concluding with Navratras and Dussehra, sector is keeping its fingers crossed for the remaining month of October. The second phase of the festive season conclude with Diwali, or the first week of November this year. The much awaited time of the year when sales and deliveries take place, realty sector sees the best days during each festive season. But this time, the numbers could not impress the sector as much as last few years, riding with unstable sentiments and much hyped cash crunch in the sector. The developers were seen proactive on the sales front as deals offered in the market ranged from heavy discounts, freebies and other lucrative offers. Even on the deliveries part, developers were actively engaged towards offering possession. Overall though, the market was observed to be picking up some pace, promising a better growth and revival in the upcoming few months.

“With the festive season in progress, the realty sector always hopes for a momentum which should last long. This year as well, the market has performed well with sales and deliveries taking place at a good pace. The much needed revival is becoming prominent in the sector with sentiments gradually becoming positive. With still a couple of weeks left for the festive season to conclude, market is gearing up for an even better response by Diwali”, explains Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing.

A Look At The Sales Figures

“Its a normal tendency of the realty sector to perform better than non-festive days. There is an increment of about 20-25 percent on the sales front during the festive season as against the non-festive days. Even on the deliveries part, buyers tend to relocate to their properties during festive season more often. Thus, possessions taken up rise about 10 percent as against the non-festive days. It is clear that the market observes better results on all fronts during the festive season”, avers Rajesh Goyal, Vice President CREDAI-Western U.P. & MD, RG Group. With not many buyers and takers this year, the market was bound to take a hit as sales were witnessed to be lower than other years. But during the course of all the instabilities, developers with a history of quality construction and on-time deliveries are having a merry time. For instance, NCR’s realty majors Gaursons India Ltd. and Ajnara India Ltd. crossed a century mark on the sales front during the course of Navratras. Manoj Gaur, President CREDAI-NCR & MD, Gaursons India Ltd. shares, “During the nine days of Navratas, we made 131 bookings across four of our projects; Gaur City, Gaur Atulyam, Gaur Saundaryam and Gaur Sportswood. These figures are a lot more in comparison to a sample of nine non-festive days, where we usually gather 45-50 bookings. Even against the last year’s Navratras, we saw a 25 percent growth in sales numbers this year.” 

Adding further, Ashok Gupta, CMD of Ajnara India Ltd. said, “With the ongoing festive season, market is responding positively for the developers. Across our all ongoing projects, we made 105 bookings during the Navratras and are projecting this number to get doubled by this festive season end with Diwali. On usual days that are non-festive in nature, we gather about 50-55 bookings. This highlights the importance of festive season in the realty sector, where developers across the country manage double sale numbers than normal.” With a lot of options to choose from, buyers in the current festive season have allowed developers across NCR to flourish and clear up remaining inventories as well. Ready to move in projects were seen to have gathered the biggest chunk with developers offering ready units with great deals, thus generating huge sales. Antriksh India managed a decent 65 bookings during the Navratras that used to be hardly 15-20 during a normal non-festive period. On the other hand, Saya Group managed 46 bookings from two of its projects. “It is extremely important to make full use of the festive season, and offering a good deal allows a company to multiply its sales. With sentiments positive, festive season is the best time for the developers to bag the sales opportunities”, elucidates Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, Antriksh India. Explaining further, Vikas Bhasin, MD of Saya Group states, “It is important for the developers to understand the trend and psychology of the buyers during the festive season. For buyers, there are a lot of options to choose from, but nothing can beat a deal where quality is offered with timely delivery. But in order to win the competition, developers lure the buyers with discounts and freebies and thus, sales increase manifolds.” Launch of new projects is another sight which is observed during the festive season. The charm of buying a property in a newly launched project along with a lucrative deal is the best that a buyer can get. Airwil Infra Ltd. bagged around 55 bookings this Navratras with the most bookings happening in its latest offering Conac, located in Noida Sector 113.

Possessions Catch Up Pace

Not only does sales multiply during the festive season, possession numbers also climb parallel. Considering this auspicious time of the calendar, people either buy new properties or relocate to their new homes. This pushes the developers to stick to the deadlines and offer possessions, especially during the Navratras. Gaursons India Ltd. managed to offer possession of around 200 units during the nine days of Navratras. “Getting possession of the unit is a dream of every buyer who invests a lifetime’s earning while purchasing the property. Thus, developers not only focus upon the sales, but work diligently towards the completion of the project in order to offer possession during the festive season”, adds Manoj Gaur of Gaursons India Ltd.

Ajnara India Ltd. offered possession of about 80 units in the span of nine days during Navratras. “We have been on a delivery spree for the last several months and had fast paced our work to allow the buyers to get possession during the festive season”, said Ashok Gupta of Ajnara India Ltd. “With the festive season reaching halfway, developers are eyeing the remainder month to gather more sales and offer possessions. This in turn, in the long run, will help the sentiments to get better and allow the investment to flow more in the economy”, concludes Vikash Bhagat, Director, Airwil Infra Ltd.

Huda confident Dwarka e-way will be back on track

GURGAON: Despite receiving an unfavourable order from Punjab and Haryana high court virtually putting brakes on the completion of Dwarka expressway, Huda is confident of overcoming the latest legal hurdle and completing the project soon.

The much-delayed expressway connecting Gurgaon and Delhi hit another stumbling block after the high court stayed the allotment of alternative plots to people displaced by the project. One of the oustees had moved court challenging Huda’s denial of benefits to him on the pretext that his plot had been lying vacant.

Preparing to present its view before court on the next hearing on November 7, Huda is hoping to get relief from the HC. The urban development body claims that alternative plots were allotted to oustees in accordance with the terms and condition of final terms of settlement (FTS) prepared under the supervision of the high court. Through lucky draws, it has allotted 269 alternative plots to the oustees, including general power of attorney (GPA) and special power of attorney (SPA) holders.

“The plots were allotted in accordance with FTS, which was reached between oustees and Huda under the guidance of the HC. It was clearly mentioned in the FTS that oustees holding GPA and SPA will also be allotted alternative plots,” said Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav. “We are quite hopeful that after considering all these facts, the court will vacate the stay,” he added.

Yadav was also confident that the draw of lots would stand up to scrutiny and work to complete the much-delayed expressway will progress as planned.

The petitioner, Satyendra Singh, claimed he was denied the benefit of Huda’s oustees’ policy as his plot was lying vacant, while GPA and SPA holders were alloted plots. “According to rehabilitation policy of state government, which has been accepted by oustees, open plot holders are not eligible for alternative plots. Only people who have constructed houses are given alternative plots,” said Yadav.

“According to the the policy, if there are 100 applications for 10 available plots reserved for oustees, Huda will allot plots through lucky draw. It is not necessary that all oustees get plot,” said Yadav, adding that in the case of Dwarka expressway they have followed the state government’s policy and the FTS.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Brakes on Dwarka e-way again as High Court stays allotment of plots

GURGAON: Dwarka expressway’s problems aren’t over. The much-delayed high-speed road connecting Gurgaon and Delhi has hit another stumbling block with the Punjab and Haryana high court staying the allotment of alternative plots to people displaced by the expressway project. One of the oustees, challenging Huda’s denial of benefits to him on the pretext that his plot had been lying vacant, had moved court.

Huda has allotted 269 alternative plots to the expressway project oustees, including general power of attorney (GPA) and special power of attorney (SPA) holders, through lucky draws. The oustees are from New Palam Vihar, Kherki Daula and Chauma village. The authority says it has finished the allotment process. It chose from a pool of 465 applicants. The state government was hoping to restart work to complete the expressway and building its crucial connection with NH-8 this year, but will now have to wait for the HC’s order.

The petitioner, Satyendra Singh, claimed he was denied the benefit of Huda’s oustees’ policy as his plot was lying vacant. Challenging the allotment of alternative plots to GPA and SPA holders, Singh said in his petition, “The owner of the vacant plot was denied benefit of oustees’ policy on the plea that such benefit in lieu of vacant land is not admissible. On the other hand, Huda allotted more than 200 plots to holders of GPA, SPA, despite the fact that none of them was possessing valid title at the time of acquisition of properties.”

A division bench of justices Surya Kant and Sudip Ahluwalia stayed the process and directed the additional chief secretary of the department of town and country planning (DTCP) of Haryana to explain under which policy or rules Huda has been authorised to make allotments of alternative plots to GPA and SPA holders. Besides, the estate officer was directed to appear in the court in person on the next date of hearing on November 7 with relevant documents.

Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav had passed a speaking order in July that only oustees with registries will be eligible for alternative plots. The order was opposed because most of the Dwarka expressway project oustees hadn’t registered their properties. Later, on the direction of the advocate general, Huda decided to allot alternative plots to all oustees, including people with SPA and GPA. Of the 465 oustees who had applied for alternative plots, 110 (who had registries of their properties) were allotted alternative plots on July 31, and 79, who didn’t have registry papers but had built homes, were allotted alternative plots on August 25. Another set of 80 oustees were given alternative plots on August 28. The remaining applications were rejected as the plots were lying vacant.

SOURCE: ETRealty

Government paving road for Rs 60,000 crore push to infrastructure sector

NEW DELHI: An influential section of the government is pushing for an additional Rs 50,000-60,000 crore burst of spending to give infrastructure a big mid-year push through the second supplementary demand for grants. Roads, railways and rural electrification will be among the main beneficiaries.

This is being discussed at the top levels of the government, a senior official told ET. The money will be needed as a number of departments will be close to exhausting their funds and require more money to meet targets. A final call on the amount will be taken in line with additional resources that the government is able to garner. 

Genuine requirements based on the utilisation record of ministries will also be taken into account. The government is also keen on completing the promised Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and All India Institutes of Medical Science (AIIMS).

The finance ministry, which needs to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP, will be closely involved in taking a final call on the issue. It has begun to look at various options to make room for additional spending.

"Genuine fund requirements would be met. Actual utilisation and unspent balances released to various agencies would be taken into account before allocating any additional funds," a finance ministry official told ET. "Ministries that are sitting on funds and have not been able to spend would have to forego to those that have been able to spend." Policymakers are of the view that the spending push will help boost growth and also aid timely completion of key government programmes.

The finance ministry had on September 26 invited proposals to be considered for the second supplementary demand for grants that will be presented to Parliament in the winter session that's to start November 16.

The funds constraint has resulted in just a marginal increase in the capital spending allocation in the current fiscal to Rs2.47 lakh crore from Rs2.38 lakh crore last year. The government has an additional burden of Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the current year on account of the seventh pay commission award. But it's confident of generating any additional funds that may be required thanks to the just-concluded black money disclosure scheme, dividend payments from the Reserve Bank of India and asset sales despite revenue from the recent spectrum auction falling short of target.

"There will be no cuts," said the official cited above. "The government is quite comfortable with the additional RBI dividend, tax expected on black money disclosures and is confident that the divestment target would be met."

Highway target
The highway, power and railway ministries are looking for more funds to maintain the momentum on road building, rural electrification and railway capital spending.

The government is also looking at funds to implement its biodegradable toilet project in addition to setting up the promised IITs, AIIMS, and IIMs.

The Nitin Gadkari-led department of road transport and highways spent half of its Rs 55,000-crore allocation by August and needs more money to meet its target of 15,000 km of highways.

The railways has got government support worth Rs 45,000 crore, of which 32% was utilised by August.

The government is keen that the national transporter completes initiatives such as bio-toilets that are announced every year but left incomplete.

The power ministry wants to electrify all villages by May 2017, a year ahead of target, which means it will need more funds. It wants to give soft loans to states to ensure that every household gets a power connection.

The rural development ministry will need more funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, having run through its Rs 45,000-crore allocation as it cleared past dues and speeded up payments. Another Rs 10,000 crore is needed for the rest of the year.

SOURCE: TOI

 

Feeling Lucky? Get 90% discount on Luxurious Villas

Noida: Airwil Group, a growing name in NCR realty has a launched a very unique scheme during this festive season. In their newly launched project, CONAC, in sector-113, Noida they have launched a festive scheme in which the group is offering discounts of over 100 crores on their first 180 luxurious villas. 

CONAC is a luxurious villa project spread in 22 acres & located in central Noida. It boasts of world class amenities and lush green surroundings amidst good connectivity and infrastructural growth in place. The project is strategically placed and experts believe that such projects won't be available any more in coming few years. 

The lucky draw scheme in the project offers a discount on BSP ranging from 90% to 20% for 40 lucky buyers. The offer continues with 100 more buyers getting luxurious cars ranging from Audi-A4, A3 & Mercedes B class and finally the remaning 40 buyers will be getting fully furnished villas. Making all the 180 buyers the lucky winners of the draw. 

Vikas Bhagat, Director, Airwil Group says, "the project will be bigger and looking at the ongoing festive season we are offering a lucky draw scheme to our 1st 180 buyers. We will also not accept cheques once we reach the figure of 180. The project and the offer is for a serious buyer who would also be our end user. 

A scheme as big as this where discounts of over 100 crore being offered has happened for the 1st time in NCR realty and we are witnessing good number of queries. We have kept the scheme transparent and are making 100 % of our buyer a winner of the scheme."