Govt to ease approvals for construction projects

Government departments involved in granting approvals for construction projects in cities and towns will now come out with necessary notifications by November-end for streamlining approvals for time-bound and hassle-free clearances. This will mean applicants don't have to bring their cases to Delhi for different clearances. 

Moreover, government will also empower the land owners and their architects to make self declarations that their plans comply with norms to get quicker approvals. But if their declarations are found wrong, government agencies will demolish the construction without even giving notice. "We are going to have such stringent provisions for the violators. Even the architect or consultant who has certified wrong information will lose his licence forever," urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.

Sources said that a series of decisions to simplify the procedures by delegating more powers to urban local bodies and using technology to ensure time-bound decision on projects were taken at a meeting on October 28. It was attended by three Cabinet ministers and over half-a-dozen secretaries, including cabinet secretary P K Sinha. Besides Naidu, defence minister Manohar Parikkar and culture minister Mahesh Sharma were also present. 

A ministry spokesperson said the ministers and cabinet secretary reviewed the progress made by respective ministries to enhance 'ease of doing business' in urban areas. "The cabinet secretary said streamlining of approvals need to be taken seriously to avoid cost and time overruns and harassment of project developers," the official added.

Online approvals can be obtained using the 'app' developed by ISRO in the case of buildings close to the protected monuments. "The app has been enhanced to a margin of error of only 1-2 metres," said another official. 

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Need to revive city markets to create public spaces

At a time when the government is focusing on people-friendly infrastructure, urban designers say the city markets should be redeveloped and made pedestrian-friendly. There are several community shopping centres and district centres of DDA that can be revived and turned into excellent public spaces with slight modifications.

"These are planned public spaces where only pedestrian movement is allowed. We can redesign the spaces to make them more accessible to people and provide a vast area for recreational activities. Nehru Place can be an excellent example," says Arunava Dasgupta, head of urban design, SPA.

"There is a huge park adjacent to the Metro station. The entire area can be redeveloped through urban design. The Nehru Place market, Metro station complex and the park next to it can be developed as a huge public space to make it disabled and pedestrian friendly." Popular markets like Lajpat Nagar, Karol Bagh and Chandni Chowk can also be converted into excellent public spaces.

The selection of public spaces should be natural; any place frequented by people at different times can serve the purpose. Businessmen oppose complete pedestrianisation of markets fearing loss of business, but experts predict an increase in footfall.

Risha Chitlangia, Times Property, The Times of India, Delhi/NCR

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Centre to issue notification on streamlining approvals for construction projects in urban areas; real estate to benefit

The central government has decided on streamlining approvals for construction projects in urban areas to enable time bound and hassle free clearances for projects and will issue a notification to this effect by the end of November.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at a high-level meeting that was convened by the minister for urban development and housing & urban poverty alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma and Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha alongside secretaries and senior officials of eight related ministries

This move would come as a relief for the real estate sector which has been complaining about the time taken to secure approvals for housing projects in different parts of the country. According to builders, there are over 40 different permissions that are required for a housing project that could take anywhere between 12-24 months to come, delays projects and increasing project costs.

Naidu said the country is ranked low in terms of doing business in urban areas and it is imperative to improve the same in the context of efforts for sustained high rate of economic growth and other initiatives like Housing for All.

Cabinet secretary PK Sinha said that streamlining of approvals need to be taken seriously to end cost and time over runs and harassment of project developers. He suggested to the ministry of environment and forests & climate change to consider incentivizing compliance with the guidelines. Sinha pointed out that official notifications in respect of agreed upon measures would go a long way in improving India's rank on 'ease of doing business'.

Among the initiatives to fast track approvals, the ministry of environment and forests & climate change would soon simplify guidelines for according environmental clearances based on the built up area. The simplified guidelines could be incorporated in the bye-laws/regulations of states and Urban Local Bodies so that the ministry will not be approached for clearances.

The ministry of civil aviation has uploaded Colour Coded Zoning Maps on its website of 9 of the 12 major airports for which 65% of applications for height clearances come. This would enable urban local bodies to accord approvals without the applicants going to the ministry. Maps for the other three airports will be made available by December while those of another 14 airports would be uploaded by the end of next year which would take care of over 90% of applications for clearances.

The No Objection Application System (NOCAS-II) would be soft launched on October 31 and would be available for use of applicants, eliminating human interface for approvals.

The ministry of culture has made the website for online filing and grant of NOCs for buildings not falling in restricted areas of National Monuments fully operational. Mapping of 600 monuments has been already completed that enables online approvals and Heritage Bye-laws of 201 major monuments is being done on priority.

All services and defence organisations have been directed to advise Local Military Authorities and local units to provide details and maps of restricted and unrestricted areas to local municipal authorities. Colour Coded Zoning Maps for defence airports under joint civil operations will be prepared after a meeting with all concerned is taken by the defence minister. Concerned defence establishments will accord required approvals within 30 days from date of application.

The department of consumer affairs will finalise the National Building Code-2015 by the end of December this year keeping in view the requirements of quick approvals while the ministry of urban development as prepared the Model Building Bye-laws. The simplified guidelines to be proposed by the ministry of environment and forests will also be incorporated in it.

The department of industrial policy and promotion has suggested 'Risk based' approval system that places the onus on the applicant for any violation of undertaking given in respect of compliance with guidelines.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Haryana claims new policy to help build 2 lakh EWS homes by 2020

The Haryana government on Tuesday claimed its recently unveiled New Integrated Licencing Policy would help create two lakh dwelling units belonging to the economically weaker section in major urban growth centres such as Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sohna, Sonepat, Panipat and Panchkula in the next five to six years.

State government officials are also confident of achieving this mammoth target by 2020 once the policy gets takers and people start applying for licences for real estate projects. This is because under this policy, private developers that would get licences to build housing complexes and projects would have to transfer 12% of their land free of cost for building EWS and no-profit-no-loss (NPNL) housing units.

"We are expecting to receive applications for getting licence for about 12,000 acres under this policy. So, going by the formula we will get about 1,200 acres of land for building EWS and NPNL housing units in these cities," said additional chief secretary P Raghavendra Rao, who is in charge of the town and country planning department.

However, the policy specifies that no single pocket proposed to be transferred under this category will be less than 2.5 acres to ensure proper planning and implementation of such complexes. It will be up to the government to utilize the land parcels through any public or private agency, the policy says.

It also specifies that the licencees need to hand over another 10% of their project area to the government free of cost to government for community facilities such as schools, dispensaries, community centres, post offices and religious centres.

The policy has also introduced the provision for transfer of development rights (TDR) for the land owners.

"These certificates will contain the entitlement of FAR, which the individual land owner will be able to transfer to a developer/ colonizer subsequently,a the policy mentions. The builder will be allowed to utilize the TDR certificates for higher FAR and to build more dwelling units. We expect the farmers or any other land owner will get at least Rs 4 crore per acre, which is much higher than what he would have got by selling the land or under the acquisition policy for laying infrastructure," Rao said.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Haryana policy gives big housing a push

The Haryana government has reduced the minimum land requirement to build townships from 100 acres to 25 in its new integrated licencing policy (NILP), which it unveiled on October 23. 

The state expects the NILP to help energise the real estate market that has been going through a prolonged slump, particularly in NCR. The policy is applicable to high and hyper potential areas in NCR and the state capital region (SCR).

The lowering of the minimum land quantum for large housing projects to 25 acres also means acquisitions of this scale won't attract tough clauses of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, which is applicable for acquisitions above 50 acres.

Only 12 housing project licences have been issued since the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government took the reins of the Haryana government in October 2014.But the investment climate alone is not to be blamed for this. The state stopped issuing licences to builders in September 2014 when the model code of conduct for the assembly polls came into effect. The new government only resumed giving out housing licences in June.

The NILP will cover Gurgaon and Manesar, Faridabad, Ballabgarh, Sohna, So nipat, Kundli and Panchkula. The government expects it to generate revenue of Rs 1.25 lakh crore. While unveiling the policy in Chandigarh, chief minister Khattar said he was hopeful that 2 lakh dwelling units under the affordable housing scheme would be built by 2020. 

Besides bringing down the minimum area requirement for obtaining the licence, the NILP also plugs an illegal practice of developers signing memoranda of understanding (MoU) to fulfil the 100-acre cap. There had been instances in the past when builders have inked MoUs with landowners and apply for a licence. 

Now builders, who want to use farmer's land for their projects, will have to sign a transferable development rights (TDR) agreement."This will ensure that farmers or landowners will get the market price from the builder for their land. The government will be a facilitator as the custodian of farmer's interests. The TDR certificate will be valid for two years from the date of issuance," said Khattar.

He added, "We reiterate we have zero tolerance for corrupt practices. Just because of the wrong policy of the previous government, 10,000 acres of land had been lying unutilized in Gurgaon alone. You can imagine the condition of other places." 

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Now, SRA moots FSI bonanza for Mumbai builders

Build transit camps for slumdwellers or rental housing in the suburbs and avail of a huge construction bonanza in the lucrative island city. This is what the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has proposed in a move activists and NGOs described as an "FSI scam'' meant to favour some builders holding prime plots in the island city. A building industry source said this would further congest the island city with luxury towers and convert the suburbs into ghettos of transit accommodations for slum dwellers.

At the heart of the matter is the little-known DC rule 33 (14), which the SRA wants to amend.

Currently, only suburban builders can avail of its construction benefits. Now, the SRA wants to extend it to the island city, where property prices in some pockets are the highest in the country. The SRA's controversial proposal comes even as the new, corrected Development Control rules are set to be unveiled soon, As an example, a builder can build transit camps or rental accommodation in faraway Dahisar (where land prices are a fraction compared to the island city) and hand them over free of cost to the SRA. In return, the builder receives unusually high floor space index (FSI) on his plot, say, in a high-end locality like Nepean Sea Road. Under this scheme, the SRA has offered builders in the island city FSI 3 as compared to the base FSI 1.33 in this region. In the suburbs, it has fixed the FSI at 4 as against the base FSI of 1.FSI is the ratio which determines how much can be built on a plot.

But the Slum Authority claims its proposal also stipulates that builders pay a premium for this additional FSI."The premium amount collected under rehabilitation scheme shall be kept in a separate account to be utilized as shelter fund for the state,'' it said. Last month when SRA invited objections and suggestions from the public, the NGO Pragati Manch strongly protested. "The SRA in collusion with select builders lobby has worked out a legitimate land grabbing scheme under the guise of providing transit camps and affordable housing for the masses,'' it wrote in a letter to SRA chief Aseem Gupta.

"The logic of the proposed notification aiding affordable housingtransit camps sounds frivolous as the fact remains that private developers would encash their FSI bonanza only for luxury housing. It's an open and shut case that speedier or smoother implementation of slum policy has no practical correla tion to availability of transit camps. With slum dwellers being provided rental housing as per market rates currently , the rehabilitation process faces no road blocks on this front,'' it added.

Housing activist Chandrashekhar Prabhu said many builders in the suburbs took advantage by buying cheap land in distant suburbs for transit camps and used the additional FSI on prime plots in Bandra and Khar to build luxury towers. Two years ago, TOI had reported on how a builder constructed a 20-storey tower on a pocket-sized plot near Khar gymkhana by using this provision. The additional FSI allowed the developer a construction area of 60,000 sq ft on a 6,000 sq ft plot--ten times the plot area.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

REALTY SECTOR SCORED BETTER THIS NAVRATRIS

The 9 days of Navratris in the Hindu calendar year are much awaited as the sentiments are riding high in the market and people, due to their spiritual and positive beliefs are eager to invest in the real estate sector. Even the developers in the sector try out their best to offer most lucrative deals to the public so as to generate highest sales in these 9 days. The realty sector’s objective for this time period is not only to gather sales, but to offer possession of their units as well, as customers find this time of the calendar as the most auspicious time for not only buying a property, but settling into the purchased units. Thus, this season every year in Indian realty sector is full of joy and enthusiasm as not only great numbers are recorded in sales but equally good for possession of units.

Bookings: 9 Navratri days vs. 9 Non-Navratri days

“Because this time is considered propitious for buying property, greater footfall of potential buyers is observed on site offices during Navratris; and when footfall is high, so is the conversion. These9 days of Navratris we managed to bag 30 fresh bookings, whereas during a sample of 9 Non-Navratri days, we are usually able to gather 5-7 bookings”, shares Mr. Deepak Kapoor, President CREDAI-Western U.P. & Director, Gulshan Homz. This has somewhere been a trend in the Indian real estate sector where sales are recorded bigger in number during the festive seasons versus the non-festive seasons. Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, CMD, Devika Group explains “Every year, Navratris are able to penetrate the sales in the real estate sector. These 9 days are actually able to cover the misses incurred throughout the calendar year. This Navratris turned out to be great for us with over 400 percent bookings witnessed as compared to a regular 9 days of Non-Navratri period”.

Even the developers offer various goodies, special payment plans and other such add-ons during the Navratris so as to extract the maximum during this time. “With our special festive payment plans offered for our projects this Navratris, we were actually able to reap out great numbers. We are usually able to gather 10-12 bookings without a festive season offer in 9 days tenure; but with Navratris special schemes, our numbers got doubled with 25 bookings made in these nine days”, states Mr. Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing. Feeling over-joyed with their performance during the 9 Navratri days, Mr. Mukesh Khurana, MD, Rudra Buildwell said “Few important decisions by the government this year just prior to the festive season has created a great wave of positive sentiments floating in the market due to which the response has been far better. The clearance to land dispute in Greater Noida West and NGT verdict in Noida, added with recent RBI repo rate cut has allowed this sector to gain from what was otherwise lost. This Navratris, we managed to book over 300 percent extra than usual numbers in 9 day period which is pretty good considering the gradual revival in the sector”. NCR realty major, Ajnara India Ltd. is known for its extraordinary performance during the festive seasons due to the unique schemes it offers across its various projects during this time. “Our 7-7-7 scheme this Navratris came out to be a big hit as we managed over 175 bookings,which is almost double than what we usually get during any normal 9 days. On a normal course, we are able to book 80-90 units without any festive season push. The prime reason for this result is the better market sentiments and ready customers added with much lucrative deals in the market”, expresses Mr. Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd.

The Navratris this year has come out to be more fruitful than the previous couple of years. RBI repo rate cut followed by reduced bank rates has contributed much this time, which was absent back then. This reason coupled with floating positive sentiments in the market due to the recent NGT verdict for Noida and, earlier clarity over land disputes in Greater Noida West has allowed the developers to walk a hurdle free road. Even the customers can now trust the regions with a promise of delivery and returns. “The NCR realty map is picking up pace if we speak about the sales performance especially during the festive season. Over the years, the developer lobby has understood the buying behaviour and pattern of the customers and the schemes and offers that are most suitable during this time around. Throughout our currently active projects, we were able to generate 40 odd bookings with 4-5 in pipeline. These 9 days proved to be better than any usual 9 days for the entire sector which will now help in clearing the unsold inventory across the country and open the doors for fresh demand and project launches”, elucidates Mr. Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing. The festive season in almost every region has been able to extract better results as compared to any other 9 days of the calendar year. “On normal days, the footfall in the realty sector is lesser than that of during festive season and thus the conversion rate is tending to be better during the festive season. The Navratris is the big ticket for developers and customers to generate better deals. Our performance was great during the Navratris with around 18-20 bookings made as compared to 5-6 that take place on a normal 9 non-festive days”, shares Mr. Rakesh Yadav, Chairman, Antriksh India.

Even the commercial real estate front was not behind when it came to bookings during the festive season. “Commercial real estate in India is growing at a decent pace considering its gaining acceptance and involvement because of increasing pressure of FDI and global giants settling here. For commercial real estate also, this time is extremely important as investors bet big on the festive seasons as better schemes and returns become available. We were able to get 8,699 sq. ft. of space booked during the Navratris as compared to approx.. 5,700 sq. ft. on a normal 9 day non-festive season”, says Mr. Sushant Muttreja, CMD, Cosmic Group. NCR realty major, Vardhman Estate & Developers (P) Ltd. scored quite big in the commercial real estate front for its ongoing projects during this festive season. Mr. Vivek Gupta, Director of the company said “With the market full of enthusiasm and positive sentiments due to festive season, the results were a witness to its wonders. We were able to seek booking of approx.. 25,000 sq. ft. of commercial space during the Navratris as compared to a mere 12,000 sq. ft. approx..on an average 9 days period. Thus, the festive season has turned out to be very fruitful for the sector in general”.

Possession: 9 Navratri days vs. 9 Non-Navratri days

Even bigger news for the sector and its customers is the news of developers offering possession of their projects. Years of hard-earned money of individuals and families are kept on the line when a property is booked. Thus, getting the tangible or monetary return is of much more importance for the customers and the even developers so as to keep the income flowing in the economy and keeping the inventory overhauling on a regular check. “More than booking of unit, for any customer it is the possession that matters. We as a developer perfectly understand the value of one’s money and keep ourselves ready for the festive season as a chance for not only generating better sales but offering possession of units as well. Customers are seen in huge numbers coming during Navratris and getting their Grah Pravesh done due to the religious beliefs attached with this time. Possession seeked for our projects during the Navratris was 75 units which in comparison to Non-Navratris days is hardly a handful”, adds Mr. Deepak Kapoor.

NCR realty major, RG Group has come out as one of the very few developers to offer possession of their units in the Noida region, post the NGT verdict. The company had recently announced the offer of possession of the first phase of their residential project, RG Residency located at Sector 120, Noida. “With the onset of Navratra, we started handing over possession of our maiden residential project RG Residency located in Noida. We observed that number of possessions sought during this period was over 100 which during a non-festive season are usually around 50. Thus we can say that buyers in Indian real estate sector are extremely sentiment driven as these numbers itself are a reflection of their buying behaviour”, states Mr. Rajesh Goyal, Vice President CREDAI-Western U.P. & MD, RG Group. Speaking about the possession of units, Ajnara India ltd. has been once again a prominent name during this festive season considering its mammoth list of ongoing projects list. “We managed a good booking number this season, but a number that we are most proud off this season is the number of families who took possession of their homes. On a usual 9 days Non-Navratris period, we observe possession of around 60-70 units and this time we saw around 250 units taking possession. We are feeling extremely happy to see such satisfied faces with more to come till Diwali”, adds Mr. Ashok Gupta.

With this Navratris coming out to be a huge game changer for the realty sector, the much needed momentum can now be observed. A lot of bookings in the sector have taken place and simultaneously possessions have been offered. Families are taking possession considering the auspicious time and this momentum will be carried till end of Diwali. What this entire scenario will allow is the market to behave in a systematic manner so as to allow the sentiments flowing regularly which will help the sector to follow a well-directed roadmap to better shape the upcoming year.

Unused land to fuel growth in Gurgaon: Realtors

The real estate industry on Friday welcomed Haryana's new integrated licencing policy (NILP), saying it will speed up infrastructure development and offer more housing to Gurgaon, which has large tracts of unused land.

The policy removes a major hurdle in obtaining land for large housing projects like townships because getting 100 acres of contiguous land was never easy. But a 25-acre cap not only helps get over this problem, it also allows a developer to concentrate its resources on a smaller area. The experience with large townships hasn't always been good, with residents beset with infrastructure problems years after moving in.

Navin Raheja, chairman of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), said, "As developers were not able to procure 100 acres of land, infrastructure development would stuck and Gurgaon suffered badly. These issues will be sorted out now and development will pick up pace."

The Haryana government also for the first time introduced the concept of transferable development rights (TDR). "This will allow land owners to monetise their land holdings at the current market price in residential sectors and for areas designated for external development works like sector roads, colleges, hospitals, fire station, open spaces, green belt and others," Raheja said.

Anubhav Jain, director of Silverglades group, said, "The reduction in minimum area requirement for housing projects under the new policy should spark interest in the development community, but high external and internal development charges and delay in obtaining approvals continue to be a dampener for developers while pursuing new projects."

S K Sharma, a real estate consultant, added, "The policy will ensure farmers and landowners get the market price from the builder. Not just that, the policy enables them to participate in the process starting from licencing, infrastructure development and marketing and sale of their TDR."

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Gurgaon tops in office space leasing

Millennium City Gurgaon has beaten Mumbai and Bengaluru to see the highest absorption of office space in the third quarter of 2015, ensconcing itself as the country's fastest growing corporate hub. 

Among the top 8 cities, Gurgaon grabbed 23% of the total office space leased out in Q3 2015. In terms of area, this works out to 2.1 million square feet, according to a report by US-based realty consultant Colliers International. 

Gurgaon is followed by Chennai at 20%, Bengaluru 18%, Mumbai 15% and Noida 11%. Pune, Delhi and Kolkata were the other cities on the Colliers list. The report says this upswing in leasing activity in Gurgaon is expected to persist over next two years. 

Samsung, according to the report, has taken up 2 lakh square feet at Two Horizon Center on Golf Course Road while American Express has secured l25,000 square feet at One Horizon Center. Spice Jet has leased a 120,000 square feet plot at Udyog Vihar and Olympus Medical Systems has taken up space 80,000 square feet at SAS Tower. 

A series of big projects is under construction as well — like the Business Club at 7 lakh square feet by AIPL group that is expected to be completed by 2017, Parsvnath IT Park Technicia that has an area of 695,000 square feet and will be delivered by 2016, and Unitech Infospace at Dundahera, which is a 450,000 square feet project and is likely to be completed next year. 

According to the report, the IT and ITeS sectors were the key occupiers of office space, accounting for 60% of the leasing activity, followed by the banking and finance sector (20%), manufacturing (10%) and others (10%). NH-8 remained was the most preferred destination, accounting for about 29% of the total office absorption, followed by Golf Course Road (25%) and Udyog Vihar (21%). 

"We anticipate the demand momentum in Gurgaon will continue from sectors like IT and ITeS, banking and manufacturing. Due to locational advantages and rates, micro markets like Udyog Vihar, institutional sectors and NH-8 will continue to garner companies' interest," said Surabhi Arora, associate director, research, at Colliers. 

The Noida market has, meanwhile, seen a recovery with a 0.98 million square feet increase in absorption of office space over last year. The highest absorption was accounted for by Vivo Mobile, which has taken up a 3 lakh square feet space at World Trade Centre in Greater Noida. It is followed by Cognizant, which leased 2 lakh square feet in Infospace 2, and Genpact (1lakh square feet) at Stellar IT Park. 

Sharmila Bhowmick, The Times of India, Delhi/NCR

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

Housing board plans 2,000 flats in Gzb under Samajwadi Awas Yojana

LUCKNOW: The UP Housing and Development Board (UPHDB) and various other development authorities may be sitting over residential and commercial properties worth over Rs 7,000 crore, but that has not deterred the Akhilesh Yadav government from coming up with 40,000 more housing units across the state.

Proposed to be constructed under the state government's flagship Samajwadi Awas Yojana, the housing units will not only be constructed by various development authorities and the UPHDB but also by private developers. The housing department has already given its nod to the construction of 10,500 housing units by the UPHDB, 5,000 by the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA), 2,000 by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and 1,000 by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). Besides, the department has shown the green flag to detail project report (DPRs) of two private builders for the construction of 1,700 and 1,400 housing units in Ghaziabad and Moradabad, respectively.

The department is also in the final stages of clearing the DPRs of 11 builders who have together shown interest in the construction of over 23,000 housing units. Sources said the proposals involve change of land use which is to be done by the respective development authorities in the state. "The proposals are being studied by the development authorities," said a senior official in the department.

Principal secretary, housing, Sadakant confirmed that construction was expected to take off by the new year. "The scheme has been conceptualised considering the demand for affordable houses," he said. The affordability of the housing units, he said, will be a result of sops offered by the state government in the form of development and land use conversion charge waiver. The cost of the units will range from Rs 2,500 per sq ft to Rs 3,300 per sq ft. The scheme is also perceived as a government attempt to arrest the proliferating growth of unauthorized colonies in the suburbs of big towns like Ghaziabad, Noida and Lucknow over the past few years.

According to the draft plan of the scheme, private builders will choose land, ostensibly agricultural, on their own, much like private colonies that have come up on agricultural land in brazen violation of city master plans.

The sanction of the this project will be given by While the unauthorized colonies have been getting their layout map sanctioned illegally by panchayats, in case of the Samajwadi Awas Yojana, the sanction will be given by a development authority or housing board. "No panchayat can sanction a map of any builder," said a senior housing official. "Any such colony is deemed to be classified unauthorized. The new scheme seeks to put a check on that."

Source: Times of India

Private developers to build sector roads in Gurgaon, get higher FSI

GURGAON: Building roads had always been the government's responsibility. But the Haryana government has quietly washed its hands of this key task, citing difficulties in land acquisition.

Instead, it has left it to private builders to directly acquire land from farmers and build roads. The move will speed up projects which often get held up because basic infrastructure is not in place. While this will help buyers as they are now likely to get flats on time, they may also have to pay a price for this, as builders could pass on the higher acquisition cost -- because of the extra land for roads they will now have to buy -- to buyers.

The government worked out this solution when it found that the Haryana Urban Development Authority had a master plan for a township, but was not being able to acquire land for its roads because of the stringent clauses in the 2013 acquisition policy.

So, with the fate of the township uncertain - as no township can be built without sector roads - the government decided to leave it to private players to do the acquiring. Private builders will now negotiate directly with farmers and buy land from them and develop sector roads as per the master plan.

To compensate developers for the cost it incurs in buying land and building roads, the authority will allow developers a higher floor space index (FSI). In this case, the FSI will be 0.875, which means if the developer uses 1000 sqm land to build a road, he will be allowed 875 sqm additional built-up area in his project.

Director of Ashiana Homes, Rohit Raj Modi, said the provision will be a great help in developing a new area like South of Gurgaon. He said this will help them in timely completion of projects as developers will not have to depend on the authority to acquire land.

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Thane: A case of abetment and under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against yet-to-be-identified political functionaries and civic officials in the suicide case of builder Suraj Parmar who shot himself last week.

Parmar, in his 22-page note, had written down the accused's names but later, he scratched them out, fearing for the safety of his family.

The police on Monday revised the accidental death report they had filed after Parmar, chairman of Cosmos Group, was found dead at his construction site in Ovala last Wednesday with a bullet injury on the right side of his neck. "We are awaiting a forensic laboratory report to find out the names of the people mentioned in the note," said an officer. Cops claimed they have secured sizeable leads. A source said the police have seized mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets used by Parmar.

Officials who have access to Parmar's note told that the real estate developer had stated: "I wanted to end my life in an accident. However, I thought an accidental death will not help to send the message I want to give about the policy failures concerning the housing sector and the political harassment."

Parmar reportedly asked his driver to get off at Cadbury junction in Thane last Wednesday and drove down to his office in Ovala armed with his licenced .32 bore revolver.

It is learnt that the builder also mentioned that while PM Narendra Modi has announced affordable homes for citizens, corrupt politicians, and archaic laws framed in 1960s were still governing the industry and that the number of NOCs is a cause of concern.

He has written that builders have no answers to customers' queries on completion of projects due to stays and notices issued to them by the civic body. He stated that local corporators, in nexus with civic officials, get notices sent to builders and in return, they (builders) have to pay at every turn. In the note, he has repeatedly mentioned he was not under any kind of debt.