Govt to face opposition over bill seeking to amend Enemy Property Act

The government is set to face resistance in passage of the bill which seeks to amend the Enemy Property Act, with major opposition parties Congress, Samajwadi Party, JD(U) and CPI opposing its key provisions.

The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill seeking to make changes in the Enemy Property Act, 1968, is listed in Rajya Sabha for being taken up this week.

The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on March 9. Later, the matter was referred to a 23-member select committee of the Rajya Sabha. Representatives of SP, Congress, JD(U) and CPI had submitted dissent notes in the Committee's report.

The Committee, headed by BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav, had recommended that once the government implements the proposed amendments to dispose of the enemy property by selling it, the interest of the present occupant/tenant may be taken care of for the time being so that the tenants are not unsettled all of a sudden or the running business of the financial institutions/PSUs does not get disrupted.

"In our considered view, the provisions of the present Bill violates the very basic principle of natural justice, human rights and settled principles of law. Furthermore, it adversely affects and results in punishing lakhs of Indian citizens and will have no effect on any enemy government," the dissent note had said.

The representatives of the four parties K C Tyagi (JD-U), K Rahman Khan, P L Punia, Hussain Dalwai (all Congress), D Raja (CPI) and Javed Ali Khan (SP) said the 1968 law is a very balanced piece of legislation as it recognised that enmity is not permanent and Indian citizens should not be deprived of their rights including inheritance and succession.

Last month, the government had promulgated an ordinance for the third time to amend enemy property act as the Bill is still pending in Rajya Sabha after being approved by Lok Sabha.

After the wars of 1965 and 1971 led to migration of people from India to Pakistan, the government took over the properties and companies of such persons who had obtained Pakistani citizenship and designated them as 'enemy properties'.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Huda firm, few Dwarka e-way oustees to get alternative plots

In a shock move, Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav on July 28,  passed a spoken order rejecting the claims for alternative plots of most Dwarka Expressway oustees living in New Palam Vihar, on the grounds they do not have registry of plots they are about to be ousted from.

As a result, only around 50 of 560 oustees will be eligible for alternative plots, to be allotted by Huda's lucky draw on July 31. Most oustees had bought their land from original allotees via general power of attorney (GPA) or special power of attorney (SPA), in place of registration.

New Palam Vihar residents, who account for around 450 of the 560 oustees, cried foul and alleged Huda of cheating, using a spoken order that they alleged violates terms and conditions agreed between them and Huda in 2015, in an out-of-court settlement on the direction of Punjab and Haryana high court.

They protested at the Sector 14 Huda office, shouting slogans against the administrator. "First, Huda agreed to give us all plots, including those with GPA and SPA. Now, they're rejecting our claims," said Ram Avtar. Many protesters, including women, were seen sobbing after they heard their claim had been rejected.

Protest leader Rishi Raj Rana said they'll meet senior state officials with their petition. "A year after our settlement, Huda is going back on its promise. People with GPAs and SPAs were supposed to get alternate plots," said Rana.

Justifying the decision, Yadav said, "In its decision on the Suraj Lamps case, the SC decided not to recognise ownership via GPA/SPA. Both Land Acquisition Act and Haryana's 2010 R&R policy recognise ownership on the basis of revenue records, and that too, at the time of notification for acquisition"

He added, "The lucky draw was cancelled twice due to pressure from this group."

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Buyers tweet to Akhilesh for help on Noida Sec 107 homes

Buyers who have invested in residential projects in Sector 107 have reached out to UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav through a social media campaign to mount pressure on the administration to get construction started at sites that have been cleared of litigation by the Allahabad high court.

More than 300 homebuyers have tweeted with the hashtag #GharDilwaoAkhileshji (Get us our home Akhileshji) in the past couple of days, with some of them even carrying out plantation drives at construction sites to grab the CM's attention.

The social media campaign is similar to the one that had been started by residents of Amrapali Sapphire in Noida, tagging Team India skipper M S Dhoni, who was brand ambassador of Amrapali but declined to continue in that role after the campaign. The residents had also appealed to Akhilesh Yadav with the hashtag #GharBachaoAkhilesh.

On Thursday, Sector 107 buyers also held a protest outside the Noida Authority office, demanding that the Authority intervene and push developers to resume work. A group of buyers also met senior officials of the Noida Authority to present their demands.

"Our part of Sallarpur village, on which Sector 107's 5,000 apartments are constructed, is free from litigation. The builders have been sluggish in resuming work even after a green light from the high court. We now want the Authority' intervention in the matter," said Puneet Parashar, buyer of a Sector 107 apartment.

In a letter submitted to the Noida Authority on Monday, the buyers had asked the Authority to facilitate possession of 800 of the 5,000 apartments, payments and procedures for which had been completed before the high court ordered a stay on construction in 2014. Buyers, who have been caught in a legal battle over land acquisition for years, said the HC has dissolved all litigation pertaining to the land on which their houses in Sector 107 have been built.

They claimed that the case that is still pending in the Supreme Court, in which Rajendra Estate, a third party, has claimed higher compensation for its land in Sallarpur village does not overlap with their projects. The Supreme Court order had quashed the acquisition of 225 hectares land in Sallarpur village of Gautam Budh Nagar, where Sector 107 is located, in 2013.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

GST hopes brighten as Cabinet clears amendment to bill, inter-state tax scrapped

India moved a significant step closer to the most comprehensive reform of its indirect tax structure. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the constitutional amendment Bill, needed to make the goods & services tax a reality, incorporating suggestions by states.

The legislation will be taken up in Rajya Sabha, probably next week, two top government sources said. The Cabinet also cleared an increase in FDI limit for lone entities in bourses to 15 per cent from 5 per cent. Moving quickly after thrashing out details with the states on Tuesday, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved changes to the Bill to reflect the consensus.

The GST Bill has been stuck in the Upper House due to Opposition resistance.

The government has accepted a key demand of Congress — to remove a 1 per cent tax on inter-state transactions. The levy had also not found favour with the parliamentary select committee on the Bill. It's also agreed that states will get a full five years of compensation for any revenue loss.

It is likely to further assuage Congress concerns by providing legal ring-fencing on tax rates by including them in the proposed GST law.

The government wants to roll out GST on April 1, 2017, seven years later than originally scheduled. It has reached out to like-minded parties and also to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which has voiced worries, a government source said.

"The government has accepted the demand to drop 1 per cent inter-state tax and they are also ready to have the rate in GST Act, so the party should not have a problem in extending support," a senior Congress functionary told ET.

GST will replace multiple levies, creating a single national market by breaking down state boundaries and is expected to lift GDP by as much as 1percentage point.

"It's one step closer to passage of the Constitution amendment Bill," said R Muralidharan, senior director at Deloitte.

Bill may be moved next week The government may move the amendment Bill in Parliament next week. The Business Advisory Committee has allocated five hours for a discussion on the matter.

States had on Tuesday backed the Centre's stance on capping the tax rate in the Constitution and creating a dispute-resolution mechanism within the GST Council, a joint body of the states and the Centre.

They backed removing the 1 per cent inter-state tax from the Bill, a demand that has been accepted by the government.

In return, the government has agreed to their demand of full compensation for revenue loss for five years. The original Bill provided for a graded compensation of 100 per cent for the first three years, then 75 per cent and 50 per cent for the next two years, respectively.

The constitutional amendment Bill is crucial to GST as it will allow states to tax services and the Centre to impose levies on goods at the retail level. The Bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha as the ruling coalition does not enjoy a majority there and Congress had put forward conditions for its support.

As a constitutional amendment Bill, it has to be passed not just by a two-thirds majority in the Upper House but also ratified by 50 per cent of state assemblies.

The constitutional amendment will allow the creation of the GST Council chaired by the union finance minister with state finance ministers as members. This council will finalise the revenue-neutral rate, a list of exempted items and, if it deems fit, a separate dispute-resolution mechanism.

Long road ahead Work has to be expedited on three key items of legislation to prepare for the levy — the central GST law, integrated GST law and state GST laws.

The Centre will have to get the central and integrated GST laws cleared while states will have to get their GST laws ready well in time for the 2017 start date.

The Centre has already unveiled a model GST law and is expected to fine tune this in line with stakeholder comments. It will have discussions with the states on a revenue-neutral rate as also the sharing of tax administration between them.

Work is already underway on the technology backbone, the Goods & Services Tax Network. GST has been pending since 2010 for lack of consensus among states.

Foreign investment limit in stock exchanges In the February Budget, the government had announced its intention to raise foreign investment in stock exchanges to 15 per cent from 5 per cent on par with domestic institutions.

"This will enhance global competitiveness of Indian stock exchanges and accelerate adoption of best-in-class technology and global market practices," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in his Budget speech.

The Union Cabinet approved the proposal on Wednesday.

This will enhance the appeal of initial public offers of stock exchanges such as the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

FIR on Lodha Group for not handing over society to shop-owners

The Vanrai police in Goregaon on Tuesday registered a case against builder Lodha and four others for illegal use of one lakh square foot area to construct a residential tower, Lodha Fiorenza, in Goregaon (east)

The case has been registered under the Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act (MOFA). The residential tower was constructed next to Hub mall. The builder had used the mall's FSI for constructing the residential tower, the police said. For the last two years, shop owners in the mall have been fighting the builder for formation of society and getting the conveyance deed.

"The case was registered based on an application filed two months ago by the mall occupants. After carrying out an inquiry, the FIR was filed against Lodha, Deshbandu Gupta, Khushiram Gupta and Nilesh Gupta. The builder failed to form the society, did not issue the conveyance deed and extra FSI meant for the mall was used illegally for constructing the residential tower," said Mumbai police spokesperson, DCP Ashok Dudhe.

An official spokesperson of Lodha Group said, "We have been informed that an FIR has been lodged in Goregaon police station against the Guptas of Lupin Pharma ('erstwhile promoters) and the fourth name is mentioned as 'Lodha' without specifying the company name. We would like to clarify that Lodha group has nothing to do with Hub mall and the mall was developed/sold prior to our taking over of the firm which owns the land."

Mall secretary Prashant Agrawal told TOI that they have been fighting the case since 2005.

But the Lodha spokesperson denied this. "Lodha has never had any commercial dealing/sale with PK Agarwal and hence, is not connected with the matter in any manner. PK Agarwal, who owns Hub mall, has been engaged in litigation for last four years and the Bombay High Court has refused to grant any orders in his favour. Having failed before the Bombay High Court, he has used this money power to lodge a frivolous FIR and create sensationalism. PK Agarwal is not a home buyer but a big businessman who owns a large mall and hence, this is a dispute between two large businesses and Lodha is not concerned with the same. We believe that the filing of this FIR is a gross abuse of the process of law."

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Noida may hike circle rates only in 'premium' areas

Indicating a climbdown from its plan to effect a steep hike in circle rates across Noida, the district administration hinted on Monday the proposed increase would not affect middle-class housing and would be restricted only to premium areas of the city.

The suggestion was bolstered by the Noida Extension homebuyers' association on Monday calling off its protest against the new circle rates, claiming it had information that it would not affect them.

District magistrate N P Singh said the increased rates wouldn't affect more than 5% of the total number of new registrations. "The overall impact of the increase in circle rates will be on 5% registrations, of premium regions of Noida," Singh told TOI.

"There is a need to increase the rate in these places to regularise it. Housing for the middle class and lower middle class has been kept out of the increase as we do not want to create additional burden on them," the district magistrate added.

The district administration has been under tremendous pressure from homebuyers and builders to withdraw the draft proposal increasing circle rates in Noida by 14% (residential and corporate) and 6.5% (group housing) that it made public last week. Higher circle rate means more stamp duty for a buyer and higher capital gains tax for a seller.

Assistant inspector general (stamp and registration) Akhilesh Dubey echoed Singh. "In all, only about 5% of all allotted areas in Noida will be affected by the circle rate hike," he said. The new rate is expected to be implemented from August 1.

SOURCE: THE TIMES OF INDIA

Noida stamp duty set to be hiked next week

The two percentage point increase in stamp duty, announced earlier this year but kept in abeyance, is likely to come into effect any day next week. Its immediate impact will be on homebuyers who booked flats years ago but have just started getting possession after the resolution of the ecological quandary around the demarcation of a buffer zone around the Okhla bird sanctuary.

Thousands of flats in Noida and Greater Noida (west), earlier known as Noida Extension, will be delivered over the next few months, but the cost of registry will be 7% instead of 5%. The government hasn't made it clear which date it will implement it from or whether buyers who had booked flats earlier would be exempted. The stamp and registry department expects a surge in the number of applications. K K Yadav, sub-registrar, said, "A number of people has made enquiries to register properties before the revised stamp duty comes into effect."

Chandra Shekhar, an advocate who deals in registry of properties, said the proposed revision of circle rates has also created panic among homebuyers. "Registering a property is a time-taking process. The buyers and builders have to sign an agreement. The Noida Authority has to give a transfer certificate. The buyers then have to submit the documents and stamp duty," he said.

SOURCE: magicbricks.com

UP plans sharp rise in stamp duty, circle rates

The Uttar Pradesh government has gone against expectations to propose a sharp increase in circle rates in Noida, its hunger for revenues superseding calls for a correction to lift the realty market out of the dumps. The government has also decided to implement the 2% point increase in stamp duty it had approved earlier this year from 5-7%.

As a result, registering new homes in Noida has become costlier, a double whammy, if circle rates also go up, in election season. Circle rates in various parts of Noida are already higher than market rates, affecting both buying and selling of property because stamp duty and (for the buyer) and capital gains tax (for the seller) are calculated on the basis of circle rates. Acknowledging this problem, the Haryana government has slashed circle rates by 15% in a premium market like Gurgaon, saying the correction was necessary to improve buying sentiment. But UP, clearly, thinks otherwise.

According to the proposal prepared by the district administration, circle rates in Noida are to be increased by 14% in the residential category, 6.2% in group housing, 14% in corporate and 30% in IT. The proposal to revise circle rates has been prepared and the administration has invited public feedback on it till July 25. If revised, they will be applicable from August 1.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Supertech Builders ordered to deposit Rs 5 cr over violations

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed real estate firm Supertech Builders to deposit Rs 5 crore by July 25 in the Emerald Court project case. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also hinted at appointing an independent organisation to decide building violations by Supertech Builders. It posted the matter for further hearing on July 27.

The apex court had in July 2014 directed Supertech to refund within a month around Rs 35 crore to the allottees of twin towers —Apex and Ceyane towers on Noida Expressway — which were directed to be demolished by the Allahabad High Court for flouting building laws. There are around 53 allottees out of around 600, who had sought refund of their amount after the HC order.

The flats are on the outskirts of the Capital and prices range from R65-R90 lakh. The two 40-floor towers have 857 apartments, of which 600 have been sold. The Emerald Court House has 15 other towers, fully built with residents living here. Holding that flat owners cannot be forced to wait indefinitely due to litigation, the SC had then asked Supertech to allot alternate flats within a month to those allottees, who did not want a refund.

SOURCE: THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

Rama Raman stays CEO, Noida gets new chairman

Two days short of the Allahabad high court's deadline to take a decision on Rama Raman, the chief administrator of the three development authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar, the Uttar Pradesh government has revised his portfolio but kept him in Noida's hot seat.

Raman was CEO and chairman of the Noida Authority and chairman of the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna expressway development authorities. Effective July 18, he is only Noida CEO. The state government also appointed Arunvir Singh as additional CEO of Noida. Singh, earlier CEO of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), has now been divested of this charge. On July 1, the high court had barred the senior civil servant from functioning as head of the three development authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Smart city project: Northeast wants 90:10 ratio in funding

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has requested Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu to share the investment in smart city projects for the northeastern states by adopting a 90:10 ratio -- 90% by the central government and 10% by the state.

Sarkar met Naidu on Friday in New Delhi and urged him to adopt a separate funding policy for the backward northeastern states, Tripura Urban Development Minister Manik Dey told reporters on Saturday.

The present funding pattern for the smart city project is on a 50:50 basis between the central government and the states.

"The Finance Ministry had issued a circular earlier that the 90:10 ratio norms would be followed in all central government launched projects," Dey said.

"Naidu remained noncommittal after Sarkar put up the proposal," Dey said, adding that northeastern states are unable to bear the huge financial burden to implement the smart city projects.

The minister said that other northeastern states have already made similar demands.

Three cities in the northeastern region -- Guwahati (Assam), Imphal (Manipur) and Agartala (Tripura), have been selected for the implementation of the ambitious smart city plan so far .

Other cities of northeastern states that participated in the fast-track competition, included Shillong (Meghalaya), Aizawl (Mizoram), Kohima (Nagaland) and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh).

These cities failed to fulfil the stipulated criteria and can submit their revised smart city plans for evaluation in the third round of competition likely to be held a few months later.

Aiming at the all-round development of the infrastructure of the cities, the Smart City Mission marks a paradigm shift towards overall urban development in the country since it is based on a 'bottom up' approach with the involvement of citizens in the formulation of a city vision and smart city plans and the urban local bodies and state governments piloting the mission with little say for the Ministry of Urban Development.

The Tripura Chief Minister also requested the Urban Development Minister to give relaxation in the centre-state funding pattern for northeastern states in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, Swachh Bharat Mission and Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Supreme Court stays Jaypee penalty for Noida's Kalypso project delay

 The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a 12 per cent per annum penalty imposed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in May on builder Jaypee group for delaying delivery of apartments in its Kalypso Court project on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway till August 3.

The stay, however, is subject to the company depositing Rs 4 crore with the court within two weeks.

SC, however, did not stay two other parts of the NCDRC judgment which said Jaypee cannot charge for car parking and also for increase in super area of an apartment post construction unless they have prior consent of the buyer.

The apex court was hearing an appeal by Jaypee group to stay the NCDRC order.

In its May 2 order, the commission had also directed Jaypee group to handover possession of apartments in the project to home buyers by July 21 failing which it will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 per flat per day till the project is completed.

Jaypee Kalypso Court project was launched in 2007 and was to have 16 towers. It was to be completed by 2011 but work is still pending in most towers, with the builder starting to give possession to buyers in a few towers.

Jaypee group has told court that it can give delivery of apartments to 4 of the ten complainants in July. For the other 6, alternate accommodation is being arranged till they are given possession of their apartments.

Jaypee group was represented in the court by senior advocate Kapil Sibal.

Sahil Sethi, senior associate at law firm Saikrishna & Associates, which filed the case on behalf of Developers Township Property Owners Welfare Society that represents 10 home buyers in Jaypee Kalypso Court project said they will take instructions from their clients, the homebuyers, on whether the arrangement proposed by Jaypee in court is acceptable to them. "We will intimate the court at the next hearing in August," he said.

Last year, NCDRC had given a similar order against Unitech, asking it to pay 12 per cent penalty to home buyers in its Gurgaon project Unitech Vistas. Subsequently though, the Supreme Court had stayed the order of NCDRC against Unitech.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

Gr. Noida authority to blacklist 14 contractors working on govt housing project

The Greater Noida authority on Thursday said that it has decided to blacklist 14 contractors, who have abandoned construction work being carried out for residential units in the city. These contractors were involved in construction of a government housing project located in sector Xu-III of Greater Noida.

According to officials, the move follows an inspection visit carried out by Deepak Agarwal, CEO, GNIDA on Thursday along with his team of officials. The authority is constructing more than 1300 low income group (LIG) and middle income group (MIG) flats in the area. The authority had started work on the LIG and MIG flat project in June 2015 with a deadline for completion in March 2018. The project faced delays of 3 to 4 years due to farmer agitations and land rows. "As a result of the land problems, several contractors abandoned the project. We are trying to trace them now and get the work re-started. If contractors do not toe the line, strict action is on the cards for them," said a senior GNIDA official.

Officials further said that if the 14 contractors fail to respond to them and do not return to complete the project, they will be black listed. Heavy penalty will also be imposed as per norms. "The aim is to complete the remaining work on the project and hand over possession of the residential units without any further delay," the official said. These are 20 storied towers in which the under-construction flats are located. Seven floors are ready up till now. The CEO has directed contractors to complete remaining 13 floors before March, 2018 so that possession can be offered on time.

Meanwhile, Agarwal also conducted inspections at the site of other government housing projects located in sector Omicron-I.

SOURCE: ETRealty.com

PROPERTY GURU & NCR GROUP LAUNCHES NOIDA START UP YOJNA

Delhi/NCR: In an exclusive press conference organised by NCR’s leading consultancy company, ‘Property Guru’, the company in collaboration with NCR Group, which has launched the ‘Noida Start Up Yojna’, wherein any commercial property purchase if planned, will be made available at a cost of mere Rs. 12 lakhs to meet and fulfil the dreams of lakhs of aspirants who prefer real estate as a profession and career. This project is an initiative to support government’s plans of Make In India, Digital India and Start Up India.

This scheme is being made exclusive for the project Auriel Towne which is all set to be developed as a mixed-land use project, where the commercial part is been launched today. The total area of the project is 10 acres/40,500 sq. mtrs. approx., where residential part will comprise of 3.25 lakh sq. ft. and 12 lakh sq. ft. for the commercial development. The commercial setup will offer approx. 1,000 units of corporate studios in two sizes of 345 and 380 sq. ft., 500 retail spaces in six sizes varying from 115-285 sq. ft., 900 office spaces in three unit sizes, 315, 365 and 410 sq. ft., along with a hospitality division. The project has been planned on a prime location of the region that will connect Delhi & Noida by a 130 mtr wide road. The project will be accessible from Noida City Centre Metro Station via 15 minutes drive, 10 minutes drive from the proposed Greater Noida West Metro Station/NH 24/ Pari Chowk, 2 minutes drive from the to be operational FNG Expressway, 15 minutes driving distance from Shipra Mall/Fortis Hospital, 20-25 minutes drive from DND Flyway and Sector 18 Noida’s Atta Market. The current starting price for retail shops stands at Rs. 10,000 per sq. ft., Rs. 3,999 per sq. ft. for office spaces and Rs.11,90,000 for corporate studio space. The company plans to deliver the project by December, 2020. All the documents relating to land ownership and commencement of construction are duly met, and the land is itself approved by GNIDA. There is a special scheme for CA’s, Doctors, IT Professionals, Lawyers and Industry consultants. The registration amount for the property will be Rs. 5,100 with availability of property purchase without any bank loan.

Speaking on the launch occasion, Vikas Sahani, CMD, Property Guru said, “Real estate sector in India offers huge potential in terms of job opportunities and entrepreneurship. By coming out with this project along with such a unique Start Up scheme, we plan to offer a business dream to those who believe real estate sector has better returns than any other business in our country. The project has been located very strategically and Greater Noida West as a region promises great returns in terms of growth and infrastructure. With its proximity to Noida, Delhi, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, the project will cater to a much broader audience with higher footfall.”

Real estate could be exempted from central environmental rules

Following the NDA government’s “Ease of Business” mantra, the environment ministry has proposed that the entire construction sector could be exempted from mandatory environmental clearances if states impose pre-specified and standard green conditions under their building bye-laws.

But, even before the environment ministry carries out mandatory public consultation and notifies these proposed changes, the urban development ministry has already amended its model Building bye-laws public announcing the relaxation for the construction industry.

It has asked the states to adopt the model bye-laws to avoid the mandatory environmental clearances. Taking cue, the Delhi Development Authority has adopted these amended building bye-laws without awaiting a final notification of the changes by the environment ministry.

Business Standard reviewed documents that show the two ministries consulted repeatedly to decide that the changes would be made to ease the business for the entire real estate and construction industry though the environment ministry’s draft said the purpose of the changes was to provide houses to the weaker section under the ‘Housing For All’ scheme.

It was decided between the two that if the states impose a standard list of environmental conditions under the building bye-laws then the environment ministry will exempt the buildings in the state from following the more detailed environmental conditions and clearance norms under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Subsequent to the internal agreement, the Union urban development ministry put out the amended building bye-laws on March 18, 2016 for states to adopt. Delhi Development Authority, which is controlled by the urban development ministry took the lead and on March 22, 2016 proposed the amendments to its bye-laws for the city.

The law requires that environment ministry first consult public before making changes to the environmental clearance processes. The ministry put out the draft notification for mandatory public consultation on April 29, 2016 – more than a month after the urban development ministry had already incorporated the ease of regulations for construction sector that the environment ministry was yet to propose.

The decision of the NDA government also comes after a spate of judgements by NGT and the Supreme Court against illegal construction in violation of environmental norms. In some cases fine in the range of Rs 50-100 crores have been imposed by the court and tribunals for such violations.

The urban development ministry did not respond to queries from Business Standard.

The environment ministry in a detailed response to queries said the changes to the regulations, “Will not only go a long way in easing the procedure for doing business without compromising environment conditions, it would also instil a spirit of competition among the states.”

Business Standard asked if the urban development ministry’s amendments to model building bye-laws presented a fait accompli for environment ministry and the subsequent public consultations had been rendered useless. The ministry said, Ministry of Urban Development is co-ordinating on streamlining the building permission. It was a consensus among the participating departments. The (public) comments have come and department will carefully consider all of them before reaching at any conclusion. Comments of public, stakeholders and ministries are useful in finalizing the notification, so it cannot be called redundant.”

Documents show that the urban development minister, Venkaiah Naidu wrote to his then counterpart in February 2016, noting, “It is hoped that this will immensely help the real estate business as landmark step in Ease of Doing Business…This will also facilitate in improving the country’s ranking in Ease of Doing Business, which is dream of our Honourable Prime Minister to make efforts for bringing the country in top 50 rank in the World.”

The environment ministry’s notification in April 2016 noted, “The Central government is working for ensuring Ease of Doing Responsible Business.”  The notification also said that the rules were being amended to streamline permissions which is important “for providing house and for this purpose the scheme of Housing for all by 2022 with an objective of making available of affordable housing to weaker section in urban area has ambitious target.”

But the exemption would be available not only for weaker section housing but for all kind of real estate projects including malls, entertainment centres and commercial buildings. When queried why all real estate and construction was being exempted if the purpose was only to ease the generation of housing for poor, the environment ministry said, “This point has been raised in several comments received. Ministry will keep this in view while finalizing the notification.”

The urban development ministry shared the draft of the model bye-laws with the environment ministry. The environment ministry had two key suggestions to make. It told the urban development ministry instead of writing “dispense with environment clearances” in one part of the bye-laws, the urban development ministry should say, “Integrate the environment clearance with building permissions”. It also said that the heading of the chapter in the building byelaws should use the phrase “integration of environmental clearance conditions with building permissions” in place of “delegation of environmental clearance to local authorities.” The changes were incorporated. The sub-chapter delegating powers to local authorities was consequently called, “Requirement for climate resilient construction”.  

The environment ministry justified the changes saying existing clearances, given by state level authorities, cover construction projects over 20,000 square metres and the proposed building bye-law route would cover buildings above 5,000 square metres. Therefore, the ministry said a larger section of the construction sector would eventually get covered.

The demand for relaxation for the real estate industry has been repeatedly made since 2009. But the ministry had till mid-2015 held the view that with large amount of the building stock yet to come up in India it is essential to keep a tab on the overall impact of the sector on the environment.

Yet, the existing norms for real estate have always been kept easier than that for polluting industry. Over the past four years-time bound clearance process was also put in place and the states told to enhance the number of expert bodies that clear the projects, if necessary.

In India, unlike in many developed parts of the world, city master plans under the state authorities are not prepared based on environmental carrying capacity studies and common lands such as catchment of water bodies have often been converted to real estate causing problems such as flooding in Chennai and Mumbai. The ministry responded to comments on this fact to say, “The urban areas of Municipal Corporations or Development Authorities have Master Plans, concept of Zoning and land use. This broadly takes care of major environmental features. The standard, objectively monitorable environmental guidelines in larger section of buildings will have more positive impact on environment.”

Legal experts, such as Ritwick Dutta, have said exempting the sector from provisions of the central Environment Protection Act would also imply that the industry cannot be taken to National Green Tribunal in case of any environmental damage. The ministry in response has said that would not be the case.

SOURCE: BUSINESS STANDARD

Over 2 lakh apartments unsold in Delhi-NCR; may take 4 years to be picked up

In what is being projected as the worst sales performances ever, the Mumbai office of UK based real estate analysts and researchers Knight Frank, in their recently released report: India Real Estate, have stated that Delhi-NCR is sitting on an inventory pile up of 2,00,398 apartment units. It predicts that it could take four years to push these unsold properties off the shelf. All sales figures were collected by Knight Frank from builders.

The half yearly report brought out by the agency states that despite low launches, old flats were simply not picked up over last six months. Buyers have shown caution in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida. However, from the ones that sold, 80% were from Gurgaon and Greater Noida. There has been a 41 percent YOY dip in launches in NCR too break up the numbers, Delhi presently has 1312 apartments; Faridabad 6540, Ghaziabad, 33, 378, Greater Noida 77,560, Gurgaon 51, 554 and in Noida, 30,054 apartments.

Commenting on the H1 2016 trend, Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India said, "NCR, one of the largest residential markets has showed one of its worst performances since the last 6-7 years that we have been analysing this market. Going forward, the realty market in NCR will continue to remain muted in the second half of 2016. Knight Frank estimates sales to plug around 20,000 units in the coming two quarters."

However, defending the status of the real estate market in NCR, Credai NCR president, Manoj Gaur rubbished the reports. "We are not sure about their data collection method. It is impossible for the NCR market to have such huge numbers of unsold inventory as most of the apartments are presold before launch," Gaur told TOI.

SOURCE: magicbricks.com