Properties Would Get Sealed If Conversion Charges Not Paid

Starting October 15, East Municipal Corporation will undertake a sealing drive against properties that have not paid the conversion charges.

Commissioner of corporationS S Yadav said notices have been sent to the property owners, whose conversion charges are still due.

“We have to take action against those who are not paying their tax to the corporation. They have been given advantage of mixed land use, and paying money for it should not be a problem. In fact, there are instructions to the officials to ease the process for those who want to pay,” Yadav said.

Approximately 18,600 properties have been identified as non-payers of conversion tax.

Shahdara-South has around 14,000 properties that are not paying conversion charges and Shahdara-North has 4,600 such properties.

“It is loss of revenue. We need to take stringent action, like sealing. The people should know that conversion charges protects their properties,” a senior official of the civic agency said.

The municipal corporation will also seal mobile towers that have not even applied for a license. “Our figures run into thousands when it comes to sealing of mobile towers. These towers do not include the ones that are waiting for a licence,” Yadav said.

Chairperson for Standing Committee (East) Mehak Singh said the BJP will ask the commissioner to rethink the sealing drive.

“We want that people should be given a chance to pay their tax. There should be more camps. Opportunities given should be given to people, rather than sealing their properties,” Singh said.

DDA to Push Transit Linked Development Projects

NEW DELHI: DDA on Friday decided to fast-track transit-oriented development projects (ToD) and notify certain projects and corridors where Delhi Development Authority will develop the influence zone following development control norms.

According to officials, the pilot ToD project will be the Karkardooma project and the corridor influence zone will be the Chhattarpur Arjan Garh corridor, Peeragarhi-Tikri Kalan corridor, Nehru Place-Badarpur corridor and the Dwarka Mor-Dwarka Sector 21 corridor.

DDA also decided to frame a policy for continuation of seven temporary cinemas in the capital. “It was explained that the cinemas which had been in existence for a long time but have no legal status can be regularized with certain conditions. It was decided that floor area ratio (FAR) for these cinemas will be allowed up to 100 subject to a maximum of 2,000 sq m of the built-up area. In case a hall has more land, the rest of the area will be kept green. For parking, it was decided that it should be 3 ECS per 100 sq m of the built-up space,” said an official.

Amendments to the 2021 master plan also came up in the DDA meeting which decided to allow multi-disciplinary clinics under ‘clinic’ in the ‘other activities’ column of mixed-use regulations. This came following a request from the Delhi government that activities like physiotherapy, pathological labs should be allowed under the ‘clinic’ category to make all facilities available under one roof. DDA officials said public feedback had been invited for this amendment, but as no objection or suggestion had been received, it was placed before the meeting and the same was approved.

DDA also suggested that for every community hall being constructed by it, a floor should be earmarked for elderly people’s recreation and relaxation/reading. The suggestion was welcomed by the lieutenant governor and DDA would work on the plan.

A proposal for setting up a national institute of technology in Zone PI, Narela sub-city, was also approved as land is not available in other parts of Delhi. The human resource development ministry has requested for the institute, which will be developed as a full-fledged university campus.

DDA has also decided to make fresh recruitments. Recruitment of assistant executive engineers (civil) and AEE (electrical and mechanical) will be done through GATE 2013. “Successful applicants will be called for interview. For ministerial cadres at the level of assistant directors, professionals such as MBAs, chartered accountants and cost accountants will be recruited. This will also apply to the recruitment of assistant account officers,” said an official.

Surveys Of Newly Regularised Colonies In Delhi

Delhi Government will soon carry out surveys in 895 unauthorized colonies which were regularized last month to find out their basic infrastructural requirement.

Officials Thursday said agencies like PWD and DSIIDC will carry out the surveys following which developmental works will be started in the colonies.

The government has already prepared CDs containing maps, boundaries and all relevant information relating to each of the 895 colonies.

The CDs have been distributed to concerned MPs, MLAs and Resident Welfare Association seeking their support in carrying out development works in the settlements.

The government plans to spend Rs 200 crore initially for carrying out development works in the colonies.

Officials said the basic purpose of preparing the CDs is to ensure better coordination among all concerned parties in carrying out the developmental works.

Out of 895 colonies which were regularized last month, 312 settlements are on private land while 583 colonies came up on government land.

The Government is also in the process of allowing sale and purchase of properties in the colonies on private land.

Allowing sale and purchase will bring relief to lakhs of residents as government had restricted sale and purchase in the settlements after issuance of provisional regularization certificates in 2008.

Delhi Government had issued provisional regularization certificates to over 1,639 unauthorized colonies ahead of assembly polls in 2008. The then Dikshit government, while distributing the certificates, had promised to regularize the colonies if Congress came to power for the third term.

Delhi Markets to Get More Floor Area Ratio

Exactly a month after Union development minister Kamal Nath outlined his vision for Delhi to go vertical, in the mid-term review of the Master Plan 2021, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Monday came out with a public notice inviting objections and suggestions for the first set of 23 amendments finalized so far. The public has 90 days to file comments before the amendments go through several stages to the final notification stage.

According to the proposed modifications, the focus of the review clearly seems to be on group housing and development norms that will allow multi-storey flats to come up in planned areas. For instance, it is proposed to provide additional floor area in residential plot group housing for community needs such as community hall, creche, recreation centre, library, reading room, senior citizen club and society office. The proposal states that additional floor area at the rate of 0.6% of the permissible area — subject to a minimum of 400 sq m and maximum of 1200 sq m — be allowed. The additional FAR will be over and above the coverage allowed to the society for residential use. The master plan, so far, allows additional floor area up to a maximum of 400 sq m for community facilities.

To ease the way for redevelopment of local shopping centers and sub-city level markets, it has been proposed to incentivize the redevelopment with a maximum overall FAR of 50%, over and above the existing permissible FAR. “Due to their proximity to residential areas, these markets need to be redeveloped to overcome the environmental and traffic problems. Traders associations shall share the responsibility of redevelopment to modern wholesale markets for sub-city level markets. Existing built-up commercial centers may also be redeveloped if need be with enhanced FAR subject to payment of appropriate levies,” read some of the modifications proposed for the mid-term review.

For new housing meant for urban poor, it has been proposed that developers of group housing shall ensure that at least 15% of proposed FAR be constructed for community service personnel and lower income category. The modification states that employer housing of central government, state government and other government agencies are not required to follow the requirement of FAR or dwelling units for community service personnel and lower-income category.

The current lot of amendments in the public notice is just the first of a lot. “These are all based on feedback received from the public at the time of the mid-term review several months back that has been filtered/discussed in detail by expert groups and approved by the Authority. After this, more than 4,300 suggestions were received in the six open-houses held by DDA. These are still being examined by various expert groups,” said a senior official of DDA’s planning department.

“After we receive public feedback on the finalized 23 amendments, these will be placed before a board of inquiry and then come back to the Authority for approval. Finally, they will be sent to the UD ministry for final notification,” said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar.

New Gurgaon To Meet Increasing Housing Demand

Located between Old Gurgaon and Manesar, New Gurgaon that comprises of the newly carved sectors of the Haryana Urban Development Authority is one another growth corridor that is now offering a healthy supply of housing units. Several well known developers have announced their projects in the new sectors of 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 91, 92, 93 and 95.

In the last four months, Gurgaon has witnessed an increase in demand for housing. Most of this demand is now met by projects coming up in these new sectors. It is for this reason property rates in New Gurgaon have risen by almost 6% with maximum demand concentrated in sector 81 and sector 95.

However, majority of the buyers consist of long-term investors. “Investors are seeing an immense potential in the properties in New Gurgaon due to its neighboring areas and good connectivity,” says Rajar Baweja, Baweja Properties, a property brokerage firm in Gurgaon. In addition to this, industry estimates suggest that workforce in neighboring areas of Manesar and Gurgaon is also buying in these sectors.

New Gurgaon’s easy connectivity with three highways namely the National Highway 8, the proposed Dwarka and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressways makes it lucrative for investors and buyers. Also, places of importance such as airport, railway station and the proposed ISBT are located very close to New Gurgaon.

New projects

Being one of the most promising areas, Sector – 81 in New Gurgaon is seeing a large number of projects by developers such as Bestech Group, Vipul Limited, Vatika Group, Lavanya and Godrej Properties. Besides these, there are DLF Homes Ltd., Orris, S.S. Group, SLS Developers, Ansal, Crescent Parc, etc. also building their 2, 3 and 4 BHK units in other sectors of Gurgaon. Most projects are expected to complete by end of 2015. Some others such as Vipul Limited, Vatika Group and Orris have declared the expected completion date by end of 2013.

Developers are building more numbers of 3 BHK units in comparison to 2 BHK units. The price of a 1,460-2,660 sq ft, 3 BHK unit in New Gurgaon may range between Rs. 50 lacs and Rs. 1.50 crore. A 1,800-4,200 sq ft, 4 BHK unit could be purchased for Rs. 70 lacs to Rs. 2.60 crore. While very few projects are including 2 BHK units, the same offering 1,200 to 1,600 sq ft is priced around Rs. 60 lacs to Rs. 78 lacs in the new projects.

FDI in retail will boost Real Estate Sector

The recent announcement by the RBI of strong growth in the service sector in 2011-12 has brought cheer to the real estate developers, as it may sustain the present high demand of commercial real estate in the near future. The projected slowdown in overall economic growth globally, and particularly in India, to 6.5% in 2011-12 , as against 8.4% in 2010-11 , has affected the sentiment in the market place. The recent decision of the government to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector will also help the real estate sector in the country. This will also increase the demand for commercial space in the market. At the same time, as the demand for office space will continue to be strong, fresh jobs creation in the country will also see a strong growth. Normally, when a company takes 1,000 sq feet of office space on rent, it employs around seven people to fully utilize that space. That means, at least seven new people will enter the job market and, on average , five out them will buy residential apartments. Therefore, a consultant said that according to the thumb rule, the requirement of residential space increases five times that of the commercial space used. Therefore, if the demand for the commercial space remains strong, it will also continue to give a fillip to the residential real estate. Pankaj Renjhen, the managing director (retail services) of Jones Lang LaSalle, says: "The real estate retail industry will benefit immensely due to increase in demand and increased investor confidence. We can also expect increased transparency in the retail real estate sector. Additionally, the country will flourish in terms of quality standards and consumer expectations, since the inflow of FDI into the retail sector is bound to pull up the quality standards and costcompetitiveness of Indian producers in all the segments." The government has taken an important step with this decision , Renjhen says. From a retail real estate point of view, this decision will open up immense opportunities in the medium and long term, as the demand for quality real estate will rise. Currently, some retailers are cash-strapped and this will provide a sort of bailout option to them, he says. Overall, the investment by local and new international retailers that are likely to come into the sector will definitely also take the form of investments into real estate at the front end in terms of retail store spaces and of the back end, in terms of better quality warehouses. The new international entrants will be willing to take longer-term bets and invest in stores which will be sustainable over the long haul. Competition will increase as Indian retailers shape up and intensify their expansion plans, which had been fairly low over the past few years. Also, it will increase the interest and confidence level of real estate developers to set up quality shopping centres. They now have reason to set behind them their experiences post-2008 , and can once again consider investing in this asset class with a clear vision on long-term profit, Renjhen says. Subash Bhola of Jones Lang LaSalle India, the global consultant in real estate sector, says: "The economy's service sector has experienced strong growth and is advancing at a rate of 8.5% in financial year 2012. This indicates that a major slowdown in office real estate demand is not likely to occur - the service sector generates the highest demand for office space in the country." Bhola says that recently, the annual GDP of 6.5% growth during April 2011-March 2012 released by the Reserve Bank of India resulted in a negative sentiment throughout the real estate industry . Consistent with this, in the first half of 2012, the demand for commercial real estate moderated on the back of office occupiers that remained cautious about their expansion plans. However, over the years, the service sector has been the growth engine of the Indian economy. Its growth rate has outperformed the overall growth rate of the country's GDP, which includes the service, agricultural and industrial sectors - the three major sectors of the economy. In a report, Bhola says the slowdown in GDP growth in 2011-12 can mainly be attributed to high interest rates, inflation and a significant contraction in industrial production. However, the growth in the service industry , at 8.5%, has been robust enough to support overall GDP and the sector itself. The IT-ITeS sector, which is one of the major constituents of the service industry, recorded a growth rate of 13% in 2011-12 and is expected to grow at a similar rate during the next financial year. Additionally, the banking, financial services and insurance industries (BFSI) registered a robust growth rate of 10% in 2011-12 . Although the manufacturing and industrial sector is performing poorly now, the continued health of the service sector is likely to compensate for it by contributing a larger share. The RBI projected that the Indian economy would grow at 6.5% in financial year 2013. Compared to many major world economies, this growth rate is fairly healthy; in addition, an established service sector should help India resist any slowdown in office real estate demand. The service sector comprising BFSI, information technology, consulting , trade, and communication is the major driver of demand for commercial real estate in the country. The service sector has also been one of the country's core sectors over the past decade, as its contribution to GDP has significantly increased from 50% in financial year 1996, to 63% in financial year 2012. In financial year 2012, when all the other sectors, including industrial and agricultural, performed very poorly, at an average of 3.1%, the service sector recorded a healthy growth rate of 8.5%. It is estimated that in 2011, the service sector accounted for about 70% of the demand for commercial office space in seven major Indian cities - Mumbai, the Delhi-NCR , Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata - with the remaining 30% coming from manufacturing and other industries. In the service sector, the IT-ITeS and BFSI industries contributed the most, at 35% and 16% respectively. However, another global consultancy firm Cushman and Wakefield says that given the current global economic uncertainty, IT-ITeS companies have been somewhat conservative in their expansion plans and are focussing more on consolidation. As a result, companies from other sectors like consulting, BFSI, manufacturing, etc, seem to have been garnering more shares in the fresh absorption pie for commercial office spaces this year. BFSI companies are most active in Mumbai and Pune, compared to other cities. The share of the BFSI sector in the total absorption for Mumbai has increased to 55% in the third quarter, up from the 22% in the previous quarter, while the share has been around 15% in Pune; the same has been around 3-5 % in other cities. Bhola says consulting services have shown strong office space demand over the years, which has grown from nearly 3.8% of the total demand in 2009 to 13% in 2011. Therefore, the growth of commercial real estate demand depends principally on the growth of the service sector. Cushman and Wakefield also feel similarly.