Real Estate

Documents with TOI reveal that the land is spread over two mouzas Ganragari and Mahisbathan in North 24-Parganas. Canopy Projects Private Ltd had this land under possession, close to Olive Garden, an upcoming property, for all these days till the Vedic Village case. The recovery of arms from this high-profile resort exposed the land grabbing by realtors in the once-remote areas of Rajarhat, outside the New Town area.

The land department has asked Canopy Projects officials to "appear before the block land and land revenue officer, Rajarhat, on August 23 and furnish a statement describing which portion of the land under ceiling area the company wants to retain and specify the stretches of land it opts to surrender." Buying land from farmers by floating a company has been going on in the suburbs in collusion with politicians both from the ruling party and the Opposition till the government chose to mend its ways after being rebuffed by farmers in the panchayat, municipal and Lok Sabha polls.

The benami plots identified at Ganragari and Mahishbathan point to a controversial property under Canopy Infrastructure Development.

Source: Times Of India Realtors slapped benami notice

Of this amount, about Rs.50 crore has already been granted. Through this project, municipalities will arrange for construction of low-cost, safe dwelling units. So far proposals from 105 municipalities have been received.

In all, 2,684 houses will be renovated and 1,177 houses newly constructed with the allocation of Rs.50 crore. The project value of all the proposals taken together is Rs.25 crore. About half of this amount has been released.

The spurt of launches in the real estate market is not news anymore. With new names getting added to the list every month, there's already a supply glut. And, the pertinent question now is whether it makes sense to buy a house at this point.

A report released on 18 August by ICICI Securities Ltd, Real Estate Pulse II, says that under-construction supply in the residential space over eight tier I cities is 213 million sq. ft. Of this, 19.8 million sq. ft is ready to move, says the report, which surveyed the market in June and July. Data provided by property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle shows that at least 122,000 units were launched across seven metro cities between January and June.

The basic law of demand and supply tells us that when supply goes up, the prices should fall. Agrees Anil Sharma, chairman and managing director, Amrapali Group, a Noida-based developer firm: "When there is healthy supply in the market, chances of getting a large discount are high."

The 2008 price shock forced developers to launch projects at realistic prices. However, when the market started recovering towards the end of 2009, developers gradually moved from affordable housing to mid-income housing, according to data available with PropEquity Analytics Pvt. Ltd, a Gurgaon-based property consultancy firm. In fact, in the last six months, the shift has become more pronounced with quite a few launches in the premium and luxury segments.

This, in effect, means that the supply is equally divided across various price points. "A wider range of housing, priced at various levels, is now available in the market," says Samir Chopra, director, REMAX India, a property consultancy firm.

So, does that mean, you can get a better price for the same apartment? In all probability, yes. With adequate options at hand, you just need to make the right moves.

Source: Live Mint By Devesh Chandra Srivastava Right Time To Bargain For A Better Price

"There exists real retail market potential in the tier-II and tier-III cities in eastern India. Keeping this in mind, we plan to extend our reach to over 2 million square feet of mixed-use development by 2012, and another 3.5 million thereafter," Rahul Saraf, managing director, Forum Projects, said at the launch of Forum Courtyard.

Forum Courtyard, at an investment of Rs 60 crore, was an extension of the Forum mall, and houses international brands, making its foray into the city. These include names such as Mango, Promod, Aldo, Charles & Keith, Mother Care, Anita Dongre, Sisley, Sunglass Hut, Body Shop, and Alcott among others.

Along with retail space addition, Forum is looking at expanding its footprint in terms of real estate projects in Howrah, Bantala, and Adityapur, with a combined space of 6.7 million square feet. Forum Projects plans a luxury condominium project adjacent to Science City at Eastern Bypass, at an investment of Rs 300 crore.

"This will lead vacancy level across India, which was 17.2 percent in 2009 to rise to 20 percent by 2010 end," it added.

It said the commercial lease and rental space in India would witness a low occupancy rate till 2011.

The report, however, added that most Indian cities have witnessed an increase in the volume of lease transactions in the first quarter of 2010 with Delhi, including the national capital region, Mumbai and Hyderabad having recorded more than a million square feet of leases each.

In 2009, occupiers showed a strong preference towards operational vacant stock rather than projects under construction, a departure from 2007-08, the report pointed out.

Source: Hindustan Times India's commercial space to face the problem of plenty

"The project was supposed to be developed by the Rahul Saraf controlled Forum Projects. They won the tender in a bidding process. The group, however, has quit the project. Instead of re-tendering and inviting fresh bids, the government has decided to do the development work on the IT park itself," said an official close to the development.

When first announced in 2007, the Bengal government had outlined the plans. The site was chosen because of its proximity to the city, along with the fact that land prices in Jagdishpur would range between Rs 50-60 lakh per acre as opposed to the skyrocketing Rs 2.16 crore in Rajarhat-the then planned showpiece IT park that was to house the a Infosys campus in the city along with a second Wipro one.

"In the first phase of the project, 100 acre was slated to be acquired out of the total spread-over of 330 acre. We are still in talks over the intricacies of the project and no details have been finalised yet," said the official.

Considering that the project had been announced in 2007, its present status does not seem to inspire much hope about its future.

The project had been conceived as a backup to Rajarhat for Infosys. The Rajarhat project has since been shelved, and Infosys is yet to come up with a definite proposal. What this holds out for the Jagdishpur project is to be seen.

The amendment in 2009 that lifted the embargo on height comes after nearly two decades. The last amendment in the building rules was in 1991 when buildings at 14.5 metres tall were considered highrise. To build over this height, special permission from KMC was needed. Now, the new definition of highrise pertains to buildings at least 15.5 metres tall. If the road in front is 15 metres wide, there will be no height restriction.

There is one catch though. Builders have to chip in with infrastructure development and other social causes. "While encouraging vertical growth with special relaxations, we are urging big realtors to contribute to infrastructure development. The response has been good," a buildings department official said.

Some builders have been asked to fund roads, drainage and even street lights in areas that are yet to be developed by KMC. Ruchi Realty that is building a condominium project near Tangra, is providing street lighting planting trees. Urbana Housing has coughed up Rs 6 crore to widen the Chowbhaga Road. Developers of South City on Prince Anwar Shah Road had similarly transplanted several trees when the project was being built.

According to Rahul Todi, MD of Shrachi group and one of the partners in Urbana, such investment is mutually beneficial to the project as well as the community at large.

Ruchi Realty project in-charge Shivam Mastana, too, said the group was more than willing to contribute in community development as it would lead to the betterment of the neighbourhood.

The Bengal government has failed to give them a home in 39 years, 34 of which was ruled by the Left Front. As if the failed promise wasn't bad enough, another department sold off the plots to private companies at record prices, flouting all norms. After the damage was done, a third government department has started reclaiming its pound of flesh.

Transfer of land along EM Bypass a real estate goldmine in recent years has raised eyebrows for a long time, but never had a government department accused another of "illegally" transferring plots and pocketing the money.

The land and land reforms department has alleged that about 100 acres of land, originally allotted for rehabilitation of Bangladeshi refugees, has been sold off to private companies by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority for crores of rupees. The allegation has already led to a major tiff between ministers Asok Bhattacharya (urban development) and Abdur Rezzak Mollah (land).

Source: Times Of India High rises on Bypass refugee land

He was answering a question raised by the opposition party MLAs in Assembly. Mr Deb said that he had asked the local MPs and MLAs of hill areas to hand over the lists of lower income group people. His department will soon undertake the construction of houses for poor people.

Mr Deb also added that the state planned to construct houses for other lower income groups like fishermen, scheduled tribes and poor minority communities.

He also pointed out that his department will try to give permanent jobs to 8000 casual staff. Senior officials from his department are trying to solve the related legal issues.    

Mr Deb indicated that the PHE department had spent more than Rs 12 cr to install tube wells in the Junglemahal area and that they will spend more money to set up tube wells in several places including Jhalda, Mukutmanipur, Belphari and many other places in West Midnapore and Purulia.

Source: The Statesman State Housing Dept To Construct Low Cost Accomodation For Hills

A few days ago, 79-year-old farmer Prankrisna Mandal hanged himself after being duped of all of his land by some touts. He was made to sign some documents in English, a language he did not know. When he realized he had been lured into selling away two plots, totalling 18 cottahs, in Baliguri for a meagre Rs 2 lakh, his heart broke.

It was an indication that even after the Vedic Village scam, the government has done nothing to save poor villagers from falling prey to land sharks in the fringe areas of Rajarhat, which falls under the Bhangar-Rajarhat Development Authority (Brada). Unscrupulous promoters are grabbing land with the help of local touts, and Brada can do nothing about it.

Land prices in the Brada jurisdiction have soared in recent years. A cottah that sold for Rs 10,000-20,000 a few years ago now goes for Rs 1-3 lakh. With New Town coming up, land price in Brada area is only going to shoot up.

Source: Times Of India By Suman Chakraborti No leash on land sharks in Rajarhat

Railways will provide the land for rehabilitation and in a joint venture with the state Urban Development Ministry, it will build one-room flats and opment Ministry, it will allot them to the encroachers for free.

"The Railways have taken a policy decision.
Thousands of people are settled on railway land. This leads to two major problems Railways cannot run smoothly and the lives of these people are endangered," said Banerjee, while flagging off four new local trains two from Sealdah and two from Ranaghat at the Sealdah station today. Adding that flats will be built for these encroachers under the Balmiki Abas Yojna, the Trinamool chief said: "If only these people agree, we will provide them with alternate housing.

Railways will earmark plots near the place where they are settled now."

Citing the example of Mumbai, where work is on to rehabilitate encroachers, Banerjee said: "The poor people have no papers and they stay in slums alongside rail tracks. The flats they will get may be small, but these will ensure they are provided with basic hygiene."

Source: The Indian Express Didi to find homes for encroachers

The project consists of two high rise towers with sky garden and the price point for the apartments is Rs 70 lakh and above.

With a runaway success in the first phase of the project, targeted at the mid-segment, the company today launched the second phase.

"The total investment in the two phases is about Rs 400 crore," said Brotin Banerjee, managing director, THDC. THDC has about 26 acres at New Town, of which it has chalked out a usage plan for eight acres.

The complex covers five towers, of which three towers are almost sold out.

The entire complex has been designed by world renowned architects, Callison, USA.

Source: sify.com Tata Housing forays into luxury housing in Kolkata

Interestingly, KMC for the last five-six years had been earning money by selling land to developers in prime locations through the bidding process.

According to sources, KMC still possess pieces of land in plush locations such as EM Bypass, by far the most expensive area in the city. In fact, back in 2006-07, KMC had earned about Rs 629 crore just from three land deals.

DLF Hilton, Emmar MGF and LIC were the winners in land bidding process, with LIC setting a record by paying Rs 55.24 crore per acre for a 5-acre plot on the road.

"There are still land in possession of KMC on EM Bypass, and we hope that they start the bidding process for the land in a more transparent and expeditious manner soon," said a realtor.

Source: Realty Plus Kolkata Realtors wait for new regime

The rise of a number of small developers offering cheap houses, and the easy availability of bank funding for both builders and buyers has also aided the recovery, real estate analysts say.

Downturns in real estate usually last for three-five years. India saw a similar dip from 1996-2000, when there was limited activity in the sec- tor.

"This time, residential real estate demand did not let the global slump affect the Indian market (for too long)," said Anshuman Magazine, chair- man and managing director, CB Richard Ellis South Asia Pvt.Ltd, a property consultancy.

A slump in the US market hit real estate worldwide in early 2006. But the Indian market was only marginally affected.

However, it changed in late 2008, when the global econom- ic slowdown started creating uncertainty over jobs in India as well.

Source: Live Mint By Devesh Chandra Shrivastava Strong Ground: Affordable Housing Projects Hasten Recovery In Realty

"The Board of Approval has allowed re-notification of DLF's SEZ in Kolkata," Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary D K Mittal told reporters here after a meeting of the Board of Approval, the nodal body for SEZ-related matters.

The Kolkata SEZ was one of DLF's four SEZ projects notified in June, 2008.

However, the tax-free enclave in Kolkata, which was to be developed in a small area of 10.48 hectares, was de-notified along with the other three SEZs in February, 2009, on account of demand shrinkage for commercial space.

With the improved sentiment in the real estate sector, DLF had approached the Commerce Ministry for reviving this IT/ITeS tax-free zone. In its application for restarting the project, the company said demand for IT/ITES leasing space is showing signs of improvement.

However, DLF's three other projects in Gujarat, Haryana and Orissa remain de-notified.

In all, about 12 developers had pulled out their SEZ projects due to a slowdown in the commercial space segment last year.