Award for hotel

Hotel D.V. Manor received the ‘award for excellence’ in four-star hotel category for the fifth consecutive year from the Department of Tourism on the occasion of World Tourism Day celebrations on Sept. 27, according to managing director Nagendra P. Dhanekula.

Hotel vice-president and general manager Rajesh Berry received the award from Tourism Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy in Hyderabad.

Beneficiaries lock housing office

VIZIANAGARAM: “Indiramma’ housing beneficiaries led by the CPI (M), town committee, on Monday locked the Housing Department office and staged protest demonstrations on the premises demanding that the government release the bridge loan of Rs.30,000 assured to them from banks. They locked the entrance gate at 9.30 a.m. and did not allow employees as well as District Manager (Housing) A. Rama Rao inside the premises. They opened the doors after 1 p.m. when the District Manager offered to consider their demand after a discussion with bankers in the next two days.

Talking to reporters, the CPI (M) divisional secretary Reddy Sankar Rao said that Minister for Housing Botcha Satyanarayana was threatening beneficiaries at every meeting that the sanctions would be cancelled if the houses were not completed in three months’ time. But, the banks had not been releasing the bridge loan at 25 paise interest that was announced following escalation in cost of cement, steel and other construction material. The department was yet to release 10 bags of cement out of the promised 50 bags for sunshades, the CPI (M) leader said. Moreover, he said that construction of majority of the 94 G +1 houses at Goshala and 98 at Jonnaguddi were still at foundation stage due to the “neglect” of the department. He demanded that the department also issue possession certificates to beneficiaries at Mutcheruvugattu and also settle pending bills.

‘Scrap Metro rail agreement’

HYDERABAD: The State government’s concession agreement with the Maytas Metro Rail Limited for the construction of the Metro Rail corridor in the city should be scrapped immediately in view of the opacity being maintained regarding the project, the Citizens for a Better Public Transport in Hyderabad (CBPTH) demanded on Monday.
Public kept in dark

Speaking to press persons, convener of the organisation C. Ramachandraiah criticised the government for “keeping the public totally in dark” about the concessions offered to the private consortium. “The agreement, for example, provides for the extension of lease duration by one year for every one per cent reduction in the estimated ridership of 15.5 lakh passengers a day, subject to a maximum extension of six years.

Considering the overestimated passenger traffic, the agreement can be said to have already extended by six years,” he said. The government went ahead with signing of the pact even before getting the environment clearance, or responding to the court notices in the context of the public interest litigation filed last month.

He alleged that Maytas got the contract through the inclusion of a Bangkok-based company Italthai in the consortium, but reduced the company’s share to five per cent after clinching the project,” he said.

IVRCL bags lift irrigation project in MP

HYDERABAD: IVRCL Infrastructures and Projects Limited (IVRCL) on Monday announced that the company had been awarded the execution of lift irrigation project, Punsa in Madhya Pradesh.

The project includes distribution network by pipelines to cultivate about 35,008 hectares on a turnkey basis and maintenance of completely commissioned scheme for one year.

The cost of the project is Rs. 418.50 crore from Narmada Development Division No.25, Khandwa.

The work is slated to be completed in 36 months.

Provide basic infrastructure in welfare hostels, says Minister

Kakinada: Social Welfare Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose on Monday ordered district officials to complete the provision of basic infrastructure in the social welfare hostels under `Sankshema bata’ programme before the end of Dasara vacation. He expressed dissatisfaction that there were inordinate delays in the execution of works in Vizianagaram and Guntur districts, for which the people’s representatives sought priority to be given.

Addressing a meeting of the Social Welfare Department officials and SC Corporation executive directors of seven districts (Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur) at Zilla Parishad conference hall here, Mr. Bose said long time was being taken even for minor repairs while students suffered the inadequacy of facilities. The progress of integrated hostels was also so tardy that even lands were not identified in some districts. December would be deadline for completing these hostels. The Minister said criminal cases would be booked against five hostel officers in Bhimavaram who allegedly sold away 104 bags of rice meant for consumption by students.

They would also be removed from service for resorting to `theft of rice’. Social Welfare Commissioner Dr. A Vidyasagar said sincere efforts should be made to enable the Scheduled Castes people to really benefit from the welfare schemes being implemented by the government. He observed out of Rs 3.8 crores sanctioned under `Sankshema bata’ in the above seven districts, only Rs 2.8 crore was spent. Construction of 37 integrated hostels has not at all been encouraging. S.C Finance Corporation General Manager Ramesh Chandra, Joint Director of Social Welfare PSA Prasad and superintendent engineer Bhaskar Rao were among those present.

Dams in Godavari basin also full

HYDERABAD: Twelve of the 42 crest-gates of Sriramsagar dam were lifted on Tuesday evening, with the storage in the project nearing its full capacity level following heavy inflows that crossed 1.5 lakh cusecs on Tuesday. Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, accompanied by Speaker K. R. Suresh Reddy, hoisted the gates by pressing a button.

With this, all the projects in the Godavari basin, either on the main river or its tributary the Manjira, are full. Nizamsagar and Singur projects have already reached their full capacities, forcing the authorities to open the flood-gates.

The storage in Sriramasgar touched 82 tmcft (thousand million cubic ft), against its full capacity of 91 tmcft, nullifying the fears entertained about the Babli being constructed by Maharashtra 80 km upstream.
Inflows to continue

The heavy inflows into the dam will continue for a few more days, said B. D. V. Kumar, chief engineer, Sriramsagar, quoting a Central Water Commission forecast.

The entire ayacut of 9 lakh acres under Sriramsagar spread over Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts was left fallow during the kharif as water could not be released to crops due to inadequate storage at that time.

In the light of the improved situation, arrangements are in place to ensure supplies for rabi.

On the other hand, about 2 lakh cusecs of water is flowing into the sea from the Krishna through opened spillways of Jurala, Srisailam, Nagarjuanasagar and Prakasam Barrage. Similarly, projects across the Nagavali and Vamsadhara too are full. The only exception is those on Pennar.

Special trains for Dasara season

HYDERABAD: To cater to the rush of passengers during Dasara holiday season, the South Central Railway will run 12 special trains with 16 coaches on the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad route.

Train No. 748 Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam special train will depart from Hyderabad at 7.30 p.m. and Secunderabad at 8 p.m. on September 30, October 2, 5, 10, 17 and 24 and will arrive in Visakhapatnam at 8.30 a.m. the next day.

Train No. 747 Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad special train will depart from Visakhapatnam at 8 p.m. on October 1, 3, 6, 11, 18 and 25 and will arrive in Secunderabad at 8.15 a.m. and Hyderabad at 8.50 a.m. the next day.

En-route they would halt at Kazipet, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada, Eluru, Tadepalligudem, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Annavaram, Tuni and Anakapalli, a release informed.

Two registration charges on flats likely in State

HYDERABAD: The State government is toying with the idea of collecting two different registration charges on transaction of flats in apartment buildings in all the urban areas of the State — one on built-up area of the flat and the other on “undivided share of land” (USL).

The proposal to split the single property of flat into USL and built-up area for the purpose of registration has been made to shore up the revenue of the Stamps & Registration Department, which had been fixed a target of Rs. 5,500 crore this fiscal.

If the measure is implemented, a flat purchaser will obviously have to shell down higher amount for registration. As land in posh localities like Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Patamata in Vijayawada and Beach Road in Visakhapatnam command a higher market value, the purchasers here will have to pay heavily for registration of USL itself.

Another proposal under consideration was not to accept registration of flats in “semi-finished stage” as is being resorted to by purchasers. Under this plan, the registration charges will be collected on market value of the flat as if it is completed. The view taken is that registration of semi-finished structures leave “discretion” to officials which is unscientific at a time when the system needed rationalisation.

B. Aravinda Reddy, commissioner & inspector-general, Stamps & Registration, said the proposal was only at a nascent stage.
Slump in business

Meanwhile, reports from the 432 sub-registrar offices in the State have indicated a slump in the real estate business, with only Hyderabad (Urban) and Ranga Reddy districts being exception by contributing 60 per cent of the revenue to the department while Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur together accounted for 20 per cent.

Dumper bins back in Jubilee Hills

HYDERABAD: Heaps of garbage, plastic covers and putrid smell with a dumper bin rising from their midst—the ubiquitous scene might soon mark the sleek environs of Jubilee Hills too if the effort by a group of women is turned to a naught by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
Women’s initiative

Jubilee Hills Civic Exnora, a 10-year-old voluntary initiative by the women, which introduced an improved way of garbage collection and disposal, now finds the task difficult as the municipal authorities have brought back the blue dumpers at various locations.

“With the dumper bins marking the streets again, the residents are asking why they should pay us for garbage collection when there is no respite from the bins,” complains Indira Lingam, the founder-member of the Jubilee Hills Civic Exnora.

She led a group of 20 volunteers who began a door-to-door garbage collection at Jubilee Hills under the banner of Civic Exnora ten years ago.

The then GHMC Commissioner S.K. Aurora was very cooperative in launching the movement, says Ms. Lingam.

Their attempt to rope in street urchins and provide them with tricycles to move from house to house and collect garbage won accolades even from the high ranking officials.
Residents’ contribution

The garbage thus collected is be dumped on the premises provided by the GHMC, from where it is be cleared every day by a municipal vehicle.

A sum of Rs.150 per quarter is collected from each household for all these services. The drive covers about 2,000 houses and commercial establishments in Jubilee Hills, Film Nagar, Kavuri Hills, Prashasan Nagar and Navnirman Nagar.

Related interventions by the organisation include weaning the workers away from drug abuse, providing them daily breakfast and imparting minimal education. Many workers, Ms. Lingam says, were even encouraged to find better livelihoods as taxi and auto drivers.
Threats received

“For the past two years, GHMC has been trying relentlessly to bring back the dumpers. We have made many representations to the Commissioner and Additional Commissioners concerned, but all fell on deaf ears. Our effort of ten years will go waste if the dumpers are back in the localities,” says Ms. Lingam. She alleges that a few commercial establishments have stopped using the organisation’s services after receiving threats from municipal authorities.

Living in ‘house boats’ literally!

HYDERABAD: There seems to be no end in sight to the plights of residents, from a clutch of colonies at Amberpet, who are trying to figure out a way to solve the problem of inundation of their apartment cellars with groundwater. In two-years in a row, their apartment cellars and lift pits have been flooded with ground water, seeping out from ground during monsoons.
Problem areas

The din of water pumps working incessantly, to pump out water from cellars, is a common sight at Srinath and Prajay Enclave, Maruti showroom and Govindulu apartments, along Amberpet main road. Locals inform that these days, they just have to dig 10 feet deep for groundwater.

Residents perennially live in a state of fear, lest the foundations or pillars of the apartments crumble because of constant touch with water. None of the officials from water board and GHMC have been able to exactly pinpoint the reason behind this phenomenon, residents complain. Officials have not come up with any solution too, residents rue.

In 2006, when this problem surfaced, researchers from National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), who visited the sites to collect water samples for tests, had warned about recurrence of the problem during ensuing monsoons. In their report, researchers had advocated proper utilisation of ground water to avoid such situations.
500 families affected

“Nearly 500 families are affected. A year back officials came here and told us that they have to re-lay water pipes and storm water drains. They said seeping of ground water will decrease if storm water drains are given proper outlet. Since then, no one has showed-up,” says president for Srinath Enclave Flat Owners Welfare Association Mr. K. Srinivas.

Interior colonies like Bharatnagar, colonies near Ayyappa temple and Pamula Basthi also are witnessing the same phenomenon. “Any moment a short circuit can occur due to water. We are spending lot of money on diesel for the pumps. What happens if a part of the building collapses?” asks T. Mahalakshmi, a housewife at Prajay apartments.

NGRI researchers had surmised that 24-hour water supply at Amberpet area had led to increase of water table, as residents have reduced groundwater usage.

World’s best accord signed for Hyderabad metro rail project

HYDERABAD: A significant milestone in commencing work on the Rs. 12,132-crore Hyderabad metro rail project was reached when the Andhra Pradesh government and Maytas Metro Limited , special purpose vehicle constituted to implement it, signed a concession agreement here on Friday.

MML is a concessionaire company for implementation of the project on DBFOT (design, build, finance, operate and transfer) basis. It consists of a consortium of Maytas Infra Limited, Navabharat Ventures Limited, Ital Thai Development Public Company and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited.

The agreement for building the metro system spanning a length of 71 km was signed by C. V. S. K. Sarma, chairman, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) and B. Teja Raju, managing director, MML, in the presence of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

The State government will have to subscribe an equity of Rs. 250 crore in the company.
Cheque presented

A cheque for Rs. 11 crore was presented to the Chief Minister by Mr. Raju on behalf of the MML as the first instalment of the Rs. 30,311-crore revenue promised to the government over a period of 35 years.

Dr. Reddy, who also launched a portal created for the project ( www.hyderabadmetrorail.in), quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to describe the agreement as the “world’s best” (in the public-private partnership mode). September 2012 has been fixed as the outer-limit for completing the project. The Chief Minister announced that road-clearing for the alignment of the metro system would begin next month and civil works would start from March.

N. V. S. Reddy, MD, HMRL, later said in the light of the offer made by the developers to implement the project without seeking any government grant, the sum of Rs. 2,300 crore sanctioned by the Centre would be used for allied work.

The Centre sanctioned the money under the original arrangement that the Union and State governments must contribute Rs. 4,800 crore towards the project cost.

He said the metro rail fare would range from Rs. 8 to Rs. 19 on an average.

Another feather in Hyderabad’s cap

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad figures among the list of top 20 global sustainability centres by 2020 according to a report released by New York-based Ethisphere Institute’s magazine focusing on Business Ethics.

The news that Hyderabad (eighth) ranked ahead of London (ninth) will surely be music to the ears of tourism officials as it comes on the eve of the prestigious PATA Travel Mart-2008 that will get under way on Wednesday.

The evaluation was done on the basis of criteria like local economy, living standards, health, education, environment, recreation and public transport.

Melbourne topped the list, followed by New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Singapore, Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, said APTDC Managing Director Jayesh Ranjan.

Hyderabad is the only city in India that figures in the Institute’s report that was released earlier this month.
Dinner hosted

Meanwhile, a reception-cum-dinner was hosted for PATA delegates at Falaknuma Palace by Union Minister for Tourism Ambika Soni and attended by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. A scintillating cultural show choreographed by Leela Samson was special attraction.

Notwithstanding the last minute confusion about media arrangements to cover the premier business to business trade travel event bringing together hundreds of top quality buyers and decision makers around the world, things opened on a right note for 900 delegates.
Agenda

The three-day event would open with a series of workshops on important and emerging outbound markets soon after the inauguration on Wednesday, including the ‘Nielsen India Outbound Workshop’ focusing latest research on Indian outbound travel preferences.

The delegates got a glimpse of the city, its modern edifices and historical monuments and cultural tapestry as they were taken on a city tour on Tuesday covering Golconda fort, Salar Jung Museum, Qutub Shahi tombs, Shilparamam.

“This should make them understand Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and India as an important tourist destination,” local organisers hoped.

APTDC and Emmar also organised a friendly golf tournament between 30 local players and 20 delegates at Gachi Bowli.

Road-widening: SCR seeks time

HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway (SCR) has sought a week more time to respond to the agreement thrashed out with the GHMC for giving up land for road-widening on the Sangeet junction-Tarnaka route.

It made the request before the High Court stating that the Railway Board was yet to ratify the decision taken as a briefing to the Minister for Railways was pending, official sources said. Precisely 10 days ago, both parties worked out a formula to solve the impasse between them as suggested by the Chief Justice.
Less compensation

The SCR contented that the compensation offered by the GHMC was too less and did not conform to the prevailing market rate, while the latter argued that compensation was based on the rate fixed by the Collector.With High Court’s initiative, the GHMC has offered to apologise to the SCR for demolishing compound walls of its properties and also withdraw the land acquisition notice served for taking over 55,000 sq.yards for widening the road to 150 ft as it formed part of the inner ring road offering connectivity to the international airport at Shamshabad.

The GHMC is ready with a cheque for Rs. 45 crore pertaining to structural compensation and land cost calculated at Rs. 7,000 per sq.yard as decided by the Collector as preliminary payment. It also came armed with the withdrawal letter for the land acquisition notice issued earlier, but now the final settlement would have to wait for some more time.

The High Court said a committee headed by a retired judge assisted by a mechanical and a civil engineer would be constituted, once both parties signed the peace treaty, to decide on the final compensation for the land.

In the meantime, the GHMC is likely to be allowed to lay the road and bring it to public usage.

US $50 billion expected for road projects

HYDERABAD: A large investment to the tune of US $ 50 billion is expected in 53 road projects, each costing Rs. 1,000 crore to Rs. 1,500 crore in the country in the next one year.

Speaking on ‘Indian infrastructure: status, trends, issues and challenges’ at the Infrastructure Summit organised by the Indian School of Business (ISB) here on Tuesday, Associate Director of Ernst and Young Sushin Shyamal said roads in the country did not match the grown of vehicles.

Almost 80-90 per cent of vehicles used only 20 per cent of roads (especially national and State highways) in the country, and their quality was indeed an issue. There was a huge opportunity in the road sector, he said and highlighted the importance of public-private participation (PPP) mode in infrastructure development. Mr. Shyamal said 35 non-metro airports would be developed in the country in the 11th plan period.

Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail project N.V.S. Reddy said that only 40 per cent of motorised trips were through the public transport in the city, while it should have been 60-70 per cent. He deplored the poor conditions of the APSRTC buses. Stat ing that Hyderabad Metro rail was the biggest such project in the world, Mr. Reddy said that one railway line was equal to six bus lanes or 24 car lanes. The Metro Rail project was designed to ensure business development along the railway track and in the stations.

Groundwater level highest in 10 years

HYDERABAD: The State’s water table has registered the highest ever rise in the last 10 years, thanks to the copious rainfall this season and the consistent good monsoon during the last four years.

The replenished water table is good news for the State as ground water meets nearly 50 per cent of the irrigation requirement and about 80 per cent of domestic supply including the Rural Water Supply schemes.
Initial jitters

Though the delayed monsoon caused jitters initially, the State has received 8 per cent more than the normal rainfall till August-end.

This surplus rainfall, coupled with good monsoon in the previous year, has translated into significant rise in groundwater levels with the State average ‘Depth to groundwater levels’ peaking to 7.88 metres till August 2008. It went up by 1.71 m over last year’s 9.59 m, according to the data generated by 1,017 Piezo Meters of the Groundwater Department that monitor the groundwater table.
Previous best average

The previous best average of 9.06 metres was recorded in August 1998.

However, the State experienced successive drought from 2002 onwards and the water table plummeted to 12.46 metres in the water year 2004-05.

The 20 per cent excess rainfall during 2005-06, turned the tide for the State and the build up of water table began, resulting in the best level of 7.88 metres as against August 2007 level of 9.59 metres, said Director, Ground Water, B.M. Muralikrishna Rao.
Groundwater levels

The groundwater table in every region, including the drought prone Rayalaseema, showed significant improvement.

Coastal Andhra recording the best rise with a water table depth of 6.2 metres against 6.51 m in the corresponding period of 2007, Telangana 7.77 m (10.76 m) and in Rayalaseema 11.93 m (13.92 m) of last year.

In terms of feet, the average water table rose across the State by 5 ft, considered to be a good position.

While the Twin Cities recorded a depth level of 5.16 m this August (6.53 m last year), RR district’s recorded 8.52 m up from depth of 13.34 m.

Raw deal meted out to Tyagis ’ families

SANGAREDDY: Srirama Lakshmi and Lakshmamma are in their late sixties-wives of freedom fighters – Ramulu and Mallaiah - respectively, who had fought the British and the Nizam.

As an acknowledgement of the services rendered by the freedom fighter, the State government had allotted them house sites at Kandi village in Medak about two years ago. As Kandi became the hub of activity and land rates soared high, they were unable to construct houses in the sites allotted. The locals were obstructing any move to take up construction .

``We have levelled the land using tractors and filling it with sand. We also erected rock pillars to identify the borders of our land. But in vain. The locals are not allowing us to take up construction activity. Repeated appeals to the officials failed to yield result,” says Srirama Lakshmi.

She, along with Lakshmamma and another womanNagamma waited before the Collector’s office to present their case to the district administration. As luck would have it, the Collector was out of station.

Regular visits to Collector’s office and submission of memoranda to officials has become a sort of daily routine. “We are unable solve our problem despite appeals. We do not know whom to approach and how long it will take,” lamented Lakshmamma.

The land was allotted to 17 persons in the same category and none of them are able to take up construction activity for the same reason.

They made a representation to District Congress Committee president T. Nandeeswar Goud when they met him at the Collector’s office premises. He promised to look into the case .

Malaysian tourism official lauds Hyderabad’s infrastructure

HYDERABAD: Tourism Malaysia, which won four PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) gold awards for its global marketing initiatives, will step up its interaction with trade fraternity at the PATA -2008 to give renewed thrust to Indian market.

At the same time, Tourism Malaysia’s South and West Asia/Oceania Director Azizan Noordin acknowledged the recent commendable developments in Hyderabad’s infrastructure and said it would go a long way in building tourism between the two nations.
Maturing tourism

Mr. Azizan Noordin, leading the Malaysian delegation to PATA-2008, said that with a steadily maturing tourism market and evolving Indian traveller, they would remain focused on a target of attracting five lakh Indian tourists during the year by shifting its attention to smaller cities and towns and new initiatives such as ‘Wedding in Malaysia’, ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ among others.

Indian tourist arrivals to Malaysia registered 32 per cent growth till August this year, he said.

Registration fee, a burden on buyers

Stamp duty and registration fee imposed by the state government during property registrations have become a major burden on the buyers. Andhra Pradesh has the distinction of collecting higher stamp duty and registration when compared to some of the major states. Currently, the state collects 9.5 per cent towards registration charges, which includes nine per cent stamp duty and point five per cent registration fee. While the other states were adopting different stamp duty structures for urban and rural areas, in our state, the disparities have been abolished in 2005 and a common duty structure was being implemented. Maharashtra collects only 5.5 per cent stamp duty. Earlier it was 8.5 per cent. Uttar Pradesh has been offering more incentives to women. If a property is registered on the name of a woman, it is collecting only 6 per cent stamp duty, which has been reduced from 8 per cent. Even for men, it is only collecting 7 per cent, which has been cut down from 10 per cent.

While states like Rajasthan were collecting only 6 per cent stamp duty, Karnataka and West Bengal were adopting different tax structures for urban and rural areas. West Bengal is imposing 6 per cent stamp duty for transactions in villages and 8 per cent duty for towns. This is in addition to 1.1 per cent, which is imposed as registration fee. The state government had earlier announced that it will cut down stamp duty by 1 per cent every year so as to reach the target of 5 per cent by 2012 from the current 9.5 per cent. As per this, it has to cut down the stamp duty by 1 per cent this year, but still nothing has been done on that front.

However, according to officials of revenue department, the chances of reducing stamp duty in the state are meagre as the state government is heavily dependent on the revenues generated from the revenue department through land and property transactions to fund its massive populist schemes announced in the election year. The heavy stamp duty is leading to irregularities during registration. Several buyers are resorting to under-valuation of property to escape from huge stamp duty while sometimes it is leading to evasion of registration charges. Several buyers, particularly in rural areas are entering into illegal sale agreements to avoid duty by entering into agreements on a ‘plain paper’.

Koneru Ranga Rao committee, which was set up by the state government to initiate land reforms has estimated that nearly 20 lakh property deals are ‘illegal’ as they were entered on a mere ‘plain paper’ and out of this 82 per cent buyers are from poor and rural background. While the other states were reducing stamp duty and increasing their revenues, the state government has been increasing duty on General Power of Attorney (GPA) to force people to opt for registrations instead of GPA to increase its revenues. While other states were reporting good results with reduced stamp duty, the revenue generation of AP was stagnated for a while now, despite increase in stamp duty. However, Karnataka is the exception in the list of the states, which collects lower stamp duty. It collects more than our state. It follows dual duty structure. While in Bengaluru, it is imposing 12 per cent stamp duty, for the rest of the areas it is 11 per cent. Tamil Nadu is imposing registration charges at 9 per cent.

Here’s the panacea for construction ills

Construction is a cumbersome task. From foundation to finish, it has been an activity most of which used to happen at the site. However, the changing times seem to be ushering in changes for certain practices.

One such change in technology happens to be pre-cast, concrete pre-engineered one using which Maytas Properties has constructed its marketing office at its project Hill County. It is a technology that has all building components- columns, beams, slabs and wall panels- cast at fabrication yards which, once ready, transported to the site for erection.

To put it more succinctly, pre-engineered building comes with a readymade building designed to suit one’s needs and plans. All the components of the building matching the architectural and service requirements are fabricated at the manufacturer’s workshop under a controlled supervision and then set up on site under expert supervision, says Maytas.
Superior strength

This also means, longs spans with fewer interior columns, increased net usable floor area and more workspace flexibility than constructions that come up though regular practices. Also, other aspects such as safety, comfort and quality of pre-cast construction results from its good fire, thermal and acoustical performance. Add to it, superior strength and durability.

The system also enables faster and better construction apart from significantly cutting down construction and development costs through elimination of expensive structural redundancies and delays created by the multiple suppliers and trades required to furnish and install other superstructure and enclosure systems.

The popular pre-engineering buildings systems are structural steel structures and pre-cast, pre-stress concrete buildings. While structural steel pre-engineered technology has spread all over, the pre-cast pre-stress, pre-engineered concrete buildings are in an inception stage, the company informs.

The benefits of these buildings include maintaining project schedules due to fast delivery and quick site erection, flexibility in future expansion and energy-efficiency. Architectural versatility too is ensured as buildings can be supplied with special fascias, canopies, curved eaves and other features. Given the benefits, Maytas Properties says it is looking forward to having more such buildings in near future.

Rs 100cr land for a pittance

The state government has issued orders for rationalisation of land alienated to Panineeya Samskrutha Vidyalaya at Gaddiannaram in Dilshuknagar for Rs 15 lakh. The Hyderabad real estate market value of the land is estimated at Rs 100 crore. The Trust faces allegations that it is using the land for non-specified purposes.In the AP Legislative Council on Friday the revenue minister, Mr Dharmana Prasada Rao, said orders were issued to collect Rs 1.5 lakh per acre for rationalising of 10.13 acres of land. Mr Rao said that the land was being rationalised on par with educational institutes like BITS-Pilani, Georgia Tech University and Tata Institute. During the question hour, Council members demanded that the land should be taken back from the institute as it has established colleges contrary to the original objective.

Mr B. Kamalaker Rao said, "The land was supposed to be used for propagation of Vedas and Sanskrit. However they have set up B.Ed, M.Ed and other colleges. The vigilance department recommended that the government review the land alienation." Mr Puvvada Nageswara Rao, demanded that the government take back the land if it is not used for the original purpose. The revenue minister said, "They are running a CBSE school and they have Sanskrit as one of the subjects. They have secured permission time to time from the government."The trust has asked for a dental college. They have also changed the name of trust, the minister said.

The government in 1974 and 1983 alienated 10 acres 13 guntas in Survey No. 103 at Gaddiannaram village in Saroornagar mandal in favour of Panineeya Sanskrit College Trust.According to the conditions, the trust would have to pay land revenue. The value of land would be treated as contribution of the government and the land should be utilised for the purpose for which it was allotted within five years. The utilisation plan should be approved by the government in the concerned administrative department.The minister told the Legislative Council that the vigilance and enforcement department had recommended review of the orders issued in terms of objective of the trust deed. It also suggested the review of orders on the condition of alienation of land and to initiate action to collect market value of the land from the Trust management.

Luxury homes continue to dazzle on robust demand

Even in the midst of low sentiments haunting the real estate sector, there is one segment that is totally unfazed by it all. Luxury homes continue to dazzle in the face of robust demand and keen investor interest in the segment. Royal offerings doled out one after the other by real estate developers show that at least one buyer category has remained as loyal as before, the luxe home buyer.SundayET commissioned a survey to global real estate consultancy Cushman and Wakefield (C&W) to find out some top-of-the-line luxury offerings coming up in the five major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

And here's what we found. While the new luxury apartments in Delhi-NCR were valued at over Rs 10 crore, in Mumbai it easily crossed the 20 crore mark for a 4 BHK. It also found that among the new constructions around the National Capital Region (NCR), properties in Gurgaon commanded a premium, while sea-facing locations in the financial hub attracted the richie rich.Lavelle Road in Central Bangalore was much sought after as a luxury buy. And while Spanish villas in Hyderabad made an opulent statement, it were the spacious independent houses in Chennai that were the new luxury abode. In the survey, we included both projects which have been announced recently or the ones which though announced earlier were only getting ready now.

Delhi NCR, in itself has at least seven extremely high-end projects. Top corporate honchos, expatriates and high networth individuals (HNIs) dominate DLF's Magnolias located in DLF Phase V, Gurgaon. The apartments, which will be ready in 1-2 years can go up to a whopping Rs 10 crore with the average size of an apartment at roughly 5,500-10 ,000 sq ft.Attractive rental potential and substantial increase in capital values since 2005, the locational advantage of the golf course and improved connectivity via the operational Delhi-Jaipur 8-lane super expressway are some of the USPs of this project. Says Rajeev Talwar, executive group director, "Luxury apartments are taken up by actual users so demand will always remain.... Anyone who is buying such an apartment does so keeping a variety of factors in mind. Moreover, these are bought by those who have a surplus."

Another project in Gurgaon, Ambience Group's upscale Caitriona project, located in Ambi City NH-8 Gurgaon, will be coming up in 2-3 years and is priced at a royal 8 crore plus tag. Boasting of sevenstar living, it is located amidst the 150-acre Ambience Island premium integrated township.Caitriona offers limited condominiums for a select few. A great golf course view, super premium international designing and complete furnishing for a ready-to-live-in condominium, Caitriona flaunts snob value all the way.Vipin Agrawal, executive director of Omaxe, feels that the current market scenario will have little effect on this segment. "Luxury homes are always in demand. Top CEOs and businessmen are the main occupants here. Hence, whatever be the market dynamics, there will always be an active demand for such projects." The realtor has a luxury project, The Forest, adjoining the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, which sold for Rs 6,500/sq ft.

Hyderabad Authority investing Big Money in Expressways

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) is investing about Rs 6,000 crore for an eight-lane access-controlled expressway. Part of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) project, it would be taken up in three phases, said Huda vice-chairman KS Jawahar Reddy.

In the first phase, a 24-km road would be laid from Gachibowli to Shamshabad, which is scheduled to be completed by February next year. In the second phase, a road from Shamshabad to Pedda Amberpet in one stretch and from Narsingi to Patencheru in another, in all 60 km, would be laid at an estimated cost of over Rs 2,440 crore.

Five agencies are working on this project on a build, operate and transfer basis. This is likely to be ready by 2010. The third phase would see laying of a 70-km road connecting Patencheru and Pedda Amberpert. The government would take financial assistance from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and would soon call for tenders for the project.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Real estate sector: Opportunities and challenges in Andhra Pradesh’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s Andhra Pradesh chapter, he said 33 radial roads would also be laid at a cost of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore for better connectivity to the city. Work on four radial roads has already begun.

Huda has also identified land for setting up the digital entertainment city and will soon form a special purpose vehicle for the purpose. It is also planning a health city with participation from global players.

The government is also intent on developing townships along the Outer Ring Road. While one project has already begun at Tellapur, the other is being planned on about 800 acre at Srinagar near the international airport.

“We are trying to liberalize the norms for permission,” he said, adding the government was in favor of donning a facilitator’s role. Huda has also finalized an Ahemdabad-based consultant for preparing a growth plan for the next 20 years.

Ernst & Young partner Ajit Krishnan said increasing urbanization, rising household incomes and growth in the services sector would trigger growth in the real estate sector, particularly in the residential segment. However, real estate players are faced with challenges of higher interest rates, RBI regulatory measures, unclear titles and absence of real estate investment trusts.

Indu Projects raises 113 million from Credit Suisse

Indu Projects, a Hyderabad based infrastructure company has raised $113 million (about Rs 476 crore) from Credit Suisse, the Swiss investment bank. Indu Projects is a growing infrastructure company with interests in real estate, housing and market infrastructure. Indu will receive about $77 million (Rs 325 crore) in the first tranche of the funding and the balance would flow in the next 90 days. “The fund will be used for both our existing and future requirements. Credit Suisse has seen the potential in this market and the business plan we have,” Indu chairman and managing director I Syam Prasad Reddy told DNA Money on Thursday.

Founded in 2001 by Reddy, Indu recorded a turnover of over Rs 1,300 crore, with businesses in the areas of core infrastructure, theme ventures, end-to-end solutions and real estate. The company is currently building health cities and agri-parks across India. Indu currently has an equity base of Rs 15 crore, and the promoters hold 70% stake. Credit Suisse will get a 10% stake, while the rest 20% of it is shared by Citigroup Venture Capital, Maple Holdings, IDFC, Sun Apollo and Red Fort Capital. While this plan of theme parks is being finalised, the company is already in the housing market in the state.