The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Opinion | Wary of wakf WARY OF WAKF There’s a ruckus over the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2010. V. Kumara Swamy investigates why the bill is getting lambasted from all sides Trust travails: Thousands of acres of wakf land have been lost to encroachment When the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2010, was passed in the Lok Sabha a year ago, everyone thought that the amendment was a progressive step that would help improve and streamline the administration of wakf properties across the country. However, a year down the line, when the bill is awaiting approval in the Rajya Sabha, many Muslim organisations have begun to express their scepticism over it. Right from the definition of wakf properties to the powers of the proposed wakf tribunals, many provisions of the bill are now being questioned. The term “wakf” refers to a donation or an endowment in the form of land or money that is placed in a trust. The proceeds from the trust are used for charitable purposes such a...

Babus turn out to be canny investors - The Times of India NEW DELHI: Of the 4,587 members of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), about 660 did not file their statements on Tuesday — the last day for declaring immovable property. The statements posted on the department of personnel and training website shows how babus are canny investors since most of them own several properties. Greater Noida is the most preferred investment destination, followed by other parts of the sprawling and rapidly expanding National Capital Region. Perhaps, Greater Noida figures prominently because several cooperative housing societies for government officers are being built in the upcoming township. Among officers who own property in Greater Noida are cabinet secretary-designate A K Seth who owns a plot worth Rs 5.86 lakh; former Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta whose house has a declared market value of Rs 3 lakh; Pulok Chatterji , UP cadre officer and executive director World Bank , who has paid fo...

HC cancels land acquisition in Greater Noida - India News - IBNLive New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court on Monday cancelled the acquisition of 170 hectares of land in Gulistanpur in Greater Noida. Over 100 farmers had approached the High Court against the land acquisition and the petition was being heard for three to four months in the court. The Uttar Pradesh government considered transferring a part of the land to private real estate developers. However, the Allahabad High Court struck down the acquisition and has also ordered to pay for any monetary loss to any farmer. This is the third time that the Allahabad High Court has cancelled land acquisition, therefore, putting a question mark on the land acquisition policy.

New Act to ensure rents at market rates - The Times of India NEW DELHI: An overhaul of the legislative set-up could soon result in thousands of tenants paying monthly rent of Rs 50 or 100 shell out rentals that reflect the market reality. The housing ministry has prepared the Model Residential Tenancy Act , 2011 that is intended to replace archaic rent control legislations that capped rentals, resulting in landlords getting a pittance for properties in prime localities in metros. The draft legislation -- which is yet to be adopted by the states – has proposed that once the law is in place, in case of tenancies entered after notification, the rental will be based on an agreement between the landlord and the tenant. For existing ones, including those properties where rent was finalised several years ago, there will be a freeze on revision for 24 months. In the 22nd month, the landlord will be able to seek a revision. And, in the absence on an agreement, the landlord will have the option ...

Home Staging Ideas: 10 Features that Date a Home 10 Features that Date a Home 1. Yellowed plastic or rusty metal Light switch plates and plastic vent covers that have yellowed with age not only look old, they make everything else appear dingy. Check out your central air vents. Have they seen better days? Rust reflects age and lack of care. Remedy: Replace light switch plates with new ones that coordinate with the style and décor of your house. They cost pennies, but add great value to your home in marketability. For vent covers, try painting with white spray paint, or another color if you prefer. This is another inexpensive means of brightening and freshening the home for sale without breaking the bank, or taking a great deal of time! Metal vents can be replaced at a bit more cost, but are still a very reasonable and affordable update. 2. Light Fixtures Exterior lights can be seen from the street and impact curb appeal. Outdated, dangling or broken lights with missing bulbs can serious...

Home Staging Ideas: 10 Ways to Protect Your Privacy When Marketing Your Home 10 Ways to Protect Your Privacy When Marketing Your Home Your home is on the market, and your home is now open to untold numbers of strangers. How private can that be? You have managed to clean, declutter and depersonalize, but have you ‘privatized’ your home? Perhaps you know and trust everyone in your community, and feel that you have nothing to hide. Think again! Leaving personal information for others to see may have significant consequences for you. First, while most people are kind and decent, and will respect your belongings, others will not. Second, bad things can happen to good people! The best advice here is to perform an ‘ounce of prevention’ to prepare for the worst case scenario. Burglars, identity thieves, employers, and stalkers may enter your home as a potential buyer for the sole purpose of obtaining valuable information! Disarming burglars, stalkers, and identity thieves are som...

Harayana lays down details mandatory for realty ads - Times Of India Harayana lays down details mandatory for realty ads Dipak Kumar Dash, May 29, 2011, 12.31am IST NEW DELHI: The Haryana government has made it mandatory for all private realtors to specify their project licence number, layout plans and the total number of apartments to be built in their advertisements, and any failure to do so could invite three-year prison term, a top state official said on Saturday. Haryana is the first state to introduce such a regulation. Mushrooming building projects have prompted realtors to put catchy advertisements often overselling their projects and sometimes giving sketchy details. Analysts say this move will help bring transparency and provide home buyers clarity to help make a choice. The new rules for realty advertisements will come into effect immediately. The state government's notification, issued by the town and country planning department (DTCP) on Friday, has punitive provision ...

MCD seeks to empanel structural engineers - Hindustan Times Almost a month after MCD admitted that there was a shortage of structural engineers on its panel; the civic body on Sunday issued an advertisement inviting applications for empanelling structural engineers, who would furnish certificates ahead of sale of property. Incidentally, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has asked for minimum criterion as per the bye-laws mentioned in the National Building Code. Sources said, “In earlier advertisements - and also those empanelled - the MCD had not adhered to the code.” HT had last month reported how the Indian Association of Structural Engineers (IASE) had lambasted the Delhi government and the MCD in connection with the decision to go ahead with the registration of properties without the structural safety certificates. Barely three weeks after it issued an order banning registration of properties without a structural safety certificate, the Delhi government had revoked it in vie...

City mapped, database to be used from Aug 1 - The Times of India NEW DELHI: The capital has about 48 lakh buildings, 3 lakh manholes and nearly 17,000 kilometres of running road length. All this information is part of the extensive database that captures the demographics of the capital and utilities like stormwater drains, sewer lines, infrastructure projects and urban planning details under Delhi State Spatial Database. Starting August 1, all state departments and civic agencies have to mandatorily access, use and share information through secured communication networks under the Delhi Geographical Spatial Data Infrastructure (Management, Control, Administration, Security and Safety), Act 2011. The Act has been notified by the office of the lieutenant-governor, Tejendra Khanna , and is aimed at ensuring effective e-governance. The database provides a ground-based actual information system that details infrastructure and utilities above ground, on the ground and below the ground up to...

Denied Games flats, owners approach HC - Indian Express Weary of the ongoing controversy over the apartments at the Commonwealth Games Village, flat-owners have now moved the Delhi High Court seeking the court’s intervention to secure control of their properties “at the earliest”. Accusing the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and developer Emaar MGF of acting in an “unfair, non-transparent and surreptitious manner”, a group comprising the flat-owners — CWG Village Allottees’ Welfare Association — have filed a petition, calling for judicial orders to the agencies to sort out all impending issues and hand the flats over to them after carrying out repairs. The petition also sought a direction to the DDA to grant a completion certificate at the earliest and hand over possession to the members within a specified time-frame at no extra cost. On Friday, the court admitted the petition and issued notices to the DDA, Emaar, Lieutenant Governor and the ministries of Urban Development and Sports...

Business Line : Features / Investment World : Land row aftershocks hit Noida Extension Once a bustling hub for property business, the road to Noida Extension now wears a deserted look. With the mercury soaring in Delhi NCR, one would rather stay indoors than brave the heat to go house hunting. But this summer, the sales agents of housing projects along this dusty stretch have an additional challenge to deal with – the very feasibility of the projects. It is now almost 20 days since the Allahabad High Court struck down acquisition of over 150 hectares of land in Chak-Sahberi village at Greater Noida (dubbed Noida Extension by builders). For the large cluster of housing projects in this area, there seems to be no end to the uncertainty looming over the fate of these projects. If anything, worry lines have deepened with each passing day. BOOKINGS PLUNGE Over the past weeks, bookings in the market have fallen 30-40 per cent, says Mr Anuj Choudhary, Director of Panchsheel Buildtech. Indust...

RBI asks banks to reimburse failed ATM transactions in 7 days - Hindustan Times Beginning July 1, if your bank fails to reimburse you for an amount debited wrongfully from your account in case of failed ATM transactions within 7 days of your complaint, you will not only get your money but a compensation at the rate of Rs 100 per day from the bank. The Reserve Bank of India on Friday directed banks to reduce the reimbursement period, for amounts wrongfully debited from their accounts in failed ATM transactions, to seven days as against 12 days earlier. "The time limit for resolution of customer complaints by the issuing banks shall stand reduced from 12 working days to seven working days from the date of receipt of customer complaint," said the RBI in a notification. "Failure to re-credit the amount within seven working days will require the issuing bank to pay a compensation of Rs 100 per day." However the customers will be required to lodge their complaint with the...

National Real Estate Development Council REAL ESTATE - Keep an eye on auctions for better deals Did you know there is a way to get a property in a prime location at discounts of up to 15-20%? You'll have to work harder to get it but the deals are out there. Ev- ery once in a while, property auctions are conducted by banks and courts to recover money from defaulting owners of properties. Such distress sales announcements, inviting bidders, are made regularly through notices in newspapers. Says B.N.S. Ratnakar, gen- eral manager, Central Bank of India, “Each bank has its own properties that are put on auc- tion. Chances are that people get discounted prices.“ But where do you find such properties and what is the buy- ing process? Here's all you need to know about such deals. Which properties Usually, these are distress properties that are sold at a price lower than the actual market price. Apart from factors re- lated to location and title disputes, a property becomes distress...