NEW DELHI: Two months after making the announcement, Delhi government is yet to act on allowing sale and purchase of properties in over 300 unauthorised colonies on private land which were regularised along with 583 other such settlements. While regularising 895 unauthorised colonies, Delhi government had, on September 6, set a time-frame of one month to grant sale and purchase of properties in 312 settlements that came up on private land. Extending the provision will bring relief to lakhs of residents of the colonies as government had put the restriction after issuing provisional regularisation certificates to the colonies in 2008. Lifting the restriction will also mean residents will be able to register properties in their names which may result in escalation of real estate rates in the city. Chairing a meeting of the Task Force on unauthorised colonies, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had on September 26 directed the Urban Development department to provide relief to the ...

The minister said that he had asked his officers in the Urban Development Ministry as to why people could not get the process done on the internet. NEW DELHI: Efforts are on to create a system which would allow the conversion of leasehold properties into freehold over the internet, sparing people the pain of running from pillar to post, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath  said today. "I am trying now, this is another problem which people have is how to change something from leasehold into freehold," Nath said while speaking at a function organised by the  Indian Chamber of Commerce . The minister said that he had asked his officers in the Urban Development Ministry as to why people could not get the process done on the internet. "I asked them why should they come to office, come here go there and all this. It should all happen on the internet and the regulation, if you are following, a lot of people come, no problem but yet they are struggling. Going her...

Indians prefer second-hand property: Study - Economic Times : MUMBAI: While buying a house, majority of the Indians prefer a ready-to-move property than new launches, a recent study has said. "About 74 per cent home buyers across India are negotiating for a ready-to-move property," real estate market news portal Track2Realty's survey titled 'Home Buyer's Satisfaction Index' said. The survey says out of the remaining 26 per cent, who opted for new launches for price discounts, as many as 82 per cent were now repenting their decision, mainly due to delays in the project completion. The survey was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Patna. About 68 per cent of buyers prefer ready-to-move property because they could avail of tax benefits only after getting the possession of the house, it says. "Saving tax on the EMIs is one of the big reasons why eight out of 10 plan their house buying," it poi...

A benevolent law, enabling needy and deserted women, kids and parents to seek maintenance, is often being abused by "greedy" persons for settling personal scores, the Delhi high court has said.  The court made the observation while dwelling upon the provisions of section 125 of Code of  Criminal Procedure which enables women, kids and parents, deserted by their near and dear ones and have no means to sustain themselves, to seek maintenance. "This section is designed to help the needy and not the greedy. It is not meant for settling the personal scores, but it is experienced that it is often being misused and the present case is an instance," Justice ML Mehta said, adding that it was a "benevolent" law and should not be abused by deserted persons having sufficient means to live. The court made the remark in its verdict on a petition by a Delhi-based elderly woman seeking enhancement of maintenance amount from her "retired and ailing" hus...

This is daylight robbery : North, News - India Today : A yet to be tabled Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report has once again blown the lid off the massive loot of public property in the name of development. This case relates to the modernisation of the Delhi airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) joint venture. The incredibly sweet deal that DIAL got, included the provision of nearly 5,000 acres of land for an annual lease rent of R s. 100 for a period of 60 years. As part of the deal, AAI permitted DIAL to utilise 5 per cent of the land for commercial purposes. A consultancy firm has worked out the valuation of the land at R s. 100 per acre which would peg the total current value at R s. 24,000 crore. The CAG has pointed out that of the R s. 12,502 crore capital expenditure, DIAL has contributed 19 per cent, while 54 per cent has come from loans and security deposits, and as much as 27 per cent was generated throug...

Connaught Place on Tuesday got its first automatic multi-level parking that will provide space for 1,408 cars, easing congestion in the business district of the Capital. The parking located at Baba Kharak Singh Marg will charge Rs. 10 per hour per car. To encourage people to actually use the facility, chief minister Sheila Dikshit asked the nodal agency New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to start a shuttle service immediately between the parking lot and the market. "The NDMC should provide free travel services so that commuters do not have to walk all the way to CP," Dikshit said. While cars took longer than the touted three minutes to be retrieved, home minister P Chidambaram said whenever new technology is introduced, there is a period of 'trial and error'.  "We must factor the trial and error aspect of the technologies and be proud of the fact that Indian engineers and companies have designed and implemented the projects," Chidambaram said. ...

Soon, South Delhi residents will have more shopping options. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has proposed to convert four colony markets into shopping malls, complete with showrooms, eateries and parking slots. The corporation has identified four spots — Mehr Chand Market and  Soon, South Delhi residents will have more shopping options. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has proposed to convert four colony markets into shopping malls, complete with showrooms, eateries and parking slots. The corporation has identified four spots — Mehr Chand Market and markets in Vasant Vihar, MB Road and Pushp Vihar — for redevelopment. All the markets are located in posh areas and will meet the requirements of residents who won't have to travel to far areas for shopping, officials said. The proposal was discussed at a meeting presided by commissioner Manish Gupta. Officials said there are 122 shops in South Delhi that are either unoccupied or are in a bad condition...

Landlords are duty-bound to maintain premises rented out to tenants in a good habitable condition as the Delhi Rent Control Act mandates them to do so, a city court has said.  Directing a landlord to carry out the repair work within two weeks, senior Civil Judge Anil Kumar Sisodia said, “Section 44 of the Delhi Rent Control Act casts a duty on the landlord to maintain the tenanted premises in good habitable condition.” North East Delhi resident Waheed Ahmed had moved court, seeking directions to his landlord to carry out the repairs of the tenanted premises comprising a room, a restroom and a balcony. The court, after examining  photographs of the  premises, noticed signs of seepage from the roof during the rainy season as the landlord had broken the roof of an adjacent room. Other photographs showed that the tenanted premises did not have any bolt or locking mechanism. The court asked the landlord to carry out the repairs of the tenanted premises, remove the deb...

New Delhi, May 19 (PTI) Residents of the national capital will now have to keep a provision for developing parking space at ground level for getting sanction of building plans on plots measuring more than 100 square metres. Following a direction from the Lt Governor, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has issued a circular in this regard. According to it, keeping provision of stilt parking (ground level parking) has been made mandatory for residential plots of more than 100 sq metres and up to 1000 sq metres.Without this, the building plans will not be sanctioned. The sizes of the plot will determine the parking space that has to be created. For a plot measuring 100 square metres, two equivalent car spaces will have to be developed. Owners will have to comply and submit an affidavit to this effect, officials said. There is also a proposal to make the owners deposit a specified sum in a bank as a guarantee, to ensure that they do not cover the designated parking space after getting the...

Granting supremacy to the right of residence of women under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, the Delhi High Court has held that a woman can never be charged with trespass if she insists on staying with her husband in a house taken on rent. Coming to the rescue of a woman against whom an FIR for trespass was lodged on the directives of trial courts, Justice Suresh Kait said that prosecuting a woman for attempting to reside with her husband in the same house would defeat the objectives of the law. “In my opinion, the court cannot ask the aggrieved person to vacate the house, although the house may be on rent. She also cannot be directed to vacate the house without due process of law. The second direction of the (trial) court to register a case against the aggrieved person on not vacating the house of her husband is not only bad in law but is also against the mandate of the Act,” he said. Justice Suresh Kait noted that a woman’s right to reside with her husband...

All Ajay Jain wanted was for people to buy his photographs. Though he was an engineer and an MBA and had worked in various industries ranging from IT to media, his passion lay in travel and photography. But he was not able to sell enough of his pictures through exhibitions. So he started a gallery and started marketing it online. Yet, nothing really worked. That’s when the 41-year-old decided to transform the gallery in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village into a café with wi-fi, coffee, tea and cookies. The attraction was that all of it was free. Customers could just put whatever they felt like in a small box kept at the entrance of the tiny hangout with a dozen tables of different sizes and shapes. The box was kept in such a way that no one could see who was putting what in. “I have got everything from a torn Rs 5 note to Rs 500 and dollar and euro bills,” says Jain. The idea worked as more and more people came visiting and brand Kunzum began to gain popularity, both online and offl...

'Rickshaw Bank' concept changes lives of thousands of pullers Amit Shanbaug, ET Bureau   May 2, 2012, 08.01PM IST It was just a ride in a cycle rickshaw that moved an Assam based veterinary surgeon, Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah and got him thinking into setting up the concept of 'Rickshaw Bank'. The concept today has changed the lives of more than 10000 rickshaw pullers in six states in India. Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah (47), the innovator of this concept, explained that majority of the rickshaw pullers drive rented rickshaws as they have no access to banks and end paying the cost of the rickshaw many times over. "Once when I traveling by one such rickshaw in Guwahati, I struck a conversation with the rickshaw puller, who told me that even after 16 years, he did not own his vehicle and hired the rickshaw at a daily rate of Rs 25. After paying the rent, the man was left with barely Rs 50. I was disturbed with the story of the person as with the rent he had paid...

Realty tips: Builder floors good option for independent living - Business Today : Skyscrapers inspire awe and make their creators and occupants proud. But not everyone wants to live in tall buildings. On the other hand, independent villas are expensive. Builder floors offer a middle path. Owners can use the builder floor concept to expand or renovate their houses as well as unlock a part of the capital value of their properties. LIFESTYLE MATTERS A builder floor apartment is a residential unit in a low-rise independent building that has a few other flats. The number of floors is generally two-four. Such a floor can be  developed by the builder  on its own or in collaboration with the land owner. It is a section of a villa. Buying a builder floor, say experts, is a lifestyle decision.  SPECIAL :   How to win a good property deal   "There is an aspirational aspect to builder floors. There are people who want independent living space and do no...

‘Public service work no ground for non revision of rent` : New Delhi: One cannot be denied rent hike of one’s' premises, hired by the government, on the ground that the same is being used for a public service, a Delhi court has ruled, while asking the postal department to pay Rs 7 lakh as damages to a woman for refusing to revise the rent. Additional District Judge Man Mohan Sharma gave the ruling on a civil suit by one Kanta Devi, a Delhi resident against the postal department seeking recovery of rent at hiked rates. The postal department had opposed her plea saying it had hired the premises for providing public services and not for any profit making enterprise. It said "the public would be deprived of the utility services if the suit is of the plaintiff is decreed".  The court, however, rejected the postal department's plea saying there was no law that provides for differential treatment for those providing public utility service. "If defendants (po...

दिल्ली में हर दसवां मकान खाली - Indian Real Estate Forum - www.indianrealestateforum.com : दिल्ली में हर दसवां मकान खाली एक रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक दिल्ली में 11 लाख 30 हजार आवासों की कमी है, लेकिन जनगणना निदेशालय का आंकड़ा कुछ और कह रहा है। वर्ष 2011 के आंकड़ों के मुताबिक दिल्ली में हर दसवां भवन खाली है। आंकड़ों से पता चलता है कि करीब 1.37 लाख घरों में प्रत्येक में एक ही छत के नीचे तीन या इससे अधिक युगल गुजर-बसर करते हैं। शहर के दो लाख मकानों में एक ही घर में नौ लोग साथ-साथ रहते हैं। दूसरी ओर 59.3 इलाके में ही पाइप सीवरेज की व्यवस्था है। यानी लगभग 40 घरों में सीवरेज की व्यवस्था नहीं है। 10.5 फीसदी घरों में शौचालय की व्यवस्था नहीं है। नौ फीसदी घरों में नहाने की व्यवस्था नहीं है। दिल्ली के लिए सोमवार को जारी जनगणना निदेशालय ने आंकड़ों के मुताबिक शहर में 33,40,538 मकानों में से 25.6 फीसदी में छह से आठ सदस्य एक ही छत के नीचे रहते हैं। छह फीसदी घरों(करीब दो लाख) में नौ लोग रहते हैं। आंकड़ों के मुताबिक 3.7 फीसदी घरों में केवल एक व्यक्ति रहते हैं, जबकि 7.6 फीसदी घरों में दो लोग और 12.8 फी...