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...