Is the Kolkata Municipal Corporation failing to manage the water crisis?

Water contamination and the serious outbreak of diarrhoea shook the residents of City of Joy. Over 650 people were down with symptoms of the disease and at least 28 people were admitted to Baghajatin State General Hospital.

The affected were from ward numbers 101, 102, 107, 108, 109 and 110 mainly of Baghajatin, Patuli, Jadavpur, Santoshpur and some areas of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. A senior official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) shared the information with PTI.

The water samples from Dhapa water treatment plant and Garden Reach Water Works was shared for analytical tests while water tankers and purifying medicines were distributed in the affected localities and other adjacent areas.

There is still a lack of clarity for such an outbreak, but there have been some speculations around the black marketing of packaged water and open pipes at certain locations. However,  Kolkata Mayor Shovan Chatterjee has totally denied any contamination from KMC and has directly blamed the packaged water supplies for the outbreak.

The authorities immediately raided 15 packaged water suppliers, among which 12 showed bacterial activity. They were also functioning without license and hence immediately sealed by the officials.

The locals are still in paranoia to choose drinkable water after such a major crisis. But the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has assured of no contamination in their water and promised to take strict measures against the illegal packaged water providers.

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JK Cement recognized amongst the most desirable 30 power brands 2018

JK Cement has been awarded the title of India’s ‘Most Desirable 30 Power Brands 2018’ at the prestigious second edition of the Indian Power Brands awards held in Mumbai. The award is a recognition for JK Cement’s effort at building a brand that has a unique heritage and a legacy of excellence and is yet constantly innovating and evolving its brand strategy.

The award was presented by Bollywood superstars Vidya Balan and Moushumi Chatterjee at a star-studded glittering ceremony, organized by the Planman Group and held at Hotel Orchid in Mumbai. The event witnessed several dignitaries and popular names from the film industry as well. Power Brands research is an annual and ongoing national survey process conducted by the Indian Council of Market Research (ICMR).

JK Cement, one of the top ten producers of cement in the Country, has partnered India’s multi-sectoral infrastructure needs on the strength of its product excellence, customer orientation and technology leadership. Brand JK Cement stands for trust, respect and creating value.

Mr. Yadupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Cement said, “It is a matter of immense pride that JK Cement has been conferred with the Power Brand status. This recognition is a fitting testament to our efforts and our continuous commitment to strive for excellence in our domain. We will continue to work towards taking our brand to greater heights.”

Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri, Founder, Daily Indian Media said, “JK Cement has been making its presence felt across the Country and the brand truly deserves the title of Most Desirable 30 Power Brands for its great brand”.

Recently, Mr. Yadupati Singhania was also awarded the Best CEO award at the 5th Business Today MindRush this year held in Mumbai. Under Mr. Singhania’s leadership, JK Cement has recorded various accomplishments, positioning itself as a premier contributor in the Cement Industry and towards nation building.

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NAREDCO hails the overall budget, says it will also provide impetus for housing and real estate sector

India’s premier apex body for real estate sector, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has hailed the overall budget presented by Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley and feels that the Government has continued making announcements that will take the country on the path of growth as across sectors, namely, Agriculture, Food Processing, health insurance industry, textile and the affordable housing. The affordable housing sector which already has received Government of India’s positive reforms shall continue to grow in years to come. Affordable housing shall witness increased growth in across Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Consequent to this, with real estate having forward and backward linkages, supply chain industries – Cement, Steel, Iron, Construction Materials and Transportation, will also witness growth. This will boost economy, create employment and avenue for housing and real estate.

NAREDCO President Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani said, “I think the Budget is an Realistic Budget.  The provisions for Agriculture, especially 11 lakh crores for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Animal Husbandry; 5.97 lakh crores for Infrastructure; National Health Protection Scheme for 10 crore families; 3 lakh crores for Mudra loans; 1 lakh crores for the RISE Scheme; Medical Colleges; 10,000 crores for an affordable housing fund; provision for Education; lower tax rates of 25 % for MSMEs with a turnover upto 250 crores; are all measures which will give a huge boost to the economy and GDP. These will all in turn uplift housing and real estate. “

Mr. Hiranandani further added, “The government has in any case been taking steps for promoting housing, especially affordable housing separately ever since 2014. It is therefore equally possible that steps for promotion of Rental Housing and for removal of distortions in some provisions of the Income Tax Act to allow investment in multiple homes upon sale of an old house can be taken during the discussions on the Budget in the Parliament or during the course of the year.”

“We would like to compliment the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley for announcing an overall good budget for the country.  The budget announcements are leaps to the future for agriculture, health, infrastructure, rural and MSME sectors.  These announcements shall prove to be the drivers of economic growth and showcase government’s focus on fiscal prudence and reforms. We are indeed grateful to the Government for considering NAREDCO’s request of lowering GST rate from 18% to 12%, which is effectively 8% now, after considering land abatement at 30 percent. The beneficiaries will be houses built as Affordable Housing; houses under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS); lower-income group (LIG), middle income group-1 (MlG-1) and middle income group-2 (MlG-2) under the Housing for All (Urban) Mission or Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).” Mr. Hiranandani added.

Mr. Hiranandani further said, “The Finance Minister’s announcement of a dedicated affordable housing fund (AHF) in National Housing Bank, funded from priority sector lending short fall and fully service bonds, authorized by Government of India, is a welcome decision. This will help in achieving the vision of Housing for All by 2022.”

According to NAREDCO Vice-Chairman, Mr. Parveen Jain, “We welcome a comprehensive and well-structured budget announced by Finance Minister. Positive announcements across sectors are contributors towards economic growth and shall boost these sectors, simultaneously, creating opportunities for real estate sector. NAREDCO also welcomes the decision of the Government for amending Section 43 CA of the Income Tax Act, that no adjustment shall be made in respect of transactions in immovable property, where the Circle Rate value does not exceed 5 percent of the consideration. In other words, by allowing it to be valued at up to 5% below circle rates for calculation of stamp duty and capital gains tax.”

NAREDCO top brass had met the finance ministry officials during the process of budget preparations and submitted a memorandum to them regarding the demands of the real estate sector. The major demands included rationalization of GST for real estate, Industry status for the complete real estate sector and streamlining of procedures and procedural hurdles. NAREDCO is hopeful that in near future, the government will fulfill these demands as well.

AN Buildwell customers meet Sh. Manoj Tiwari; Seek justice to more than 1200 aggrieved investors

New Delhi, January 22, 2018: In a hope for a much desired relief for thousands of real estate customers in Delhi NCR, a group of over a 100 members of Federation of Spire Edge Customers Association (FOSECA), a registered association of the customers of Spire Edge project representing more than 1200 customers of AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd., met Bhartiya Janata Party's Delhi President Sh. Manoj Tiwari, Member of Parliament, and updated him of the gravity of the situation.

FOSECA complained to Sh. Manoj Tiwari that the promoters of AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. are constantly misleading the buyers and investors of Spire Edge project. The customers have already filed legal complaints against AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. and its promoters Sunil Gandhi and SK Hooda. The honorable court has referred the case to the Economic Offense Wing (EOW) which is investing the case of fraud and money laundering against AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. and its promoters Sunil Gandhi and SK Hooda.   

Ms. Renuka Kulkarni, Secretary, FOSECA, briefed Sh. Manoj Tiwari about the harassments that the buyers of AN Buildwell has been facing since the launch of the project. Apprising Sh. Tiwari about the entire case, Ms. Renuka Kulkarni explained:

1. The promoters of AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd., Sunil Gandhi and SK Hooda first ensured that the company goes into liquidation to escape from their responsibilities and liabilities. However, Honb'le High Court of Delhi put stay on the liquidation procedure
2. The promoters then tried various means to divert company's funds to other channels so that they can be held with minimal liability.
3. Lastly, when the customers finally gave up and filed official complaints against the company and the promoters, they tried to mislead the customers by diverting the responsibility to company's consultants and other professionals. 

Ms. Renuka Kulkarni further stated that some of their members had even been intimidated by the promoters for speaking up against them, something that they had formally informed the investigating department.

Raising the doubts further, Mr. Vikas Sethi, President, FOSECA, said, "Why the aggrieved buyers are forced to bear the burden of someone else's mistakes. Why the authorities are not taking any action to safeguard buyers' interest. Is it deliberate?"

Sh. Manoj Tiwari was deeply moved by the plight of hapless aged investors and was extremely upset with AN Buildwell and its promoters. He immediately called up the Commissioner of Delhi Police and assured investors that he would personally accompany them to the Police Head Quarters on 23^rd January, 2018. Sh. Manoj Tiwari further assured the complainants that he would not hesitate in asking difficult questions to the Police Department, saying he never believed in ‘Andha Kanoon’.

The Hon’ble Member of Parliament assured the buyers of his assistance and support in all the possible manner. The complainants, comprising investors and customers of AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd.  were greatly motivated by Sh. Tiwari's pro-active approach and thanked him for his intervention.

FOSECA and SWBA, collectively representing more than 1200 customers of AN Buildwell Pvt. Ltd., have already filed a petition for Revival Scheme of the project in the Delhi High Court.

  

Media and the real estate market

When we hear the term “ real estate” what comes to our mind, Property, home or a business. But, there are many facts that should also be stored in our cerebellum.

Why we do not know much about this sector is because we are not in touch with the sources which talk about this industry.

There are very few newspapers, magazines, channels or websites which have real estate as their primary niche. You cannot remember much websites names which deliver you real estate news.

There are some websites which deliver latest real estate news but they are not as much interactive as we need.

Real Estate market has lack of transparency. A platform where people can talk about Indian Real Estate market and they can also get latest real estate news in India can provide people decent information about this industry.

As the share of FDI is increasing for infrastructure development in India, there will be a development evolution for the places connected to metro cities like Delhi. In this case, if a platform delivers news according to the places like real estate news in Delhi can help people too much.

Latest real estate news in Delhi or categories like this can deliver too much too the people and help them in buying property or investing in the real estate industry.

Office space is drawing investment in India

Current government’s continuous efforts to improve trade relations has refined India’s position globally, and has attracted more FDI in the recent past. This liberal regulatory framework has resulted in increased investment into the commercial space and thus making the country a perfect investment destination.

According to the recent CBRE 2017 Asia Pacific Occupier Survey report published in HT, MNCs as well as Asia Pacific-based companies have aggressive expansion plans for India and China over the next three years. In the Asia Pacific region, more than 80% of Indian respondents plan to hire more people in the next three years. This reflects India’s growing economy, steady progress in enacting regulatory reforms and booming outsourcing and ITES sector.

The major sectors represented included banking and finance (32%), technology and telecommunications (14%), insurance (12%) and manufacturing (12%). “Multinationals’ relentless focus on driving down costs has fuelled Asia Pacific’s booming outsourcing sector,” says the survey.

The dominance of IT-ITES is expected to continue for some years. There is a growing positivity among the commercial real estate sector and now buyers are hoping for an all new phase of growth in the coming years. Because of timely execution pf projects by developers like Viridian Red’s WTC Noida, investors are ready to invest in trusted brands. WTC Noida delivered it’s Phase 1 on time and this largely changed the buyer’s opinion towards the market. Commercial assets are believed to provide steady cash flows and hence they attract large number of investments. 

Chandigarh soon to become a part of the commercial business boom

A business can grow manifold if the interests of all concerned parties are appropriately understood and adhered to, with thorough research, inputs, and opinions. When it comes to Chandigarh it would be quite apt to understand that the administration should give a relaxation on certain norms to safeguard the interest of traders when it comes to multiple ownership of site for amalgamation procedures. It will aid the optimum utilization of the concerned commercial site for best use for mutual business growth as not everyone can afford an expensive property single-handedly.

The Chandigarh Building Rules (Urban) 2017 are based on the Haryana pattern to simplify the building bylaws and save time in procuring building-plan approvals. Bylaws are complex in nature at present and they also vary from sector to sector. Regulatory estate office is working on the process to channelize faster approvals. Also, green-building norms are part of the new rule that has been specified by the Union ministry.

Earlier, where the building-branch took approximately 4 to 5 months in approving residential plans underwent overhauling the process and streamlined the steps to close the process in about a month. This helped to clear about 150 applications. The approval of commercial building was put on hold after the concerned estate office had made self-certification mandatory in the month of July this year. The administration had introduced into Chandigarh conversion of land for use of industrial sites into commercial activity/services in Industrial Area phases I and II. It is therefore important to note that amalgamation is not yet allowed in industrial sites, which were converted into commercial.

Taking the example from Viridian and its developing of World Trade Centre (WTC) at Noida can benefit the traders to come under one roof and create a brand new growth trend for multiple business growth stories. Viridian RED leads in timely execution of its properties and thus can be used as an example for many real estate solutions.