Wednesday 8 July 2015

What Is A ‘Smart City’ And How It Will Work?

PM Modi had announced his vision to set up 100 smart cities across the country soon after his government was sworn into power mid last year. Since then a race has been on among cities to land on the list that the ministry of urban development is compiling. The 100 smart cities mission intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure. Dipak Dash explains what these smart cities are and how they will work.

1.What is a 'smart city'?

A city equipped with basic infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment through application of some smart solutions.

2. Basic Infrastructure

Assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens.

3. Smart Solutions

Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system.

4. What's the Next Step?
The next step is identification of the 100 cities and for this a city challenge competition to be conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies is envisaged. The current plan looks to select 20 cities this year followed by 40 each in the next two years.

5. Smart Cities Council India has been Formed

It is part of the US-based Smart Cities Council, which is a consortium of smart city practitioners and experts, with a 100-plus member and advisor organizations operating in over 140 countries.

6. All States will get at least One Smart City

A Special Purpose Vehicle will be created for each city to implement Smart City action plan. The SPV will be signed with the urban local body, state government and the Centre for implementation of the project.

7. How It will Work

After government announces the guidelines, states will be asked to nominate names of cities for a ‘City Challenge Competition’ and the chosen ones will get Central fund of Rs 100 crore each year for 5 years.

8. The Basic Criteria for Selection of a City/Municipal Area

9. Area-based Development

1. Retrofitting 500 acres: Planning in an existing built-up area in a municipal ward, preparing plan with citizen participation (example: Connaught Place in Delhi, Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai).

2. Greenfield 250 acres: Introduce smart solutions in a vacant area using innovative planning (example: land pooling/land reconstitution in Outer Delhi, GIFT city in Gujarat).

3. Redevelopment 50 acres: Replacement of existing built-up area and preparing a new layout plan with enhanced infrastructure by way of mixed land use (example: Kidwai Nagar in Delhi).

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Coorg Heofon – About Project

Welcome to Coorg Heofon, in the quietness and freshness of this popular Coorg resort you will find modern facilities with polite services and a feeling of being welcome.

It is possibly one of the best resorts in India today, offering facilities such as…Restaurant, Children’s park, Conference hall, Coorg Heritage Centre, Spa, Recreation area, Swimming Pool, Outdoor & Indoor Games, rooms and comforts & etc., like you have never experienced before. It is the essence of beauty, serenity and overseas attraction. We provide a refreshing nature for friends, couples, family, or corporate members, Coorg Heofon dedicated to providing exclusive and service-oriented nature to our guests, which never gives you a chance to look back.

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Coorg Heofon is developed over Coorg's cherry-picked 15 acre farmland with vast expanses of Coffee, Oranges, Cardamom, Pepper and many other cash crops. The complete resort exists as an aggregation of  twenty-five fully-furnished individual 2 BHK Cottages, built over the entire spacing. Each cottage has a dedicated half-acre coffee plantation along with the conversion built area.And you can avail all the world-class amenities and entertainment inside the Resort -Restaurant, Children’s park, Conference hall , Coorg Heritage Centre, Spa, Recreation area, Swimming Pool, Indoor Games etc...

Start a new life fully-immersed at the ways of natures, while remaining fully integrated with the modern technology. Whether to take your life closer to nature or an investment with rich-returns, the Coorg Heofon provides you a premier choice.

Resource from : www.99acres.com/microsite/coorg-estates-coorg-heofon-madikeri-coorg/about-project/

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Real Estate Bill and it Benefits the Home Buyers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Tuesday approved changes to a Bill that seeks to regulate the country's property MARKET, notorious for black money and delayed possessions. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013 is aimed to protect the interest of consumers from errant developers and ensure timely execution of projects.
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Here are 10 ways how the Bill will help property buyers:

1) Each state will get a real estate regulator; all housing and commercial projects will have to be compulsorily registered with the regulator so that buyers can have access to genuine projects. The real estate regulator will settle disputes and impose compensation.

2) Promoters will have to disclose layout plans and submit clearances for the project with the regulator. They will also have to name the contractor, architect, structural engineer, etc. associated with the project. This will ensure transparency about property projects.

3) To ensure projects are completed on time, promoters will have to deposit 50 per cent of the amounts realized from buyers in a separate bank account within 15 days.

4) Developers will need the consent of two-third buyers to alter plans, structural designs and specifications of the building.

5) Developers will have the responsibility to rectify structural defects and refund money in cases of default.

6) Brokers, who intend to sell flats and plots in a project, will also have to get registered with the real estate regulator. They will be punished for non-compliance.

7) Buyers can claim refund with interest and compensation if promoters fail to deliver projects in time.

8) If rules are violated, projects will be de-registered and penalties will be imposed on the developer.

9) Builders often demand part payment in cash, making many ordinary buyers party to corruption. The Bill will help curb undeclared "black money" in property markets that costs the government billions of rupees in lost taxable income.

10) To seek redressal of grievances such as delayed possession of flats or sudden alteration in building plans, home buyers can approach consumer courts.

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Building Sustainable Habitats

The two-day sixth GRIHA Summit saw leading professionals from the government, academia, civil society organisations, builders, architects and engineers discussing breakthroughs in the urban and rural habitats. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the national rating system for green buildings in India. Delivering the inaugural address, Dr Rajeev Gowda, member of Parliament in the RajyaSabha, said, “While negotiating with other countries on environment and climate change issues, we emphasise that India is a low-carbon impact society. However, things are changing and adversely. But we can still pre-empt this kind of future. We can distill the knowledge of our ancestors, build a bridge between the ancient wisdom and our cutting edge technology.”

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Amit Kumar, adjunct professor, TERI University and Vice president, GRIHA Council voiced his concerns on the need to introduce certain changes in the construction sector. Sharing the latest achievements of GRIHA he commented that “… we have over 21 million square metres that have been registered for GRIHA certification.”

So far 575 projects have been registered, and it is expected that more than 150 projects will be added this year. DrLeenaSrivastava, acting director-general, TERI, stressed on the rapidly changing environment and the need to involve all stakeholders. “Climate, as we know it, is changing. While we want people to occupy green buildings, and there are more energy service companies stepping in with services required to facilitate this, it is important that the end-users are empowered to make informed decisions and understand that the economics work in their favour. The need for concerted action on enhancing energy efficiency is much higher today, both for global and domestic reasons,” she said.

Monday 9 March 2015

How The Real Estate Business Works?

Real Estate properties are generally bought and sold either through a licensed real estate agent or firm these days. The process actually takes place when an individual is willing to sell the property and he contacts the real estate agency for the same. The buyer, who is interested in purchasing the property as per his affordability contacts the real estate broker firms and get details of the property, its current value and its selling price (inclusive of their commission). This is due to their real estate knowledge and experience and, at least historically, their exclusive access to a database of active properties for sale. 

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Access to this database of property listings provided the most efficient way to search for properties. Believe it or not, understanding how the business of real estate works offline makes it easier to understand online real estate information and strategies.

A buyer really gets lot of help from the internet when it comes to purchasing a residential commercial property as per their choice. Resources derived from the internet convenient for the buyer and seller but when the large volume of information is derived, it becomes hectic to verify its accuracy.

Thursday 5 March 2015

Housing For All By 2022 – How Can the Government Achieve It?

On 16thMay, 2014 when the BJP and particularly the Mr. NarendraModi recorded a historic win, every Indian in the country became hopeful, hopeful of a better India, a better place to live.

Over the months, our government has spoken about many plans, reforms, and much more that they would be coming up with, one of the them being the very popular Housing for all by 2022. It has captured the interest of both homebuyers and real estate developers together.

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But, it will not be an easy task for them. To realize this dream the government will have to lay the foundation for a strong enabling framework. There are several challenges that this policy will face like lack of incentives, an effective policy framework, delay in finances and so much more.

Here are a list of issues and suggestions that the government can focus on to realize the basic dream of a roti kapdaaurmakaan of our countrymen.

  • The tiniest of real estate projects in our country require multiple approvals from different authorities. This increases the complexity of the entire process thereby delaying it which adds up to the cost. There must be a single window from where the developers would get all the approvals to help fasten the entire process.
  • Inadequate access to finances is another of the major concerns of the real estate industry which needs immediate attention. Lack of adequate finance can contribute to unwarranted delays and increase in cost of the project. Granting infrastructure status to housing and real estate development would help tackle this issue.
  • Multiplicity of fees and taxes applicable to the sector is another dampener. As per a KPMG report, Decoding Housing for All by 2022, various taxes and levies on the sector go on to increase the housing cost by almost 30% to 35%. Clarity on inclusion of real estate under the ambit of goods and service tax (GST) regime would help in rationalization of these taxes.
  • Providing tax benefits to both real estate developers as well as homebuyers will help attract both, creating a win win situation for them. Re-introduction of tax benefits under Section 80-IB of the Income Tax Act 1961 (the Act) for affordable housing could play a major role in encouraging low cost housing.
Do let us know your feedback and suggestions to help India realize the dream of Housing for all by 2022.