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Parliamentary panel proposes tougher norms for acquiring land for industrial use

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday proposed tougher norms for acquiring land for industrial use, as it finalised the new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development, in a report due to be tabled in the House on Thursday, proposed a more stringent definition of ‘public purpose’ to ensure that the government does not acquire land for private businesses. According to the report, the government should not acquire any land for infrastructure and projects executed under public-private partnerships.

The committee has argued that the government shouldn’t acquire any land that will be used ‘for profit’. Since the government can acquire land citing ‘public purpose’ under prevailing norms, a tighter definition of this clause is required, the committee has proposed, arguing that all economic development can be explained away as public purpose.

This spells a setback to the industry, which has been lobbying for an expansion of the clause of ‘public purpose’. Industry body CII has said that ‘public purpose’ should “be adequately expanded to empower the state to acquire land not only for infrastructure or defence purposes but also for developing land for potential use by private sector-led industrial, commercial or institutional purposes, creating wealth and employment”.

The panel has suggested that land acquisition for any purpose should be brought under the purview of this legislation, which currently exempts land acquired under 16 Acts listed in the Fourth Schedule from its ambit.

The 16 Acts include the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958; the Atomic Energy Act, 1962; the Cantonments Act, 2006; the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978; the National Highways Act, 1956; the SEZ Act, 2005; the Railways Act, 1989 and the Works of Defence Act, 1903.

The committee has said that any conflicting legislation should be altered to align with its proposed legislation. It has unanimously proposed that the exemption should not be permitted as most of the land acquisition takes place in the mining, power and other infrastructure sectors, and would find exemption under one or the other legislations listed in the Fourth Schedule.

Keeping land acquisition under the 16 Acts out of the purview of the proposed Bill would mean that it would be applicable to just about 5% of land acquisition, the committee has argued. In its deposition to the Standing Committee, the defence ministry made it clear that it did not seek exemption from the provisions of the proposed legislation and that it would undertake all compensatory provisions.

In another decision, the panel suggested the scrapping of the provision allowing the Centre to amend the Act by a notification. Giving the Centre the powers to change the law through executive orders undermines the purpose behind bringing the legislation in Parliament, the members said.

The panel has also proposed modification to the provisions of resettlement and rehabilitation. In case of a private purchase, a rehabilitation and resettlement package is mandatory for purchase of land more than 100 acre in rural areas and 50 acre in urban areas, according to the Bill.

While the committee agreed that a rehabilitation and resettlement package should be mandatory, it has said the states should decide the ceiling beyond which the provision kicks in because sale and purchase of land is a state subject. This will ensure that local circumstances are taken into consideration, besides safeguarding the rights of the states, the committee said.

The committee has also broadened the involvement of grassroots institutions, such as panchayats, municipalities and corporations. The bill makes provisions for tribal and forest areas but none for non-tribal areas.

Given that people’s consent is required, the committee has suggested that the local government representatives should be more involved in the process. This is in line with the Constitution, which empowers local government bodies to take decisions related to economic development

The panel’s recommendations are unlikely to find favour with a section of the government, which has been expressing its reservations about the legislation even in the form approved by the Cabinet. Senior Cabinet members, including agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, have expressed reservations, saying it would impede setting up new industries and new dams.

Indians opt for ready-to-move in property

IF YOU are planning to invest in a new housing project, think again.

Fear of buying an under-construction property is driving most of the Indians toward ready-to-move-in homes. So, saying ‘no’ to a new launch project is the ‘in’ thing, as revealed in a recent survey.

The survey titled ‘Home Buyer’s Satisfaction Index’ by real estate market news portal Track2Realty’s says, “About 74 percent home buyers across India are negotiating for a ready-to-move property.”

The survey says out of the remaining 26 percent, who opted for new launches for price discounts, as many as 82 percent were now repenting their decision, mainly due to delays in project completion.

The survey was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Patna.

Sushil Vats, General Manager, Marketing and Communications, M-Tech Developers Ltd agreed that this is the trend seen in majority of home-buyers in most of the cities in the country. “By and large home-buyers try to go for ready-to-move in property as compared to new property launches. The project delays has become a trend and people want to save themselves from that trauma. Except Gurgoan, a majority of places where new townships and realty projects are coming up, builders delay their projects owing to many reasons,” he informed.

He added that developers need to be more systematic to attract home-buyers along with the government which needs to initiate single-window clearances for realty projects.

The survey further says that about 68 percent of buyers prefer ready-to-move property because they could avail of tax benefits only after getting the possession of the house, it says.

However, Lalit Jain, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India differs saying that ‘ready-to-move in flats come at a premium rate’. The availability of such in the country is currently just 5 percent.

Govt orders vigilance probe against Noida’s ex-officers

LUCKNOW: The state government on Tuesday ordered a vigilance inquiry against former officers of Noida and Greater Noida Authority who were found guilty of having amassed more wealth than their known sources of income.

This is addition to an ongoing inquiry, ordered by the Allahabad High Court, into the financial irregularities in land allotments, tendering and project clearances made by development authorities of Noida and Greater Noida.

Speaking to TOI, IIDC Anil Gupta, said: The heads of both authorities have recommended a vigilance inquiry into the assets of the named officials. In addition, the Income Tax department’s Director General (investigations), SS Bajpayee is in Noida to supervise the investigations personally. Based on his inputs and along with my own assessment, the state government’s report will be ready within a week.”

Income tax department officials, on May 11, carried out searches at the offices and residences of three general managers (GMs) of the Greater Noida Authority and a chief finance officer of the Noida Authority.

These officers are said to be close to some prominent people in the previous BSP government. The income tax department had also raided some establishments of the four builders after allegations of giving undue clearance to projects, land allotment, tenders and payment to builders were levelled against them. Raids were said to have been conducted following complaints of irregularities in projects worth crores of rupees and amassing wealth greater than their known sources of income.

Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had ordered an inquiry into the anomalous allotment of land, among other irregularities, by the Noida and Greater Noida authorities. Though the state government had then turned down a request for a CBI inquiry into the matter, the state government deputed top-level government officials to conduct an inquiry and report the matter. Though principal secretary, health and family welfare, Sanjay Agarwal, was made in-charge of the probe, the final report, along with a concluding statement, is now being compiled by AK Gupta, the current IIDC.

Residential prices fell 9.1 pc in a year: Knight Frank report

Mumbai: While Mumbai’s property market may not have seen any significant price correction, a recent report by property consultants Knight Frank shows that of 23 cities across the world, Mumbai has registered the maximum decrease in prices over the last one year.
According to the report, ‘Prime Global Prices Index’, prices of residential prices in Mumbai have fallen by 9.1 per cent. In comparison, the average price change in Asia-Pacific is only 2.5 per cent while globally it rose by 1.4 per cent.

In a similar report by international property consultants CBRE, the revival of the economy saw developers jacking up their rates by 40-50 per cent, numerous interest rate revisions by the RBI and tighter lending norms towards the end of 2011 led to a substantial supply pile-up in Mumbai resulting in a downward pressure on prices.

“Speculation led to overpricing of projects and an increase in cost of credit led to sluggishness in demand impacting buyer’s decision. Home buyers adopted a cautious approach and deferred purchase decisions and investors were deterred by rising valuations and speculations in key micro-markets,” the report stated.

The report also attributes the stagnancy in the market to low availability of affordable residential projects in the city.

Some of the major projects launched in 2011 include Lodha’s New Cuffe Parade in Wadala and Fiorenza in Goregaon, Rustomjee’s Paramount in Khar, Nish developer’s One Avighna Park in Currey Road, Ackruti city’s Monte Metro in Peddar road.

All these projects are priced at Rs 14,000 to Rs 60,000 per sq ft.

The CBRE report also states that sales of residential plots may get a boost following the RBI’s decision to reduce repo rates in the first quarter of 2012-13.

As a rsult, lending rates of banks are expected to decrease, leading to more home buyers. Also the drop in transaction volumes might lead to lowering of prices over the next few months, which would in turn increase the demand for housing in Mumbai.

It said, “Prices are expected to remain stagnant for the next few months. An upturn in transaction may lead to an appreciation in capital values by the second half of the year.”

Stamp duty on property deals can rise’

New Delhi: The state can fix higher stamp duty on property transactions done through power of attorney vested in an outsider, as against such power executed through one’s blood relatives like father, mother and wife, the Supreme Court has ruled.

A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale said such classification cannot be termed as unconstitutional as the government can adopt differential stamp duties to check evasion and sale transactions resorted through and for extraneous considerations.

The bench upheld an appeal filed by the Madhya Pradesh government challenging the state high court’s decision to quash Clause(d), Article 45 of Schedule 1-A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 which was brought in by the Indian Stamp (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2002 Act) as unconstitutional being violative of Article 14 (equality clause) of the Constitution of India.

The said legislation had sought to impose a Rs 2 per stamp duty on the property’s market rate on any power of attorney executed through an outsider, instead of blood relatives like father, mother, wife, sons, daughters and brothers.

The idea according to the state was to prevent evasion of tax by sellers which was causing huge loss to the exchequer.

But on the basis of a petition filed by certain individuals, the high court quashed the provision as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

“By creating two categories, namely, an agent who is a blood relation, i.e. father, mother, wife or husband, son or daughter, brother or sister and an agent other than the kith and kin, without consideration, the Legislature has sought to curb inappropriate mode of transfer of immovable properties,” Justice Lodha writing the judgement said.

The apex court said the statute enacted by Parliament or a state legislature cannot be declared unconstitutional lightly.

“The court must be able to hold beyond any iota of doubt that the violation of the constitutional provisions was so glaring that the legislative provision under challenge cannot stand.

“Sans flagrant violation of the constitutional provisions, the law made by Parliament or a State Legislature is not declared bad,” Justice Lodha said.

The apex court cited the Constitution Bench ruling in the R K Garg (1981) case that laws relating to economic activities should be viewed with greater latitude than laws touching civil rights such as freedom of speech and religion.

The bench said while dealing with constitutional validity of a taxation law enacted by Parliament or State Legislature, the court must have regard to the following principles – there is always presumption in favour of constitutionality of a law made by Parliament or a State Legislature.

Secondly, no enactment can be struck down by just saying that it is arbitrary or unreasonable or irrational but some constitutional infirmity has to be found.

The court is also not concerned with the wisdom or unwisdom, the justice or injustice of the law as the Parliament and state legislatures are supposed to be alive to the needs of the people whom they represent and they are the best judge of the community by whose suffrage they come into existence.

Fourthly hardship is not relevant in pronouncing on the constitutional validity of a fiscal statute or economic law and fifthly in the field of taxation, the legislature enjoys greater latitude for classification.

“By making a provision like this, the state government has sought to collect stamp duty on such indirect and inappropriate mode of transfer by providing that power of attorney given to a person other than kith or kin, without consideration, authorising such person to sell immovable property situated in Madhya Pradesh will attract stamp duty at two per cent on the market value of the property which is subject matter of power of attorney,” the bench said.

The apex court said that by bringing in the law, the Madhya Pradesh State Legislature has sought to levy stamp duty “on such ostensible document, the real intention of which is the transfer of immovable property.”

Hence it said, “The classification, thus, cannot be said to be without any rationale. It has a direct nexus to the object of the 1899 Act. The conclusion of the high court, therefore, that the impugned provision is arbitrary, unreasonable and irrational is unsustainable.”

Land row: Noida, Gr Noida to move SC

Noida and Greater Noida Authority officials Tuesday said they would approach the Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected their demand to nullify its direction to give 10 per cent developed plots to those farmers whose land had been acquired. The Allahabad High Court had directed the two bodies to give develop 10 per cent of the farmers’ plots on October 21. The court told the two bodies that it could not hear an appeal on its own decision.

Officials of the Noida and Greater Noida Authority said they would appeal against the order in the Supreme Court as there were serious problems connected to the handing over of developed plots, including a huge financial burden. Officials added that the two authorities have different problems connected with the developed plots. While the Noida Authority has limited land available to give to the affected farmers, the Greater Noida Authority is short on finances.

Weary flat owners have sought intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office. “The last time after the Allahabad High Court judgment in October, we had hoped construction would begin soon, but that never happened. Now that the matter is going to the Supreme Court, we are afraid there will be problems again like last year. We have written to the PMO to set up fast track courts for all legal cases pertaining to land in Noida,” said Devender Kumar, president, Noida Extension Flat Owners and Members Association.

On Monday, farmers from the villages of Patwari and Badauli Bangar said they would approach the SC after their plea against the order which allowed authorities to acquire land from their villages in lieu of added compensation was rejected by the Allahabad High Court.

Rama Raman, CEO of the Greater Noida Authority, said, “In terms of land available, there is no problem with identifying and handing it over to farmers. The problem is the huge financial burden. Therefore, we will appeal to the SC after its summer break ends.”

However, Noida Authority officials said limited land was available to hand over to farmers. “Of 54 villages which come under the Noida Authority, we have been able to identify land for only about 20 villages. For the rest, we have drawn blanks.”

‘Wave Mega City Center project violating plan’

NOIDA: The Noida Authority has issued a notice to one of the city’s biggest commercial projects, Wave Mega City Center, and asked to explain why the company has dug deep at their construction site located in Sectors 25A and 32. The company has also been asked to explain why the activity was being conducted without the required layout and building plan permissions.

Coming down heavily on the organization, the Authority has also asked for an explanation as to why the dug up earth was being collected at the construction site. The Authority has alleged that the huge mounds of dug-up earth was causing a great inconvenience to the public, besides causing respiratory problems to people in the vicinity. “We issued a notice to the company on Monday for an explanation,” said a senior Authority official. The notice has also directed the company to close down earth digging with immediate effect.

दिल्ली की तरह ऑनलाइन पास होगा नक्शा!

नगर निगम एरिया में रहने वाले लोगों को आने वाले कुछ महीनों में बिल्डिंग का नक्शा पास कराने के लिए बार-बार निगम कार्यालय का चक्कर नहीं लगाना पड़ेगा। लोगों की सहूलियत के लिए निगम ने दिल्ली नगर निगम की तर्ज पर बिल्डिंग प्लान का नक्शा ऑनलाइन जारी करने का फैसला किया है। इस काम के लिए सरकारी आईटी एजेंसी हारट्रॉन के अधिकारियों को इसके लिए सॉफ्टवेयर तैयार करने के लिए पत्र लिखा गया है।

क्या है प्रस्ताव

निगम कमिश्नर सुधीर राजपाल के मुताबिक, उन्हें शिकायत मिली है कि कड़ाई के बाद भी बिल्डिंग प्लान जारी करने में सिटिजन चार्टर का पालन नहीं किया जा रहा है। उनका कहना है सिटिजन चार्टर के मुताबिक, बिल्डिंग प्लान का नक्शा आवेदन की तारीख से अधिकतम 25 दिनों में जारी कर दिया जाना चाहिए लेकिन कई मामलों में बिल्डिंग प्लान का नक्शा 2 या 3 महीनों से पेंडिंग है। इससे लोग परेशानी हैं। उनका कहना है कि लोगों की यह भी शिकायत है कि बिल्डिंग प्लान नक्शा जारी करने में बिल्डिंग व प्लानिंग ब्रांच के अधिकारी पारदर्शिता नहीं बरत रहे हैं। बिल्डिंग प्लान का नक्शा जारी करने में धांधली को रोकने के लिए ही इसे ऑनलाइन जारी करने का प्लान बनाया गया है। प्लान के मुताबिक, सरकारी आईटी एजेंसी हारट्रॉन के अधिकारियों को पत्र लिखा गया है कि वे इसके लिए वह एक सॉफ्टवेयर तैयार करें। इस सॉफ्टवेयर को निगम की मौजूदा वेबसाइट (www.mcg.gov.in) से जोड़ा जाएगा।

ऐसे कर सकते हैं ऑनलाइन आवेदन

निगम कमिश्नर का कहना है कि अगर हारट्रॉन उनके कहे अनुसार, सॉफ्टवेयर तैयार करता है, तो आने वाले कुछ महीनों में निगम क्षेत्र के लगभग 7 लाख लोग ऑनलाइन बिल्डिंग प्लान के लिए आवेदन कर सकते हैं। ऑनलाइन आवेदन करने वाले लोगों के आवेदन बिल्डिंग प्लान विंग के अधिकारियों को उसी दिन फॉरवर्ड कर दिए जाएंगे। उनका कहना है कि ऑनलाइन आने वाले आवेदनों की जांच का प्रबंध भी ऑनलाइन ही किया जाएगा। नक्शे की जांच भी ऑनलाइन की जाएगी, इसके लिए वेबपोर्टल पर ऑटो-कैड सॉफ्टवेयर जोड़ा जाएगा, जो ऑटोमैटिक तरीके से जमा किया गए नक्शे को रीड कर सकेगा।

मौजूदा समय में ऐसे होता है नक्शा पास

वर्तमान में बिल्डिंग प्लान के नक्शे के लिए मैनुअल तरीके से आवेदन किया जाता है। नक्शे के लिए आवेदन करने वाले आवेदनकर्ता को पूरे डॉक्युमेंट के साथ नागरिक सुविधा केंद्र में किसी रजिस्टर्ड आर्किटेक्ट द्वारा तैयार बिल्डिंग प्लान नक्शा जमा कराना पड़ता है। नागरिक सुविधा केंद्र से आवेदन को उसी दिन संबंधित विंग के अधिकारियों के पास भेजा जाता है , लेकिन नक्शे की सत्यापन व साइट के सत्यापन में इतना अधिक समय लग जाता है कि वक्त पर नक्शा जारी नहीं हो पता। साइट वेरिफिकेशन ठीक होने व नक्शे में किसी तरह की त्रुटि न होने पर आवेदनकर्ता को 25 दिनों में बिल्डिंग प्लान का नक्शा जारी कर दिया जाता है।

Delhi Metro plan to set up ‘shopping corridor’

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s Phase III expansions plans are sure to please many more residents of the city. First it was the ‘heritage corridor’ for heritage enthusiasts, now plans to connect four of South Delhi’s prominent markets will surely prove a boon for shopaholics.

By 2016, four major markets — Sarojini Nagar, INA, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar — will have dedicated underground metro stations connecting them. This chain of four consecutive metro stations will come up on the arterial Ring Road and it is estimated that two lakh more passengers will use these stations primarily to reach these markets that specialise in selling clothes, shoes and other accessories.

After construction of this new line — Mukundpur to Yamuna Vihar — shoppers will be able to reach places such as Dilli Haat and Ansal Plaza from far flung areas of East and North Delhi. The expected ridership in 2016 will be 15,000 in Sarojini Nagar, over 1,29,000 in INA, over 8,000 at South Extension and over 54,000 at Lajpat Nagar.

Of these, the stations at INA and Lajpat Nagar will also be converted into interchange stations to further boost connectivity to these commercial hubs. With inter-station distances ranging from less than a kilometre to about one and a half kilometre, the Delhi Metro claims it will also provide a great impetus to business improvements in the area.

Since shoppers at Sarojini Nagar and South Extension markets have had to rely on buses and auto-rickshaws to get to their destinations, the metro stations that will come up very close to the markets (within 50 metres) will make the transportation easier. Though these locations are well connected by buses, parking of private vehicles has always proved to be a major constraint for shoppers.

The shopping hubs will now be directly accessible from areas such as Mayur Vihar, Trilokpuri (East Delhi), Ashram, Sriniwaspuri (South Delhi), Azadpur, Shalimar Bagh, Netaji Subhash Place (North Delhi), Punjabi Bagh, Rajouri Garden, Mayapuri (West Delhi). From Gurgaon also shoppers will be able to reach just by changing at INA, from Faridabad the commuters will be able to come directly to Lajpat Nagar and from Ghaziabad and Noida, shoppers will be able to reach Lajpat Nagar just by changing trains at Kalkaji Mandir.

Private equity investors in a fix as returns sag

Indranil Gupta, 34, working with a multinational electronics firm and a US resident who had invested in an Indian private equity (PE) fund five years ago, has seen his returns fall by 30%.

“When this fund approached me they made a pitch around the India growth story and promised annual returns of at least 20%. Baring the first year, the returns were never up to the mark, and in the first quarter it has dipped by 30% compared to last year,” said Gupta.

Industry experts say PE funds in India have witnessed a fall in the cash they return to investors, specifically in the past one year. While many PE funds have postponed their plans to exit investments due to lower returns other cash rich ones are treading cautiously and avoiding investing anywhere.

PE funds under the Indian law are not required to make their annual return figures public. While at least three PE players HT talked, who refused to get quoted, avow that many PE funds have not been able to give promised returns to investors but claimed, “our fund is doing better than other funds”.

A senior executive with an international PE fund said, “I cannot say that we are insulated from what is happening globally and in India but returns here (in India) are better. Margins are under pressure at portfolio companies due to rising costs (and) also many portfolio companies cannot be listed currently affecting our exit strategy.”

“The worst affected are the real estate funds that had invested at the peak of 2007, as the valuations have dropped and exits difficult,” an analyst said.