Expect new property tax bill in next 15 days Citizens Will Get 21 Days To Raise Objections

Mumbai: Your property tax bills, calculated on the basis of the newly implemented capital value-based system, are expected to reach your doorsteps in the next 15 days.      The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has already started sending out the bills along with a special notice, asking citizens to check the tax calculation for their property and report problems, if any, within 21 days of receiving the bill. "We have set up a helpdesk in every ward office," said additional municipal commissioner Rajiv Jalota.      Atotal of 2.7 lakh properties in the city will receive the bill. The last date for payment is March 31. The BMC had roped in a firm to develop a software that will allow citizens to compute their property tax online. While work on the software is already underway, the online system is expected to be up and running in a few months.      A property's capital value is calculated by taking into consideration elements like the building's age, the area in which the property is located, the nature of construction and ready reckoner rates. A property's capital value multiplied by the rate of tax will give you the property tax.      The bills, however, spell bad news for owners of buildings, residential as well as commercial, which have come up after 2010 as they will have to pay property tax arrears from April 2010 in this financial year. For older buildings which have been receiving provisional bills, the final bill will be adjusted to reflect the outstanding or refund amount calculated according to the new system.  THE NEW SYSTEM  Earlier, property tax was computed on the basis of the rent paid by tenants. Rents for old buildings in south Mumbai are frozen at amounts that existed in the 1940s. As the BMC cannot increase this amount, the property tax paid by south Mumbai residents was far less than that paid by those living in the suburbs. The new capital-value based system has been implemented to bring parity in the taxation Under the capital value-based system, the tax payable by the owner of a property is based on the property's current market value. The property tax will now be calculated based on 5 factors —the price of the property, the area it's located in, the age of the building, whether it is a commercial or residential property and the type of construction (concrete, wooden structure etc)

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Mumbai: Developers might legally sell parking spaces

The proposed Maharashtra Housing (Regulation and Development) Bill includes some clauses regarding legalizing the sale of parking spaces. This entails that the total price of the flat shall include price of the limited common areas and facilities while parking space should be shown separately, to be paid by the flat's owner. Such measures will allow builders to legally sell parking spots and also curtail the practice of some people who after purchase of a property in a housing complex, later sell higher value.

 

As per a Supreme Court directive passed in 2010, parking space(s) cannot be sold separately as such space(s) forms part of common areas and facility and are not considered to be individual units. However, the  practice by which builders find a way around this ruling is by including its cost within the sales agreement and then asserting that the parking is free of cost.

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BMC razes over 200 shanties in Bandra

Mumbai: The civic body demolished more than 200 hutments in Bandra Reclamation on Friday. 
    The illegal hutments proliferated within a fortnight, claim activists. 
    Congress legislator Baba Siddiqui claimed he had raised the issue and asked the ward officials to initiate action on December 15. 
    However, BJP MLC Ashish Shelar said he raised the issue in the Council on Tuesday and wrote to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. "Home minister RR Patil said he will use the police to evict and demolish illegal shanties," said Shelar. 
    "The CM has given an order to take immediate action and submit a report. The CM had directed this order to the municipal commissioner and Mhada vicepresident," he added. 
    "It's good that the slums were demolished or else politicians would make arrangements by issuing fake documents to have a sizeable vote bank. Home guards should be deployed at the site to ensure that the squatters don't return," said activist Aftab Siddique.

CRACKDOWN: Politicians are vying to claim credit for the civic action

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Bandra to get two tunnels, another flyover

Mumbai: Expect to save 15-20 minutes if you are a regular traveler via the Kalanagar junction, especially to and from the city's business park, the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). 
    To ensure seamless connectivity to the business hub from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) as well as the airport, and to decongest the busy Kalanagar junction on the Western Express highway, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will float a tender by next month to build two tunnels and a flyover connecting BKC. 
    MMRDA consultants have proposed two tunnels, one from BWSL to BKC and another from BKC to Nandadeep Garden, near the Kherwadi junction, for better connectivity to the airport. A flyover from the Bandra rail overbridge near the BWSL, with two arms, one landing at BKC near Kalanagar and the other heading to Dharavi, has been planned. Expected to cost Rs400 crore, the project will take two years to execute.

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Thane dist to be split into 2 at cost of 500cr

Nagpur/Thane: Thane is set to lose its tag of being the nation's biggest district with diverse demographics and unique landscapes. The government has unveiled plans for a two-way split of the district. A new administrative district, Palghar, will be created. The challenge for the government will be to divide Thane district's 13 regions.      "There is no ambiguity about the bifurcation process. By April-May, the government will make a formal announcement to split the district. The existing distri ct will have jurisdiction over urban areas like Thane city, Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander, Kalyan-Dombivli and Bhiwandi, and also the mofussil pockets of Shahapur and Murbad," a functionary of the ruling Democratic Front told TOI.      The proposed Palghar district would supervise development work in the tribal talukas of Jawahar, Mokhada, Vikramgad, Wada, Talasari and Dahanu.      The move is a well-thought strategy to create new administrative headquarters with a smaller area of operation to facilitate concentration of development and welfare funds. Thane's population diversity leads to clashing fund claims  Mumbai: For the bifurcation of Thane, the government is scheduled to make a budgetary provision of Rs 500 crore in the next fiscal for infrastructure development in the new district of Palghar, a source said.      "Present-day Thane is diverse and difficult to administer, not only because of its size, but also because of its unique mix of populations," an official said.      The Thane region has witnessed a realty boom over the last 10 years as staying in Mumbai has become increasingly unaffordable because of a premium on space in the island city. "Mumbai's neighbouring towns—Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayander—soon caught people's fancy. The subsequent population boom triggered demands for a greater share of development funds to upgrade social infrastructure," an official said.      With more than 70% of Thane district's population living in urban areas and thus cornering a bulk of development funds, the tribal talukas have always complained of neglect. "With no industrial development in the tribal talukas, basic requirements such as water, higher education and employment facilities continue to be scarce. Moreover, an adivasi from Jawahar or a farmer from Dahanu has to travel 100-150 km to reach the district headquarters to sort out even minor revenue- or welfare-related issues. All this will now be over with the government firm on its decision to set up district headquarters at Palghar for the tribal region," the official said.  DIVERSITY FALLOUT  Thane's population diversity is one of the reasons for the impending bifurcation of the district 12% | Tribal  72% | Urban and semi-urban  16% | Rural  The varying priorities of these population groups results in a clash over claims on development funds

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80,000 people/sq km even in plush towers

Mumbai: That Mumbaikars are forced to live cheek-byjowl was re-emphasized when the Census revealed the city packed more than 20,000 persons per square km. The experience of life in aamchi Mumbai might be worse when actual living or working space are 
factored in, pointed out a project undertaken by travelling urban think tank BMW Guggenheim Lab. 
    Shanghai-based architect Neville Mars of the Lab set out to study congestion and found that even plush highrises in Mumbai could have a stacked population index as high as 80,000 people per sq km. Slum pockets could be twice as congested with as many as two lakh people in the same space. The index was computed as a ratio of population density to FSI index of area clusters.'Decongestion of city is critical' Stacked Population Index: Middle-Class Colonies House 40,000 Persons Per Sq Km And Workplaces 30,000 
    The finding that even plush highrises in Mumbai have a stacked population index as high as 80,000 people per sq km has come at a pertinent time, given that the civic corporation is in the process of drawing up a new development plan for Mumbai. 
    Shanghai-based architect Neville Mars, who carried out the study in Mumbai for travelling urban think tank BMW Guggenheim Lab, said the disparity and spatial split of the city could no longer be ignored. Going by his findings, "people have as little as 0.4 square metre per person in certain slums while those in highrises might enjoy as much as 57.5 square metre per person." Mars hoped the index would inform policymakers about the need to factor in the organic growth of slums in urban planning. 
    The index studied different typologies, including residential buildings and slums, industrial clusters, offices and mixed used areas (see box). They mapped the city through Google Earth and sliced neighbourhoods into a matrix of 500 metre by 500 metre, which were then analyzed for their average occupancy. Even middle-class housing colonies showed up a density of 40,000 persons per square kilometre. Workplaces aren't any better off with offices and warehouses showing an SPI of 30,000 persons per square kilometre. 
    Saying the index was a new way of looking at urban dynamics, demographer D P Singh of the Tata Institute of Social 
Sciences said it once again underscored the need to decongest Mumbai. "Both the Census findings or the new index, which looks at population density in formal and informal settlements indicate that decongesting Mumbai is the need of the hour. That is the only way we can assure the mass of our citizens better living conditions in terms of housing, water and sanitation systems." 
    Urban policy and governance expert Amita Bhide said the issue of congestion could be looked at through several dimensions. It could be seeneither in terms of private spaces, which include homes or offices and public spaces such as roads, parks, parking amenities and even burial and cremation grounds. "Somehow, slum redevelopment or luxury construction have brought a lot of attention to congestion in private spaces," said Bhide, pointing out that the city would pay a tremendous price for ignoring its public spaces. 
    "The city's capacity to absorb or accommodate people is being tested to its limits," she said, hitting at the crux of the issue.

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Prime Altamont Road property of US consulate sells for 342 crore

Mumbai: Leading realty company Lodha Developer has finally acquired Washington House, the three-storey residential building owned by the US consulate on Altamont Road, for Rs 341.82 crore. Lodha beat three rival developers including Mahindra Lifespaces and Tata Housing whose bids ranged around Rs 300 crore, which was far below the reserve price of Rs 350 crore fixed by the consulate. 
    Dubbed as the billionaires' lane, Altamont Road is among the 10 costliest addressess in the world and is home to some of the richest Indians, including Mukesh Ambani and several Bollywood stars. 
    Property experts say Lodha's bid, although below the reserve price of Rs 350 crore, is in tune with current sluggish market conditions. "Though the property is located in an upmarket locality, the economic market is not in tune with the ground conditions. The consulate must have therefore, thought it prudent to accept the best price,'' said an expert. 
    The three-storeyed Washington House covers 2,702 square metres, or nearly three-fourth of an acre. It is listed as Grade III property and falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone II. The plot has aroad reservation of about 293 sq mt. 
    Early on Tuesday afternoon, Abhishek Lodha, managing director of Lodha Group, sealed the agreement by handing over the full and final payment of Rs 300 crore to the consulate. The developer had earlier paid Rs 40 crore. 
    The sale agreement was then signed and registered at the Old Customs House, Fort, in the presence of Lodha and Paul C Cox, a senior official and the authorized signatory from the US embassy. Lodha reportedly paid a stamp duty of about Rs 17 crore to get the property transferred in his name. Under the rules, the ministry of external affairs had on May 3 approved the consulate's request to sell the property to Lodha. 
    With a developable space of almost 1.2 lakh sq ft—including unconsumedFSI—Lodha is all set to construct a super-luxury residential tower of 30 floors. Confirming the sale, Abhishek Lodha said the deal was in line with thecompany's growth strategy. "We have already appointed well-known Iranborn German architect Hadi Teherani to design the building. 
    Considering its location —on top of Altamont Road and offering an unparalled view of the Arabian Sea—we are planning to house exclusive apartments of 3,000-4,000 sq ft per floor,'' said Lodha, who is set to launch the project as early as March 2013. Property rates in the immediate vicinity currently range over Rs 70,000 a sq ft. 
    Meanwhile, the US consulate sought time till Wednesday to respond to queries on the deal. 
THE WASHINGTON HOUSE DEAL 
Property | Washington House Location | Altamont Road Owner | US consulatePurchaser | Lodha Developer Area | 2,702 sq m, or 3/4th of an acre Type |Ground plus three-storey Use | Residences of US consulate staff Sale price |341.82 cr 
Reserve price | 350 cr 
Stamp duty | 17 cr 
What next | Lodha plans to construct a 30-storey luxury residential tower on the plot 
Prevailing property prices in the area | Over 75,000 a sq ft LINCOLN HOUSE 
    The American consulate properties have generated considerable interest in Mumbai's real estate circles. It is said that Tata Housing has envisaged keen interest in purchasing another consulate property, Lincoln House, which has been put on the block in Breach Candy. Spread over 2 acres, or 8,345 sq m, the consulate has set a reserve price of Rs 850 crore for the sprawling seafacing property. The consulate has relocated to its new premises in Bandra-Kurla Complex 
    The property has a large piece of open land in its sea-facing backyard, which currently houses a tennis court and a small garden patch. Like Washington House, Lincoln House, too, is a listed Grade III property and falls under CRZ II. The US property sales will have to be cleared by the Union external affairs ministry and state/local authorities SOME OF MUMBAI'S OTHER BIG-TICKET PROPERTY DEALS OF 2012 
    A 3,320-sq-ft, 28th floor flat in Tahnee Heights on Nepeansea Road sells for around 39 crore, at 1.2 lakh a sq ft. Developers Bhimjyanis sell the flat to Jindal Drugs (S K Jindal) 
    A 2,550-sq-ft, 13th floor flat in IL Palazzo, Malabar Hill, is sold by Citibank to a diamond merchant for about 28 crore. The flat goes at between 1.10 lakh and 1.13 lakh a sq ft 
    In a major deal, steel magnate Sajjan Jindal purchases a building and a bungalow spread over an acre on Nepeansea Road for about 500 crore 
    Standard Chartered sells a duplex 3,638-sq-ft flat in Worli's 28-storey Samudra Mahal for 40 crore, at 1.1 lakh a sq ft, to a senior management executive of Citigroup

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‘Scandal-hit’ city falls to new low as realty investment hub

Mumbai: The city's rating as a real estate investment destination has taken a further hit, and a "political scandal" is among the factors being blamed for it. Mumbai has dropped from No. 3 in 2011 to 

No. 20 on a list of 22 investment destinations covered by the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2013, published by the Urban Land Institute and Price WaterhouseCoopers. The report was released on Tuesday. The city was already down at No. 15 in the 2012 report. 
    The study has attributed Mumbai's low ranking to a "recent political scandal" in the state which, it said, had paralysed development over the past year. It does not name the scandal, but it is believed to be referring to Adarsh, in which government officials, politicians and armymen have found themselves in the dock. 
Washington House is Lodha's for 342cr R ealty company Lodha Developer has finally acquired Washington House, the three-storey residential building owned by the US consulate on Altamont Road, for Rs 341.82 crore. P 2 EMERGING TRENDS REPORT 'Jakarta best city for realty investment' 
Mumbai: Not just "political scandal", Mumbai's fall as a real estate investment destination has been attributed to lack of transparency too. A Price WaterhouseCoopers official said transparency was another reason realty investments in Mumbai had come to a standstill when the BMC overhauled building rules to make them more stringent for unscrupulous developers who used to manipulate habitable and non-livable spaces in their buildings. 
    The Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2013 report quotes an investor, who said, "In a way, it has been a blessing in disguise as it has allowed the city to work out its oversupply problem." 
    Property valuations in Mumbai are unlikely to rebound until these issues are fully resolved, the report said. According to it, local developers are more "aggressive, and so, more stressed" because they appear willing to borrow money at expensive rates. "Mumbai is likely to be a good destination for opportunistic capital looking to leverage against developer stress,'' the report stated. 
    It's not jut Mumbai that has seen a dip in its ranking. Delhi has slipped from 5th slot in 2011 to No. 21, while Bangalore has 
tumbled from No. 10 in 2011 to No. 19 because of its "over-reliance" on the sluggish global IT industry. 
    According to the study, the top investment markets for 2013 are Jakarta, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur. Jakarta has been described as a 'surprising' choice, given the city's lack of investment grade stock and its economy which, while growing, lacks the enterprise, scale and infrastructure of its more developed neighbours. However, it said the city was seen by real estate professionals as the most favourable emerging market in the region with business transactions being simpler and more transparent than in other markets like Vietnam. "Demand for property is strong, resulting in year-to-year office rents leaping by 29%," it said. Jakarta had been ranked a lowly 14th in 2011. 
    For the third year, Shanghai is at the number two position. "However, Shanghai is not as appealing to foreigners today as it was earlier. This is partly because markets have become saturated and Chinese regulators are now not as welcoming as they once were," it said. Although sales have dropped in the commercial sector, the city remains firmly on the radar for domestic buyers and many foreign funds with a mandate to invest in Chinese real estate.

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Govt takes back 3,000cr plot from builder

Mumbai: In a first-of-its-kind verdict in the recent past, Mumbai suburban collector Sanjay Deshmukh on Monday revoked the allotment of a 66-acre piece of land near Kanjurmarg station to leading developer Jolly Brothers. The order was cancelled on account of violation of lease conditions. 
    A senior bureaucrat told TOIthat Deshmukh, during the quasi-judicial proceeding, heard the contention of both Jolly Brothers' nominee and the revenue department. He then passed an order that the allotment of the land, reportedly worth Rs 3,000 crore, be cancelled. 'Bungalows on land for guards, workers' 
Mumbai: Suburban collector Sanjay Deshmukh has said builder Jolly Brothers must return a 66-acre plot to the government. The revenue department, during the proceedings, was represented by the tehsildar. 
    The 66 acres were allotted to the developer for industrial use by the revenue department on June 21, 1995. However, when the tehsildar visited the site recently, he saw that Jolly Brothers had not only constructed seven bungalows on a part of the land but had also entered into an agreement with Vijaynagar Enterprises to develop the land for residential purposes. He also found the office of another builder—Ajmera Developers—on the site. 
    Jolly Brothers submitted before the collector that there was no breach of lease conditions and the seven bungalows on the site were constructed to provide accommodation to the workers and security guards. The developer also declared that the agreement with Vijaynagar Enterprises had been terminated long ago. "Development of the land, change of use has been permitted by the government on certain conditions. Since the land is within the coastal regulation zone, there was no question of construction of any building, and as such the company has not violated the lease conditions," it submitted. 
    In his four-page order, Deshmukh observed that in view of a crucial report submitted by the tehsildar, there appeared to be a link between Jolly Brothers and Ajmera Developers since the latter's office was located on the site. "Jolly Brothers has not given any statement on its link with Ajmera Developers. It has failed to utilize the land for the purpose for which it was allotted. Under such circumstances, since there is a breach of lease conditions, I am cancelling the land allotment order, and the land will be restored to the government," Deshmukh said in his order. 
    The senior bureaucrat said the revenue department had asked all collectors across the state to examine if there were violations of lease conditions on land allotted to people. "An intensive survey on revenue lands in the suburbs is complete," said the bureaucrat. "Revenue officials have submitted specific reports on several breaches of lease conditions. Accordingly, action will be taken against the lease holders after following the due process of law."

The Kanjur Marg plot allotted to Jolly Brothers

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CAG pulls up army for giving prime city plot to pvt builder

New Delhi: The CAG has criticized the army and defence estates authoritiesfor letting a private builder usurp their land in Mumbai, with the office of the then minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh also playing a role,by issuing "an irregular NOC''. 

    The case of the 5,166 sq-m land at Kandivli, which was in the possession of Central Ordnance Depot (COD) of Mumbai since1942,isbeing probedby the CBI, as reported by TOI earlier. Faced with land scams like Adarsh, Malad and Kandivli, MoD has been forced to now specify that station military authorities are no longer allowed todirectly issueNOCsto private builders. The latest CAG report said that even after "certain fraudulent activities regarding theland(Kandivli)cametotheir notice, COD did not get the land demarcated in its favour, which facilitated the usurpation of the landfrom the army''. 
    After M/s Neo Pharma Pvt Ltd (Kalpataru Bldrs), began development work on the land in 2007, the COD placed sentries there for protection. "(But) the company lodged a complaint with minister Rao Inderjit Singh,whereby his personalsecretary wrote to the then Army chief's secretariat for 'appropriate action','' theCAGsaid. TNN

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Pali Hill bldg put on block for 800cr

But Local Residents Raise Objections As Sandhu Palace Is Under Litigation

Nauzer K Bharucha TNN 

Mumbai: The controversial Sandhu Palace on Pali Hill, Bandra, touted as the most expensive residential building in the suburbs, is up for sale. 
    Last month, its developer, Sandhu Builders, put the entire building on the block for $147 million, or around Rs 800 crore. But when vigilant residents of the adjoining Chetak Cooperative Housing Society (Manju Mahal) saw the advertisement on an international real estate website, they quickly moved a contempt of court petition against the builder. 
    The society had dragged the builder to court for various violations some months ago. The Bombay high court subsequently ordered a status quo. Sandhu Palace, comprising two 19-storey towers, is the tallest structure on Pali Hill and was among the first buildings to benefit from height regulation relaxations during the tenure of Praful Patel as civil aviation minister. 
    The developer has been quoting more than Rs 60,000 a sq ft, making it the most expensive property in the suburbs. Several large flats were sold to NRIs at more than Rs 35 crore each. 
    The builder said he had spent in excess of Rs 148 crore on the project and sold 19 apartments out of a total of 48. Last week, the Chetak society filed an additional affidavit in the high court after Sandhu's advertisement came to light. It said the builder published the ad on the internet around October 27 and made efforts to dispose of the property, which had been "constructed by violating rules, regulations and applicable laws by making misrepresentationsbefore the concerned authorities". 
    The society said the builder was trying to create third-party rights by selling off the property despite the ongoing court case. The builder, Kanvarjeet Singh Sandhu, hit back, stating that he paid the society Rs 8.10 crore as part of the agreement, but it was sill trying to "coerce and compel" the developer to arrive at a further financial settlement. 
    "The petition has been filed with ulterior dishonest and malafide intent to extort Rs 100 crore from the respondents. Thus, the petition is a gross abuse of process in this court," said Sandhu. 
    Chetak's petition said Sandhu and the BMC colluded to illegally increase the building's floor space index (FSI). The society had allowed the developer to acquire development rights for three of its four plots. However, the builder allegedly usurped the rights of the fourth plot, which was not part of the agreement. This plot measured 1,775 sq m and also included another 725 sq m reserved for a road setback (future expansion). 
    The municipality's commissioner, deputy commissioner, executive engineer and deputy engineer (building proposal department, Bandra) have been made respondents, along with the developer, in the petition. 
    In 2007, Sandhu paid each of the more than 100 members of Chetak Rs 5-15 lakh for giving power-of-attorney to the builder to utilize about three acres of its land. The agreement mentioned three plots, but the society alleged that the builder "illegally" included the fourth plot as well and got them sanctioned by the BMC.

Sandhu Palace, comprising two 19-storey towers, is the tallest structure on Pali Hill

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