MMRDA PLANS HOUSING PROJECTS WITH BUS SERVICES:Hindustan Times

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Re gion Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to construct affordable houses using relatively cheap land at some distance from railway stations. To offset the disadvantages of such locations - which could be about 10km from the stations - the MMRDA plans to have dedicated bus services connecting the housing projects with the stations. MMRDA is open to building these projects in various areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

UPS Madan, MMRDA commissioner, s aid, “We will study how the housing scheme remains affordable if it is constructed en bloc in interior areas, about 10 km away from the railway stations, where the cost of land is relatively low. In order to make it attractive, the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) can be provided to link it with railway stations, which will reduce travel time to a few minutes,” he said.

He said, “The plan has been formulated after considering various factors such as area and construction cost in relation to land cost, various income groups and affordability.”

If MMRDA finds that the plan is feasible, it may rope in other government agencies to construct the projects jointly.

The MMRDA’s plan is distinct from the state government’s plan to build 11 lakh homes in MMR by 2022 as per its draft housing policy released earlier this year.

The proposal to have housing projects with BRTS was put up by architect Shirish Patel on Monday, during a meeting of the Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA).

The UMMTA is a government body tasked with bringing about coordination between various agencies involved in the planning and implementation of urban transport projects, besides integrated management of mass transport systems in t he Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

STRATOSPHERIC PRICES FOR PRIVATE RESIDENCES - Super Rich's Appetite for Iconic Homes Grows In Time of Slump:The Economic Times

Experts believe aspirational value and exclusivity of iconic properties drive big-ticket deals

India's super rich are spotting an opportunity in an otherwise sluggish property market, and leveraging on it to buy luxury pads for themselves.

In the past one week, two large South Mumbai bungalow deals have been clinched by the biggest names of the corporate world, while at least one more iconic property , Hindustan Unilever's guest house Alhambra on Carmichael Road, is generating good interest.

Last week, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla emerged as the highest bidder for the sea-facing, 30,000-sq-ft, Jatia House in Malabar Hill. The Aditya Birla Group chairman is paying Rs 425 crore for the property, making it the most expensive bungalow deal ever in India, surpassing the 2012, Rs 400 crore, Maheshwari House transaction.

In the latest, Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of Poonawalla Group, is buying US consulate's Lincoln House at Breach Candy for Rs 750 crore. The property, spread over 2.06 acres, is much larger than Jatia House. Last year, the Godrej family acquired Mehrangir, the house of Homi Bhabha, father of India's nuclear programme, in Ma Rs 372 crore.labar Hill for ` Birla, Poonawalla, Godrej and others paying stratospheric prices for these iconic properties are buying them for private use, and market experts expect some more deals like these, as the appetite seems to be growing for such private resi dences for which money isn't a limiting factor.

“These deals may not be an indication of prevailing market rate, as drivers for such transactions are not technical and commercial valuations,“ said Shashank Jain, partner -transaction services at PwC India.

“Given the large size of such deals, primarily for personal use, not everyone is in race to buy and money is not a constraint for the ones who are in fray,“ Jain said. He expects a few more such properties coming out in the market.

The aspirational value of these homes is often driven by their exclusivity and iconic status.

“In the first place, the supply for such assets is extremely restricted -they are in a class of their own, with no comparable options,“ said Anuj Puri, chairman and country head at property consultant JLL India. “Secondly, the sentiment and purchasing power of the buyers of such properties is not governed by economic considerations like interest rates and stock market performance.“

There are only a few locations that boast of neighbourhoods where super rich industrialists are keen to reside.

In South Mumbai, Carmichael Road, Altamount Road, Nepean Sea Road and Malabar Hill are among the most sought-after addresses. In New Delhi, Lutyens' Delhi, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road (until recently Aurangzeb Road), Amrita Shergill Marg and Prithviraj Road are known for the prominent and influential personalities residing there. A number of these wealthy and influential names are keen to get bigger spaces as their children grow up, while new entrants are also ready to pay a premium.

In New Delhi, too, deals for bungalows are continuing irrespective of ongoing market conditions. Early this year, Subhash Chandra-promoted Essel Group bought a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi for `. 304 crore.More recently, a leading exporter paid `. 173 crore for a bungalow on Prithviraj Road.

“They (buyers) represent the highly capitalised creamy layer, and are at all times willing and able to close the deal when such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come by ,“ said Puri.

According to a broker, who is currently scouting for bungalows in South Mumbai for two prominent businessmen, most buyers in this category also review the property's development potential like any real estate developer does.However, their decision is not solely based on this factor.

7-storey passenger terminal for catamarans to Mandwa:The Times of India

A multistorey terminal with restaurants, shops and conference centres is being planned at Ferry Wharf for roll onroll off (ro-ro) services to Mandwa and Nerul.

“Ferry Wharf will have an iconic terminus building that will have recreational facilities and will become a tourist attraction,“ said Gautam Dey , business development officer, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).

Under the Rs 153-crore project, a catamaran service will be started between Ferry Wharf and Mandwa, and Nerul. Each catamaran will be able to accommodate 40-50 cars, along with 300 passengers.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between MbPT and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB). Facilities at Mandwa will be set up by the MMB.At Nerul, a marina will be built by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco).

Ferry wharf has been plagued by the stink of fish, but port officials are confident of finding a solution by the time the project is ready in two years.

The catamarans will have a speed of 29 knots and will be run by the MMB through an operator.

The MbPT has planned a 530-metre elevated road from near P D'Mello Road (along Mujawar Pakhadi Road in the dock area) to Ferry Wharf to ensure faster entry to the terminus.

A marshalling yard will be built alongside the terminus building, where up to 120 cars and 80 buses can be parked at a time.

The Maharahstra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) was earlier entrusted with the task of executing the project. But now, MMB is the implementing agency for the project.

A state government official said, “The existing rail and road corridors in Mum bai have become highly congested. Traffic levels have reached saturation and the city requires immediate measures to augment the capaci ty of its transport system. A passenger water transport facility is envisaged to go a long way in relieving pressure off an otherwise over loaded commuting system.“

Dey said, “We are planning lot of seaside development in the port area to make it a happening place.“

Western coastal road: Another builders’ dream project:Hindustan Times

THE WCR WILL DEEPEN THE DIVIDE BETWEEN THE PROSPEROUS WESTERN EDGE AND THE REST OF THE CITY

MUMBAI: Like many another costly project in Mumbai of dubious value, the Western Coastal Road (WCR) is yet another project that will have massive costs and yet do virtually nothing for Mumbai’s citizens — except, in this case, the tiny handful that travel only by car. Sadly, our citizens are either too docile (the poor) or too complicit (the rich) to question the government’s choices.

Every infrastructure project in the city should be looked at keeping the following in mind:

(a) Its long-term impact on the development of the city

(b) The numbers of people who benefit from it

(c) The income class of the people who benefit

(d) Its priority in the list of city projects

(e) Its cost and how it can be funded

In approving the WCR, the Government of Maharashtra seems to have overlooked each of these considerations. In regard to long-term impact, the WCR will further deepen the divide between the prosperous western edge and the rest of the city. The western edge already has real estate prices that are among the highest in the world. The experience of cities all over the world has been that it is important to keep a balance of different income groups spread throughout the city. Cities that ignored this have suffered. Paris constructed housing for the poor on its perimeter and suffered severe riots. Property prices will inevitably vary across a city, but taking measures that aggravate the difference is bad policy.

Investment attracts investment. Public infrastructure investment inevitably attracts population and further private investment by way of property development. The temptation to build new residential blocks and hotels with a great and unobstructed sea view will be impossible to resist. And let us not delude ourselves, the accommodation in these new Marine Drives will naturally be at the highest possible prices. Of course the scheme as presented today shows extensive green areas, both between the road and the existing edge of the land and at the places where new offshore geometric intersections are laid out to connect with feeder roads. Such green areas will not remain green for very long. One does not need to look beyond what has happened to the already minimal green areas in the city to know what the fate of these new green areas will be.

The WCR is planned as two lanes each way. So it is really meant for cars only. Whether you say so or not, that is the way it will be. The reality of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is that buses are not allowed on it. So it will be with the WCR. Let us not forget that the new road will be on the extreme western edge of Mumbai. To get anywhere else in Mumbai, you will have to turn off the WCR and enter one of the east-west cross roads, already too narrow and too crowded to cope with more traffic from the WCR. So the WCR will truly serve only those who live along it and have their offices, clubs and restaurants also along the same WCR. This super-wealthy minority will then be able to zip up and down the WCR, from home to office to restaurant to office to gym to club and home again, all without touching the rest of the city.

Incidentally, there cannot be bus stops along the route of the WCR, because where will the bus travellers go from the bus stop? The only users of such bus stops would be servants in the high value buildings or hotels alongside.

A recent transport study showed that 52% of all trips in the city are by walking. Of the vehicular trips, 5% are by car. Overall, 2.2% of daily trips in Mumbai are by car. More than half of these are surely along the eastern and central parts of Mumbai. So perhaps less than 1% of daily trips might exploit the benefit of the WCR. So is this massive investment for the exclusive benefit of that tiny handful? Or are there sideshows going on we know nothing about? Including, of course, the promise of future builders’ profits.

Worst of all, the project adds no new land to the city. What the city needs instead is rapid transit projects that extend its transport systems into as yet untouched areas, and that add new land to the city, on which to locate new homes and new jobs. This is the only way we can hope to have affordable housing for the millions who currently live in slums.

To put it plainly, the outstanding merit of the Western Coastal Road seems to be that it is a high value project, and therefore much loved by our political decision makers. It also has the virtue of not opening up more land, thus maintaining land scarcity and its consequent high value, which is a top priority consideration for builders. That it does nothing for 99% of Mumbai’s citizens is neither here nor there — as long as, like so many other projects, people can be fooled into believing it is all for their benefit and no other considerations apply.

( Shirish Patel is a civil engineer, urban planner and founder of Shirish Patel and Associates, a civic engineering company)

Finally, SRA chief agrees to vacate Byculla bungalow

Mumbai: Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) CEO Aseem Gupta has agreed to vacate the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bungalow he occupies in Byculla. Gupta will move out of the sprawling heritage building by the end of this month.

“I have already told the BMC that I will move out by October 1. They are okay with that and I do not want any further extension. This was conveyed to them. The SRA has only recently allotted me a flat and I will move there,” Gupta told dna.

dna had, on Monday, reported how Gupta, an IAS officer of the 1994 batch, faced eviction from the 6,000 sq ft bungalow inside the Byculla zoo.

Gupta and his family had moved in to this bungalow in 2010. As additional municipal commissioner of the BMC, he was entitled to stay there. However, he continued to stay there even after his transfer to Thane as Municipal Commissioner in July 2013 and later as CEO of the SRA in January this year.

The BMC asked Gupta to pay a monthly rent of Rs 1 lakh from November 2013, but he hasn’t paid anything yet. According to market estimates, the rent for a bungalow that size in Byculla would easily be over Rs 5 lakh a month. By BMC calculations, Gupta owes the corporation a total of Rs 20 lakh.

“I requested the BMC to charge me a nominal rent since the SRA did not have any designated accommodation for me. I was sanctioned accommodation through the SRA only in August this year. I wasn’t told about the rent till recently. Once the BMC sends a demand letter, I will pay whatever rent they charge me,” Gupta said.

Gupta had initially sought an extension to stay in the bungalow till March 2014 as his daughter was in the 10th standard. He argued that he should be given an extension so that that his daughter’s studies are not affected.

The BMC replied he can do so, provided he paid rent. However, the BMC went silent on the issue for a year and Gupta continued to live in the bungalow. In February 2015, the civic body again reminded Gupta about the rent and gave him a three-month notice. BMC officials said Gupta had sought another extension, but civic chief Ajoy Mehta was against it.

Don’t get awed by big-ticket realty deals

Gulping down the news of the Rs 750-crore Lincoln House deal with a lump in your throat? There is no need to regret not being able to invest in property and earn big money. Big-ticket deals like the Mehrangir House (Rs 372 crore), Jatia House (Rs 425 crore), Maheshwari House (Rs 400 crore) and the Washington House (Rs 341.82 crore) dotting the Mumbai landscape serve important lessons to the real-estate investors.

The 50,000 square feet Lincoln House at Breach Candy was on the block since 2011. Even after the long wait, the seller had to budge from their expected price by Rs 100 crore. At Rs 341.82 crore, the Washington House was also sold below its reserve price of Rs 350 crore. So, if you are banking on a real estate investment to fulfill a particular goal, you may face hurdles like lack of buyers or long wait, especially during recessionary phases. Though the purchase price of the Lincoln house is not publicly known, we can draw similarities between other deals. The famed Worli flat in the Samudra Mahal, which was sold for Rs 21 crore (Rs 1.18 lakh/sq ft) fetched the seller 13.32% annually when we compare it with his purchase cost of Rs 700 per square foot in 1972.

As per the National Housing Board’s Residex that tracks property rates, a house in Mumbai, which was worth 100 in 2007 would fetch 238 in July-September 2014. This translates to a 13.19%. Compare this with the 10-year return of 17.12% from HDFC Top 200 scheme, which is tax free.

But these aren’t the real returns as other costs need to be factored in. Lincoln house was leased to the US Consulate. The new owner Poonawalla will have to make changes as in its present form, the house served as an office. Other costs such as maintenance fee, property tax, water tax, electricity bills, wear and tear, home loan interest, insurance costs, brokerage, stamp duty and registration fee need to be added to the total cost as well.

Also, don’t forget the taxation implications. Profits should be invested in another house or capital gain bonds to escape tax. Else, the seller would have to bear a 20% tax (if sold after three years of purchase) on the indexed amount (adjusted for inflation) of the gains. Compare this to investments in select other instruments where returns are tax-free if held for 1 year (stocks and equity mutual funds) and 3-15 years (debt mutual funds, PPF, etc.) Also, real-estate prices don’t always move upwads. Between January and March 2013, price in Delhi soared 202, but have been on a decline ever since. Between July and September 2014, the prices were recorded at 189 as per the NHB Residex. Chennai has also been seeing ups and downs regularly. You would also face a mismatch in terms of the money needed and the value of the property to be unlocked as you would have to liquidate the entire house.

Mumbaikars give `split verdict' on coastal road:Mirror

Mumbaikars are divided over the proposed coastal road from Nariman Point to Kandivali, according to the feedback received by the BMC.

Nearly 490 people have formally submitted suggestions and objections over the project, which seeks to speed up travel between south Mumbai and the western suburbs.

BMC officials said that 45 per cent of the respondents support the coastal road, while the rest are opposed to any infrastructure project that damages the environment and threatens to further shrink open public space such as parks. The critics also say the 35-km coastal link will only benefit a section of motorists while doing little to ease Mumbai's traffic problems.

The civic body had formally sought residents' views on the ambitious project and the deadline for submissions ended recently.

BMC officials said that they were surprised by the near split verdict as they usually receive only objections from residents for infrastructure proposals.

“This is a rare instance where a number of people who are in favour of the project have written to us,“ an official said, adding that 217 people had sent suggestions, while 266 people had raised objections.

Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta said that a coastal road was vital to the city's efforts to speed up travel.

“We will study residents' feedback and make every effort to address all concerns,“ he said.

Andheri (W) residents have been opposing the project, saying it will displace the nana-nani park. The fishing community fears the coastal road will make it harder for them to get a good catch. Members of the Koli community have sent 296 complaints to the BMC.

The Union ministry of environment and forest had also expressed concerns about reclamation. Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee had recently said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mehta would address the ministry's concerns.

Apart from writing to the BMC, citizens -for and against the project -are also building consensus online. A petition on charge.org received 1,424 hits in support of the project.

AAI's colour-coded flight path map simplifies building permission norms : Times of India

Builders who wish to construct highrises taller than 50 metres, or above 18 storeys, in certain parts of the suburbs and the island city will have to first get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), as it has reduced the vertical limit of new constructions by 15 to 30 metres. The AAI decision on building height clearance, taken a few months ago, will impact construction work at Malwani, D N Nagar, Versova, Goregaon, Ghatkopar (West) and Mahim.

The decision has not gone down well with the BMC, which cannot give permission for highrises without the AAI's NOC. Civic sources have claimed that after rounds of meetings, the AAI has agreed to “favourably look into the BMC demand to relax the restriction“.

The AAI has restricted building height to ensure a clear path for flights and emergency landing after take-off. Builders must secure an NOC from the AAI before they can start construction. The Airports Authority of India has restricted building height to 50 metres in some areas of the city so that it doesn't hamper the flight path.According to the AAI plan, the cap on new buildings from Jogeshwari station to Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and Eastern Express Highway to LBS Road has been reduced to 50 metres from 65 metres at present. It has put a similar cap for Goregaon (West), D N Nagar, Versova and Mahim Junction, where the earlier limit was 80 metres.

But there is some good news or builders--the AAI has raised the cap in some parts of the city.The height restriction around Chembur monorail station, Kur a, Govandi, Mankhurd, Chunabhatti and GTB has been raised to 50m from 30m. Similar y, the cap at Bandra-Kurla Complex has been raised to 50m from 45m. As for Central Mumbai, where mill lands have given way to concrete blocks, there is scope or skyscrapers to come up.

Based on the flight path and the emergency route, the AAI has prepared a colourcoded map for the city , with five divisions.

If one goes by the colour codes, the south Mumbai, Dadar-Parel and Borivli-Dahisar belts show the highest potential for tall buildings.

AAI officials said the map will simplify the process and control corruption. “The com mon man can also understand the height restriction of buildings in their area after perusing the map,“ said VSP Chinson, general manager aerodromes), western region, AAI.

Once the decision on caps s taken, BMC and AAI will in egrate their software based on the map. This will allow any builder to find out the building height limit of their area online without having to run to an authority for details.

ROSE VALLEY SCAM - Firm Got Rs 10,000 cr from Investors:The Economic Times

The arrest of managing directors of ponzi firm Rose Valley , Shibomoy Datta and Ashok Saha by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has blown the lid Rs 10,000-crore scam with the two of ` confessing that there are 23 hotels and three amusement parks across India worth several crores owned by the Rose valley group.

Datta and Saha are presently in transit remand and are likely to be produced before an Odisha court on September 17. Initial questioning of the two also revealed that the scam is four times bigger than Saradha scam spread across West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. The group was running two major schemes using which they lured investors and then duped them, said officials.

The first scheme was `Ashirwad' where they took money and promised to give a plot of land. The second most popular ond most popular scheme was `holi day membership plan' where the gullible investors are lured by offer ing a holiday plan and then asked to invest in their schemes.

The company is learnt to have opened as many as 21 regional offices 21 regional offices with 880 branches in a short span of 8 years. The group had more than 2.7 lakh active agents and 20 lakh enlisted agents. “Most of these agents were also the victims and have filed a complaint with the police,“ added an official. Datta also said that he joined Rose valley few years back as a manager but was elevated to the position of managing director by Gautam Kundu, chairman and managing director of the firm. Datta, according to sources earlier worked as LIC agent but later joined Pearless group only to later quit and join Rose Valley . He was handling the operation of Rose Valley from Kolkata after the arrest of Kundu by Enforcement Directorate (ED). Saha, a resident of Agartala in Tripura was incharge of operations in Tripura, CBI said.

Lincoln House Sold Rs 100 cr Below Reserve Price to Cyrus Poonawalla:The Economic Times

US consulate property evinced little interest due to lack of scope for redevelopment

Restriction on redevelopment and uncertainty over other approvals have led to the US consulate's South Mumbai property, Lincoln House at Breach Candy, being finally sold about . 100 crore below its initial reserve ` price of ` . 850 crore. The sprawling three-storey house is being sold at about ` . 750 crore to Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of Poonawalla Group that includes biotech company Serum Institute of India.

Poonawalla, a prominent personality in horse racing, confirmed the deal for the house, which is a mere 10-minute drive from the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The 2-acre Grade-III heritage property at Breach Candy has a built-up area of around 50,000 sq ft. “It's a beautiful house, we will use it as our residence,“ Poonawalla told ET.

The Poonawallas will make few changes to the house, which was earlier used as an office by the US consulate. The deal will conclude in a few weeks after completion of certain documentation process.

The property has been in the market since the past five years, but there were no takers, given that there was no redevelopment potential for it. Initially, when the sprawling property that carries grade III heritage tag, was put on the block in 2011, the reserve price . 850 crore.was set at ` While few developers, including Tata Housing Development Company, had evinced interest in the property then, their bids were below the reserve price. Tata Housing was the sole bidder for the property at a reserve price of ` . 850 crore. Recently, Tata Housing Development Company also backed out of the deal, given the development restrictions.

Few developers were also evaluating the property, but they decided not to bid for it in the face of the uncertainty surrounding the heritage tag, approval from the ministry of external affairs and restriction on redevelopment, said two realtors who had planned to bid for the property.

They said that the property was best suited for an end-user as it would not involve complexities that a developer would have faced for redeveloping it.

After the US Consulate shifted into its new premises in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, it had put up two of its South Mumbai properties -Lincoln House and Wash ington House -for sale in June 2011 with a reserve price of ` . 850 crore and ` . 350 crore, respectively.

Of these, Washington House at Altamount Road in South Mumbai was bought by realty developer Lodha Group in 2012 for ` . 341.82 crore, also below the reserve price.

Built in 1933, the palatial house was earlier owned by the Maharaja of Wankaner until 1957, when it was leased to the US consulate. Leading British architect Claude Batley, whose work includes landmarks such as the Bombay Gymkhana, had designed the Lincoln House.

In a sluggish property market, this is the second large bungalow transaction that has taken place in the past week. On September 7, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla emerged as the highest bidder for the sea-facing 30,000-sq-ft bungalow Jatia House in South Mumbai's Malabar Hill locality with a bid of ` . 425 crore.

The Jatia House deal is also expected to be concluded in a month's time. This is the most expensive bungalow deal overtaking Maheshwari House transaction that took place in 2012 . 400 crore.at `