Redevelopment dissenters can be kept away from housing society: Bombay HC
In a stern warning to those who keep objecting to redevelopment projects in the city, the Bombay high court slammed one set of such “incessant objectors” and barred them from society membership till final possession of the new flats in Wadala. This is the first such order where the court has directed that, though eligible for rehabilitation, a bunch of 30-odd former occupants from among nearly 250 in a row of chawls on a large tract of land in Wadala, cannot be made members of the cooperative housing society unless the project gets completed and everyone is handed possession of permanent new houses. It suggested that a new rule be formulated to deprive such “incessant objectors” from all benefits, including rehabilitation eligibility.
Victims of unauthorised buildings can claim damages from violators: Madras HC
Victims of unauthorised construction not only have the right to get the illegal construction razed, but they can also claim damages suffered due to such structure, by attaching the violator’s properties, Madras high court has ruled. A division bench of Justice M Venugopal and Justice S Vaidyanathan made the observation while hearing a plea moved by Golden Enclave Owners Association, Anna Nagar, Pammal, Chennai.The petitioner wanted the court to direct the commissioner of Pammal municipality to demolish unauthorised structure in the ground floor of their apartment complex constructed in deviation of the planning permission.
Fear of invoking traders’ ire keeps model tenancy act in limbo
More than three years have passed since the housing and urban affairs ministry came out with the draft model tenancy act to bring relief to thousands of commercial property owners in Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities. But there has not been much progress as traders’ lobby in big cities are in favour of status quo. Housing ministry officials said the proposal is in the works, though the the draft was brought out in 2014 to replace the Rent Control Act of 1948 aimed at addressing the difficulties of landlords and tenants. The proposed outcomes include mutual fixing and revising of rent between the landlord and tenant, unlocking the existing properties which can be rented out and faster adjudication.Currently, majority of the commercial property owners in prime locations get rents fixed way back in 1960s.
Ghaziabad metro project to speed up after budget allocation
The Yogi Aditya Nath government has set aside substantial amounts for the metro project and the regional rapid transport system in Ghaziabad, a move aimed at boosting connectivity in NCR. In the budget tabled in the Assembly on Friday, Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for various metro projects in the state, including the under-construction Dilshad Garden- New Bus Stand corridor in Ghaziabad that has been progressing at a snail’s pace apparently because of delay in release of funds by various stakeholders. A sum of Rs 250 crore has also been allocated for the construction of the Delhi-Ghaziabad- Meerut RRTS corridor, which is being undertaken by the NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC).
PNB can’t sell housing finance stake just yet
Scam-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) will not be able to raise additional funds by selling its entire stake immediately in PNB Housing Finance, with capital-market rules prohibiting the state-run lender from doing so within three years of listing. The housing finance company, which was listed on November 7, 2016, has a market capitalisation of Rs 20,000 crore, and PNB’s 33% holding in the listed subsidiary would fetch the lender Rs 6,700 crore at current market prices. Punjab National Bank cannot sell the entire stake in the listed mortgage company because of the lock-in until November 7, 2019.
Dalmia Bharat consortium leads race for Binani Cement with highest offer
A Dalmia Bharat-Bain Piramal Resurgence Fund consortium leads bids for debt-laden cement maker Binani Cement,
exceeding Aditya Birla-led UltraTech Cement’s offer by a few hundred crore rupees. The consortium has offered to pay more than Rs 6,300 crore for Binani, while UltraTech Cement came a close second with its bid of Rs 6,100 crore, they said. The Dalmia-Bain Piramal offer is a combination of cash and equity with the latter forming a small portion of the total value. However, UltraTech Cement would score higher in the technical and management qualification, experts said.
Judicial officer not appointed, Haryana RERA panel slow to take off
Thirteen days since it became operational from temporary premises, Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (H-
RERA) Gurgaon is yet to start taking action on the over 300 complaints from home buyers it has received so far, because of delay in appointing a judicial officer as ‘registrar’. The rule states a retired judicial officer of rank district judge or additional district judge need to be appointed as RERA registrar, who would be responsible for registering complaints and issuing notices, based on which the H-Rera chairman and members will conduct hearing to address the grievance.Without a registrar, H-RERA is unable to register complaints (currently it is only receiving complaints) or issues notices — the first step in addressing home buyer’s grievances.
Lottery winners in Mumbai pay for MHADA’s laxity
The 182 winners of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (MHADA) lottery in 2015 will have to pay Rs 2 lakh extra for MHADA’s laxity. In 2015, MHADA conducted lottery for 997 homes in Pratiksha Nagar, Mankhurd, and Gavanpada in Mulund and Unnatnagar in Goregaon. Of these, 182 homes were for low income group in Gavanpada. However, as these buildings did not have an occupation certificate (OC) from BMC, the lottery winners were not issued allotment letters. The MHADA has now secured OC for these building. The housing authority proposes to increase flat prices, said a senior MHADA official who did not want to be named.