NOC must for sale of church land in state

 Times of India July 2, 2012

A letter issued last month by the chief commissionerate of land administration to all district collectors has made it mandatory that, for any church property sale to be registered, a no objection certificate from the collector has to be produced first.

The directive comes as a shot in the arm for those resisting the large-scale sale of church land across the state. The letter was issued by the then CCLA and special chief secretary Minnie Mathew.

It states that the NOC rule has been made binding following several representations to the AP Christian Minorities' Finance Corporation regarding illegal sale of church assets in the state.

Incidentally, in March this year, a hostel for orphan children in a Lutheran Mission compound in Guntur district was sold to a private party for redevelopment into a commercial complex.

Although a government order was issued a few years back putting restrictions on the sale of church property, it was soon withdrawn, paving the way for unregulated sale. The order in question stated that church property should not be alienated and there even was subsequent correspondence between the departments of revenue and stamps and registration in this regard before the matter was put aside. "Will these properties, which were sold during the interim period and are being transferred even now, ever be restored," questions Bhaskar Benny of Christian Front, calling for the cancellation of these registrations.

Call to make Hyderabad hoarding-free city

Times of India  Hyderabad  May 25, 2012, 02.10AM IST

Several Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) corporators on Thursday demanded that Hyderabad be made a hoarding-free city like Chennai. The corporators alleged that several irregularities were taking place in allotment of hoardings, lease period and collection of advertising fees. 

Raising the issue of unauthorised hoardings and irregularities in hoardings, unipoles, gantries and cantilevers during the GHMC 9th ordinary meeting on Thursday, former deputy mayor Jaffer Hussain said that as per official records, only 2,600 hoardings existed in the city whereas there were over 5,000. He said several agencies, including Nest which owes the corporation Rs 17 crore, have to pay crores of rupees, but no concrete steps were taken to collect the fee. 

Congress GHMC floor leader Kaleru Venkatesh said some advertising agencies were cheating the corporation by erecting unauthorised hoardings and resorting to unethical practices. "The corporation has been getting about Rs 15 crore per year. Hyderabad should be made a hoarding-free city without compromising for meagre revenue," Venkatesh said. 

GHMC additional commissioner K Dhananjaya Reddy said about 416 unauthorised hoardings were already removed and they were not renewing permission for existing lollipop boards on central medians on stretches like the Nampally-Assembly road, Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills. 

Mayor Mohd Majid Hussain directed GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu to submit a report on issues pertaining to advertising boards to the standing committee to take a decision on it. 

Some corporators raised the issue of non-functional streetlights and lamented that citizens were facing problems in colonies during nights. 

Patancheru corporator M Sapana Dev said electrical fittings were not being procured and allotted to wards for months together despite the officials being aware of the problems existing in almost all municipal divisions. Lack of proper streetlights in several areas is leading to rise in crime," he said. Hafeezpet corproator V Jagadishwar Goud said the corporation was denying provision of basic amenities like streetlights, roads and other facilities to colonies like Gokul plots and Adityanagar, Subashnagar, Krishna Nagar (survey number 80) of Hafeezpet on the pretext that they are on disputed land.

Govt cancels 227 illegal layouts in Ranga Reddy district

 The Times of India, Hyderabad

The decision to cancel 227 illegal layouts which had deviated from GO 111 in Ranga Reddy district has caused a huge uproar among the real estate developers and buyers. The cancellation would apply to layouts and illegal constructions which are under the purview of Himayatsagar and Osmansagar lakes.

District officials came across these illegal layouts in Shamshabad, Chevella, Shankarpalli, Moinabad and Shaabad mandals and cancelled them a few days ago without serving notices. Curiously, most of the cancelled ventures were built with permission of gram panchayats.

The Supreme Court had given a directive in 1996 imposing certain restrictions in building structures within 10 km radius of the two lakes. These restrictions still hold good in 84 villages in and around these two lakes. As per rules any structure can be built in only 10 per cent area of the total land with G plus twofloor permission. But several illegal constructions came up in the layouts in violation of regulations.

Village panchayat officer Somla Nayak cancelled the layouts on the instructions of district collector Seshadri. “We have taken the decision based on the directive of Supreme Court and will take action against those who would not comply with the SC order,” warned Seshadri. According to a senior official, some of the structures which have been built will now have to come up with compliance measures like setting up sewerage treatment plant and other facilities. “We had served notices on them a year ago. Since most of them did not reply, they would have to pay heavy penalties,” Nayak said.

This decision meant trouble for not just the developers but middle class buyers, as most of them who bought plots and flats in these layouts. “I had invested my savings of five years and bought a plot. I had never imagined that the authorities would cancel the land deal,” A Krishna, who bought a piece of land in Moinabad mandal, rued.

The developers are also in a catch-22 situation. “This is a huge setback to us. We are trying to convince the authorities to revert their decision. ,” said a developer from Moinabad.

HMDA notifies draft master plan

 The Hindu  July 19,2011

The Draft Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Plan covering an area of 5,965 sq. km including the areas newly added to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region has been notified and placed for objections and suggestions.

The Draft Plan taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) includes the extended area of the HMDA (5,018 sq.km), Outer Ring Road Growth Corridor (330 sq.km), parts outside ORR of erstwhile HUDA (432 sq.km) and erstwhile Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (185 sq.km).

It covers 35 mandals in the four districts of Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar and has been planned for a time period up to 2,031 taking into consideration a population of about 184 lakhs, work force of 65 lakhs and also the present trends of developments, the ORR, radial roads and proposed urban nodes and urban centres.

According to the HMDA, the initiative looked at promoting balanced development in the Metropolitan Region with a peri-urban zone all along the urban area, hierarchy of circulation network to cater the present and future travel needs.

The draft together with the Draft Development Promotion regulations has been placed for public objections and suggestions for a period of two months from July 22 to September 21.

This can inspected at the HMDA office at Tarnaka and its zonal offices at Ghatkesar, Medchal, Shamshabad and Shankarpally apart from Sangareddy Municipal office. It would be available on the HMDA website ‘www.hmda.gov.in' from July 22.

A soft copy in 1:1,00,000 scale along with other relevant reports would also be available at Rs.100 at the HMDA Tarnaka office, its four zonal offices and the Municipalities of Sangareddy and Bhongir. After considering all objections and suggestions, the plan would be finalised and forwarded to the government for final approval, the HMDA informed.

Metropolitan Region

The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) which was constituted for an area of 1,692 sq. km in the year 1975 got its jurisdiction extended in the year 2007 with addition of 635 villages covering parts of the districts of Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar. Later, the HMDA was constituted in the year 2008 and the authorities such as HUDA, Hyderabad Airport Development Authority and Cyberabad Development Authority were dissolved. The HMDA jurisdiction spread over 7,228 sq. km extends to 55 mandals in the five districts of Hyderabad (all 16 mandals), parts of Medak (10), Rangareddy (22), Mahabubnagar (2) and Nalgonda (5).

Now, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region extends to Toopran on north along the NH-7, Bhongir on the east along the NH-202, Chotuppal on south-east along NH-9, Yacharam on south along the Nagarjunasagar State Highway and Kandukur along the Srisailam State Highway, Shadnagar on south-west along the NH-7, Chevella and Aloor along the Vikarabad State Highway and Sangareddy on the west along the NH-9.

It includes Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Sangareddy and Bhongir Municipalities and 849 Revenue villages.

IMT campus inaugurated in Hyderabad

Times Of India  Hyderabad 3rd July,2011

Taking a course in management is much more than a fat salary, it also means studying the socioeconomic issues in society, said Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal while inaugurating the Hyderabad campus of the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in Ranga Reddy district on Saturday.

"Right from the school to university, we have to take the children to the ocean of knowledge, not merely to the Arts, Sciences or Commerce streams and we have to remove the limitations. Management is much more than getting a fat salary. Management of socioeconomic issues in the society is to be studied," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy said Andhra Pradesh will retain its status as the leader in the pharma and IT industry in India. According to Kiran Kumar, Hyderabad city is transforming as a good "knowledge city" in the world soon with the establishment of world class educational and management institutions in and around the city. Union minister Kamal Nath was also present in his capacity as president of IMT.

Hyderabad Metropalitan Development Authority Expanded Jurisdiction

Hyderabad Metropalitan Development Authority  expanded jurisdiction
Extends upto :
–        NH7-Toopran
–        NH7-Shadnagar (Farookh nagar)
–        Warangal NH- Bhongir.
–        NH9-Chotuppal
–        Srisailam SH- Dasarapally
–        Nag’sagar SH- Chowdaripally
–        NH9- Sangareddy
–        Vikharabad SH -Kistapur
–        Shankarpally SH- Shankarpally.
–        Karimnagar road- Singaipally

The enlarged jurisdiction of HUDA now extends to 54 Mandals located in
five districts with a total area of nearly 6300 sqkm. The area under
the former HUDA had nearly 300 villages to which 600 villages are now
added. . The villages that are coming under Medak, Ranga Reddy,
Nalagonda & Mahaboobnagar district are given below:-

MEDAK DISTRICT   .
TUPRAN MANDAL
Villages
Vattur, Jhandapalle, Nagulapalle, Islampur, Datarpalle,
Gundareddipalle, Malkapur, Konaipalle (Pattibegampet), Venktaipalle,
Kistapur, Yavapur, Hussainpur, Tupran, Padalpalle, Brahmanapalle,
Venkatapur (Pattitupran), Ravelli, Ghanpur, Immapur, Allapur,
Lingareddipet, Palat, Ramaipalle, Venkatapur Agraharam,
Dharmarajpalle, Chatla  Gouraram, Konaipalle (Patti Tupran),
Manoharabad, Majeedpally (N.K), Jeedipalle, Kucharam, Kondapur, Muppi
Reddy Palle, Rangaipalle, Kallakal

WARGAL MANDAL
Villages
Narsampalle, Nacharam, Majidpalle, Mentur, Jabbapur, Mylaram,
Kondaipalle, Singaipalle, Pamulaparthi, Gouraram, Wargal, Govindapur,
Girmapur, Madharam, Chandapur, Veluru, Ananthagiripalle,
Ramachandrapur, Sitarampalle, Amberpet, Shakaram, Tunkikhalasa, Tunki
Makta, Meenji pally (Meenaji Peta)

SHIVAMPET MANDAL
Villages
Lingojiguda, Allipur, Pambanda, Pothula Boguda, Konthanpalle,
Gundlapalle, Shabashpalle, Donthi, Usirikapalle, Edulapur, Ratnapoor,
Kothapet, Pillutla, Thimmapur, Chinnagottimukkala, Shivampet, Chandi,
Maqdumpur, Gangaipalle, Potharam, Parkibanda, Sikindlapur, Bijilipur,
Gomaram, Pedda Gottimukkala, Chennapur, Nawabpet

JINNARAM MANDAL
Villages
Lakshmapur, Kothapalle, Pyaranagar, Nallavalli, Mambapur, Anantharam,
Kanukunta, Dacharam, Gummadidala, Bonthapalle, Domadugu, Gadda
Potharam, Annaram, Vailal, Jinnaram, Palem, Mangampet, Ootla,
Solakpalle, Amdoor, Sivanagar, Kodakanchi, Puttaguda, Nalthur,
Madharam, Kishtaipalle, Chetlapotharam

NARSAPUR MANDAL
Villages
Ahmednagar, Ibrahimbad, Admapur, Jakkupalle, Chippalturthi,
Nagulpalle, Moosapet, Mohammadabad, Manthoor, Reddipalle, Khazipet,
Tujalpur, Thirmalapur, Gollapalle, Brahmanpalle, Lingapur, Achampet,
Hanmanthapur, Malparthi, Narayanpur, Chinna Chintakunta, Pedda
Chintakunta, Sitarampur, Rustumpet, Ramachandrapur, Tuljarampet,
Awancha, Yellapur, Madapur, Narsapur, Kondapur, Kagazmaddur,
Naimatullaguda, Nathinoipalle, Darmaram

PATANCHERUVU MANDAL
Villages
Rudraram, Lakdaram, Chinnakanjerla, Peddakanjerla, Wadakpalle,
Indresham, Inole, Bachuguda, Chikul, Isnapur, Pashamylaram, Kyasaram,
Bhanoor, Nandigaon

MULUGU MANDAL
Villages
Banda Thimmapur, Kokkonda, Srirampur, Singannaguda, Narsapur, Tuniki
Bollaram, Lakshmakkapalle, Mulugu, Thanedharpalle, Bhilampur,
Mamidial, Markoor, Damarakunta, Karkapatla, Kothial, Aliabad
(Adivimasjid), Narsampalle, Mustafaguda, Chilla Sagar, Gangadharpalle,
Zapthi Singaipalle, Chinna Thimmapur, Achaipalle, Dasarlapalle,
Baswapuram, Kothur, Banda Mailaram

HATHNOOR (PART) MANDAL
Villages
Kasal, Doultabad, Mangapur, Nastipur, Macherla, Taherkhanpet,
Malkapur, Reddikhanpur, Borpatla, Palapnoor, Gundla Machanur,
Chandapur, Turkal Khanapur, Sadullanagar, Chintalcheru, Yellammaguda,
Kodapak, Nagaram, Shairkhanpalle, Royyapalle, Akwanchaguda

SANGAREDDY MANDAL
Villages
Chintalpalle, Nagapur, Sangareddy, Tadlapalle, Kulabgoor, Fasalwada,
Ismailkahnpet, Arutla, Chidruppa, Byathole, Edthanur, Mamidipalle,
Koulampet, Kandi, Mohammad Shapur, Kalvakunta, Pothreddipalle,
Kothlapur, Utharpalle, Maktha Allor, Kalvemula, Kasipur, Cheriyal,
Inderkaran, Eddumailaram, Julkal, Topkonda

RANGA REDDY
SHANKARPALLE MANDAL
Villages
Dhobipet, Fathepur, Singapur, Shankarpalle, Bhulkapur, Kondakal,
Mokila, Donthanpalle, Maharajpet, Gopularam, Proddutur, Tangutoor,
Yelwarthy, Ramanthapur, Chandippa, Ravalpalle Kalan, Sankepalle
(Khalsa), Sankepalle (Paigah), Anthappaguda, Masaniguda, Hussainipur,
Parveda (Chanchalam), Parveda Khalsa, Yervaguda, Kothapalle

MEDCHAL MANDAL
Villages
Ravalkola, Shahazadiguda, Yadaram, Muraharipalle, Akbarjapet, Raj
Bollaram, Ghanpur

SHAMIRPET MANDAL
Villages
Turkapalle, Kothur, Potharam, Anantharam, Narayanpur, Lakshimapur,
Mooduchintalapalle, Nagisettipalle, Kesavaram, Sampanbole,
Lalgadimalakpet, Majidpur, Aliabad, Jaggamguda, Adraspalle, Lingapur,
Uddemarri, Hoshyarpalle, Kesavapur, Yakhatpura, Ponnal

HAYATHNAGAR MANDAL
Villages
Daira, Bandaraviryal, Akbarja, Baljaguda, Pochampallewada,
Omerkhandaira, Surmaiguda, Laskerguda, Inamguda, Abdullapur,
Kawadipalle, Batasingaram, Pigilipur, Mazidpur, Sagarpump, Guntapalle,
Anajpur

MOINABAD MANDAL
Villages
Medipalle, Chinna Mangalaram, Mothukupalle, Reddipalle, Chandanagar,
Murthuzaguda, Peddamangalaram, Chinnashapur, Sajjanpalle, Tolkatta,
Yethbarpalle, Nakkalapalle, Kethireddipalle, Kankamamidi, Surangal,
Nazeebnagar, Amdapur, Venkatapur

CHEVELLA MANDAL
Villages
Hasthepur, Nowlaipalle, Anantawaram, Aloor I, Aloor II, Aloor III,
Kowkunta, Tangedapalle, Tallaram, Nyalata, Orella, Yenkepalle,
Dearlapalle, Kammeta, Gollapalle, Ravulapalle (Khurd), Mudimyal,
Kummera, Devuni Erravelly, Ibrahimpalle, Damergidda, Bastepur,
Mirjaguda, Kistapur, Naincheru, Khanapur, Regadghanapur, Devarampalle,
Chanvelli, Pamena, Allawada, Chevella, Kesavaram, Malkapur, Kanduwada,
Gundal

SHABAD MANDAL
Villages
Bobbilgam, Tirumalapur, Etlaerravaly, Tadlapalle, Rudraram,
Chandernvalle, Hayathabad, Solipet, Maddur, Peddaved, Damerlapalle,
Nagarkunta, Bhongirpalle, Machanpalle, Polaram, Pothugal,
Regadidoswada, Komerabanda, Obagunta, Shabad, Manmarri, Kakloor,
Ananthawaram, Kesavaram, Rangapur, Peddatopra

MAHESWARAM MANDAL
Villages
Venkannaguda, Gollor, Nandipalle, Nagaram, Nagireddipalle, Ameerpet,
Tooprakhurd, Kalwakole, Pendyal, Dabilguda, Mansanpalle, Gangaram,
Sirigirpur, Mohabatnagar, Thummaloor, Maheswaram, Ghatpalle,
Dubbacherla, Subhanpur, Dilwarguda, Kollapadkal, Akanpalle, Porandla

IBRAHIMPATNAM MANDAL
Villages
Ismailshapampu, Naganpalle, Polkampalle, Narrepalle, Dandumailaram,
Muknoor, Rainguda , Yengalaguda, Raipole, Tattikhana, Alimiyakunta,
Ramreddiguda, Pocharam, Yeliminedu, Tadlakalva, Yerrakunta, Turkaguda,
Kappapahad, Toolekalan

KANDUKUR MANDAL
Villages
Chippalpalle, Murlinagar, Dhannaram, Pulumamidi, Kufarchandguda,
Jaithwaram (Khalsa), Jaithwaram (Maqta), Gafoornagar, Kothur, Gudoor,
Rachloor, Lemoor, Timmapur, Madhapur, Gummadavalle, Thimmaipalle,
Annojiguda, Kandukur, Mohammadnagar, Peruguguda, Bachupalle, Nednur,
Akberja, Dasarlapalle, Allikhanpalle, Debbadaguda, Panjaguda,
Meerkhanpet, Sarvaravulapalle, Mucherla

YACHARAM (PART) MANDAL
Villages
Tulekhurd, Gungal, Yacharam, Mogullavampu, Chowderpalle

MANCHAL (PART) MANDAL
Villages
Khanapur, Mallikarjunaguda, Manorabad, Sabithnagar, Lingampalle,
Thallapalliguda, Nallacheru, Thippaiguda, Chittapur, Manchal,
Jainammaguda, Nomula, Agapalle

NALGONDA DISTRICT
CHOUTUPPAL MANDAL
Villages
Tupranpet, Malkapur, Khairathpur, Yellagiri, Lakkaram, Choutuppal ,
Chinna Kondur, Nelapatla, Jaikesaram, Swamulavari Lingotam, Panthangi,
Lingojiguda, Tallasingaram, Tangadpalle, Devalammanagaram, Allapur,
Peepal Pahad

BIBINAGAR MANDAL
Villages
Rayarao Pet, Jameelapet, Jiya Palle, Mahadevpur, Kondamadugu, Jain
Palle, Gudur, Annampatla, Bibinagar, Rangapur, Bagdayara,
Nemarugomula, Padamati Somaram, Raheem Khanguda, Brahmana Palle,
Maqdoom Palle, Ravi Pahad, Madharam, Jam Palle, Surraiadandi,
Chinaraval Palle, Raghavapur, Rudra Velly, Venkiryal, Anantharam
(Maktha)

BUVANAGIRI MANDAL
Villages
Tajpur, Hanmapur, Wadaparthi, Timmapur, Baswapur, Hussainabad,
Rayagiri (Rural), Kesaram, Kunoor, Chandupatla, Cheemala Kondur,
Mustyalapalle, Veeravelly, Banda Somaram, Gouse Nagar, Yerrampalle,
Tukkapur, Ramachandrapur, Penchikala Pahad, Buvanagiri, Bagath
Bhuvangiri, Anantharam (Rural), Pagidi Palle, Bommai Palle, Anajipur,
Nandanam, Nagireddi Palle, Bollepalle, Surepalle

BOMMALA RAMARAM MANDAL
Villages
China Parvathapur, Thimmapuram, Boin Palle, Somajipalle, Muneerabad,
Bandakindipalle, Thumkunta, Jalalpur, Pyararam, Solipeta,
Cheekatimamidi, Maryala, Malyala, Yavapur, Rangapuram, Ramlingampalle,
Pedda Parvathapur, Bommalaramaram, Tirumalagiri, Naginenipalle,
Maisireddypalle, Hazipur, Mailaram, Medipalle

MAHOOBNAGAR DISTRICT
KOTHUR MANDAL
Villages
Edulapalle, Mamidpalle, Chegur, Mallapur, Gudur, Kothur, Thimmapur,
Theegapur, Veerlapalle, Nandigama, Penjerla, Onmulnarva, Khajiguda,
Kodicherla, Seriguda Bhadraiplle, Siddapur

FAROOQNAGAR MANDAL
Villages
Veligerla, Suryaraoguda, Koddannaguda, Buchiguda, Dooskal,
Chetanpalle, Farooqnagar (Shadnagar), Alisasbguda, Nagulapalle,
Elkatha, Mogalgidda, Rangasamudram

Govt to exempt small plot owners

Times Of India Hyderabad 13.04.2011

Succumbing to pressure from different quarters,including property
owners,residential welfare associations and public representatives,the
state government is contemplating to exempt small plot owners from the
mortgage rule for constructing their houses.

Under the mortgage rule,an owner or builder,who seeks building
permission,has to either mortgage 10 per cent of the built up area or
one floor to the respective municipal authority.
The mortgaged portion would be released if the owner constructs the
building without deviating from the sanctioned plan and obtains
occupancy certificate from the municipal authorities concerned.The
civic body has powers to seize the mortgaged property if the owner
deviates from the plan and constructs unauthorised structures.

As of now,the mortgage rule applies for structures that come up on 100
square (sq) metres (120 sq yards) plot area and above in the entire
state.
With representations from people and elected representatives,the chief
ministers office (CMO) reportedly directed the municipal
administration and urban development (MA-&UD ) department to exempt
independent house owners from the rule.

Interestingly,the number of building applications has come down in
corporations,municipalities,including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation (GHMC),after the mortgage rule was extended to even
smaller plots.
Until last October,the mortgage rule was mandatory for buildings which
came up on over 200 square metre plot area and above G+2 floors
buildings as per the New Building Rules (GO 86).
The proposal is to implement the mortgage rule for buildings in over
200 sq metres in Greater Hyderabad and 300 sq metre plot area in other
corporations and municipalities, a senior MA&UD department official
told TOI.

Sources said amendments to the mortgage rules are likely to be
incorporated in the new draft meant for compilation of various GOs on
building rules that were issued by the state government from time to
time.The Director of Country and Town Planning (DTCP) has been
entrusted the work of compilation of four GOs (Nos 86,678,302 and 569)
issued since March 2006 for implementing new building rules.The new
draft has also proposed some changes in parking requirements and set
backs for buildings.

As the mortgage rule had become a hurdle for middle and lower-middle
class families,the GHMC standing committee also passed a resolution in
October 2010 to exempt smaller plots from the rule and the GHMC
commissioner sent a letter to the MA&UD department.

The smaller plot owners have to make rounds to the corporation to get
the mortgaged portion released apart from building permissions.Most of
the unauthorised structures are generally made by builders who
construct apartments in G+2 floors and above, Nampally Ravi,general
secretary of West Deendayal Nagar Residents Welfare Association said.

Registration Rates Hiked in Hyderabad

TOI 28.03.2011

Despite being in the red for two successive years,the registration and
stamps department is buoyant over growth and collection of revenues
this year.

Having reached 97.95 per cent of the target for this financial
year,the department bosses are happy at reaching a growth rate of
43.29 per cent this year as against a negative growth rate of 9.18%
and 7.9% in 2009-10 and 2008-09 respectively,mainly due to the
downturn in the real estate market.
Another important aspect cited by senior officials for the growth rate
has been the changes in market values for dry,wet,garden and survey
number-wise values for the classifications of agriculture land fit for
house sites and lands abutting national and state highways in rural
areas.This aspect is reflected in the steep rise in revenue
collections and a steady drop in the number of registered sale
deeds.The number of sale deeds registered in the last four years are
11,09,034 in 2007-08,10,15,073 in 2008-09,9,94,396 in 2009-10 and
8,15,865 in 2010-11 (up to November 2010).

The net revenue achieved by the department this financial year till
January 2011 is Rs 2,882.77 crore as against a target of Rs 3,546
crore (an achievement of 97.95%).The net revenue was Rs 3,086.35 crore
in 2007-08,Rs Rs 2,842,56 crore in 2008-09 and Rs 2,599.81 crore in
2009-10.

Responding to queries on the departments performance,a senior stamps
official said on condition of anonymity on Sunday that the department
regularly was taking up the study of trends in market value of the
lands and determining the value to be adopted by the parties at the
time of execution of documents for proper payment of stamp duty and
registration fee.The cases of under valuations by the parties for levy
of stamp duty and registration fee has been reduced by compulsory
adoption of the market value fixed by the department.We have revised
values in both urban and rural areas from August 1,2010, he said.

Another key contributor to the increase in revenues has been the
change in blockwise values for residential areas and door number-wise
values for commercial and industrial areas.
Apart from these,the department has for the first time fixed composite
values (combined value for land and construction ) for assessment of
market value of apartments and flats in urban areas.

Powerwave Technologies Expands R&D Facility in Hitec City Hyderabad

Times Of India 18.03.11

US-based wireless coverage and telecom capacity solutions provider
Powerwave Technologies is all set to expand its R&D facilities in
Hyderabad at an investment of $3million this year.

The Hyderabad facility,which designs wireless telecom products for
global markets,will also see the addition of 100 engineers by December
2011 to the existing 250 engineers,Powerwave Technologies
vice-president (global engineering) Ezmarai Arbab told newspersons
here on Wednesday.As part of the expansion,a prototype shop will be
added to enable quick design turnaround this year and several products
designed at the Hyderabad facility will be deployed with telecom
players globally in 2011,he added.Apart from India,the company has
design centres in US and Sweden.

Powerwave,which has invested over $8 million in its Hyderabad facility
since its entry in June 2008,currently has an R&D set up spread over
54000 sq ft at the Hi-Tech city in Madhapur.This includes a lab
facility spread over 8,000 sq ft comprising advanced test
instrumentation,environmental screening capabilities,indoor antenna
test range among other things.
Powerwave has invested $ 3,00,000 in setting up a Powerwave centre of
excellence at the Hyderabad campus of BITS Pilani to carry out
research on upcoming technologies in the wireless space,Rakesh
Sinha,director,Powerwave Technologies India said.

Creamline Dairy plans Rs 10 cr tetra pack plant in Hyd

Creamline Dairy Products Limited, which retails its products under the
‘Jersey’ brand, is planning to set up a tetra packaging plant in
Hyderabad with an investment of Rs 10 crore by 2012.
Speaking to mediapersons at its silver jubilee celebrations here
today, K Bhaskar Reddy, managing director, Creamline Dairy, said,
"Tetra pack has one to three months shelflife. So, our focus would be
more on cultured and long shelflife products."
The plant, work on which is likely to start this year, would have a
production capacity of 100,000 litre per day, he said. The plant would
come up on 10 acres.
Creamline has tied up with Tetra Pak, the processing and packaging
major, to bring the UHT (ultra high temperature) technology to its
plant. Around 50 per cent of the proposed investment would be raised
through loans from financial institutions, he said.

Hardware cluster planned in Hyderabad

In a bid to give a fillip to hardware manufacturing in India, Software
Technology Parks of India (STPI) said it was proposing to set up a
2,000-acre hardware cluster in Hyderabad.
Based on the Union ministry of Information Technology & Communications
(IT&C) directions, STPI said it has written to the state government
requesting land allotment for the proposed project.
“We were asked by the Union ministry to approach respective state
governments regarding land allotment to set up hardware clusters. The
idea is to build ready-to-occupy infrastructure facility, much similar
to STPI model, for hardware manufacturers.
We are seeking 2,000 acres in and around Hyderabad,” said P Venugopal,
managing director, STPI.
He added that STPI's existing promotional activity for electronic
hardware manufacturers limits them to allot land for individual
companies.
"By setting up a hardware cluster, we will create an ecosystem
including production facilities for companies to come and set up
operations on a plug-and-play model," he explained.
While Fabcity, promoted by the state government, only allots land, the
proposed hardware cluster built by STPI would include building the
facility for companies besides offering additional tax benefits.
“We are yet to identify the investment potential, nature of hardware
manufacturing activity that can be undertaken from the proposed
cluster.
A team is already preparing a feasibility report and we would get
clarity once it's done,” Venugopal said. Meanwhile, Ponnala
Lakshmaiah, I&T minister assured support to set up a hardware cluster.
“We have just heard of the proposal. While we are yet to study the
request, we are willing to provide land for prospective hardware
producers planning to set up manufacturing plants anywhere in the
state.”

Rs 150 cr for metro rail

As part of improving infrastructure facilities in the city, the state
government has allocated Rs 150 crore for Hyderabad Metro Rail project
in the 2011-12 budget presented by finance minister A Ramanarayana
Reddy on Wednesday.

The metro rail project spanning over 71 kms on three high density
traffic corridors in the city was taken up at an estimated cost of Rs
12,132 crore. Officials said the Rs 150 cr allocated will be used for
land acquisition, junction improvements, etc. This allocation is part
of matching grant from the state. The state government will allocate
the matching grant every year from 2011 to 2015 till the project gets
completed in the next five years.

To develop the outer ring road (ORR), the allocation has been
increased from Rs 385 crore in the present financial year to Rs 677
crore in 2011-12.

To provide drinking water to the people of twin cities, Rs 250 crore
has been allocated to take up Maulana Abul Kalam Hyderabad Sujala
Sravanthi scheme. Under this scheme they will draw water from Godavari
to meet the current and future requirements of Hyderabad. Government
has planned to supply Godavari water to the city in three phases. Last
year also, government had allocated Rs 250 crore.

Another Rs 2 crore has been allocated to GHMC to take up Charminar
pedestrianisation project and urban community development works and Rs
72 crore to GHMC to pay property tax on government buildings and motor
vehicle tax in Greater Hyderabad limits

Anthelio (ConJoin Group) launches 50,000 SFT world classSEZ facility in Gachibowli Hyderabad

The ConJoin Group, an IT and business services company, with
operations in the US and centres of excellence in Mumbai and
Hyderabad, on Thursday announced that effective immediately, it is
changing its name to Anthelio.
Concurrently, Anthelio said it had acquired a 50,000-sft facility in a
special economic zone (SEZ) in Gachibowli, Hyderabad. The facility
will support aggressive hiring goals in India.

Anthelio has approximately 50 people in Hyderabad and 250 people in
Mumbai. The company expects to ramp this up to more than 1,000 people
in India by the end of the 2011 calendar, to over 3,000 people by
2012, and up to 15,000 people by 2015. In the US, the company expects
to grow from 1,300 people currently to between 3,000 and 5,000 people
by 2015.
Anthelio will leverage the US domain and clinical expertise converged
with a truly-integrated global delivery model to provide innovative,
market leading, high-value, low-cost solutions to the provider market.
This model will fundamentally transform the cost structure for
hospitals, allowing them to allocate critical resources to improve
patient care.
“Our new corporate identity reflects a renewed commitment to transform
the fundamental economics of the US healthcare system, which includes
building out our vital infrastructure and talent pool in India to help
hospitals meet unprecedented technology, operational and financial
challenges,” Richard S Garnick, chief executive officer of Anthelio,
stated in a press release.

Dassault plans Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Shamshabad Aero SEZ, Hyderabad

Dassault Aviation, a part of French aerospace company Groupe Dassault,
has drawn up an ambitious map for expansion in the Indian market. The
company, which has a majority share in the Indian business jet market,
is looking at setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)
centre next year. Its business jets are sold under the ‘Falcon’ brand
name.
“We have a 60 per cent share in the business jet market in India
(around 120 private jets are in operation so far), which is growing
rapidly. We now plan to set up an MRO centre in Hyderabad for their
quality service and spares,” said Thierry de Poncins, international
sales director, Falcon Business Jets.

It was in talks with some Indian companies to set up an MRO facility
jointly, he said without naming any. Dassault Aviation is owned 50.21
per cent by Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault of France. Talking to
Business Standard on the sidelines of Aero India 2011 today, he said
the company had delivered 30 Falcon jets in the last 15 years and
would deliver another 15 business jets in the next two years. Almost
half of the new aircraft orders are for the Dassault Falcon 7X, the
first business jet certified with a fully-digital flight control
system. Also, the company is in talks with various charter operators
for another 20 business jets.

Metro rail work in phases

Metro rail construction activity will be taken up in a phased and
staggered manner. Initially, construction will be taken up on
stretches with wide roads, especially Miyapur-Panjagutta,
Nagole-Mettuguda and LB Nagar-New Market. Simultaneously, carriageway
will be widened on narrow parts of the metro rail corridors.

These decisions were taken at a joint coordination-cum-review meeting
held by Hyderabad police commissioner A K Khan on the Traffic
Management Plan for the metro rail works with Hyderabad Metro Rail MD
N V S Reddy, traffic police of Hyderabad and Cyberabad, GHMC,
Concessionaire L&T and traffic experts here on Tuesday.

Traffic consultants for L&T made a presentation on the detailed road
inventory of metro rail corridors and the proposed traffic management
action plan to minimise inconvenience to commuters during the metro
rail construction activities.

At the meeting, the Metro Rail MD explained the construction plan,
which involves most of the construction activities being done in
Miyapur and Nagole casting yards with adoption of pre-cast
construction methods for both viaduct and stations.

Khan advised the traffic police to identify works required for
improving road surface on all corridors as well as on parallel and
alternative roads to enable smooth traffic flows during the
construction period.

Delhi, Hyderabad airports among top in the world

The airports of Delhi and Hyderabad have been ranked among the top
airports of the world in the airport services quality (ASQ) by the
global body, Airports Council International (ACI).

While Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi Airport retained the number one
position for the second year in a row among 49 airports handling 5-15
million passengers per annum (mppa), Indira Gandhi International
Airport came fourth in a group of 19 airports in the 25-40 mppa
category.

Mumbai's CST International Airport, run by GVK-led consortium, ranked
in the 15-25 mppa category, the ACI said.

While the Indian airports ranked among the top in different
categories, the ACI declared Incheon inSeoul, Changi in Singapore,
airports in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai Pudong as the overall top
'best airports worldwide'.

The rankings were done on the basis of a global ASQ survey by the ACI
of 153 airports, including 6 Indian ones.

The survey, which gets a representative sample of flights,
destinations and passenger groups served by the airport, is intended
to get feedback from users on a range of service delivery parameters.
ACI audits the process to ensure compliance and validates the results.

The awards will be formally presented in April at the ACI's
Asia-Pacific Regional Conference to be held here.

This was announced by P S Nair, who has been promoted as CEO
(Corporate Airport Sector) of the GMR Group which leads the Delhi
International Airport Limited (DIAL) consortium. Till last month, he
was the DIAL CEO.

In DIAL, Nair was replaced by I P Rao while the Hyderabad airport,
also run by GMR-led joint venture, now has Vikram Jaisinghani as its
CEO.

Nair said the Hyderabad airport has improved on its ASQ rating which
now stands at 4.51 and retained the top slot in its category
consecutively for the second year.

On the IGI airport, he said the ASQ ratings improved "immensely" after
the plush new Terminal-3 became operational last year.

To questions, he said a few areas on which the Delhi airport was
lacking included value for money, inadequate shopping facilities and
the ease of reaching the airport. "We are looking to improve these
areas," Nair said.

ACI Director General Angela Gittens said airports in the Asia Pacific
"made clean sweep" in the category of 'best airports worldwide' as
they did last year.

BHEL-BEL JV to set up Rs.2000 crore unit at Fab City, Hyderabad

Two Navaratna PSUs Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL) have formed a joint venture to manufacture
solar wafers, cells and modules to meet domestic as well as export
demands. The unit is likely to come up on 70 acres at Fab City, which
never really took off.

The project envisages setting up of a manufacturing facility with a
capital investment of Rs 2,000 crore and will provide direct
employment to 1,000 people. A high-level team of officials recently
visited the city to identify possible location for the plant.

Sources said the team identified about 70 acres in Fab City as the
ideal location. It was said to have expressed satisfaction over the
land as it is located in an SEZ meant for similar industries and also
because of its close proximity to the international airport. Another
positive point is, the official say, BHEL has a major unit in the
city.

"Fab City is an ideal location for setting up any semiconductor and PV
panel manufacturing facility as several similar facilities have
already started functioning. This will enable the board of the joint
venture to finalise Hyderabad as possible destination," sources said.

BHEL and BEL had joined hands to form the joint venture to enter the
domain of semiconductors and solar panel manufacturing in 2008. Since
then, the new venture has been on the look out for a suitable
location. After studying the facilities such as power and water, the
high-level team was said to have expressed preference for Hyderabad.
"The team has submitted its proposals to the board for concurrence on
the location in Fab City. We are awaiting for their response," the
sources added.

As per the proposal submitted to the state, the project will have 250
MW solar photovoltaic (PV) production facility for processing silicon
wafers, solar cells and PV modules in new plant. Chief minister N
Kiran Kumar Reddy reportedly gave the go-ahead to provide all the
required facilities to the public sector unit.

This is the second such major public sector venture to come to Andhra
Pradesh in the past two years, the first being the joint venture unit
of BHEL and NTPC. The BHEL-NTPC joint venture has set up its first
unit to manufacture equipments for the power plants at Mannavaram near
Srikalahasti in Chittoor district with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore.

The sources said the government would de-notify 80 acres at Fab City
to hand over it to the BHEL-BEL joint venture, once they get the
go-ahead from BHEL-BEL board

GHMC to take over 14 Industrial Area Local Authorities (IALA) areas from APIIC

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will take over 14
Industrial Area Local Authorities (IALA) areas,which are now under
Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).

The GHMC standing committee on Tuesday resolved to merge them into
Greater Hyderabad.Once they are merged,GHMC would look after
maintenance of roads,providing infrastructure facilities,building
permissions and also collection of property tax from residential
colonies under IALAs.

The resolution will be sent to the state government for approval now,
GHMC mayor B Karthika Reddy told reporters on Tuesday.

GHMC officials said apart from industrial areas,residential colonies
that have come up in areas like Madhapur,Gachibowli, Serilingampally,
Nacharam, Mallapur, Pragathinagar (Kukatpally), Patancheru, Sanatnagar
and Jeedimetla are now under the control of IALAs of APIIC.

Building permissions and tax collections are being looked after by the
local authorities.
Since Industrial Area Local Authorities do not have manpower and
infrastructure,many colonies lack civic infrastructure.Welfare
associations of several residential colonies have been demanding to
merge their colonies with Greater Hyderabad for better amenities.

Hyderabad in New York Times 2011 list of must see places

Giving a much-needed lift to Hyderabad's T-bruised image, the New York
Times (NYT) has featured the city of pearls in its list of `41 places
to go in 2011.' In fact, Hyderabad is the only Indian city to have
made it to this year's NYT list, released earlier this month, which in
its earlier listings has featured Mumbai, Mysore and even the holy
city of Varanasi along with the happening beaches of Goa.

"Dynastic grandeur in the heart of modern India", is how the western
daily describes the Nizam's land, which shares the must-visit tag with
other fascinating holiday destinations such as Koh Samui ( Thailand),
Loreto (Mexico), Dresden (Germany), Budapest ( Hungary) and so on.
"The new Taj Falaknuma Palace (in Hyderabad) is a window into the
past" and "completes the Indian palace tour for the south," the daily
reads further claiming that a trip to the over 120-year-old
palace-turned-star hotel can "make a trip to Hyderabad worth while
just on its own." While applauding the city's rich heritage, the list
even makes a mention of the recently opened Park Hotel,Somajiguda as
it describes it as "a futuristic structure with an aluminium and glass
facade inspired by the settings and metalwork found in the Nizam's
jewellery collection."

So, hoping to cash in on this new-found recognition for the city, the
state tourism department has rushed in to use the NYT list as the
`selling' point for its tableau that would be part of the Republic Day
parade in the city on Wednesday. "We will showcase Hyderabad as a
favoured tourist destination across the world and also use the
opportunity to create awareness among people about how it is now a
joint responsibility for us to work towards making it the most
hospitable city in India," said Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary,
tourism, adding how it was a matter of huge pride for Hyderabad to
have made it to the international list. "It is a very prestigious list
and I am glad our city has been chosen over other Indian destinations
to be featured on it," he said.

And apart from the city's rich history, the NYT list also portrays the
`hi-tech' achievements of Hyderabad as it mentions how in the last one
decade "a new sort of wealth has arrived" here through the outsourcing
of international companies, which in turn has "inspired a boom of
sleek cafes and restaurants" in the city.

However, such an honour has failed to impress heritage experts here
who feel that the description of Hyderabad on the list comes across as
a "rich-man's" view of the city and does not justify its qualification
as one of the 41 must-see places in the world. "The two hotels (listed
in the article) are not places any regular tourist can visit. You have
to pay a heavy price to be there," said city-historian Narendra Luther
pointing out how given a choice he would have showcased the Golconda
Fort, the bazars of Old City and Chowmahalla Palace, among others, to
pull crowds to Hyderabad.

Tatas to set up 3 joint venture projects in Aerospace SEZ, in Hyderabad

Following Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's announcement that Hyderabad
will be made their aerospace hub, the company is setting up three
joint venture projects in the Aerospace Special Economic Zone at
Adibhatla near Hyderabad with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore.

Nova Integrated System for manufacturing radar and electronic
equipment for defence, Tata Aero-structure Limited for assembling of
aircraft equipment and Tata Aerospace Systems Limited for
manufacturing aircraft parts are the three projects announced by the
company.

The trio will collaborate with overseas partners for setting up the units.

Nova Integrated System chief executive officer and managing director
Ajit Bhavnani met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on
Monday and discussed the proposed projects, said official sources in
the Chief Minister's Office.

"The three projects will attract an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and
provide direct employment to 1,000 persons. The government is in the
process of allotting 125 acres of land in the SEZ to the companies,"
the CMO sources said.

Tata Aerospace Systems, a Tata Group company, has already established
its unit at the SEZ for manufacturing helicopter cabins with an
investment of Rs 1,000 crore. It was during the inauguration of this
facility in November last that Ratan Tata announced his group's
proposal for establishing aerospace and defence clusters in Hyderabad.

The three overseas partners with whom the Tatas would collaborate
would visit India next month for the Aero Show in Bengalore.

"The Tatas would like to conduct ground-breaking ceremony for the
projects during February in the presence of their overseas partners,"
said the state government official.