Tier II cities in AP no threat to Hyderabad realty: Credai

HMDA Approved Plots for Sale
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Hyderabad would continue to attract good interest in real estate activity and is capable of withstanding competition from Tier II locations in the event of state's bifurcation, according to The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai).

"Due to the imbroglio surrounding the state bifurcation, many new deals have been put on hold. Once the issue gets resolved, we expect renewed interest from all segments in Hyderabad," Ram Reddy, general secretary of Credai, told mediapersons here today.

According to him, although there wasn't any notable appreciation here in the last one year, residential property prices might rise an average around 5% this year. In the next nine months, around 10,000 residential units would be launched here, he added.

The average cost of residential property in Hyderabad currently stands at Rs 3,200 per sft. The office space rental in the most sought-after Western part of the city --- home to big software establishments -- is Rs 40 per sft. This, according to Credai, is 25-30% lower when compared with a similar location in Chennai and Bangalore.

Answering to a query on whether the bifurcation would lead to any pressure on the price and volumes here, Anand Reddy, vice president of Credai, said most of the Tier II cities do not have Hyderabad's distinct cosmopolitan advantage. "The price appreciation evident in the recent times in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur among others was just a speculation and they do not reflect the actual demand," he said.

The realtors body today announced the launch of Hyderabad Property Show-2014 starting from February 28. Around 60,000 individuals are expected to visit the three-day event.

Source: Business Stanard  13/02/2014

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority to soon implement land pooling scheme

Times of India 17/06/2013

HYDERABAD: For planned and systematic development in peripheral areas, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) will implement land pooling scheme (LPS) in its jurisdiction soon. Land pooling scheme can be undertaken either by the authority, the civic body or a licensed private developer provided the conditions are fulfilled according to the master plan of HMDA.

The draft LPS has been cleared by the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department and would be placed before the HMDA executive committee on June 21 for its approval.

HMDA sources said the LPS would first be implemented in the Hyderabad metropolitan area as there are provisions in the HMDA Act, 2008, for LPS and will be extended to other parts of the state, especially urban development authorities since there are no such provisions in the AP Urban Areas (Development) Act, 1975.

The MA&UD department had constituted a committee for preparing detailed guidelines for land pooling projects. The committee has metropolitan commissioner of HMDA as the chairman, commissioner and director of municipal administration as member and director of town and country planning as member convener and vice-chairmen of Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada urban development authorities as members. The committee has prepared guidelines and submitted them to the state government.

Under this scheme, individual owners or farmers could come together to develop land to an extent of 25 hectares (100 acres) or more with the clearance of HMDA and provide basic amenities like road, drinking water and street lighting.

"It will be a win-win situation for both the land owners and the authority. The land owners will get developed land though they may lose some land with clear title and without any litigations and also appreciation of their property's land value. The authority or local body need not acquire any land for roads and other facilities," an HMDA official, who is associated with LPS, told TOI.

The HMDA has broadly divided the LPS into two types. The first type is Road Development LP area, which would be taken up for notified master plan and road network for already identified potential areas. The other category is Town Ship Development LP area. For the second type, the minimum size of layout should be 100 acres.

For LPS, at least two-third (66%) of property owners should be willing to take up land pooling schemes. If some of the owners do not come forward, the authority would acquire land invoking the urgency clause under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The land owners, who do not wish to be part of LPS, would get compensation as per the Act only. The developer has to hand over open spaces for public purpose to the authority as per rules.

"Initially, the committee had proposed some incentives like building rules relaxations for developers who come forward for taking up LPS. However, later it was decided to stick to the provision of the master plan and existing building rules only," another HMDA official said.

A shot in the arm for city realty

The LPS would first be implemented in the Hyderabad metropolitan area and will be extended to other parts of the state, including Vizag and Vijayawada.

Land pooling scheme can be undertaken either by the civic body or a licenced private developer provided the conditions are fulfilled according to the master plan of HMDA.

The MA&UD department had constituted a committee for preparing detailed guidelines for land pooling projects. The committee has metropolitan commissioner of HMDA as the chairman, commissioner and director of municipal administration as member and director of town and country planning as member convener and vice-chairmen of Vizag and Vijayawada urban development authorities as members. The committee has prepared guidelines and submitted them to the state government.

Under this scheme, individual owners or farmers could come together to develop land to an extent of 25 hectares (100 acres) or more with the clearance of HMDA and provide basic amenities like road, drinking water and streetlighting.

It will be a win-win situation for both the land owners and the authority. The land owners will get developed land though they may lose some land with clear title and without any litigations and also appreciation of their property's land value. The authority or local body need not acquire any land for roads and other facilities

The draft LPS has been cleared by the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department and would be placed before the HMDA executive committee on June 21 for its approval.

Union Cabinet approves regulator for real estate, lays down norms to help home buyers

Times of India May 5, 2013

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a legislation to set up a long-pending real estate regulator aiming to protect home buyers from unscrupulous developers and builders.

A real estate regulator — to be set up in every state — will ensure that private developers get all their projects registered with it before sale and only after obtaining all necessary clearances.

"It will be mandatory for developers under the law to get every project registered with the regulator before selling any immovable property," an official said.

While the commercial real estate has been kept out of purview of the proposed bill, it will apply to residential buildings.

There is a provision for mandatory public disclosure of all project details like credentials of promoters, lay out plan, land status, carpet area and number of apartments booked and status of statutory approvals, addressing a major concern of buyers about incomplete or fraudulent land acquisition and pending clearances.

The consumer-friendly legislation will clearly define carpet area and private developers will not be allowed to sell houses or flats on the basis of ambiguous super area.

The builders won't be allowed to publish misleading advertisements to lure buyers while advertising the project. "They will have to use the pictures reflecting the actual project that will be delivered to homebuyers," an official said.

The developer will have to deposit 70% of funds received for a particular project in a separate bank account to cover the construction cost of the project. This provision was made to discourage developers from diverting funds of a particular project to another that often causes inordinate delay.

Punitive provisions ranging from a penalty which may be up to 10% of the project cost, de-registration of the project and imprisonment are being made in the bill.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013, which seeks to provide a uniform regulatory environment to the sector, was opposed by private developers in totality but housing minister Ajay Maken stuck to it, saying the basic tenet of the legislation is based on public disclosure that will infuse transparency.

Under the bill, there will be a model builder-buyer agreement which is expected to reduce ambiguities in real estate transactions that not many buyers are familiar with.

Real estate agents will also be asked to register with the regulator. Agents, an important link between the promoter and buyer, have been an unregulated lot till now. Once they are registered, it will help in curbing money laundering.

For fast tracking settlement of disputes, an adjudicating officer not below joint secretary in the state will be appointed by the authority. There will also be Real Estate Appellate Tribunal that will hear appeals from orders, decisions or directions of regulator and adjudicating officer.

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.