10-Oct-2019

06-Dec-2019

18-Mar-2020

https://www.credaibengalhomes.com/developers/login/

CREDAI Bengal Daily News Update | 18.03.20

Issued in Public Interest

Covid-19 Impact: MahaRERA adjourns all cases till March 31

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has adjourned all the

cases before the authority and Adjudicating Officers till March 31 owing to the pandemic

of Coronavirus.

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has adjourned all the cases

before the authority and Adjudicating Officers till March 31 owing to the pandemic

of Coronavirus.

All the cases that were scheduled between March 16 and March 31 are being rescheduled except

"very urgent matters", the regulator said in a statement. The notice for these urgent matters will

have to be given well in advance and only after satisfaction of urgency then matter could be taken

up for hearing.

The regulator's project and agent registration process remains unaffected as this is completely

online. As a precautionary measure in the view of ongoing Coronavirus mayhem, the regulator

has allowed its staff to work from home till further orders.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/covid-19-impact-

maharera-adjourns-all-cases-till-march-31/74673404

Covid-19: Pay house tax after picking up free mask at Dehradun

civic body

The deadline for depositing house tax is March 31 and the DMC is expecting a rush of

visitors at its premises at this time of the month.

Stepping up preventive measures against the coronavirus epidemic, the Dehradun Municipal

Corporation (DMC) has put several safety arrangements in place as residents line up at its

premises to pay their house tax.

The deadline for depositing house tax is March 31 and the DMC is expecting a rush of visitors at

its premises at this time of the month.

Officials said that in order to ensure people submit their dues, while keeping coronavirus at bay,

they have set up a stall inside the DMC premises that lets visitors as well as corporation staff use

face masks and hand sanitisers free of cost. In fact, the use of both has been made mandatory

before entering office premises.

Talking to TOI, municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said, “We are taking every

possible measure to keep ourselves and others safe from the infection. While maintaining personal

hygiene is one form of protection, crowds also need to be avoided. People will be standing in a

queue to deposit their house tax and it is mandatory to protect everyone from the threat (of

coronavirus).”

Vijay Dhyani, a resident of EC Road, who came to deposit house tax at the DMC office on

Monday, said, “The facility of masks at a public office is certainly a welcome move. This will

help us to keep ourselves safe.”

Meanwhile, the DMC has also briefed its sanitation workers about the situation and advised them

to take extra precaution while coming in contact with people.

“We have printed over a lakh handouts for awareness about Covid-19. These have been given to

sanitation workers, who have been asked to leave them with residents of households they collect

garbage from,” added Pandey.

This financial year, the DMC has a target of collecting Rs 50 crore house tax from residential and

commercial premises.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/covid-19-pay-house-tax-

after-picking-up-free-mask-at-dehradun-civic-body/74678082

Gurugram civic body collects Rs 49 crore property tax in last two

months

Zone 3, which includes upscale colonies such as DLF and Sushant Lok, topped the list with

the maximum recovery of almost Rs 20 crore.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has collected over Rs 49 crore in the form of

property tax in the last two months.

Zone 3, which includes upscale colonies such as DLF and Sushant Lok, topped the list with the

maximum recovery of almost Rs 20 crore. It was followed by Zone 2 and Zone 4, where taxes

amounting to Rs 12.3 crore and Rs 10.3 crore were recovered, respectively. Zone 1 was last with

a collection of around Rs 8 crore as property tax.

The recovery was conducted along with sealing of properties by the enforcement wing, which

sealed over 50 properties, including those of several developers, since January this year.

Properties, which were sealed included clubs, construction companies, shops in malls and

residential properties. Around 19 properties were sealed in Zone 3 and 18 properties in Zone 4

for non-payment of property tax despite several reminders, a zonal taxation officer said.

Last year, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar took serious note of pending property tax worth

crores and directed the MCG commissioner to recover the tax from defaulters owing over Rs 20

lakh in dues. Following the CM’s directives, MCG conducted a survey that revealed that there

are over 250 properties in city’s four zones where owners hadn’t paid property tax.

An official said that the corporation is sending notices to defaulters in the city asking them to pay

the tax on time, failing which their properties will be attached and penalty will be imposed on

them. “Once the property is attached, the sale and purchase of the property is restricted till the tax

dues are cleared by the owner,” he added.

The corporation had put up as many as 25 properties located in Udyog Vihar, Sector 35, Nirvana

Country, Sohna Road and several other parts of the city for auction last year after their owners

failed to pay property tax.

“It is a matter of grave concern that till date no report on property tax has been forwarded by the

taxation officers after having been given clear-cut directions by the senior officials.....Action

would be taken against any official found responsible for further delay,” former MCG

commissioner Yashpal Yadav had written in a strong-worded letter to senior officials.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/gurugram-civic-body-

collects-rs-49-crore-property-tax-in-last-two-months/74665921

Financial crisis forces people to vacate rented flats in Kochi

All Kerala apartment owners apex association president V K Shankarankutty quoted the

case of a businessman who left the flat in which he was residing due to the loss he suffered

in business.

As businesses in Kochi continue to take a beating and financial crisis becomes more apparent,

many tenants who live in rented flats are either moving out of the city or are looking for cheaper

accommodation in the city’s suburbs. Salary cuts and layoffs have also adversely affected rentals.

All Kerala apartment owners apex association president V K Shankarankutty quoted the case of

a businessman who left the flat in which he was residing due to the loss he suffered in business.

“It was a 3BHK apartment at Edappally. Though he owns a house in the city, he moved to the

apartment on the ground floor for a monthly rent of Rs 20,000 as his wife couldn’t climb stairs.

As the stock market crashed and his businesses suffered huge loss, he said he was unable to pay

the rent,” he said.

Brokers who operate in the city also echo similar views. They say that though there is a demand

for accommodation, not many are willing to pay the exorbitant rentals. Francis Johnson, a broker

operating near MG Road, said: “Those people who were earlier willing to pay a monthly rent of

Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 are now demanding apartments in the range of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000.”

He said this has been the scenario for the past two months.

Those familiar with housing and rentals in the city blame the brokers for hiking rentals. The

brokers who negotiate between the flat owners and the tenant assure the owner that they will rope

in tenants who are willing to pay higher rent. “Their commission is based on the rentals. Both the

owner and the tenant pay an amount, which is half of the monthly rent, as commission,” said

Mohammed T, a city resident.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/financial-crisis-forces-

people-to-vacate-rented-flats-in-

kochi/74673704https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/financial-

crisis-forces-people-to-vacate-rented-flats-in-kochi/74673704

Secunderabad Cantonment Board to penalise realtor who

demolished building illegally

He had rented it to M/s Satyam Computer Services (firm of former CEO Byrraju

Ramalinga Raju) five years ago, but the company vacated it later.

A person was killed when the owner of a commercial building at Karkhana in the Cantonment

area bulldozed the structure, flouting the Cantonment Act that requires one to take permission

from the Secunderabad Cantonment Board before demolishing a property.

This was the first ever such incident since the inception of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board

(SCB).

According to records of SCB’s engineering wing, the property (G+3) belonged to Durga Prasad,

a realtor. He had rented it to M/s Satyam Computer Services (firm of former CEO Byrraju

Ramalinga Raju) five years ago, but the company vacated it later. It was then leased to a private

bank that moved out when its permanent building was constructed.

“Since then, the property was lying vacant and the owner had applied to construct a new G+2

building on the same premise. He had sent the layout to the SCB engineering wing three months

ago and was waiting for approval. As per the Cantonment Act, every layout has to pass by the

board members through a resolution,” an assistant cantonment engineer with SCB, Balakrishna,

told TOI.

However, the owner had not applied for a permission to demolish the building. The property was

ravaged even before an SCB meeting could be convened, added Balakrishna. It is for SCB

engineering wing to give permission for any demolition and issue precautionary and safety

measures to be followed during the process.

Citing flouting the rules and regulations of Cantonment Act, we have decided to impose huge

penalty against the property owner. This penalty will be decided by the CEO of Cantonment

Board and will be served through a notice. The range of the penalty could be between Rs 5 lakh

and Rs 10 lakh, the SCB official said.

Traffic went haywire on Karkhana-Secunderabad Club stretch between 8 am and 1 pm due to the

incident. Traffic police swung into action to clear the area at the earliest.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/secunderabad-

cantonment-board-to-penalise-realtor-who-demolished-building-illegally/74665947

Lucknow civic body mulls filing FIRs against house tax defaulters

For the next financial year, Lucknow Municipal Corporation has mooted a proposal to

lodge an FIR against house tax defaulters. The proposal will be tabled in the House meeting

for final approval.

Not paying your house tax on time can land you in jail.

For the next financial year, Lucknow Municipal Corporation has mooted a proposal to lodge an

FIR against house tax defaulters. The proposal will be tabled in the House meeting for final

approval.

“First, a notice will be served to a defaulter. If they do not respond within 15 days, an FIR will

be lodged,” said additional municipal commissioner Amit Singh.

The civic body had recently increased its house tax revenue target from Rs 300 crore to Rs 410

crore to meet the rise in expenditure resulting from a hike in corporators’ funds from Rs 95 lakh

to Rs 1.28 crore each.

However, LMC’s experience has shown that it has not been able to meet house tax collection

target over the past three years. In 2018, a similar increase in corporators’ funds had to be rolled

back because of failure to meet revenue target.

However, this time, LMC officials said that they have prepared an action plan to achieve targets.

First, a geographical index system (GIS) survey will be conducted to cover all 5.48 lakh

households in the city to identify those paying undervalued tax.

Thereafter, a drive to collect taxes from defaulters will be carried out. Simultaneously, staff of

the civic body will conduct door-to-door drive to collect taxes.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 17, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/lucknow-civic-body-mulls-

filing-firs-against-house-tax-defaulters/74673903

Invesco Global buys Oberoi Realty shares worth Rs 220 crore

The shares were bought on an average price of Rs 438.38 valuing the transaction at Rs 220

crore.

Invesco Global on Tuesday picked up equity shares worth Rs 220 crore of Oberoi Realty through

open market transaction. According to the bulk data available on BSE, a total of 50,24,217 shares

of Oberoi Realty were purchased by Invesco Global Small and Midcap Growth Fund.

The shares were bought on an average price of Rs 438.38 valuing the transaction at Rs 220 crore.

Meanwhile, Wellington Trust Company National Association Multiple Common Trust Funds

Trust Emerging Markets Opportunities Portfolios sold 27,20,814 stocks of the realty company at

an average price of Rs 430.38 amounting to Rs 117 crore.

Shares of Oberoi Realty closed at Rs 436.45, apiece on the BSE, down 1.62 per cent from the

previous close.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 18, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/invesco-global-buys-oberoi-

realty-shares-worth-rs-220-crore/74683411

Mumbai: Chanda & Deepak Kochhar looking to buy flat in CCI

Chambers

Sources said that the Kochhars are negotiating for an apartment, valued around Rs 17

crore, in the name of their son Arjun as their own apartment in CCI Chambers has been

attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

ICICI Bank’s former MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her businessman husband Deepak

Kochhar, who are being investigated by multiple revenue and law enforcement agencies for

alleged money laundering, are in the processing of buying a three-BHK apartment in CCI

Chambers CHS opposite the Cricket Club of India at Churchgate.

Sources said that the Kochhars are negotiating for an apartment, valued around Rs 17 crore, in

the name of their son Arjun as their own apartment in CCI Chambers has been attached by

the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Properties and assets of Chanda and Deepak Kochhar, worth

around Rs 78 crore, have been attached by the ED.

The CCI Chambers have three wings: East, West, and Centre. The Kocchars’s Flat No. 45 -- on

the fifth floor of West Wing – was attached by the ED in January.

The real estate sources told Mirror that another apartment in the same wing has been put on sale

and the Kochhars are negotiating for the same in the name of Arjun, the 23-year-old who recently

completed the under-graduation course at Yale University and who is working for the

management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company.

Areal estate source said that apartments at CCI Chambers command a price of around Rs 80,000

per sq ft. “A recent transaction of a three-BHK flat with a 2,150 sq ft carpet area was in the range

of Rs 17 crore,” the source said.

Kochhars’s troubles

The ED’s money laundering case against the Kochhars is based on the first information report

registered by the CBI against the couple, Videocon Group chairman

Venugopal Dhoot and six others. The CBI’s case pertains to six loans of Rs 1,875 crore

sanctioned to Videocon Group companies between June 2009 and October 2011when Chanda

Kochhar headed ICICI Bank and was a key member of the approvals committee.

She is being probed for receiving alleged “illegal gratification through her husband Deepak

Kochhar from Videocon MD Dhoot” as well as cheating and abuse of her official position for

“dishonestly sanctioning loans to the Videocon Group”, according to the FIR.

The CCI Chambers apartment was allegedly bought at a price lower than the market rate through

a company in which Videocon Group had a stake. Mirror made several attempts to contact the

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (online)

Date March 18, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/mumbai-chanda-deepak-

kochhar-looking-to-buy-flat-in-cci-chambers/74683535

Kochhars for a comment but the calls and messages remained unanswered. Amit Bhimani, who

is a managing committee member in the CCI Chambers CHS, said that he wasn’t aware of the

Kochhars trying to purchase another apartment in the society. A real estate source, however, said

the transaction was in the process.

________________________________________________________________