Lucknow ED arrests Sai Constructions and Builders partners in loan fraud case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Lucknow zonal office, on Thursday arrested Ghaziabad-based realtor Rajeev Tyagi in a Rs 28 crore bank loan fraud case. He was produced before the special judge, CBI court-1 (Special Court, PMLA), Ghaziabad, which sent him in ED custody till Oct 24. The probe revealed that Tyagi, through his partnership firm, M/s Sai Construction and Builders, Ghaziabad, hatched a conspiracy in connivance with other associates and guarantors. They availed loans and financial facilities from the bank (erstwhile Corporation Bank, now Union Bank of India after the merger) by submitting fake and forged documents and inflated valuation reports of the mortgaged properties with the intention to defraud the bank. ED provisionally attached several immovable assets amounting to Rs 14.89 crore in the form of flats, a commercial shop, and residential and industrial plots. These were registered in the names of Tyagi and his sons, Amartya Raj and Kanishk Raj, as well as M/s SKT Garments Private Limited and M/s S K Enterprises.
 

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State governmnet sanctions rs 209.20 crore for housing scheme in rural area

The Tamil Nadu government has sanctioned ?209.20 crore for implementing the Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme in rural areas (aka Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin) during 2024-25. The sum of ?209 crore which includes 60% Central share of ?125.52 crore and 40% State share of ?83.68 crore as the first tranche of the first installment, including the administration fund. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department haved issued orders in this regard. The Union Ministry of Rural Development in August this year had approved the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana - Gramin for five more years from 2024-25 to 2028-29 for “two crore more houses”.  Union Ministry had fixed a target of 68,569 houses for Tamil Nadu for 2024-25. The beneficiaries of the scheme would be selected from the existing Awaas-Plus database from 2018. The Government of India has fixed a unit cost of ?1.20 lakh per house. Both the unit cost and the administration fund are to be shared by the Union and the State governments in 60:40 ratio. The expenditure is to be brought to the notice of the Legislature in the Supplementary Estimates 2024-25.

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Chennai  Majority of Jains Westminster apartment owners agree for development

Owners of Jains Westminster Apartments, Chennai, has informed the Madras high court that a majority of them have decided in favour of redeveloping the property instead of reconstructing it. While reconstruction means rebuilding a structure exactly as it is,  redevelopment implies construction of a new structure with a completely new plan and dimension. A two-member committee appointed by the court submitted that of the 351 flat owners, 216 agreed to the redevelopment of the property. As many as 135 owners voted for the reconstruction of the property. The decision was made in the general body meeting of the Flat Owners’ Association. As per a latest rule brought in by the Tamil Nadu housing and urban  development department, the decision to redevelop a property must be agreed by not less than two-thirds of the apartment owners. According to the court-appointed committee, former judges of the court Justice K N Basha and Justice K Kannan inspected 321 flats, and keys of 310 flats were already handed over to the builders. An expert committee from IIT-Madras found the apartment buildings unsafe for living. Though the company agreed to demolish and rebuild all three residential apartments, the Jains Westminster Owners Welfare Association moved the high court seeking direction to the builder to deposit Rs 106 crore towards rental accommodation for the flat owners until the buildings are reconstructed or redeveloped.
 

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Balaji housing finance shares drop 4percent as one month lock in period expires on October 14

Shares of the recently-listed Bajaj Housing Finance dropped 4% to their day’s low of Rs 144.90 on the BSE as the 1-month share lock-in period of the stock expired today. This means that approximately 12.6 crore (126 million) shares of the company, which were previously locked in and prohibited from sale, will now be eligible to be sold. These 12.6 crore shares represent 2% of the total outstanding shares of the company, according to a report by domestic research firm Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research. A 1-month share lock-in period refers to a time frame of a month, during which certain shareholders are restricted from selling or transferring their shares in the market. Typically set at six months but sometimes extending up to a year, this period ensures major investors, like promoters and anchor investors, hold their shares, supporting the company’s long-term growth. During the lock-in period, shareholders such as company insiders, employees, or early investors are not allowed to sell or trade their shares in the open market, which helps stabilize the stock price by preventing a large influx of shares hitting the market immediately after such events, which could cause volatility. The shares of Bajaj Housing Finance have declined 9.3% in the last 2 weeks while gaining 8.65% in the last 1 week.
 

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Trichy Tidel Park launches rs 315.2 crore in tender for new IT Park

Tidel Park Limited, a joint venture between Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) has floated a ?315.2 crore tender to begin construction of a new Tidel Park in Trichy. This project will add 5.5 lakh square feet of IT and ITES office space, tripling the city's existing infrastructure. Private developers are also planning to contribute another 6 lakh square feet of office space in response to growing demand from investors drawn to Trichy's low operational costs and access to the talent pool. Tidel Park will be located next to the upcoming Integrated Bus Terminus (IBT) in Panjapur on the Trichy-Madurai National Highway. Trichy's IT/ITES infrastructure includes two government-owned facilities at the Trichy ELCOT IT Park in Navalpattu, totalling 1.8 lakh square feet. With the new Tidel Park, the city's government office space will expand to 7.3 lakh square feet within two years. We are planning a fair to promote office and commercial space, as the focus has been mainly on residential projects so far. Need for malls, luxury hotels, and other entertainment will be analysed," said Chella Ramaswamy, chairman of CII Trichy.
 

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Maharashtra RERA warns homebuyers aganist 314 housing projects undergoing insolvency

The Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has cautioned homebuyers against buying any properties in a total 314 projects registered with the authority that are undergoing proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) of 2016. Various banks, financial institutions, and other entities extending line of credit to the real estate sector have initiated the Corporate Insolvency  Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against these companies. In these 314 projects, significant investment has already been made. Of them, 56 are ongoing projects with an average registration of apartments at over 34%. Some of the projects of realty developers including Wadhwa Buildcon LLP, Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), Man Infraprojects, RNA Corp, Radius & Deserve LLP, Karrm Infrastructure, Man Realty, Lavasa Corp, Richa India Infra Development, Rashmi Housing, Nirmal Lifestyle, and Sheltrex Karjat. In Solapur, all the 5 projects have 87% investment. In Nagpur, both the projects have 60% investment and the sole lapsed project in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is 55% invested. Of the 56 ongoing projects, 21 are from Mumbai suburbs with 38% bookings, 20 in Thane 28% sales, 6 in Mumbai City with 31% bookings, and 5 in Pune with 41% sales.
 

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MHADA reduces additional area chargers to 110percent of ready reckoner rate in Mumbai

Maharashtra housing area development authority (MHADA) has reduced the charge applied to additional areas beyond the original or permissible area of old residental tenements foreligible tenants/residents on the master list of the Mumbai repair and reconstruction board. The revised charge will now be 110% of the ready reckoner rate, down from the previous 125%. Besides, developers often fail to provide the 300 square feet tenement that these tenants are entitled to. As a result, beneficiaries are often given larger units, and under the previous system, they were required to pay 125% of the Ready Reckoner Rate for the additional area. However, many beneficiaries are unable to afford this additional cost, which has delayed their permanent rehabilitation. Jaiswal noted that these payment challenges have caused a large backlog of unresolved cases with the Board, making it difficult to complete the rehabilitation process. To accelerate the rehabilitation of tenants in old cessed buildings, the decision was made to reduce the charge for the additional area to 110% of the ready reckoner rate, making it more affordable for eligible beneficiaries. 
 

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Paint wars: Dulux shade card may be part of a merged palette 

ET Intelligence Group: The war among paint makers in India may well end up in mergers. And Akzo Nobel India - the fourth largest player in India's decorative paints segment - may have a role to play in it. Akzo Nobel India has informed that its Dutch parent Akzo Nobel NV is conducting a strategic review of its portfolio to redeploy capital towards growing its core coatings businesses. The initial focus will be on its decorative paints business in South Asia and various strategic options will be explored ranging from partnerships or joint ventures through to mergers or divestments. Akzo Nobel India, which retails under the Dulux brand, has a 5-6% market share of the ?75,000 crore decorative paints industry in the country. According to the company, Akzo Nobel has a premium and highly profitable position in India with a strong track record of growth. Given this unique market position, the company is well-placed to participate in the further development of the highly dynamic South Asian decorative paints market, which is ripe for consolidation. Incidentally, several business houses have entered the decorative paints business, which was until recently oligopolistic in nature with Asian Paints being the market leader followed by Berger Paints, Kansai Nerolac and Akzo Nobel. Currently, players such as JSW Group, Aditya Birla Group, Pidilite and JK Cement are vying for a share in the decorative paints market at a time when consumer demand is subdued and input cost inflation poses a constant threat. There is also discounting and local competition from unorganised players to contend with. In such a scenario, small or non-serious players could find it difficult to grow.
The MNC may well command a premium for its India business amidst the current competitive landscape. The Dutch paint manufacturer is restructuring its operations to cut costs, improve efficiency and become more agile in volatile markets.

 

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Residental prices in Gurugram increase by 76 percent in two years Magicbricks

Average property prices in Gurugram have increased 76% in the last two years and 15.5% quarter-on-quarter to reach Rs 14,650 per sq ft in Q2 FY25, according to Magicbricks report. The report further stated that the prices have increased significantly, despite residential demand increasing a moderate 9.9% quarter-on-quarter and supply grew by 18.3% quarter-on-quarter, with an influx of new listing driven by increased market activity and new project launches. With increasing demand, prices of ready-to-move apartments have increased 12.9% quarter-on-quarter to touch Rs 13,729 per sq ft while vprices of under-construction apartments have increased 17.3% quarter- on-quarter to touch Rs 16,180 per sq ft. The report stated that 3-BHK units dominated with 66% of the demand, based on buyers' searches. Average prices of 3-BHK apartments have increased 21.6% quarter-on-quarter to reach Rs 14,600 per sq ft. Further, builder-floors command an average rate of Rs 12,700 per sq ft, multistorey apartments stand at Rs 13,200 per sq ft, residential houses at Rs 16,100 per sq ft, and luxurious villas are available at Rs 25,600 per sq ft The report also elaborated that Dwarka Expressway, New Gurgaon and Golf Course Extension are the most searched areas. 
 

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Union cabinet approves Chennai metro rail project phase II

 The Union cabinet has approved the proposal of Chennai Metro rail project phase II comprising three corridors. The total length of the metro lines is 118.9 km having 128 stations. The project completion cost is Rs 63,246 crore and is planned to be completed by 2027. The phase-II consists of three corridors. The first corridor, Madhavaram to Sipcot, has a length of  48.8km with 50 stations. Lighthouse to Poonamalle bypass is the second corridor which has a length of 26.1 km with 30 stations. Madhavaram to Sholinganallur, the third corridor will cover 47 km with 48 stations. Chennai will have a total metro rail network of 173 km once phase II is fully operational. The phase-II corridors will connect areas like Madhavaram, Perambur, Thirumayilai, Adyar, Sholinganallur, Sipcot, Kodambakkam, Vadapalani,Porur, Villivakkam, Anna Nagar and St. Thomas Mount.
 

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Madras HC fines sub register rs 25000 for refusing to register sale deed

Madras high court imposed a cost of Rs25,000 on a sub-registrar of Tuticorin district for refusing to register a sale deed despite an earlier order to regsiter it. Thje court also directed the sub-registrar to register the deed within 15 days. Justice N Sathish Kumar observed that the issue of refusal made casually by citing the pendency of the suit is elaborately dealt with by the division bench of this court, which held that merely citing the pendency of the suit, the document cannot be refused to be registered. Considering the seriousness of the issue, the judge imposed the cost to Considering the seriousness of the issue, the judge imposed the cost to be paid immediately to the women advocate association creche attached to the Madurai bench of Madras high court. The sub-registrar paid the cost imposed on him and also filed an affidavit of undertaking not to commit such a mistake hereafter. Hence, the judge set aside the refusal order.
 

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Resident Welfare associations in Chennai protest aganist 6 percent tax hike

The alliance of residents' welfare associations (AoRWA), a federation of 425 RWAs, has urged the state govt to rescind the recent 6% property tax hike passed by GCC. They demanded that taxes not be collected from residents who don't have basic water and sewer connections. In its second annual general body meeting over the weekend, AoRWA passed ten resolutions, emphasizing the need for improved civic infrastructure before implementing tax hikes. "Civic infrastructure a amenities must be provided by the govt on priority, and the tax hike proposal should be put on hold," said AoRWA general secretary J M S Nagarjunan. Many residents' associations had earlier challenged the 2022 tax revision in the high court, arguing the hike of 50% to 150% was unjustified due to inadequate facilities. The new tax increase was implemented before their petitions were addressed. Members voiced concerns over poor roads, inefficient stormwater drains and lack of water and sewer connections. Concerned about the impact on the Ramsar-tagged Pallikaranai marshland, AoRWA also passed a resolution against the proposed eco-park in the reclaimed Perungudi dump yard. Lastly, they voted to designate separate areas for dogs and cattle, away from densely populated spaces, and to ensure their regular feeding. 
 

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