Saturday 30 April 2016

Better use of space

                                      BETTER USE OF SPACE

                                                                           
                                  

If you want to give  auspicious appearance to your apartment and also find space for storage here are some handy ideas for doing it.
When shopping for your furniture be one step ahead in your thinking.  A chest of drawers can provide more storage room than a side table and at the same time it doesn’t have to be too large.  A beautiful glass-topped table may look good but a coffee table with drawers may be used to hide things.  An open and spacious appeal to your living room can be imparted by utilizing furniture that serves a dual purpose.

An example of that is by choosing a bench which has a hinged lid for the end of a bed or beneath a window.  The space inside may be useful to store sheets, blankets, extra towels, out-of-season clothes and toys.  The centre table could be a piece with a hidden storage space for putting away magazines, papers and other miscellaneous household items.

Another area that can be cleverly put to use is the space under the staircase where you can build large shelves and get lots of extra space.  A set of open shelf spaces can be created on a blank wall and these will have aesthetic as well as practical storage value.  They can add some cheer to the room and will not intrude on space.  Most things in your room are unlikely to measure more than 5 feet.  So you should make shelves 12 to 18 inches below the ceiling for displaying decorative objects, plants hats or photos.  Ready made shelves with mounting brackets can be found in any building supply store.  In addition, you can put up a structured wall unit or entertainment center for housing books, electronic equipment and space for decorative arrangements.

You can make a home library with shelves extending from the floor to the ceiling and this bookshelf can act as a room divider rather than having a wall.  A knee-hole desk with drawers can be used for files and office items instead of having the usual open writing desk.  These ideas give plenty of storage room and do not intrude into the living area.

Imagine how much space there is beneath a queen or king-sized bed.  You can raise it higher by providing taller legs.  In order to have a dust-free environment without clutter, built in wardrobes that extend from the floor to the ceiling are perfect.  You can made pull-out drawers under your bed for storing linen.  An unobtrusive bedside table can be made by using wall space for a table that can be suspended. The headboard can be lengthened on both sides to use as a bedside table along with a lamp.

In the bathroom it is best to store things which are not decorative in a way that they will be hidden.  You could enclose shelves and cupboards behind doors.  Bars for towels may be fixed on the wall or can be hung on hooks installed behind the bathroom door.  You could fix short narrow shelves both above and below the washbasin.  Various accessories can be stored there.

All the available space on the walls and corners must be used up in the kitchen.  Hooks over the cooking range can be used to hang big utensils that do not fit into drawers.  A pull-out tray at the bottom of the cabinet can be used for smaller things.  A low cutlery stand may be used as a counter table, chopping board and preparation counter.  For this it only needs to be fitted with a rubber wedge top.  When you have to entertain guests a tray rack on wheels is ideal.  In short a little ingenuity will go a long way in giving you a spacious home with plenty of storage space.

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Friday 29 April 2016

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF VAASTU FOR A BETTER LIVING

                       BASIC PRINCIPLES OF VAASTU  FOR A BETTER LIVING

                                                           


Vaastu shastra is a very old science on construction dating back to the days of Vedas. Vaastu's main idea is to bring about harmony between the life and the environment around it. What distinguishes Vaastu from other science of construction is its familiarity with metaphysical energies, positive and negative energies. Vaastu prescribes certain procedures so that energy fields are not distorted. Vaastu Shilpa Shastra, deals with harmonious co-existence with nature and also for physical, emotional, spiritual needs of human beings. It deals with the selection of sites and construction of residential as well as commercial buildings and lays down the rinciples of building, designing and planning to ensure happy living. Vaastu principles are such that if followed, they provide happiness, health and prosperity for the occupants of the building.

Till early 1990 there was some awareness among the people regarding Vaastu principles. These days quite a lot of importance is given to the principles laid down in Vaastu shastra. Planners take into consideration the location of the site, roads, slopes, soil, water table etc, before planning the building. Every one of us wants to be healthy and function in the commercial building successfully. Almost all the city dwellers do approach some Vaastu consultants before taking up any construction work or for moving into residential dwelling units or flats. In the present day situation, it is difficult to follow all the principles laid down in Vaastu shastra for various reasons. Reasons could be, lack of suitable land in the cities, inadequate funds, prevailing building bye-laws of the local bodies. Some people even comment that the Vaastu shastra is too rigid about the placing of the doors and windows, which according to them is simply not possible to follow. On the contrary, the Vaastu consultants and the pundits are of the firm view that there are simple ways to alter the living space suitably.

The Vaastu principles which are based on five elements namely earth, space, fire, air and water have to be adopted to the best advantage. It should be remembered that the very existence of the man is totally dependent on these five elements and is controlled by these elements. All possible efforts should be made to harness the effects of the five elements. Who would not like to benefit from knowledge, wisdom, health, wealth, strength and happiness? In view of the fact that the Vaastu shastra regulates the construction of the buildings, whether residential or commercial, it would be wise to remember some of the important regulations or say the basic principles namely - enjoy the sunlight from the eastern side, place the kitchen in the South east comer, place the beds South-north (with head at South) or East-west directions, have the front door or back door made of a frame of four pieces, store water in the North east comer (sump-borewell) of the site. Further try to understand the eight directions and their importance. Remember, not to demolish the existing houseslbuildings but alter them suitably. If the kitchen is not in the specified direction, things like gas stove could be placed in the proper place namely Southeast comer of the existing kitchen. A good house built on Vaastu principles certainly gives peace of mind and ensures harmonious living.


1. Whatever may be the type of construction, the vacant spaces in' East and North should be more than that of West and South.
2. Heavier, hefty structures and fixtures must be in Southwestern, Southern or Western part of the site.
3. The South west part should be comparatively elevated.
4. The main door, and the exit point should be located in strong positions, such as Eastern, Northern Northeast, Southern Southeast or Western Northwest, which are auspicious.
5. Wells, bore wells, sump tanks, depressions, etc., must be in the Eastern or Northern Northeast of the site. Care should be taken to ensure that they are not located in a diagonal line extending from North eastern end of the building to North eastern corner of the site. 
6. Avoid pits, depressions in Southern or Western part of the plot.
7. Flow of rain/drainage, sewage water must flow out of the site either from Northern, North eastern or Eastern, North eastern, or Central east or Central north sides. It is worthwhile to note some popular sayings recognized by Vaastu:

b. Closing, covering eastern, Southeast is sacrificing happiness.
c. Do not weaken the North eastit may affect the lineage.
d. Covering the North east IS like a noose around neck.

After consulting astrologer/pundit about the suitable date for commencement of the construction, it is necessary and desirable to perform some rituals with a view to have peace and prosperity of the owner and his family. This applies not only for residential but also for apartment buildings as well as commercial complexes. Before foundation is laid, perform pooja of the foundation stone and then lay the stone. After the stone is laid construction should be started, clockwise commencing from South-east direction, construction of pillars and walls also should be started from South East direction. Another important point to be noted is that the commencement of constructions be done during Shuklapaksha (first half of the lunar month) i.e. between 1st day to Pournima (full moon day). It is not desirable to commence construction in the 2nd half oflunar month.

In case there is a proposal to construct a basement, a few suggestions are desired to be considered. Having a basement in a particular direction, do have some good effects. Vaastu shastra lays down the principles as to how and where a basement should be constructed and its effects. A few suggestions are detailed hereunder.

* A cellar to the South of the buildings is not favourable. 
* A person residing in the South west part of the building with a cellar towards South is not desirable. 
* A cellar to the West of the building is not in the interest of the owner and should be avoided. 
* A basement /cellar to the East or North of the building is always good. 
* No shop be provided in a basement on the Southern side of the building. 
* Cellar situated at South-east, South-west or North-west be used for parking vehicles or for storing goods. 

Main door of the house is most important and therefore its location requires to be considered very carefully. Certain methods are also suggested in Vaastu shastra. One suggestion is measure the length of a house along the direction in which the door is proposed to be fixed, divide the length into 9 equal parts, leave 5 parts to the right and 3 parts to the left and place the door along the remaining length. To be more clear, if the length of the house is 36 feet the 9 parts will be each of 4 feet. After leaving 5 parts from the right side (20 feet) and 3 parts from left (12 feet), the door shall be placed on the remaining part of 4 feet. A simple procedure for recognizing the direction is - consider a person when he makes exit from the main door, the right flank is the one which is to the right of the person and the left flank lies to the left. If a person makes an exit facing East, the South is to the right and North to the left. In short for installation of the main door following suggestions may be considered;
• Leave two sections and place the door in the third section in the case door faces East.
• Leave 5 sections and place the door in 6th section ifit faces South.
• Leave out 3 sections and place the door in 4th section if it faces West or North. 
• The door in the 4th section always generates good results. The following are unfavourable situations for placing the main door: 
• A tree, well, pillar directly in front of the main door should be avoided. This does not apply when there is a road between the main door and the objects referred. 
• Vidhi shula i.e. approach road forming a T-junction with the plot from south. 
• Placing of the door in the Northwest or Southwest should be avoided.
It should also be ensured that only a new door is used for a new house. Old doors should be totally avoided. The door, right on top of the door at lower level should be slightly smaller in size. Always the main door to be installed should be separate and superior to the rest ofthe doors. Avoid cracked main door. The number of doors and the windows (counted separately) should always be in even number. The main door of the house should have a four pieces frame i.e. there must be 'Threshold'. The shape of the house site, in its topography and direction it faces are very important to determine the actual direction of placement of main door. So it is always advisable to have physical inspection of the site by an expert in Vaastu.

Main entrance is very significant in Vaastu. Its position has exalted or debilitating effect on the residents; that is favourable or unfavourable. The vertical intersection of the plot at the Eastern lateral side determines the exalted or strong and debilitating or weak positions. The Northern half side is strong and southern half side is weak as per Vaastu. In the similar way, the vertical intersection of southern lateral side decides the strong and weak positions, the eastern half side is exalted, strong and western half is weak. Further another vertical division of western side, where northern half is considered as strong and southern side is treated as weak. In addition, another vertical division of northern lateral side creates strong and weak positions, where eastern half is exalted (strong) and western half is debilitated or weak.
(a) Eastern north east:- This is very strong position, It is associated with intellect. People inhabiting the house having main entrance in eastern north east develop and become intellectuals and knowledgeable. They are respected in society. 

(b)Southern south east :- This is a favourable position. Main entrance in southern south east brings good, auspicious results. 
(c) Eastern south east:- This is weak, unfavourable position, Having a main door in Eastern south east leads to badlunfavourable results. 
(d) Southern south west :- Again, this is an unfavourable/debilitating direction. Main entrance in southern south west may lead to financial troubles and ill health of family members, particularly female members. 
(e) Western south west :- This is a weak position. A main entrance in western south west will bring financial troubles. Further health of male head of the family will deteriorate. 
(t) Western north west :- This is a favourable strong position. Inhabitants of the house having main entrance in western north west enjoy favourable and good results. 
(g)Northern north west:- This is an unfavourable direction. People residing in houses with main entrance in northern north west develop weak mind, become unpredictable.
(h)Northern north east :- This is a favourable position. Having a main entrance in Northern north east is a gateway for windfall of gains.
Placement of furniture
Position offurniture is also very crucial. If the main entrance is on eastern north east, the furniture are generally placed towards opposite, that is the south. This helps in northward movement, which is auspicious. Likewise the main entrance in southern south east, compels to place the furniture in west. This makes way for eastward movement, which brings in favourable results. In case the main entrance is in western north west, the heavy furniture are placed towards south and north becomes light, which yields good results. Ifthe main door is in northern north east, the heavy furniture are placed in west making east comparatively lighter, which again brings favourable results.
Bed room
South west is most favourable for bedroom/master bedroom. Having a bedroom in east is an open invitation for ill health. Likewise a bedroom in north western, would not bring sound sleep and have mental worries. Bedroom in south brings good health, whereas in north results in financial losses. Bedroom in west is good. However, bedroom in north west is allowed provided that there is a master bedroom in south west. Beds fcots in bedroom have to be placed in such a way, that there is more vacant space towards north and east. While sleeping, the head which is the most important part of the human body should be placed towards south for sound sleep.
Roof
In olden days most of the houses were built with roof sloping on one side or the other. However later on the styles changed and the roofs were built without any slopes particularly in the dry areas, where the rains were not heavy. The roofs used to be of tiles or of stone labs/mortar till the advent of cement concrete. Vaastu shastra provides for putting up the roofs in a particular way. Whatever may be the material used the basic requirement is that there should be no seepage or leakage of rain water. Nowadays, houses are designed in different ways to suit the requirements of the owners. Naturally the roofs are designed to get better elevation and aesthetic value. If the roof is not placed in accordance with the Vaastu shastra it can have some adverse effects. If the roof is slopy, such sloping should be equal or even on both sides. Even the roofs are split in different levels. In such cases care should be taken to see that south-west rooflevel and parapet wall are a bit higher than the other sides. The levels of sloping roof be lesser at north-east than at southwest. Here are what the Vaastu principles to say about putting up a rooffor a building.

1. The slopes should be North or East. 
2. Avoid sloping towards south or west. 
3. Smoke chimney be provided in the south or west of the building. Avoid east, north-east or north. 
4. When the water tanks are to be placed on the roof, prefer placing them in south or west side of the roof, avoid north-east, east or north. 
5. Flat roof is considered to be quite good and therefore the water tanks should be placed on raised platforms. 
6. The slopes required for flat roofs should be towards east or north. 
7. Pyramid shaped roofs are considered as neutral. 
8. In case it is necessary to provide sky light window it should be provided only in north or east side of the roof. 
9. The roof tiles should always be in good condition and the broken tiles should be replaced immediately as and when noticed. 
10. The slope should be even on both sides of the site.
Pent house
It is seen that in some cases a small house is built on the top roof of the multi-storeyed building. It is known as pent house. The pent house is supposed not to be a part of the main building and application of Vaastu principles is given a go by. However it is desirable to refer to Vaastu aspects before taking up construction of pent house. The following points are considered important and may be followed:
1. Avoid construction of pent house on north or east side of the top floor roof. 
2. Since the builtup on the southern side or western side has to be taller it is appropriate to put up a pent house on west or south of terrace. 
3. Since the pent house is used as a house for residence it is desirable to follow Vaastu principles as in the case of any nonnal house. 
4. It is desirable to leave some open space in the east and north.
Out-house
Some times, construction of out-house becomes necessary to remedy the ill effects of Vaastu. In case of sites, which extends from north to south wherein house is constructed in the northern portion leaving the southern portion vacant. In such cases, it would be important to construct out-house in southwest to avoid evil effects. The floor of such out-houses must be on elevation than that of main house and should not have entrance or exit on the western or Southern portions. In case the site is extending from west to east where the main house is constructed on the eastern part leaving the western portion vacant, then the construction of an out-house in the southwest side is necessary. The floor levels of such an out-house should have elevation and entrance from the southern side is to be avoided. Generally, onstruction of out-houses should be avoided on the eastern or northern part abutting compound, but may be constructed abutting western or southern compound.

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Thursday 28 April 2016

Rebuilding Our Cities

                                       Rebuilding  Our Cities 

                                                   



Physical decay has eaten deeply into the urban areas in the country. Corruption at every level in civic bodies are doing maximum damage. It breeds crime and delinquency, the result the housing problem remains unsolved. It is apparent that private builders, who by the way, are constructing over 75% of housing stock in the country, are forced to cough up hefty bribes at every stage of building construction. Construction of flats has become costly and out of the reach of general public.

 This resulted a new breed of investors in flats. In most of the cities old and dilapidated housing stock is on rental basis. And rents in cities like Mumbai are frozen to the year 1940 levels. This was and is the main reason that the repair of the buildings is not possible with the petty rents. The land lords of such rental buildings can not afford to the repairs and maintenance of such buildings. But now with the grant of FSI and high property rates there is option to reconstruct them. But the basic question remains to be answered is that as to where the common man will live. In entire south Mumbai a lot of construction is going on but they are all high rise high cost buildings and have no place for common man. The remedy is to create social housing compulsory at least on 40 to 50 % of the old property to be redeveloped in the metro cities. 

In all major cities in the country, slums are spreading because the common man cannot find affordable housing and hence are forced to live in miserable conditions. In 1999 the draft of National Slum Policy (DNSP) was circulated by the government of India. Since then it has undergone to numerous revisions, but it is yet to be finalised. In major cities, slums are occupying large tracts of valuable land. The aspect has to be addressed first if we want to rebuild our cities. Among the deficiencies in our national well being, is the accelerated rate of physical deterioration in our cities. The city planners and policy makers must concentrate on these issues and find out ways and means to rebuild the cities, where there is place for common man as well as for the affluent class. Various slum redevelopment schemes floated from time to time by various state governments have so far failed to achive the objective. So if we want to rebuild our cities, we have to prepare plans to fulfill it, as the rebuilding of cities cannot be carried out with piecemeal approach.

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Wednesday 27 April 2016

BANGALORE –PROPERTY FOR INVESTMENT, A FINE OPINION.

         


                                                      
                                              

                                                 


- Keshav Morab

    Property has always been a fine option for investment since long, the next option being only the gold. Both property i.e., lands and buildings and gold prices have appreciated considerably in the past few years. The gold price has since reached almost its peak and perhaps also saturation point. Now, property is the main option or only attraction for investment. Properties in some areas attract more and more investors, particularly the non residents Indians(NRI).The NRIs are showing more and more interest in the immovable properties ie lands and buildings. This  has attracted  many property developers to the realty market in major cities and metros.

        For the past two to three years the property market in Bangalore has shown quite an upward trend. With the entry of property developers from other cities to Bangalore, the demand for land has gone up tremendously. Various new projects are launched and are being launched, almost on regular basis giving a boost to the land prices all around Bangalore. The Demand for residential space has gone up immensely, particularly in the  neighborhood,of IT industries in the north and south Bangalore. Consequently the level land prices and apartments have gone up in those areas.

               The demand for medium class spaces like for 2 BHK (Bedroom- Hall –Kitchen) flats is said to be quite high. The present pricing however of such flats seems to be very high and the builders are indifferent towards the buyers of such medium class spaces. The abnormal prices of developed flats is keeping the people away who look for such accommodation. The developers have been taking up more and more high end projects eyeing  mostly NRIs. The cost of flats in such projects starts from a crore and goes beyond 5.6 Crores.

              Number of property developers are now coming up with projects for development of  plots for independent bungalows and villas on the outskirts of Bangalore all along the outer ring road. The plots and villas developers are said to be with all possible luxuries and costing crores of rupees . It seems there is no limit for luxuries and the price. With all such new projects coming up all over, the skyline of Bangalore is changing totally. The greenery that was seen once is now almost lost and it is  replaced with the multi story building and bunglows. The city has grown beyond imagination of planners, unfortunately the infrastructure that is necessary has not been developed simultaneously and the basic needs like proper roads, water supply, street lighting and public transport etc are denied to the areas where huge Layouts, Shopping complexes, commercial and residential spaces are coming up.

                 With the rapid growth in population of the city due to large scale migration and lack of proper and adequate connectivity people are living in far off places and have to depend on their own vehicles for commuting resulting in increase of vehicles population, now stated to be around Five millon. If no action is taken to develop the infrastructure projects, proper connectivity and required public transport, the situation will further worsen in the  next few years beyond one’s imagination.

           So far as the real estate market of Bangalore is concerued, there is a great demand for commercial and residential spaces, particularly the middle class  people are interested in buying spaces for residential purposes. The property developers may have to consider coming up with more projects, with one and two BHK flats or row houses to meet the demand, which is ever increasing for residential accommodation in particular. 

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Saturday 23 April 2016

Proposed Land Acquisition Law – whether boon or bane?


                                                                           

Acquisition of land for public utility shall always have social, economic and political repercussions and it is not an exception now. Inspite of the fact that our country is predominantly agricultural sector based, if our country need to grow, the growth has to be from non-agricultural sector such as manufacturing and services, for which there is no alternative other than to depend on the land to provide much needed infrastructure development.

With this idea, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) were created; however, this concept did not work out effectively for obvious reasons, and there was a huge controversy over the land acquisition, resulting in several projects coming to a standstill. 

Recent studies reveal that delays in land acquisition is threatening to endanger investments in near term and may lead to create negative impact on our country’s economic growth, job opportunities and tax collection. 

In order to ensure that the owner of the land under acquisition shall have a right to fair compensation and the entire process will take place in a transparent manner, the Government brought into existence the ‘Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Bill 2013”. In this, it is said to have features like compensation for the owners to the extent of four times the market value in rural areas and twice in case of urban areas, and it provides that consent of 80% of the displaced owners is required in case of acquisition for private or public sector. Even though these features appear to be attractive for the beneficiaries, there are some other features associated with the bill, such as, no consent required in case of acquisition for PSUs, and that the Government can temporarily acquire land for three years and that there would be no provision for rehabilitation and resettlement in such cases, etc. 

No doubt this proposed Law may be much advanced and fair replacement to the existing Law, but it is all the more important to ensure that the proposed Law is properly implemented for positive results. 

Therefore, one has to wait and watch over a period of time to understand whether the proposed Law will really offer what it promised and will lay the road for fast track infrastructure development or simply remain beating round the bush.  

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Friday 22 April 2016

VAASTU SHASTRA FOR GOOD AND HAPPY LIVING


                           VAASTU SHASTRA FOR GOOD AND HAPPY LIVING

                                                                 



It is a known fact that we all generally worship Vastu Purusha on occasions of beginning of 

Construction of the building, laying foundation of the main gate and at the time of entering the building since we believe that there lives Vastu god in every piece of land irrespective of the size and nature of the land. 

There is a story in the scriptures about the existence of Vastu god in the land. It is said that as a result of the battle that took place between the demon Andhakasur and the lord Shankar a few drops of lord's sweat fell on the ground which in turn resulted in the birth of a horrifying, huge humanlike figure. On seeing the emergence of such a satanic figure, all the gods were scared and approached Lord Brahma and prayed him for safety of their lives from the mighty and ugly horrendous figure. Lord Brahma exhorted the gods to fling the demonly horrendous figure on to the earth with it's face downwards. All gods followed the lord Brahma's instructions immediately and felt relieved from the worries. However, the demonly figure in turn prayed Lord Brahma saying that he was part of their universe and his body too belonged to his authority and the Gods therefore cannot throw him to the earth for no fault of his. He then prayed Lord Brahma to do justice to him and also proposed him as to how he can help the gods, his tormentors and promised lord Brahma that he would be prepared to make every sacrifice that he may be required. Immensely pleased with the prayer and on considering the plight of the demonly figure, lord Brahma blessed him thus:" since all the gods have started dwelling in your body, let them remain be seated in different parts of your body with all their affinity. From now on you will be known as Vastu god — Vastu Purusha — and all the people on the earth will worship you before embarking on any type of construction: be it any kind of township, pond, lake, fort, house, palace, etc., and those who do not worship you will meet their doom."

 Every human being on earth is accordingly obliged to worship Vastu Purusha before embarking on any structure. Vastu Purusha is lying in each bit of land in the following position. As blessed by Lord Brahma, a number of gods reside in the body of Vastu Purusha. Lord Mahadev is seated in the head portion, Jaya and Adithi on both shoulders, Apavatsa on the heart, Lord Brahma on the back slightly above waist and so on. 

As stated above, worship of Vastu Purusha is normally done on three occasions — before embarking on any structures, laying the foundation for the main gate and before entering the premises on an auspicious day and time. Vastu shastra is for the welfare of mankind and have to be followed properly for preventing any damages which may have to be encountered on account of not adhering the Vastu principles. 

The fundamentals of Vastu shastra are mostly based on the effects which are created on the earth by the planet Sun. Vastu Shastra tenets are based on five elements and in accordance with the position of gods ruling the direction so that the occupants live in peace and harmony — with nature and heavenly powers. The plans for the proposed building should be prepared taking into account the Vastu principles and after testing the land as prescribed in Vastu Shastra. 

Vastu principles are based on five elements viz Earth, Water, Ether, Air and Fire which are abundant on earth as also in universe. These five elements did exist as part of the ancient Vastu shasra as they are today. Adherence of Vaastu principles in construction of any buildings have found such buildings to be sturdy and have withstood the test of times and have remained intact — even today. For instance, Pyramids built in Egypt thousands of year ago are still intact. Some of our temples which have been built long long ago are still strong and have survived and withstood the vagories of the nature. Infact Vasu Shastra has manifested itself freely in our temple structures. The notable ones are: Madurai Meenakshi Temple, Tirupathi Venkateshwara temple, Ujjain Mahankaleshwar Temple etc. 

Vastu shastra principles give importance to the eight directions viz , East, West, North, South, South-East, South-West, North-East and North-West as these directions regulate the positive and negative energies and each of these directions are ruled by Gods and Planets. It is, therefore, necessary to follow the Principles of Vastu Shastra for the well being of the owners/occupants of the buildings be that for residential or commercial purpose. 
- Keshav V. Morab

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Tuesday 19 April 2016

SELECTION OF THE PROPERTY-BY S.SELVAKUMAR

                     Selection  of  the  Property - by S.Selvakumar

                                                 


                                                    
The registration has commenced pertaining to all the properties consequent to the relaxation of the ban imposed on the registration of certain properties. The ban on the registration has created an awareness in the public not to invest on the property which is improper.  On the other hand, the recent demolition drive undertaken by BMP in Koramangala has created a sense of fear among the public to invest on the property in and around Bangalore. Walking on the road involves risk; nevertheless we cannot sit at home. Likewise, investing in the property also involves certain risk, but we have to take certain calculative risks which will help us to live in a dream house and also appreciation on our investment. 

No advocate can give clear cut assurance on the properties. There may be few transactions which cannot be traced from the documents produced for scrutiny, such as previous agreement entered into with somebody, pending court litigation between the family members or outsider, etc, which are the risky areas that cannot be traced by seeing the property documents. However, advertising public notice in the leading daily, having wide circulation in the area where the property is situated, will help to trace certain adverse claims, if any, before purchasing such property. However, such Public notice is only a precautionary measure and may not be binding on any one having interest in the property if the same is ignored or may have not seen the notice at all. If the same is noticed by anyone having any kind of interest over such property, then opportunity will be given to them to file the objection before the purchase of the property and subsequently, issues cropped pursuant to such objections could be sorted out by the Vendor. The purchaser can also back out from such transaction.

I herewith give certain guidelines as to where to invest and how to select the property in order to overcome any kind of ambiguity regarding purchase of any property.

Even though all the properties can be registered by the concerned Sub-Registrar, mere registration would not convey the title. Registering officer will act only in the ministerial capacity and do not have power to asses the Genuineness  and marketable title of the property. Infact, the Sub-Registrars are more concerned with the stamp duty and registration charges. No one can give better title than what they themselves have, is the basic principle of the Transfer of Property Act. A vendor having marketable title can lawfully convey the property and  register in the concerned Sub-Registrar in favour of the purchaser and if the vendor has defective title, conveying the same and getting it registered will not perfect his title as there will be a lot of confusion as to whether the property is legally valid or not.

Before purchasing the property, marketable title, Genuineness of the document, enforceability of the title has to be scrutinized along with a thorough verification as to whether the relevant provision of the laws and other rules and regulations of the revenue authorities has been duly complied. Origin of the property, flow of the title and present status has to be verified with the help of an advocate, who is having experience on such matters.

B.D.A.Sites
Bangalore Development Authority, previously known as City Improvement Trust Board, allotted sites having the perfect title, compared with another title. BDA, being a statutory body, has got its own procedure envisaged in the BDA ACT in acquiring the lands from the private parties, formation of layouts along with all infrastructure like power, water and roads. Generally, impetus is given for providing civil amenities and width of the roads as per the town planning ACT. Layouts already developed has been provided with all the facilities immediately, for which we will have to pay moderate rate. Likewise, Co-operative societies layout, private layouts approved by BDA are governed by the rules and regulations of the BDA only. However, purchasing such property is advisable after scrutiny of the title thoroughly.

A property falling under the BMP Area are generally old properties. Vacant properties are very few. 
Generally  ready built houses or old houses are available for sale. Title of the property is required to be traced from the origin with successive deeds of transfer, computerized Khata and computerized Khata extract to be checked up.
If required, city survey map and Building sanction plan has to be verified.  Sometimes, larger extent of properties would be divided into smaller portions and in such case, only certified copies of the title deeds would be available. Old 7 CMC area, 1 CMC  area including 111 villages  included in the BBMP area from 16/01/2007. The newly added BBPM  area do  not have proper infrastructure facilities such as Road,  water, sewerage line etc.,  most of these  sites and houses do not have A Khatha or Building Plan Approved by  the competent authority and purchasing this type of property having high risk. 

 
Recently, lot of layouts approved by BMRDA i.e., Anekal Planning Authority(APA), Nelamangal Planning Authority(NPA), Magadi Planning Authority (MPA), Hosakote Planning Authority(HPA), Kanakapura Planning Authority(HPA), Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority [BIAAPA] are coming up in the outskirts of Bangalore, with  proper planning and development.  This is due to the recent ban on registration of such properties without BMRDA Release Letter.

Recently, BMRDA has changed its rules and regulations, wherein only 60% of the sites would be released at the time of approving layout plan, while remaining 40% of the sites will be released after completion of the entire layout. 

Accordingly, the Sub-Registrar refuses to register such sites without the release letter. So it became mandatory on the part of the developers to develop the entire layout and get the release order of the balance 40% of the sites. After the relaxation of the ban on registration, Sub-Registrar is registering BMRDA sites without release order, which, infact has affected the developmental activities of such layouts. 

Few of the promoters are selling the sites without providing basic facilities with an assurance to develop the same, but fail to do the same. 

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Monday 18 April 2016


                                                          


In 2014, Jabong and Snapdeal made large office space transactions, too.  They are expected to continue to do so this year.  While Jabong picked up 120,000 Sq.ft. in Gurgaon, Snapdeal absorbed 115,000 Sq.ft. in Delhi last year.  This year, Jabong is taking a new and larger rented office.

Though the American e-commerce major Amazon refused to discuss the specifics of its office expansion plans, it is believed to be looking at a large office space of more than one million Sq.ft. in Bengaluru this year.  The Company already have campuses in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides Offices in 15 Indian cities.  The Amazon spokes person said that “We are growing at a fase pace and you can expect our real estate foot print to grow this year”. 

Estimates suggest the total warehouse space uptake could more than be double in 2015 to 4 million square feet.  Besides the likes of Amazon, Flipkart, Jabong and Snapdeal, those like UrbanLadder, PepperFry, Quikr and FabFurnish are also looking at taking up more office space as their business grow. 

In Bengaluru, the absorption by e-commerce firms rose to 622,811 Sq.ft. from 453,495 Sq.ft., a year earlier. 

Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Kolkata office space absorption by e-commerce firms grew significantly. Warehouse space take up may double to 4 million Sq.ft. in 2015.  Added to this, the growth in number of employees and consumers fuelling realty boom. 



REALTY major DLF plans to divest around 50 percent stake each in four new housing projects to private equity firms for over Rs.3,000 Crores.

India’s largest real estate firm expects to close some of the deals by June and would utilize the funds to improve its cash-flows that have been affected due to slow down in housing demand.

The Chief Financial Officer of DLF said that they are looking for private equity in 4 green field housing projects in Delhi-NCR and South India and also said that the discussions with few Private equity players have already started. 

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