Outsourcing giant Convergys has left its iconic structure in Cyber City and relocated to office on Sohna Road, Gurgaon after rents in the IT hub hiked in the anticipation of Rapid Metro launch.

The giant firm didn’t renew its deed for its office in DLF Atria, whose rent shot up 33 pc in recent months to Rs 107 per sq ft. The standard rates for office space in Cyber City before the launch were Rs 80 per sq ft.

In the contrast, office space on Sohna Road is available for Rs 40 per sq ft. Hyped as the next property on Gurgaon’s real estate map, Sohna Road has more than low rents working n its favor. It has proximity to NH-8 and has master class office space, though it can’t compare with Cyber City yet in terms of connectivity.

Converges, which provides outsourcing services to 500 firms across the globe, was one of the first BPOs to set up base in Cyber City. It moved into the multi-storeyed structure nine years ago and has 6,000 staff.

The DLF clarified that the realty giant has through a deal with an Oil firm to rent out Atria for eye raising Rs 25 crore per annum before the outsourcing giant decided not to renew its deed. Rentals are moving high because of improved infra and Rapid Metro’s last-mile connectivity that gives the edge to Cyber City.

In Cyber City, over 1 lakh sq ft properties owned by DLF are up for grab. Experts are not taken aback by this decision as it was in cards. A lot of big corporates are looking for SEZs, where the rents are low and have better facilities.

Massive redevelopment is going to get a boost with new policy offering more profits to both developer and residents and making projects more beautiful than plod redevelopment.

Bigger a cluster undergoing redevelopment, the larger will be the flats of individual owners. It will be easier for the societies to negotiate with the developer.

The minimum area will remain one acre; the larger the area occupied bigger will be the flats that residents can take up. The minimal size will be 300 sq ft.

The proposed plan will replace the existing cluster redevelopment rule under Development Control Rules which is likely to apply across Mumbai and not just south Mumbai that has ore old and bad shaped structures.

The BMC will mark the one acre areas which can form a cluster and several such clusters can then come together for a mega-cluster redevelopment. The government is ensuring more societies to come together for the new redevelopment.

With the basic size, the government may also describe the benefits to be provided to mega clusters to avoid litigation issues.

A panel including the BMC and MMRDA top officials and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority chief are reworking the new policy. It has taken suggestions from the property owner association and and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry.

Developers who have commenced the cluster redevelopment in older rules will have an option to migrate to the new policy.

The moves come as the earlier redevelopment policy failed to deliver. The mega budgeted Rs 5,000 cr Bhendi Bazaar project of the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust spread over 14.5 acres is going very sluggishly.

Constructions are unstoppable at Jaitpur Extension which is an absolute violation of Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) order to halt the building activities in Yamuna river zone.

Earlier, DDA had issued a notice to rezoning 40 pc of the river zone to pave way for regularization of illegal structures on the flood plains. But soon, it issues another notice to stop all the constructions until a final decision is not taken. The notice also warned that the structures will be demolished and offenders will be punished.

The NGT also asked to halt all the constructions after the green experts sounded alarm bells of bad effect on the river. However, the river front is badly damaged and several constructions continue to mushroom up, to destroy large part of the flood plains.

The coming assembly polls has sparked a new hopes in Jaitpur residents as the chief minister made a promise to take off Zone O and the residents will be allowed to commence construction in their area.

In fact, O zone status hasn’t stopped property players from doing transaction here. The cost ranges from Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000 per square yard. The residents think they are in Zone F and it is not illegal to built homes here. There is only 10 pc of land left in the region.

After the civic body declared a ban on building, supply of construction material was stopped but the construction can be resumed because Congress has been promising complete regularization.

Jaitpur’s colonies have not just concretized land but are also discharging a massive amount of untreated sewage into the river.

The Supreme Court of India stuck to the May 31 deadline for evacuating and removing the illegal construction in South Mumbai’s Campa Cola premises, following the report of Attorney General GE Vahanvati that nothing can be work out to save the residential buildings in the posh south Mumbai region.

The residents residing in the concern apartments have been given six weeks’ notice period to submit an undertaking to vacate the illegal compound. Those who do not submit the letter will face action by the corporation.

The hope was very thin for nearly hundred families living in the complex, hopped that their building will be free from demolition by the Civic body when the Attorney General proposed a way out to the years tussle between the residents and the corporation. But the lawmaker failed to make any way out in the issue.

Few weeks ago, the demolition squad had almost started its work, but on an urgent application by the residents, the deadline was extended by the apex court, leading to joyful scenes by the residents who had launched a campaign to save the buildings in upmarket metropolis.

The state government had also shown sympathy towards the residents but is unable to take stand against the top court of the country. Now the residents are in a hopeless situation and are bound to vacate the premises after a long legal tussle.

The Posco-India, Unitech and Lodha developers have all pleaded for more time to execute their Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects in recent past. The developers had cited reasons like global meltdown and unstable market condition for delay in the completion of the projects.

Tata got one-year extension for its ITES in Kolkata. On the other hand, Parsvnath Infra got six more months extension for bio-tech SEZ in Andhra to complete its project.

The Board after deliberations extended the validity of the formal approval for Parsvnath up to six months from 8th November, 2013 i.E till 8th May, 2014 said the Posco-India too gets one more year time to complete its projects.

The board also nodded two proposals – Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd and Transcendent Developers – for setting up of IT zones in the country.

SEZs, which were once major vehicles for investment and export elevation, started losing sheen after the global meltdown and imposition of minimum alternate tax.

However, the government is taking major steps to recover interest of investors in SEZs

Recently, it had unveiled a package of reforms including easing of land norms to revive investments in SEZs.

Japanese firms Hitachi, Takasago and Ajinomoto are gearing up to establish manufacturing facilities near Chennai. The firms are the early stake owners into the pact with Ascenda, a Japanese for setting up a 1,550 acre integrated industrial township located 50 km south of Chennai.

Ascendas has entered into a pact with three other firms to take up the space to develop township in the southern city.

The industrial township, OneHub Chennai, previously named Omega Industrial Township to draw investments from the Japanese and international businesses. The project also got the green signal from the Tamil Nadu Government.

Ajinomoto will set up a new packaging firm and office in OneHub and has plans for product development; Hitachi manufacture automotive components; and Takasago will set up a manufacturing and R&D office space which will be its headquarters for India and South Asia as planned earlier.

The new township will be completed in several stages in eight years. The Mega Township will woo investments from auto, electronics, food, beverage, and consumer goods sector and will support more than 150,000 people when fully developed. The first phase is will be completed by 2014.

The $750-million project is a JV between Ascendas, a business space developer in Asia, Ireo, a renowned developer covering huge residential and commercial space in India and JGC Corporation a management contractor and Mizuho Bank a arm of $2 trillion Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group.

The Noida Authority is planning to launch its much-awaited scheme of the year by allotting 900  in the first week of December. The civic body said as the part of eth plan, there will be 52 flats for the middle-income group (MIG), 55 for high-income group (HIG), 155 for low income group (LIG), 160 for the economic weaker section (EXS) and 490 for Sharmik Kunj categories. All these flats are located in Sector 67, 73, 93, 99, 100, 110, 122 and 135.

The civic body identified these 900 unused apartments, after conduction a survey for a month in the region.  The flats will be allotted strictly through luck draw system.

The rates of the flats are finalized as the MIG flats will cost Rs 59 lakh, HIG for Rs 1 crore, LIG for Rs 37 lakh, EWS flats for Rs 10 lakh and Shramik Kunj will be available for Rs 4.7 lakh.

The civic body is planning to reserve 50 pc for the local farmers, industrialists and Authority staff, but the final call on this prospect will be taken in some time.

The plan has delayed as the finance department was taking time to decide the rates of the flats. The dates of issuing notice for the designed scheme will be declared soon.

The civic body will also launch its 501 shops in sector 69 according to the previous announcement. This plan is postponed due to the strike of growers and transporters in recent times.

The state government has declared to give one more chance to the occupants of rural and urban evacuee lands and properties as soon as possible. They can now file their claims to concerned official for transfer of land in their name within a stipulated period of three months.

In a notification issued by the state government officials, the department of revenue and disaster management had pleaded the occupants of rural and urban evacuee lands and properties, who are in possession of the same, to file their claim within a period of six months from July 24, 2012.

Later, it was found that so many inhabitants have failed to file their claims within stipulated time period of six months. Therefore, it was decided to give the occupants one more chance to get their land transferred in their name as soon as possible.

The Government officials asked the dwellers to submit their claims to the concerned Government official  for transfer of land within the given time period failing which they are accountable to be barred.

Its been a pathetic situation as the occupants are not transferring the land in their name as the state government is loosing huge amount of tax in recent times.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) in Maharashtra lauded the state government’s decision to specify reservation of 20 pc flats for the weaker section, in plans on one acre land, but said the resolution is not clear enough for the developers to follow.

The state government has come up with a low-cost housing policy. As per the notice issued by the under secretary, urban development dept, every developer having structure in one acre or above have to reserve 20 pc of the flats for the weaker section. It also said the modification would be applicable to the cities with over 10 lakh population which include Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur.

It also said 20pc would be of both flats and plotting plans and would not be included in the builders’ floor space index. On the completion of project these 20 pc flats should be handed over to MHADA at the ongoing market rate of the construction cost. The affordable flats will be allotted by the civic body on the basis of the lottery method. If the civic body will not take over the flats in six months then the builder has every right to put the flats on sale.

The apex body of the builders lauded the decision to increase the land limit to one acre. At present city below 10 lakh population has been excluded, but they can be added in latter stages.

This decision may cut down the rowing slum in the city and provide affordable housing unit to the weaker section. The only problem is plotting schemes. If the MHADA is going to buy the flats after completion it would block the investments and also lead to hike in the expenses at the developers end.

The governing body suggested the civic body should allot the 20pc flats during the construction period to prevent such issues. There were also some other smaller issues which the Credai will talk to the state government in latter part.

The Chief Minister N Kiran Reddy has asked the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to speed up the ongoing projects like circular roads, Habitat centers, Science City and educational institutions with specific given time frame.

The CM who is also the chairperson of the HMDA board, approved the preparations of the master plan for the Secundrabad Cantonment area. The civic body covers 7,257 sq kms of the area which is spread over 42 sq kms.  The Cantonment area which was regulated by the board had requested the state govt to prepare a master plan for the area to develop.

Of the total HMDA area handled by 7257 sq kms, the proposal covers 5,985 sq kms in 35 mandals in four districts. The board also approved the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) started by the authority. The LPS is being taken up by the HMDA at two places Edulanagulapally-Kollur and Pratapsingaram-Gowrelli in the state.

The CM gave an approval for the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Habitat Centre in the state that would take up in an excess of 11 acres land at Khanamet. Other major projects like, Science City, being taken up at a cost of Rs 160 cr and the other projects like the Educations Institutes and the new Eco Park also given a green signal by the board. A detailed report has been prepared by the state government for the Centre.

The authority officials declared that the HMDA will re-introduce green channel concept, where owners and developers can obtain approvals within seven working days.  The new idea will float is phased manner in different parts of the state. The body has also agreed to restore the clock towers and the historic monuments in the city.

 The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is gearing up to sale its 2,500 low cost flats in Thane and Vasai-Virar. The state govt has asked the MMRDA to put on sale its flats on a government decided rates of which 50 pc of the flats are built under its rental housing scheme.

The proposal was originally meant for rental purposes for 160 sq ft flats to the people who cannot afford to buy a home or living in slums. The civic body has 5,000 such flats which will put to sale in latter stage.

The existing flats are smaller in size and the other stock of 5,000 flats will be ready by next year for the general public. The size will be doubled for the upcoming flats.

The civic body is planning to create such low cost five lakh flats in the next three years which will give a new angle to the property market in Mumbai.

A notice issued by the state government stated that MMRDA might approve merger of apartments constructed under the rental scheme. The plan will benefit the lower and economically weaker section of the group.

The notification stated the civic body can allocate 50 pc of the created constructions under various plans in Mumbai under the rental scheme for allotment as affordable housing.

The move would benefit former mill employees or the victims who had suffered in building collapse incidents and the needy ones.

Realty major Unitech Ltd sales have declined by 50 pc during the first half of the current fiscal at Rs 750 due to global slowdown in the property market in recent times.

It had sold properties worth Rs 1,550 cr in the first six month of the last fiscal which is way above than this year. Sales booking have fallen despite hike in the average of understanding in recent times.

In terms of volume, the realty firm sold 1.10 million sq ft during this April-September period compared to 3.10 million sq ft last fiscal.

The average price understanding stood at Rs 6,830 per sq ft during the first half against Rs 5,035 per sq ft last fiscal in this time period.  It launched only 0.55 million sq ft during the first half against 2.95 million sq ft last year.

The real estate sector is facing a global slowdown in sales mainly due to the high interest rate on home loans and rising property cost in recent times.

Out of the total Rs 750 cr, the residential sector contributed Rs 550 cr and the non-residential gave the rest amount to the firm.

The firm has 1.8 million sq ft delivered during the first two quarters and finishing off its 23 projects from 32 launched before March 2009.

Last week, the firm declared 48 pc down fall in the net profit at Rs 26 cr for the Q2 due to higher expenses. It has shown a profit of Rs 50 cr a year ago. Net sales rose by 12 pc to Rs 600 cr against Rs 540 cr in the previous year.

The firm has presence in various parts of the country.

The Rapid Metro in Gurgaon has come as a boon for the residents of MG Road, DLF Phase II and III. It has extended its benefit to every class of people residing in the city. It will also add a new angle to the commercial properties in the Cyber City.

According to a survey, since the construction of Rapid Metro, the residential properties in the area seen a price rise from 40 pc to 90 pc. The price of a tower near the Rapid Metro has witnessed a rise of Rs 7,000 per sq ft to Rs 13, 500 per sq ft at present. Other projects near the Rapid Metro has seen similar rise in prices.

Similarly, the rental activities in the DLF Cyber City had raised around 50 pc in last three years, given the increase vicinity to the National Capital through Rapid Metro and Delhi Metro.

The price rise is expected to continue in these locations although at a reasonable rate due to increase in connectivity to the other parts of the city. The rapid metro not only provides the ease to travel to offices, but also lead huge savings.

All the residential lands and office spaces that come in the range of rapid metro will turn into hot property. The new mode of transport will give a traffic free travel and also will provide direct connectivity to the Delhi Metro though skywalks.

The direct connectivity of a couple of stations to the work places will also reduce the shared autos and rickshaw on the road. The 5.1 km track is estimated to have ridership of 55,000 passengers per day with six stations.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger car maker, reflecting  to start work at its proposed Gujarat plant, the local real estate market is trying to cash-in the opportunity and are trying to build a land bank in the region.

The manufacturing firm has chosen Hansalpur, about 120 km from the Ahmedabad, to set up its new plant.  However in August, the company had specified due to slowdown in demand, Maruti would delay things for the new plant.

The local builders are marking plots for residential and commercial activities in the area.

The company’s vendors had started searching land in the proximity of the proposed  unit. Some vendors are looking for the lands and others have started buying lands from the local farmers.

According to the sources, many developers within the city are planning to buy land in the region and the actual transaction will commence in four-five years time, once the manufacturing plant picked up pace.

The company said only after studying the market condition it would decide when to start work at the plant , which was earlier scheduled to be start by the end of 2016.

The re-arrangement in the area and the land being included in the special investment region will allow the developers to acquire more lands.

According to local farmers, real estate groups are sending local agents to negotiate as they feel villagers might ask for higher compensation if they feel that the builder lobby is interested in the area.

Most developers in the city were scouting for land parcels in the range of 20 and 60 acres to build township-like residential projects.