Here’s our weekly round-up of all that happened over the first two weeks of March 2018.
Bangalore
Get your building plans approved online from April 1
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will take online building plan approval submissions for all new projects from April 1, 2018. These will include both residential and commercial projects.
However, owners of sites sized 60×60 ft. or smaller will have to take the manual route for some time.
This new system is expected to streamline the plan approval process. Log on to the BBMP website after April 1 and register to get the process started.
Namma Metro Update: BMRCL yet to acquire about 40% land for Phase-II
The acquisition of land for the second phase of Namma Metro is turning out to be an expensive affair for the BMRCL. Till date, the corporation has acquired 60% of the land, which is about 6,45,964.93 sq. mt, at a cost of about Rs 2,704 crore.
This cost is expected to shoot up further as the acquisition of 40% land is remaining.
About 18% of the total estimated cost of Rs 26,405.14 crore has been earmarked for Phase-II. Out of this, 10% has already been spent on land acquisition. It would be interesting to see how the corporation manages the funds for the project without impacting the pace of construction.
Is there a Smart City in Bangalore yet? India’s start-up capital has its share of woes but a new partnership with Taiwan gives hope.
Taiwanese Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies will look to partner with Bangalore to develop the city as a Smart City.
Taiwan’s expertise in hardware manufacturing, coupled with India’s talent in software innovation, will significantly increase the possibilities in smart technologies and solutions. A non-profit organisation in Taiwan is also organising a trade show on smart technology and smart city solutions in Bangalore come October.
After a poor response to its sale of plots in Kempegowda Layout, the BDA is mooting a plan to extend its across-the-table sale scheme for plots. Under this scheme, unlike the lottery system, buyers will have an option to choose the site of their choice by paying 10% of the site’s value. The BDA has passed this proposal to the board.
Further, the authority is working to speed up the refund process from eight months to just a few weeks. The department is also exploring ways to facilitate speedy registrations to increase the sales velocity.
Chennai
TNRERA is yet to appoint a chairperson
It has been over eight months since the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) came into effect. However, the state government is yet to appoint a full-fledged chairperson.
As per the Act, state governments must establish the real estate regulatory authority within one year from the date of the act coming into force through a notification. The authority must consist of a chairperson and not less than two full-time members.
At present, the Secretary to the Housing and Urban Development Department is functioning as the interim Chairman for the authority.
Planning permissions for residential buildings to go online
Planning permissions for residential buildings across the Tamil Nadu will go online in a year from now. At present, except for Greater Chennai Corporation, people all over the state have to obtain permission to construct a G+1 floor residential building within an area of 4,000 sq. ft. This process will now be online to facilitate single-window clearance for all building permissions.
Currently, Greater Chennai Corporation is the only civic body in the state that has completely shifted the process online since March 2017.
Cheer for resale property buyers in Chennai
Checking resale properties in Chennai for violations is now just a click away. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has started uploading digitised copies of planning permits and approval letters to the local bodies online.
The approval letter contains details like the number of floors and units sanctioned for constructions, besides conditions regarding mandatory approvals from the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). Thus, before buying a resale property, a prospective buyer can do all the legal checks for any deviation in the norms.
Owners of unapproved plots registered before 1989 can heave a sigh of relief as the local bodies can now process their applications for regularising unapproved plots. If the plot is under the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), plot owners can directly approach their respective local bodies for regularisation.
The clarification has come as local bodies were refusing to process applications for regularising unapproved plots registered before December 31, 1989, citing the Regularisation of Unapproved Plots and Layouts Rules, 2017, which came into effect on May 4, 2017.
Hyderabad
HMDA to raise up to Rs 250 Crore by auctioning plots
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has decided to auction 229 plots in various layouts in the city to raise funds. The authority expects to raise about Rs 250 crore through auctions. The funds collected will be utilised for infrastructure projects in the city.
The plots are spread across 25 layouts including Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Shaikpet, Nallagandla, Tellapur, Gopanpally, and Miyapur as well as towards the peripheries.
Telangana to link land ownership passbooks to Aadhaar
Landowners in Telangana will have to mandatorily link their land ownership passbooks to Aadhaar numbers.
As per the Press Release, the government wants to introduce a system similar to banks to administer land records. Failing to link Aadhaar with the passbook would make a property benami.
Telangana would be the first state in the country to implement this.
Maharashtra
SRA, MHADA redevelopment to be brought under MahaRERA
The redevelopment of slums and MHADA buildings will soon come under the purview of the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). As per the 2011 Census, 52,06,470 people in Mumbai lived in slum tenements.
Earlier, RERA rules were not applicable for the construction of buildings meant for rehabilitation.
Pune civic body recovers Rs 994 Crore worth of property tax
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has recovered Rs 994 crore worth of property tax so far. The target for the current fiscal is Rs 1862 crore.
There are about 8 Lakh taxable properties in the city, of which about 1 Lakh are commercial.
Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro gets Rs 1,300 Crore
The Centre has sanctioned Rs 1,300 Crore for the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro corridor. This 23.3km stretch would be the third Metro corridor in the city and is expected to cost Rs 8,313 crore. As per the Centre’s new Metro policy, the project was awaiting the Centre’s 20% viability-gap funding of Rs 1,300 crore.
The work on this stretch is expected to be carried out in two phases. The first phase (from Hinjewadi to Balewadi) will be completed by April 2019 while the second phase (from Balewadi to Shivajinagar) will be completed by 2021.