Smart Cities in India

Recently, CM Fadnavis informed that 10 cities of Maharashtra would compete with other states to bag the ‘Smart City’ projects which meant to get the more advanced and well developed urban infrastructure.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis stated that there are 10 cities from our state which is being nominated for the Centre’s “Smart Cities” project and we will compete with the entries of other states to bag funds from central to develop more advanced and developed urban infrastructure. Edged out emerging towns from the developed cities of Maharashtra are in the race to bag the funds from central. However; the name of shortlisted cities are; Mumbai, Kalyan – Dombivali, Navi Mumbai, Thane from MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan region), Pune, Solapur, Pimpri – Chinchwad from Western Maharashtra, Nagpur and Amravati from Vidarbha, Nashik from North Maharashtra and Aurangabad from Marathwada.

Recently, Central Government of India, has identified development of new towns close to those cities which are well developed because its key behind the smart city initiative where central government will contribute Rs 50 crore each year towards the smart city project. According to Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India there are lacks of infrastructure and basic amenities in the new emerging towns of Maharashtra and due to that soon CM will announce next plan for development, which will focus on the urban areas or Maharashtra. This report observed that out of 36 none of the town has even the basic service level benchmarks for solid waste management, sewage management and water supply, however; the audit was for the period of 2011 to 2014. According to CAG report, water supplied in 50 per cent of the audited towns are between 25 to 69 litres per day per person, however; according to government norms it should be between 70 to 70 litres per day per person. It was observed that due to loss from distribution system, treatment plans, reduced efficiency of water the problem of irregular water supply comes in existence.

Almost there is no town which found to be segrating municipal waste; the more CAG added that the numbers of towns are not even authorized by the state pollution for the waste disposal facilities. However; the CAG has also identified irregularities in the main irrigation projects in all over the state and there are many mini projects which don’t have approved master plan.

Affordable Housing

Terrified with the thought of having your own property in & around Mumbai? Not anymore! With realty majors like Mahindra Lifespaces & Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL) venturing into the affordable housing segment, 1BHK & 2BHK flats are being made available to consumers ranging from 11 lakh to 21 lakh.
Mahindra Lifespaces hitherto operated in the medium to premium housing sector only. In the phase II of the “affordable housing segment”, the company has commenced the construction of its two pilot projects in Boisar & Chennai.
The first phase which the company launched around Diwali last year has already seen more than 300 flats being sold, Mahindra Lifespaces said in a statement. “The flat sizes are roughly between 351 sq. feet  to 762 sq feet with 351 sq. feet being 1 room, kitchen and and 762 sq. feet being 2 BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen).
In phase II, around 240 flats were launched & opened for booking in March 2015. The price bracket in the first phase was “almost” the same as phase II.
“We are looking to expand further in Maharashtra”, Mahindra Lifespaces said. The company is trying to find the right fit of the land as all these land parcels have to be well connected to the city centres.
Another City based realtor, Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) has announced a project in Kurla under the affordable housing space. The project, Premier Legend, offers 1 and 2 BHK flats with amenities like dedicated kids play area, gymnasium and landscaped garden, the company said in a press release. The project has got all the necessary approvals and housing loan facilities are also available from leading institutions.
“We aim at providing a luxurious experience & uncompromised leisure with our spacious apartments & top class amenities”, HDIL vice-chairman and managing director Sarang Wadhawan said in the release. The strategic location of the project and proximity to airports, railway stations, educational institutes and hospitals is an added advantage for the end buyer,” he stated.

Central government closes about 62 toll plazas

In the recent action, central government informed in Lok Sabha that they has closes about 62 toll plazas, which are on highways and expressways in public interest after the recovery of cost of capital.

During the period of question hour in Lok Sabha, Pon Radhakrishnan, the minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, stated that “In public interest our government has closed about 62 toll plazas on national highways and expressways after the recovery of capital cost”.

All of these toll plazas were located in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat,  Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,  Maharashtra, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Odisha and Rajasthan. Recently, government launched a web portal to make sure that all the road users can access the information that now onwards concerning toll plazas which are on the expressways and national highways are now under National Highway Authority of India and Road Transport and Highways Ministry.

The more he added that the total revenue collected from all of these toll plazas are about more than Rs 9283.23 crore for the year 2012 to 2013 whereas; Rs 11,436.59 crore for the year 2013 to 2104 and about Rs 14,214.48 crore for the year 2014 to 2105.

However; the information also includes the required fee rates for the different sets or categories of vehicles at any of these  toll plazas, as well as the information about the facilities available at troll plaza and the emergency contact numbers.

Real estate market declined by 6%

After surveys it’s clear that the investment in real estate sector by various public and private sources in all over the country has declined by six per cent in last four years of duration. It is clear that for the year 2013 to 2014 the investment in real estate sector in country fell to Rs. 14.30 lacs crore whereas; for the year 2011 to 2012 it was approx. Rs 15.2 lacs crore.

After the survey of Assocham, real estate experts find that more than 76 per cent of total investment in real estate was attracted by the various real estate projects and rest was from non-starter real estate projects in the duration of 2011 to 12 and 2014 to 15.

State wise analysis of Assocham:

After state wise analysis it is clear that for the period of 2014 to 2015 the top five states by the highest share in real estate sector in terms of investments are 21 per cent by Maharashtra, 14 per cent by Uttar Pradesh, 13 per cent by Gujarat, 12 per cent by Karnataka and 8 per cent by Haryana. Coming to the CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) the Assam has witnessed the maximum growth rate in terms of attracting the rela estate investments for the year of 2011 to 2012 and 2014 to 2015 which was 82 per cent followed by 19 percent by Bihar, 17 per cent by Odisha, 16 per cent by Uttar Pradesh and 12 per cent by Uttarakhand.

However; the states which recorded the maximum fall in real estate investments are 40 per cent in Jharkhand, 37 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 29 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 16 per cent in Haryana and 7 per cent in Gujarat. The survey was draw by the feedback of 100 big and small companies who are active in the sector of real estate in top cities of the country such as; Chennai, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune.

Most of the real estate developers are veering the poll and it’s clear that they are down just due to the lack of focus of government from improving demand or supply in real estate sector. Whereas; the survey indicated that the previous and latest Union Budgets was disappointed the real estate sector with the exclusion of the new plan ie. to develop the 100 Smart Cities in the country. Apart from all that the increase in the rate of service taxes by 14 per cent makes the real estate sector but more expensive and it has direct impact on the sales and it is clear that it will make down the real purchasing power of average investors and end users in country.

All the real estate developers are have concern about the increase in excise duty on goods and service tax on construction and also increased on petrol and diesel prices with increase in freight rates on the cement which lead the construction cost in real estate sector. Now there is need to speeding up procedural requirements in the field of real estate sector which have just passed through the single window clearance system from different approvals to increase the operational efficiencies and cost of investment along with the stable and predictable policy framework in real estate sector.

Here comes a shot in the arm of housing sector with none other than Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan stating that the state government will ensure that middle income group people are able to afford their own houses.
Speaking after unfurling the tricolour at the Mantralaya here to mark the 68th Independence Day, the Chief Minister said, “It is very difficult for the common man to own a house in Mumbai or at other big cities in Maharashtra. For this, we have decided to work towards a goal of ensuring affordable houses. And it will be ensured that it happens at the earliest,” he said.
Since shelter is one of the fundamental needs of man, the government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that every head has a roof over it, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the government will make Maharashtra an “online” state in the next five years, which will reduce corruption and help citizens avail government facilities.
“We want to make Maharashtra an online state that will help citizens avail all the services of the government sitting at home. This will make government procedures transparent and efficient at the same time. We will ensure that the scheme reaches across to even the smallest of villages,” he said.
“By launching the Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana, the government has tried to ensure that the needy get the best treatment free of cost. From the time it was initiated, around 5.62 lakh people have benefited from it and the government has spent Rs 712 crores on this scheme,” he added.