19-Dec-2019

10-Oct-2019

06-Dec-2019

CREDAI Bengal Daily News Update | 19.12.19

Chennai: George Town to be redeveloped

The survey will enumerate illegal constructions, total floor space area, population density,

condition of buildings and fire safety violations.

Among the oldest quarters of the city, George Town is set to be revamped. In another 10 days,

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) will launch a year-long survey to

redevelop one of Chennai’s most densely populated and unorganised areas.

The survey will enumerate illegal constructions, total floor space area, population density,

condition of buildings and fire safety violations. It will calculate the volume of sewage

discharged by households and the amount of water supplied by Metrowater.

Among the oldest quarters of the city, George Town is set to be revamped

An official from the housing and urban development department said the purpose of the study

was to redevelop the area without displacing the local population. "The sewerage systems,

drinking water supply and power connections are stressed. We need to draw a roadmap to

redevelop the area," the official said. Meetings with resident welfare associations would be

organised to explain the plan and facilitate enumeration, the official said.

Three wards, which have a mix of residential, mixed-residential and commercial zones, will be

surveyed. The Centre has sanctioned `40 lakh for the study under the AMRUT scheme of Union

ministry of housing and urban affairs.

In 2014, a survey by Chennai Corporation found that of the 11,300 buildings on roads that are

less than 9m wide, only 72 were constructed as per the planning permission. The report

submitted to the Madras high court said that more than 99% of buildings in George Town were

constructed either without an approved plan or in violation of rules.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/chennai-george-town-to-be-redeveloped/72866943

The survey will focus on allowing reconstruction of unauthorised buildings such that they

adhere to the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules. "A specific provision

will be designed for the purpose wherein an exclusive code that suits the character of the area

will be created. Fire safety measures in commercial buildings will be assessed," the official

said.

A report will be prepared offering suggestions to Metrowater, Tangedco and the corporation on

relaying sewer lines, augmenting Metrowater supply networks, and setting up power sub-

stations.

With several heritage structures being razed due to poor maintenance and to cash in on their real

estate value, old buildings in the area will be enumerated. Writer and heritage enthusiast R

Venkatesh said heritage structures are the most vulnerable as landlords can utilise the space to

develop real estate. "Funds must be allocated to protect heritage buildings that are largely with

religious or quasi-religious bodies in George Town," he said.

Urban planners said participation of the people was crucial for the success of such

redevelopment plans. "A perception survey to understand priorities, problems, requirements and

willingness of the local communities in general, and land and building owners in particular has

to precede the redevelopment plan," said K P Subramanian, former professor of urban

engineering, Anna University. "No redevelopment plan can be implemented without the active

participation of local communities," he said.

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Reliance Home Finance seeks lenders' nod to repay bondholders in

January

The company owes Rs 91.78 crore, includes both principal and the interest, to 19,964

retail bondholders but is unable to pay because of a restraint placed by the lenders as it is

undergoing is a bank-led resolution process.

The troubled Anil Ambani Group's mortgage finance arm Reliance Home Finance on

Wednesday sought permission from banks to repay Rs 91.78 crore to its retail bondholders due

next month.

The company owes Rs 91.78 crore, includes both principal and the interest, to 19,964 retail

bondholders but is unable to pay because of a restraint placed by the lenders as it is undergoing

is a bank-led resolution process. The instruments are maturing on January 3 and 15.

A recent media report had said the bondholders were staring at the risk of taking a hit on their

investments because of the restrictions in which the company is operating.

"The company is unable to proceed with such payment owing to the complete restraint placed

by the banks on securitisng assets and distribution of funds to pay off any lenders," RHF chief

executive Ravindra Sudhalkar said in a letter to Bank of Baroda, the lead bank.

The letter, which was reviewed by , claims that the company has assets of over Rs 3,500 crore

and adequate liquidity to pay these investors.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Bank of Baroda did not immediately comment on the

letter.

The letter tries to make it clear that the permission is being sought to pay only retail

bondholders, when payments are due in January.

It said the bond trustee has also warned the company of legal action if it fails to repay the

bondholders on time.

The letter said banks have been serviced over the last few months and sought the retail

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 19, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/allied-industries/reliance-home-finance-seeks-lenders-nod-to-repay-bondholders-in-january/72878583

bondholders to be paid without any haircuts.

According to the report, the company had raised over Rs 3,000 crore in bonds through various

investors, including the retail ones.

It can be noted that in September, various rating agencies had downgraded the bonds to junk

following the financial difficulties being faced by it.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABL Workspaces invests Rs 7 crore to start co-working centre in

Noida

ABL Workspaces has taken on lease 40,000 sq feet from landlord to open a co-working

centre with 800 desks in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the company said in a statement.

Startup ABL Workspaces on Wednesday said it has invested Rs 7 crore to start a new co-

working centre, comprising 800 seats, in Noida. This will be the company's 9th centre in the

national capital region.

ABL Workspaces has taken on lease 40,000 sq feet from landlord to open a co-working centre

with 800 desks in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, the company said in a statement.

Starting with 50 seats in 2017, the company now has 5,000 seats and is targetting 15,000 seats

by the end of 2020.

Ankur Gupta, co-founder and CEO of ABL Workspaces, said co-working space is in high

demand in the nation.

"We are expecting a revenue of almost Rs 50 lakh per month once we achieve 100 per cent

occupancy in this new centre," said Akshita Gupta, co-founder of ABL Workspaces.

Bira 91 Beverages, BulBul TV, Etsy, Lodha Group, Livspace, Truly madly, Petrofac and

Cynesis are some of its clients.

According to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, currently there are 1,000 operational

co-working centres, with a capacity of over 4 lakh seats, across six major cities.

The number of flexible space operators has risen from single digits to about 350 over the last 3-

4 years.

The report estimated user base of flexible workspaces to jump 10 times to nearly 3 million by

2025. At present, 65-70 per cent of demand for co-working spaces comes from large corporates,

15-20 per cent from small & medium enterprises and 10-15 per cent from freelancers and

startups.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/commercial/abl-workspaces-invests-rs-7-crore-to-start-co-working-centre-in-noida/72872100

Pimpri Chinchwad: Residents claims builders responsible for lack

of waste units

Residents of housing societies within PCMC limits say civic body is acting against them as

they are ‘soft targets’; developers refute allegations

After Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) issued notices to housing societies in

its limits over failing to treat garbage at source, several residents from these residential

complexes are now holding the builders responsible for not providing the facility in the first

place.

Hundreds of housing societies in the twin towns have been left in a mess after PCMC workers

stopped collecting wet waste and initiated action against complexes without garbage composing

units. Residents claim that instead of taking action against the builders who have allegedly

failed to provide garbage treatment plants in societies as promised in the plan, authorities are

harassing them.

The local civic body, on its part, has started taking action against housing societies flouting the

norms of the Solid Waste Management Rule 2016, which makes it a legal obligation to

segregate wet and dry waste. As per the new mandate, PCMC workers only collect segregated

dry waste from societies that generate more than 100 kg of wet waste per day. It has been made

mandatory to install waste composting units in such residential societies, discontinuing waste

collection from April 2019.

Residents from around 250 housing societies in the Dighi, Moshi, Charoli,

Dudulgaon, Chikhali, among other areas, claim that the civic body gave the completion

certificate to their developers despite the fact that the composting units were missing from the

projects although they were part of the plan.

However, PCMC has issued notice to more than 25 erring housing societies that are not

segregating waste. Societies such as Woodsville Phase One and Two, Gandharv Excellence, GK

Kanwarram, Adhya-Radha Krishna, Sahil Fortune Park, Emezeka Park, Swastik Spira and

Nakshatra Island claim the move is unfair. They are blaming the developers for not providing

the facility or keeping a provision for the same. Alleging that they have been cheated, they want

the builders to be blacklisted.

“PCMC should take action against the developers. The residents are soft targets. PCMC granted

permission to the developers for the plans and also gave them the completion certificates. The

terms and provisions were never checked and now the citizens are suffering,” said Sanjeevan

Sangale, secretary of the Moshi-Chikhali housing society federation. PCMC collects more than

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/pimpri-chinchwad-residents-claims-builders-responsible-for-lack-of-waste-units/72862274

850 tonnes of garbage every day from the twin towns. The garbage is processed at the Moshi

depot where dry and wet waste is segregated and converted to mechanical and vermicompost.

Swastik Spira, in Chikhali, which has received a notice from PCMC, claims that they have no

space or money for building a composing unit. Chairman of the society, Satish Sutar, said the

completion certificate was given by PCMC in March 2018 and it was mandatory for the

developers to provide the unit, which they have failed to do. “There is hardly any place to park

vehicles, where will we bring up the unit?” he asked.

Gajanan Wasmatkar, chairman of Emezeka Park Society in Moshi, which has more than 105

flats, said, “We received a notice on December 14. PCMC is siding with the developers and

penalising the residents. Why should we bear the expenses when the builders were supposed to

make them?”

Chirag Patel, developer of Emezeka Park, refuted the allegations and said, “There was no such

provision in the plan and I cannot provide it now.”

Bharat Patel, developer of Swastik Spira, also refuted the allegations and said, “What was

supposed to be delivered have already been done. I have nothing to do with the composting unit

and was never supposed to provide it.”

Shravan Hardikar, PCMC chief, said action will be taken against both the builders and the

citizens for not following the rule. “Orders have been given to conduct the inquiry of builders

who have failed to provide the unit despite mentioning it in their plans. Meanwhile, societies

should pay the user charges to the local body for lifting the wet waste,” he added.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Awaiting flats for three years, ILD Grand buyers approach

Hayana-RERA

The buyers alleged that the project was launched on a 5-acre land in 2011 and the builder

had promised to give possession by 2016.

Frustrated over a three-year delay of handover of flats, homebuyers of ILD Grand in Sector 37C

on Wednesday approached the Haryana Rera (H-Rera) office to protest against the developer.

The buyers alleged that the project was launched on a 5-acre land in 2011 and the builder had

promised to give possession by 2016. But after three years, the project is only 70% complete

despite buyers having paid 95% of the cost.

Aditya Nanda, a homebuyer, said a group of people who were representing more than 85

buyers, met the H-Rera secretary.

“We have put forward our concern that the builder has pushed the delivery date multiple times.

No work is going on at the site and there is no urgency to finish the project. There is also major

concern about the financing of the project,” said Nanda.

Another homebuyer, not wishing to be named, said the H-Rera official heard their concerns and

informed that a notice has been issued to the builder to explain the current status of the project

and the reasons for delay.

“The builder will be asked to answer the queries and strict orders will be issued by H-Rera to

finish the project,” he said.

Ramesh Dawani, a retired government official who invested his savings in the project, said H-

Rera is the last hope for the buyers to get their homes. “If authorities fail to intervene and get

the project completed, we will have an uncertain future,” he said.

Another homebuyer, not wishing to be named, said ILD had gone back on its assurance on

EMIs.

“I had booked a flat in 2017 under ILD’s subvention scheme. I was promised that I would get

possession within one year and that ILD would pay all EMIs till possession. But over the past

year, not only has the builder stopped construction, but has also stopped paying EMIs,” he said,

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 19, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/residential/awaiting-flats-for-three-years-ild-grand-buyers-approach-hayana-rera/72878616

adding, “With the current pace of construction, there is no hope of the project getting completed

in the next two years.”

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Will meet district collector for slum regularisation in Aurangabad:

Municipal Commissioner

The civic chief was accompanied by ward officer Azmal Khan and ward engineer Nitin

Gaikwad, among other officials of various departments.

Municipal commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey on Tuesday said that he will schedule a meeting

with the district collector for regularisation of properties in slum areas.

Pandey visited Zone 4 and observed that a large-scale slum properties fall outside the tax

bracket.

During his visit to Zone 4, Pandey surveyed the Siddharth Nagar slum area near Sathe Chowk.

The civic chief was accompanied by ward officer Azmal Khan and ward engineer Nitin

Gaikwad, among other officials of various departments.

When asked whether the houses in the Siddharth Nagar area are taxable, the officials said that

the slum dwellers do not have their name on the property registration (PR) card with most of the

houses in the slums built in 20 by 30 dimensions. Therefore, they could not be regularised.

It was observed that most of the houses have two to three storeys with several of them having

concrete cement structures.

Subsequently, the officer said that a meeting will be held with the district collector so that a tax

amount on the houses can be fixed based on the reckoner rates.

Upon moving further into the area, the civic squad witnessed unclaimed sand on a road. Pandey

asked officials to find out whether the sand was purchased from government sand belts or

authorised sand dealers. Subsequently, he called up tehsildar Kishor Deshmukh and asked him

to seize the sand.

Near the N-11 vegetable market, Pandey saw a tap belonging to the Aurangabad Municipal

Corporation (AMC) flowing due to valve leakage. Pandey asked the engineers concerned anto

promptly act on it and get the leakage fixed. He said that he expects them to take care of minor

issues such as valve leakages by themselves.

The civic administration squad covered a distance of 3.5 km on foot from 8.30 am to 10 am.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/will-meet-district-collector-for-slum-regularisation-in-aurangabad-municipal-commissioner/72869407

Bengaluru development body recovers four-acre land worth Rs 300

crore at Nagawara

A senior official said the recovery is probably the largest in BDA’s history when it comes

to land value.

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) officials on Tuesday recovered four acres of prime

land worth Rs 300 crore in Nagawara, north Bengaluru.

A building and sheds were erected there illegally, said officials.

A senior official said the recovery is probably the largest in BDA’s history when it comes to

land value.

“Unauthorised persons built a five-storeyed building there. We have not yet demolished the

structure but removed the sheds and other encroachments,” he said.

In 1985, BDA passed a notification to acquire survey number 75 in Nagawara for forming HBR

II Stage layout, and the related acquisition was done in 1988.

While 1 acre and 26 guntas of land was used for constructing a Ring Road, 4 acres and 17

guntas were kept aside for the layout.

BDA said unauthorised properties worth Rs 5,000 crore have been identified across city and

will be recovered soon.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/bengaluru-development-body-recovers-four-acre-land-worth-rs-300-crore-at-nagawara/72862246

SC asks government to take over Unitech management

The court order came in the wake of audit firm Grant Thornton's startling report on the

Unitech group and its subsidiary companies that thousands of crores of rupees of

homebuyers' money was diverted.

In a major decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to step in forthwith to

protect the interests of around 30,000 homebuyers by taking over the troubled real estate firm's

management in view of the forensic auditor's report that the company and its directors siphoned

off more than 50% of homebuyers' money.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah asked the Centre to suspend all directors

of the group and replace them with independent directors to manage the affairs of the firm. It

asked attorney general K K Venugopal to inform the central authority concerned to take action.

The court order came in the wake of audit firm Grant Thornton's startling report on

the Unitech group and its subsidiary companies that thousands of crores of rupees of

homebuyers' money was diverted for purposes other than construction and some of the funds

were parked in offshore tax havens like Cyprus.

In an interim report, the audit firm said 29,800 homebuyers deposited around Rs 14,270 crore

with the company while booking flats in 74 projects across the country but Rs 5,063 crore was

not utilised for construction and another Rs 2,393 crore diverted money was not yet traceable.

Together, this sum is around half of what homebuyers deposited.

SC asks Centre to file report in Unitech case by January 17

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and his brother

Ajay Chandra, said they be granted bail for eight weeks to enable them to refund homebuyers’

money by selling their assets but the bench turned down the plea. The Chandra brothers have

been in jail since August 2017 for allegedly cheating homebuyers as flats were not handed over

to them.

Hinting at massive financial irregularities by the group and its officials, the audit said the group

took loans of over Rs 1,000 crore from banks and financial institutions, and the funds were

diverted to undisclosed companies and parties. It said loans of hundreds of crores of rupees

given by the group to subsidiary companies were not refunded and simply written off.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 19, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/sc-asks-government-to-take-over-unitech-management/72878564

Some Rs 1,500 crore of homebuyers’ money, used for construction of flats, was spent by the

group for acquiring land and properties in India and abroad. The audit also said advance of Rs

600 crore was given to some persons seven years ago but the money was not returned to the

company.

Taking the findings into account, the bench directed the Centre to conduct an investigation into

alleged financial fraud by the group and its promoters and file an action taken report before it on

January 17.

Though the Centre proposed that the plea against the group be referred to the National

Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,

homebuyers’ lawyer M L Lahoty and advocate Pawanshree Agrawal, who is assisting the court

as amicus curiae, strongly opposed the plea. They said homebuyers’ interests could be best

safeguarded if the SC formalised a procedure for completing housing projects.

Referring to the Jaypee case, Lahoty said homebuyers were fighting a fourth round of legal

battle in the tribunal with no relief in sight and asked the court to emulate the line taken by

another bench in the Amrapali case where the court has pushed NBCC to take over the projects.

Financial institutions pleaded that they be allowed to recover their money from the group.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services,

which gave loans of Rs 300 crore for the Mohali project, said the court should vacate its status

quo order to recover the amount. The bench, however, said that it would examine the issue in

the next hearing.

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Allianz-Shapoorji JV acquires Hyderabad's Waverock IT SEZ for

Rs 1,800 crore

Allianz-Shapoorji has inked the transaction to buy the property from current joint owners

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and New York-based developer Tishman Speyer.

In the largest single commercial property transaction, global insurance and asset management

major the Allianz Group’s joint venture entity with Shapoorji Pallonji Group has acquired

nearly 2.5 million sq ft IT SEZ property Waverock in Hyderabad for around Rs 1,800 crore,

said two persons with direct knowledge of the development. This is also the single largest

institutional commercial transaction this year.

Allianz-Shapoorji has inked the transaction to buy the property from current joint owners

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and New York-based developer Tishman Speyer. The

deal marks GIC’s maiden exit from any of its Indian properties. GIC had acquired 50% stake in

Tishman Speyer’s WaveRock in 2015.

“The deal has been concluded and the funds transfer has also been completed. The property

earns annual rentals of Rs 140 crore to Rs 145 crore,” said one of the persons mentioned above.

This is the second property acquired by Allianz-Shapoorji Pallonji joint platform in the country

after picking up 1.8-milion-sq-ft SP Infocity for Rs 1,100 crore in 2018.

Allianz Group, in its first-ever real estate related engagement in India, partnered with Shapoorji

Pallonji Group to create an investment platform for office properties in late 2017. The platform,

SPREF II is a Singapore-domiciled, rupee-denominated and closed-ended fund with total

corpus of $500 million in equity. With the Waverock transaction, around 60% of the corpus of

this platform is now deployed in the country.

This platform is part of Allianz’s strategy to allocate around 5% of its global real estate

portfolio to the Asia-Pacific region. Allianz Real Estate, the real estate investment and asset

manager within the group, had entered into this platform on behalf of several Allianz

companies.

ET’s separate email queries to Shapoorji Pallonji Group, Tishman Speyer and GIC remained

unanswered. Transaction advisor JLL India declined to comment for the story.

Large global institutional investors, including Blackstone Group, Brookfield Asset

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/allianz-shapoorji-jv-acquires-hyderabads-waverock-it-sez-for-rs-1800-crore/72867184

Management, Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

(CPPIB), Goldman Sachs, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Qatar Investment Authority

have already been investing aggressively in Indian real estate assets, especially the commercial

segment, over the past few years.

Income-producing commercial assets have proved to be a major draw for most of the global

institutional investors that are active in India or are keen to invest here. While these entities had

earlier shown interest in investing in commercial real estate, they are ramping up their

investment portfolios in the backdrop of opening up of an avenue for monetization through Real

Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

Against the backdrop of an ongoing policy overhaul, rising investor confidence, enhanced

transparency, and sustained growth in demand for grade A commercial office space, experts

believe the investment momentum will continue to rise.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Collection of property tax in Mumbai down 34%

Property tax collection was Rs 1,637 crore till Friday, December 13, while last year the

assessment and collection department had pulled in Rs 2,495 crore till the same date.

Almost three quarters down the financial year, property tax collection shows a 34% deficit

compared to last year as the BMC has issued no residential bills amid confusion over a waiver

policy for homes under 500 sq ft.

Property tax collection was Rs 1,637 crore till Friday, December 13, while last year the

assessment and collection department had pulled in Rs 2,495 crore till the same date.

Property tax is the biggest revenue source for the BMC. This year, all collection so far has been

only from commercial establishments.

The municipal body issued no residential property tax bills at all this year as it has not

calibrated its software and other systems to exclude living units under 500 sq ft while

generating bills.

The software update has been kept waiting as there is lack of clarity on whether residential units

under 500 sq ft are to be charged nothing at all or given only a base amount waiver while being

asked to pay the other, smaller components of the bill like the various cess on it.

At a recent meeting with the CM, the civic administration flagged the issue of fund crunch at a

time when the BMC plans to take up many big-ticket projects such as the coastal road and the

Goregaon-Mulund Link Road.

BMC may not touch even half of property tax target, say critics

The Shiv Sena, the party which rules the BMC deliberative wing and is headed by CM Uddhav

Thackeray, had in its 2017 civic poll manifesto promised property tax waiver for residential

units under 500 sq ft in area.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/collection-of-property-tax-in-mumbai-down-34/72862208

The BMC also drastically increased its collection target to Rs 8,300 crore this year from the Rs

5,000-odd crore it used to set itself before now. Critics are sceptical about the municipal

administration reaching even half its target.

“Property tax bills of Rs 2,000 crore have not yet been sent out to residential properties as the

process of excluding those with flats under 500 sq ft is on,” an official said.

BMC officials said that the corporation assesses around four lakh properties every year. They

said that though the BMC would issue property tax bills amounting to over Rs 5,500 crore ever

year, the collection target used to be set at only about Rs 5,400 crore.

As outstanding property tax before the start of the financial year was over Rs 10,000 crore, the

collection target was enhanced this time.

“This time our target for collection is set at Rs 8,300 crore keeping in mind the fact that Rs

10,000-crore-plus is the outstanding property tax demand of every year that is carried forward

on average and we should begin recovering it,” a BMC official said.

Bandra corporator Asif Zakeria said the pending software upgrade and delay in sending out bills

was blocking a crucial revenue source.

BMC officials said collection is expected to rise after clarity on the waiver is achieved and bills

are issued. They also said many establishments pay property tax in the last month. “Therefore,

our collections in the month of March are always the highest,” an official said.

Samajwadi Party leader in the BMC Rais Shaikh said the poor collection was a cause of

concern at a time when the BMC was offering rebates for garbage segregation, doling out large

sums to the cash-strapped BEST Undertaking and taking up infrastructure projects. “I am going

to demand a financial white paper,” he said.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Mumbai: Collector asks BMC to pay Rs 14.66 crore for violating

lease agreement

Collector Shivaji Jondhale sends notice to the municipal corporation accusing it of

violating lease agreement by handing part of the property to hotel.

The city collector has sent a notice to the BMC for violating the lease conditions attached to a

plot at Chowpatty, and asked the municipality to pay Rs 14.66 crore if it wants the lease to be

renewed.

The famous Birla Kreeda Kendra, which was closed in 2000 and partially demolished in 2015,

lies on the plot. The BMC was supposed to rebuild it for recreational purposes. Instead, it turned

over part of the centre to a hotel called Thackers, which is using it for commercial purposes.

Collector Shivaji Jondhale issued the notice on December 3 and called for a hearing on

December 26. The notice says the plot was given on March 5, 1957, at a nominal annual rent of

Rs 1. It points out that a part of the land can be used for residential purposes by the caretaker,

but no advertisements are allowed. It reminds the BMC that it cannot give or let the premises

without the prior consent of the collector, and that the government can take back the plot if

there is abreach of conditions.

“Our centre was closed in 2000 and in 2015 all internal walls were demolished. I don’t know

what the BMC’s plans are, but Thackers is open and we have an agreement with them till 2022.

I still have not got copy of the notice,” said Uday Mule, manager of the kendra.

Thackers used to be very popular among politicians in the 1990s and is still known for its

Gujarati cuisine.

“We gave the land to the BMC and now the lease is over. We did not give it to Thackers,”

Jondhale told Mirror.

“Our records show that Thackers holds functions and marriages here. We stated in the lease

agreement that the place was being given for recreational purposes and nothing else. If the

BMC wishes to renew the lease they have to pay us as per the new rent policy. If the BMC does

not pay, we can take back the land. We have decided to charge the BMC commercial rates.”

The collector has also written to the Department of Revenue asking if it can charge the BMC

commercial rates with retrospective effect, as the centre was being used for commercial

purposes since 1965.

Newspaper/Online ET Realty(online)

Date December 18, 2019

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulatory/mumba-collector-asks-bmc-to-pay-rs-14-66-crore-for-violating-lease-agreement/72869594

Dilip Thacker, owner of the restaurant, disputed the collector’s charges. “I have a proper

agreement with the BMC, which was passed by the Improvements Committee,” he said. “We

have all the papers and our agreement is valid for a few more years. I don’t want to say

anything about the notice.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________