Farm House Available for immediate Sale in Prime Location in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.  The Property is East Facing, in 18 Meter Wide Road, near Church Road.  All Facilities Like Airport, Metro Station, Bus Stand, Taxi Stand, Post Office, Bank, Market, Malls nearby.  Area 3000 Sq Yrd.

The supply of CNG in Noida would be affected on Sunday as Indraprastha Gas Limited is undertaking shifting work of some of its underground steel pipelines in the city on the request of Noida Authority.

Apart from the CNG filling stations, supply would also remain unavailable to industrial units and commercial establishments running on natural gas, even though IGL has made alternate arrangements for supplying PNG to domestic households.
TNN | Feb 4, 2012, 03.16AM IST

NOIDA: While playing in a school ground on a sunny winter morning is a routine activity for children, for this group of 20-odd kids with special needs, this is a rare indulgence. The children were introduced to games like badminton and athletics as part of a special workshop on Saturday.

Organised by NGO Sanchetna, the workshop aimed at preparing these kids for Special Olympic Games. It was part of an initiative by Special Olympics Bharat to identify young athletes in the country with potential to represent the country at an international level.
Such workshops give special kids an early introduction to the world of Special Olympics.
Such workshops give special kids an early introduction to the world of Special Olympics while also honing their motor skills and coordination, said doctors at the NGO. “We have 63 children with special needs who benefit from regular skill enhancement programmes at the school. The sports workshop is specially organized for these children to offer them an early introduction to such activities,” said Dr Joysree Mukherjee, child psychologist, Sanchetna.

The Youth Athlete Programme works towards preparing these kids for Special Olympics by the age of 8. The unique programme is not only fun for the children but also stimulates their mental and physical growth, say parents. “The programme helps our children develop better social skills. It boost their confidence, in turn making it easier for them to play and interact with other children in the playground and elsewhere,” said Dimple Anil, principal, Billabong High International School, Noida.
Special Olympics Bharat has roped in over 37,000 coaches to work with over 7,50,234 athletes across 31 state programmes. The goal is to extend the initiative throughout the country and reach over 1,000,000 people with intellectual disabilities by the end of 2012. “Our mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic sports for children and adults with intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families and other special Olympics athletes,” explained, Harpreet Singh, regional, trainer Special Olympics Bharat.

India has been participating in Special Olympics World Summer Games since 1987. In the 2011 edition, held in Athens, India sent the fourth largest contingent after Greece, US and China, with 235 athletes who competed with 7,000 athletes from 180 countries. The athletes were selected during different national events. India won 243 medals, including 92 gold medals.
Aniruddha GhosalAniruddha Ghosal, TNN | Feb 5, 2012, 02.12AM IST

The Indian GP has changed the way India looked at motorsport. It has drummed up unbelievable levels of fascination and excitement among motorsport enthusiasts, media and the corporate world. I guess I can reveal this now since it’s of little consequence, that in the weeks following the Indian GP,

some Indian investors were determined to acquire a majority stake in a Formula 1 team with two Indian drivers in it.

The plan, however, didn’t come to fruition, but I knew where I wanted to be — F1 was my only focus following that eventful weekend.

And understandably so, as you may recall that during the Indian GP, I was paired up with Daniel Ricciardo — a young and highly rated driver — and I was on an even footing with him throughout. It gave me a newfound confidence in my ability, and that is when I knew I still had business here.

It immediately became apparent how difficult it was to stay in F1, but I never considered other alternatives. I ensured that I was physically and mentally ready for any opportunity and trained as hard as I possibly could. Obviously, there were a lot of discussions, long hours on flights and at airports, hotel stays and so on.

Rolling the dice
With several drivers vying for a handful of seats, there was no telling how the dice would roll — in fact, there were five drivers in contention for the HRT seat since the 2011 season ended. Ultimately, my performance at the Indian GP coupled with the support of my backers, Tata Motors — who provided me technical help, CFD (computational fluid dynamics) facilities and other R&D support — assisted me in sealing the deal.

I am happy that the new management in HRT believed in me and gave me this opportunity, and I have every intention to make the best of it.

Unique season
This year will be unique for me in another sense — for the first time in my F1 career, I will be driving for the same team for the second consecutive season. There are a lot of new personnel this year, though, and even the hierarchy is different. But, from where I see it, it is set to have a positive influence on the entire operation.

The team has some very experienced people onboard now, like the new team principal, Luis Pérez-Sala, and my teammate Pedro de la Rosa. Saul Ruiz de Marco, (HRT F1 CEO), has a very good approach to what F1 should be.

However, we all know it’s impossible to change things in F1 overnight, but we are certainly taking strides in the right direction.

I remember Pedro from my first F1 test with the Jaguar team in 2001 — he was the team driver then. Even though I don’t know him very well, I know that he’s very experienced and has a pleasant personality. We should get along well — it’s not about trying to beat each other but working harmoniously to help the team progress.

That is all I have to say for now. I am eagerly waiting to jump in the new car at the pre-season winter tests, unlike the last season when I first drove the new car on the opening race weekend in Australia. So, things are looking good and there is enough incentive and motivation for me to push as hard as I can from the word go.

Narain Karthikeyan
February 03, 2012

Walking towards the press conference area at the Taj Mansingh hotel, one got the feeling that Narain Karthikeyan would not spend much time talking about the launch of his merchandise after news broke that the 35-year-old had secured the final slot on the 2012 Formula One world championship driver line-up with HRT F1.

Karthikeyan will become the first Indian driver in F1 to race in successive seasons, that too with the same team. It’s this continuity, despite the fact that 95% of HRT F1 personnel are new, that Karthikeyan is banking on to help him progress this year. That and the potential for some good fortune on the racetrack.

“You might find a few surprises popping up this year,” said Karthikeyan when asked about the regulation changes in F1 that have led to the banning of exhaust blown diffusers.

The one thing that Karthikeyan does not believe will be a factor in his performance, however, is his age. “How is that a factor?” retorted Karthikeyan when asked whether his or his team-mate, Pedro de la Rosa’s age would be a factor. “(Michael) Schumacher is 43, (Mark) Webber is in his mid-30s, I am in my mid-30s. You guys (media) are the ones who create this factor!”

While age may not be a factor, experience is something the HRT F1 team principal, Luiz Perez Sala, values. “We are starting probably from the beginning,” said Sala via videoconferencing. “Both Pedro and Narain are experienced and we need this in order to build the team.”

It is also Karthikeyan’s natural talent that made Sala — who competed for Minardi in 1988 and 1989 — firm up his mind on the Indian. “I first saw Narain driving in Monza in 2002 in the Nissan World Series. He drove hard over the kerbs and showed good car control. So, I started following him,” said Sala.

The Tata effect
While Karthikeyan’s association with Tata Motors is one of the reasons for him clinching the HRT berth, the team’s CEO, Saul Ruiz de Marcos, too is not averse to the growing popularity of the sport in the Chennai native’s country of birth.

“Tata is going to be one of the most important sponsors,” said Marcos from Spain.

“We have to build a better car so that Tata get a good return on their investment in the team.” Marcos even raised the possibility of the team doing promotional events in India.

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 03, 2012

Delhi’s Master Plan allows plot owners to combine their individual properties and redevelop them into apartments

he Master Plan of Delhi 2021 (MPD) has a provision for the cluster block Tapproach which is about existing plot owners can pool in their individual properties and redevelop them into apartments with better amenities and greater floor area ratio (FAR).

The MPD also has provisions to encourage redevelopment through private participation -to redevelop either single units or through amalgamation. It also calls for voluntary participative development in rural areas. The cluster block approach allows plot owners to pool in their properties to arrive at the magic number of 3000 sq m, the minimum requirement as far as the size of the plot is concerned. Likewise, for tapping into the land in villages, unauthorised colonies and resettlement colonies, the MPD envisages a policy for 2000 sq m.

The Master Plan also seeks to incentivise the redevelopment process. “To incentivise and redevelop, a maximum overall FAR of 50% over and above the existing permissible FAR on individual plots will be allowed subject to a maximum of 400. Higher FAR shall not be permissible in redevelopment of Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines bungalow areas and monument regulated zone,“ it says.

The beneficiary would be the end-user who would get products at the ideal price, while the developer would benefit from faster cash flow.
The land owner derives capital appreciation of his land assets.
Overall, a win-win situation for all.

As per the scheme, redevelopment and renewal is to be identified on the basis of the presence of physical features such as the Metro, roads, drains, high-tension lines and control zones such as monuments and heritage areas. In short, this means that there should be adequate infrastructure and the area under consideration should not be close to a heritage site.

What this translates to is that if four families together have plots measuring a total of 3000 sq m which they wish to redevelop into multi-storey apartments with better amenities, they will be permitted 50% FAR. So, if the current FAR is 1.2, they may be allowed 1.8 under the new norms.
Height will vary according to the area where redevelopment takes place. When the same is applied to village land, existing abadi areas under Lal Dora etc, one could fathom the supply of affordable housing projects within many villages like Kanjhawla and Bamnoli. In other words, villagers can amalgamate their extended Lal Dora plots to create housing projects, with better amenities, facilities and quality of life.

As per the MPD, the government’s redevelopment efforts are targeted at unauthorised, resettlement and rehabilitation colonies but are more likely to happen in areas where large contiguous plots are available, places which may allow for easy aggregation of 3000 sq m land parcels.

HT Estates Correspondent

There is no dearth of buyers for farmhouses even though prices jumped sharply after the extension of amnesty to those with unauthorised construction

armhouse owners in Delhi would have been overjoyed when the Parliament recently passed the National Capital of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions), Second Bill 2011, FProvisions), Second Bill 2011, to make special provisions for the city for a further three years beginning January 1 this year. This extends the earlier act that was valid till last December. In simple terms, the new act extends by three years the amnesty provided by the previous one to farmhouse owners who faced action for unauthorised construction on their land and against acquisition of their farmhouses under any earlier notification.

According to a survey conducted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) a few years ago, there were 2800 farmhouses on about 7500 acres of land in the city. By last year, there were an estimated 3000-plus farmhouses spread over 10,000 acres of land. In the past two decades, the authorities notified about 5000 acres of land for acquisition in 13 villages. The farmhouses that were on the notified land stood to be affected.
The proposed acquisition matter was challenged in court. In 2009, the court held that the land could be acquired. There was much protest against the move for acquisition following which the government provided protection to the farmhouses with the rider that nothing was to change till the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) formulated a proper policy in consultation with the stakeholders. The deadline for this was December-end. The recent act extends this by three years.

Farmhouse owners were delighted last year when the government had tried to usher in a farmhouse policy that provided for regularisation of all farmhouses including those with unauthorised construction or those on notified land.
The then draft policy allowed farmhouses a built up area of 30% against the earlier 1% limitation. The greatest bounty that the draft provided was permission for farmhouses of specified sizes to have fitness centres, non-invasive health and naturopath clinics, amusement parks and resorts, among other things.

However, the draft was emphatically shot down by non-official members of the DDA comprising MLAs and municipal councilors from the Congress and the BJP. The members labelled and decried the draft as a shocking move for the benefit of farmhouse owners, many of whom are the rich and powerful.

As the draft was then seemingly shelved and a farmhouse policy is awaited, the government’s extension of amnesty for another three years did spell relief to the farmhouse owners in as much as that at least no action would be taken against unauthorised construction and that no land will be acquired.

Not all the non-official members of the DDA though are impressed by the extension of the amnesty. One of the nonofficial members, BJP MLA Harsh Vardhan, who is also former BJP Delhi president, said that the government ought to have framed a clear policy. Why just postpone a decision and keep the sword hanging on those affected?
The government needs to factor in the requirements for implementing the Master Plan and pave the way to build necessary infrastructure even if it means acquiring land for roads and other public benefit projects, he said.

Another non-official member, Congress MLA Subhash Chopra, who is also former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, said the basic priority are the poorer sections, so the authorities should formulate schemes that would benefit them. The government should not drag its feet in formulating policies, he said.

Meanwhile, the price of farmhouses and farmhouse land has risen to unexpected heights. This is especially so in the wake of the recently passed bill that extends the amnesty period. Farmhouse owners who faced the prospect of action against unauthorised construction in their properties or possible acquisition were the ones who most benefited.

Since this also lifted the cloud of uncertainity on the fate of such properties, the prices appreciated enormously. A real estate agent Sandeep Chaudhury of Sagar Properties says that the price of farmhouses and farmland has grown three times what it was even six months ago. In West End Green in Rajokri, a two-and-half acre farmhouse could cost around R100 crore, he cited an example.

Interestingly even though prices have sharply climbed, there are no dearth of buyers.
A factor that has added to the upswing in prices is the low availability of farmhouse properties on sale. Real estate agents attribute two reasons for this pattern. One, farmhouses are owned by the super rich who do not really need the money. Second, those farmhouse owners who want to make a profit by selling their properties are awaiting the implementation of the Master Plans’s provision that permits a farmhouse on one acre of land. Till now farmhouses are only permissible on a minimum of two-and-half acres.
Once it becomes legal to have farmhouses on a smaller piece of land, many owners might want to carve out one-acre plots out of their farmhouse land and sell them separately and make much more money.

So, the farmhouses enjoy a charmed position in the list of the most prime real estate holdings.

Arati Bhargava  in Ht Estates