News

The Hindu : For a clear titleA new era in land mapping has its positive implications. A look at the possible transformation in technology by K. SUKUMARANThough some time ago it was stated that the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) did use the scanning facility of ISRO satellite to draw up the Comprehensive Development Plan-2015, not many would have gone into the unlimited scope for such technology in updating our land records even in remote villages. One of the 10 satellites put into orbit recently by ISRO is Cartosat 2A, which is intended to beam pictures of our hinterland. This has given new opportunities for maintenance of land records.What is this Cartosat, how does it help in keeping land records and what business opportunities can it generate? These questions lead us to some fundamental issues relating to this subject.Land records in IndiaThe village is our basic survey unit for many purposes. Land records too are primarily kept by village accountants. A map of the village is the basic document and identification of land is made through survey numbers given to each piece of land owned by a family or individual. Apart from land, roads, lakes, water fronts and forests are marked in the village map. Over a period of time, the area of such land and other objects shrink due to soil erosion, floods and human encroachments.Surveys and re-surveys have taken place over many years and together with sale and partition of family property, the survey numbers have also undergone changes over the years.What has been done to maintain land records in the modern era? To be honest, very little has been done.The onus of facts on the owners and document writers. Many sale transactions are registered in sub-registrars’ offices without any verification, a sad commentary on our landed property supervision system.Yet, there have been isolated efforts by some States to computerise land records. The ‘Bhoomi’ Project…More

The Hindu : NEWSCANRoofBird’s projects on cardsRoofBird.com, India’s first exclusive residential real estate web portal, has announced its plans to tie up with more than 100 reputed property developers during the next one year.The aim is to promote residential projects through its end-to-end online marketing services.RoofBird’s services portfolio is custom-built for developers and offers a dedicated website for each developer and detailed listing of their projects in the online portal, high visibility in search engine results,e-mail marketing services, enquiry generation and offline customer support services.“We have already tied up with close to 40 reputed property developers and these developers have listed about 100 residential projects coming up across major cities. Given the nature and trend of the current drive, the total number of property developers at RoofBird.com will be increased to about 150 by the end of this year,” says Premkumar Ponniah, CEO & Founder Director, RoofBird Online Services Pvt. Ltd.Contact: 91 99406 62447….More

The Hindu : Organised jointly by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, CII and the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, the first national urban water and sanitation awards saw some exciting projects emerging. On May 15, a total of 16 projects from 11 towns which made it to the final list were presented to a panel for prioritisation.The Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran based in Mumbai came out with a brilliant model of turning an intermittent supply into a 24/7 affair. Based on Indian conditions and using the development plan of the town, existing distribution networks and leakages can be identified and remedial measures initiated. In Badlapur town close to Navi Mumbai, such a project is under implementation and already seven of the 34 wards have 24/7 water supply. Pressure has been reduced in high pressure areas. Unaccounted-for water has been significantly reduced.A project for Kulgaon-Badlapur saw rainwater harvesting systems being implemented for 40 societies to enhance the groundwater table and to provide additional water for residents. These two projects saw the town winning the top award this year.Simple methodUttaranchal has many stream-fed water sources. The water from them is drawn using boulder-filled galleries but there are many problems with such galleries such as high turbidity in the water and the high cost and quality required for construction.By using an innovative perforated pipe buried below stream level and with filter media on top, water is drawn below the stream and taken for further treatment to be supplied to towns. A local innovation, this project drew commendations for its simplicity and appropriateness for the local condition.Surat Municipal Corporation came out with three projects designed to help the 3.25 lakh citizens access better quality of water. The municipal corporation re-engineered its distribution to save energy, put in place an online water quality monitoring system and reworked its operations and maintenance practice. With dedicated teamwork and commitment it has been…More

The Hindu : NEWSCANRoofBird’s projects on cardsRoofBird.com, India’s first exclusive residential real estate web portal, has announced its plans to tie up with more than 100 reputed property developers during the next one year.The aim is to promote residential projects through its end-to-end online marketing services.RoofBird’s services portfolio is custom-built for developers and offers a dedicated website for each developer and detailed listing of their projects in the online portal, high visibility in search engine results,e-mail marketing services, enquiry generation and offline customer support services.“We have already tied up with close to 40 reputed property developers and these developers have listed about 100 residential projects coming up across major cities. Given the nature and trend of the current drive, the total number of property developers at RoofBird.com will be increased to about 150 by the end of this year,” says Premkumar Ponniah, CEO & Founder Director, RoofBird Online Services Pvt. Ltd.Contact: 91 99406 62447….More

The Hindu : Organised jointly by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, CII and the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, the first national urban water and sanitation awards saw some exciting projects emerging. On May 15, a total of 16 projects from 11 towns which made it to the final list were presented to a panel for prioritisation.The Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran based in Mumbai came out with a brilliant model of turning an intermittent supply into a 24/7 affair. Based on Indian conditions and using the development plan of the town, existing distribution networks and leakages can be identified and remedial measures initiated. In Badlapur town close to Navi Mumbai, such a project is under implementation and already seven of the 34 wards have 24/7 water supply. Pressure has been reduced in high pressure areas. Unaccounted-for water has been significantly reduced.A project for Kulgaon-Badlapur saw rainwater harvesting systems being implemented for 40 societies to enhance the groundwater table and to provide additional water for residents. These two projects saw the town winning the top award this year.Simple methodUttaranchal has many stream-fed water sources. The water from them is drawn using boulder-filled galleries but there are many problems with such galleries such as high turbidity in the water and the high cost and quality required for construction.By using an innovative perforated pipe buried below stream level and with filter media on top, water is drawn below the stream and taken for further treatment to be supplied to towns. A local innovation, this project drew commendations for its simplicity and appropriateness for the local condition.Surat Municipal Corporation came out with three projects designed to help the 3.25 lakh citizens access better quality of water. The municipal corporation re-engineered its distribution to save energy, put in place an online water quality monitoring system and reworked its operations and maintenance practice. With dedicated teamwork and commitment it has been…More

The Hindu : For a green worldColliers International is all set to release ‘r.e.Design,’ Asia’s first green real estate guide. Simon Carter shares some of the vital thoughts behind the guide with MYTHILI G. NIRVANSimon CarterThe big problem is that modern buildings have commonly forgotten to live and breathe as part of their environment and climate. We have lost knowledge over recent decades and green buildings are bringing that back. After the successful launch of India’s first green report called ‘Go Green’ in 2007, Colliers International is all set to release Asia’s first green real estate guide called ‘r.e.Design’ in the second week of June 2008. The expectations are already very high as many believe it will be quite an eye opener for the industry, says Simon Carter, Regional Director of Sustainability, Asia Pacific, Colliers International, in an exclusive video conference from Singapore with The Hindu PropertyPlus.Colliers International is a specialist property consulting company providing customised services to property investors and occupiers.Excerpts of the interview:What in essence is a green building?Green buildings can be defined as those that, throughout their entire lifecycle (construction, operation and demolition), support the health and wellbeing of the local, regional and global environment, and of the people in and around them.How does a green building compare with a conventional building in terms of cost?There is no standard rule, it varies from case to case. Research around the world by Green Building Councils and Davis Langdon have shown that often green buildings can be cheaper to develop compared to conventional buildings.I believe this is due to the spirit of innovation being applied to achieve green building performance, actually helping developers and designers identify cost-saving measures with some requiring very little energy (15 per cent of a conventional building) and water and producing very little waste.What is the lifecycle of a green building as compared to a conventional one?Green buildings are designed and developed with…More

The Hindu : The emergence of colours is what most paint companies or furnishing businesses talk about today. Contemporary décor no doubt has brought in a melange of colours for the wall and the upholstery, but it isn’t that basic balancing colours are in a stupor. This is where fundamental design ideas from the world of Japanese interior design come into play. Use of colour, texture and focal points make a statement here and the Eastern styles more or less underline the Japanese tastes that are said to act as a balance in the universe.Blacks and whitesIt is habitual to disregard blacks and whites as colours in interior design but they are significant colour elements for the Japanese eye. “It’s all in your perception,” says interior designer Suhasini Rathod, who specialises in Japanese makeovers. “We aren’t talking of patches of black and white on your walls, or bringing in metres of black on your window furnishing. A judicious mix of these basic colours is what we are talking of. The distinctive use is in defining a portion and aligning a structural form or treating an area with a colour or fabric that speaks for itself colourfully, mind you with these basic colours only! Never think black and white isn’t colour.”This system of the Orient most widely uses interior colours such as off-whites and neutrals that take their cue from nature. Black doesn’t clash, it defines, and works in harmony. White is soothing, calm and forms the background for making a statement. Adds Suhasini, “If an opaque white wall divides a room with polished black wooden frames as a cross-bar wall decor, wouldn’t this take you on a calm drive?”Colours should never interfere in architecture, but be a stand-alone point of interior design where it enhances the overall look of the space. “Neutral colours will help you imply an orderliness for an underlying objective of your entire Japanese decorating…More

The Hindu : Will promises turn real?What could be the new government’s real estate and infrastructure agenda for Bangalore? A look by K. SUKUMARANNow that a democratically elected government is in place in Karnataka, it is in fitness of things to expect some quick action to translate the promises into reality.The declared promises of major political parties in the run-up to the elections can be summed up thus:• Classification and up gradation of roads in BBMP area covering the five administrative zones.• Construction of new roads and improvement of arterial roads• Completion of metro rail project on priority; new rail projects too, if necessary.• Setting up of a single agency to cover all service providers such as water supply, transport, housing and power; and a special power generation unit, if feasible.• Dedicated expressway of international standard to Bangalore International Airport.• Improvement of living conditions in slums and new BBMP areas.• Administrative changes, including setting up of a Metropolitan Planning Council.• Involvement of Resident Welfare Associations in solving city’s problems.• People-friendly tax regimes.• Increased funds allocation for taking up the city’s development to solve traffic bottlenecks by stressing on PPP/BOT.Before laying down priorities, let us have a look at the various projects under various governments in the past few years.FillipThe fast track development of Bangalore, in fact, received a fillip during the S.M. Krishna regime. The Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), which was set up with the representatives of State Government, industries, NGOs and other experts from select fields was the first step in democratising the development of Bangalore.Though the BATF did not get continued patronage in the JD(S)-supported Dharam Singh Government, administrative steps were continued for completing the international airport project in Devanahalli, metro rail, ROR over the Hosur Road from Silk Board junction to Electronics City, flyovers/underpasses, peripheral ring road etc. the same prevailed during the Kumaraswamy coalition government rule. President’s Rule too pushed forward the core…More

The Hindu : How far is elevation a sampling of the house inside? Does every good elevation speak of good design elements inside? Or, does a commonplace elevation throw feelers of a humdrum plan? Maybe there is no correlation at all between the exterior and the interior. And it depends on one’s taste to see if decoration is given as much importance as the practical design too. But how far do external looks matter for a home?Says M. Murali, Chief Architect of Murali Architects, “I believe that what looks good, tastes good. It holds good with respect to buildings too. An architect constructs a building not just to make it usable and comfortable, but to make it a piece of art or a prized possession for the inmates. So, the exterior massing proportions, fenestrations, colour and texture and the cladding and roofing design are paramount to a building.”If all the houses have a flat, just-enough roof to take an ordinary elevation, nothing would really stand out. Fashioning a look to make it look different is an art that would make the piece a stand alone construct.“Again this wouldn’t mean outlandish and bizarre elevations that would look visually weird and out of place. But some creative concepts have to be thought of to make it look novel,” says Murali.Simple and novelArchitect K. Jaisim of Jaisim Fountainhead has created a dome-and-den-like appearance for C.R.Simha’s house on the bustling Ring Road in Banashankari III Stage which is aptly named ‘Guhe.’ We are speaking of theatre and film personality C. R. Simha’s residential den, the nature-friendly ethnic wonder built 17 years ago, that has been bagging quite a few looks from the media even now.Spotting the elevation for the roof-cover from the gate isn’t easy at Simha’s house. Look up and you’ll realise that sky is the limit for creativity in this two-level house. The dome-like come-down roof, with concrete and hollow…More