CCI Imposes Penalty of Rs 630cr on DLF for Abuse of Market Dominance & Unfair Trade Practices

Anti-competitive practices watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 630 crore on India’s largest real estate developer, DLF Ltd, for abuse of market dominance and unfair trade practices. The penalty amounting to seven per cent of Rs 9,006.27 crore, the company’s average annual turnover in the last three years, was slapped after CCI found merit in complaints of alleged “abuse of dominant position” by putting “discriminatory and abusive clauses” in the apartment agreements provided to the allottees of two of DLF’s high-profile residential projects in Gurgaon.

DLF Group executive director Rajeev Talwar said, “We are reading the order.” He said the company was in the process of consulting legal experts on how to proceed. In a unanimous verdict on August 12, CCI ordered DLF to cease and desist from formulating and imposing “unfair” conditions in its agreements with buyers in Gurgaon. The commission also wanted DLF to modify such conditions within three months. The two projects are expected to have a total of 2,200 flats, priced between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 3 crore each, making the total worth of the apartments Rs 4,500-5,000 crore.

The projects, which started in August 2006, were expected to be completed in three years, but the developer extended the deadline later. In addition to the delay, DLF increased the number of floors in the apartment complex from the original figure given to customers. This led to the number of apartments in one project, Belaire, increasing to 564 from 384, which irked the customers as it meant more flat owners must share the same common facilities. The CCI verdict is expected to have an overall impact on real estate players, as its investigation has found the unfair conditions imposed by DLF are a common practice among several developers. The company has the option to challenge the CCI verdict in the Competition Appellate Tribunal.

RBI Hike in Key Rates will Lead to Rise in Property Prices: CREDAI

Real-estate developers and property consultants termed the RBI hiking key rates as harsh and said it would compound the woes of the sector reeling under high input cost and poor sales. Pradeep Jain, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), said, “Unless steps are taken to improve supply system, this increase by RBI is going to have a minimal effect on inflation. While we were expecting a moderate hike of 25 bps, the 50 bps raise is going to dampen growth. This will make cost of funds expensive for both developers and buyers, coupled with constant increases in input costs, making the business environment very complex across industries.”

Jain said developers were left with no choice but to pass on the costs to buyers, which will result in increase in property prices. Lalit Kumar Jain, National President of CREDAI, said material cost had already gone up by over 35 per cent and wages had doubled over the last three years. Any increase in the rate of interest would be counter-productive and would give rise to inflation instead of curbing it. The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, while stating that the hike would adversely impact the industry, appealed to home loan institutions and banks to absorb the impact and not pass it on to the end-customers.
“Bankers have systematically raised home loan interest rates as and when the RBI hiked the repo rate, and we strongly feel that they should consider the home buyers’ interest,” said Mr Paras Gundecha, President of MCHI. Over 200 industries depend on the real-estate industry and it was the duty of the government to help it grow instead of taking steps to further cripple it. Sanjay Dutt, CEO, business, Jones Lang LaSalle India, said the 50 basis point increase was expected to impact growth. Demand for real-estate was a factor of economic growth. “The sector has now taken a body-blow with the combined onslaught of increased cost of land and construction, eventually making the finished real-estate products more expensive. Increased mortgage rates would only compromise demand further. Investors, particularly, would ask themselves serious questions about the right time, place and price to enter real-estate. Their primary concerns would be about the possibility of decreased demand for and therefore decreased profitability of the projects they invest in. They would face the risk of exiting at lower values.”
Residential buyers in cities with higher purchase rates and ticket sizes would be impacted the most. Blue-collar home loan borrowers with limited budgets would be severely hit, he said. Bharat Mody, chief financial officer, Ackruti City, said real-estate has already been affected due to significant increase in home loan rates over the last one year Add to it the increased cost of construction and land acquisition, besides the higher funding cost for developers. All this has led to higher prices for home-buyers and now this hike in rates may keep the sentiment depressed ahead of festival season. Sanjay Kabra, chief financial officer, Sunil Mantri Group, said the Government needs to address causes of inflation, including efficacy of government spending and the embedded cost of corruption and mis-governance, which eventually is passed on to the common man. The real-estate sector is reeling from high cost on the supply side and deceleration on the demand side, as debt servicing had become increasingly difficult.
Harresh Mehta, CMD, Rohan Lifescape, felt that the monetary tightening beyond a point was bound to impact capital formation and investment. Interest cost in India was among the highest in the world and further rise was bound to have an impact on real-estate development as well as demand. Anil Kothuri, executive vice-president, Edelweiss Housing Finance, said the hike is aimed at anchoring inflationary expectations. However, it could be close to the end of the rate tightening cycle as growth tapers off and the impact of previous rate tightening action kicks in

Police force can be used evict tenant says Supreme Court of India

The refusal of a tenant to vacate the premises within the court-directed deadline would invite the use of police force to evict the occupant, the Supreme Court has said.
"This is a general direction we are passing because we are coming across several cases where the tenantsare not vacating the premises in question despite granting time by this court or despite furnishing an undertaking to this court with the result that the landlord has to initiate contempt proceedings or any other proceedings.
"Hence, we give a general direction that when tenant's petition/appeal is dismissed and he is given time to vacate, then on the expiry of that time, he will be evicted by police force if he does not vacate of his own," a bench comprising Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra said.
The bench said any liberty from vacating the premise could be granted if a plea is made to the court in advance. "If any extension of time to vacate is desired, that application should be filed well in advance," the bench said. The bench passed the order while dealing with a dispute between a landlord and tenant.

How to smartly listen to the advice of a real estate agent?

Many property agents claim to be aware of all the market trends and requirements of prospective buyers. Smart people prefer trusting their instincts and take chances but any negligence while fixing a real estate deal can ruin a financial position, be careful though. Some of the major recommendations by smart agents of real estate industry which you may imitate includes:
- The first look of your house should be very attractive. Thus, the lawn of your house should be maintained at all times. The front door should be decorated with a nice doormat. Moreover, the exteriors of the house should be painted properly with nice colours. The house should be so attractive that it lures the prospective buyers to step inside.
- Each section of your house; be it living room, bedroom, kitchen or even the bathroom, should be presentable and neatly furnished. The bathroom and kitchen of your home, in particular must not be dirty. It is advisable to install latest accessories and products to enhance the look.
- It essential to remember that larger the house appears, the easier it will be for you to ask for the desired amount of money from the prospect. The house should look spacious enough to accommodate a large family. For this purpose, no piece of unnecessary furniture should be kept in the house.
- Never run with the wind, sound bites and hype, think different and be sceptical. Reliable agents with good background in real estate can give the right advice and provide other tips, but unfortunately they are very rare!

Spectacular Tung And Tikona Twin Forts

It is interesting to know that Maharashtra is state having maximum number of forts in the country. Most of these forts were owned by Shivaji Maharaja. They have their historical importance and witnessing various wars during their time. But now these forts are centre for tourists’ attraction and adventurous trekking for trekking lovers as they provide the perfect place for simple to difficult trekking.

Tung fort is one of the many forts of Maharashtra state. It is also known as Kathingad situated in the village of Tungwadi or in short Tungi of Pune district. It is 3400 feet or 1075 meters above the sea level out of which almost 1200 feet is very steep. This fort was built in 1600 by Adil Shahi dynasty but later on Shivaji captured the fort.

The purpose to build this fort is clearly understood as to keep a watch on the roads, surroundings and ground area. The actual political reason to build this fort was to watch the transport from the bor ghat which can be threat to the region. It is one small fort that could have accommodated 200 troops only at a time. From the top of this fort one can see the Lohgad, Visapur and Pavan Maval. It looks like it served as a primary information centre for two other forts Visapur and Lohagad about the invaders. The history tells us many worriers who have won and captured this place time to time.

The speciality of Tung fort is its sharp conical peak that can be seen from a distance. The fort has an oval shape and thick walls. The climbing is rather simple with majestic views surrounding the fort. It takes just one hour to climb from the Tungi village that is base village of this fort. The beauty of this fort is doubled after building of the Pawana Dam as it is now surrounded by water from three sides. One can use boats to reach Tungi village from Pawana dam. We can reach to fort by taking route of Kamshet from Lonavala. Once you reach to Pawana River you can start trekking along with enjoying amazing views of twin forts Tung and Tikona. There is not much to see on the top as the fort is now standing in ruins. You can find some walls, doors and caves here and there. But the scenic beauty you can admire from top that can take away all your sweat of tiredness in minutes and you have to say, “Wow”. There are the temples of Maruti, Hanuman, Devi Tungai and Devi Tuljai that can be counted. On the East side of the fort you can see Tikona fort and on the North side one can see magnificent views of Lohagad, Visapur.

The other twin of Tung fort is Tikona fort as the name suggests the fort is in pyramid/ triangular in shape that is why popularly known as Tikona (triangle) fort. It comes in the Mavel region where you can reach easily from Kamshet. The other name for this place is Vitangagad. The height from the sea level is 3500 feet. The climbing is not as difficult as other forts’ of Maharashtra. It has mrked trail to easily locate the way to top. There are caves on the way that can work as a shelter if one feels tired during the climbing. The stairs are steep and definitely bigger than the regular sized steps. Here on the way you can also see the remainder of a stone grinder that is supposed to be run by animals. The final steps are restored and named Shivaji trail whchi has hand railing supporters. All through the way you will get plenty of opportunities to click photo and the good part is the steps mostly are in shade.

The route can be understood like this- from Pune city to Lonavala to Kamshet to Kale colony to Tikona Peth village. The distance from Kale colony to Tikona Village is just 6 kilometres. Among the ruins of the fort we can see some wall structures, big doors, caves of Satvahan era, a water tank and temple of Trimbakeshwar Mahadev (Shiva).

Suggestions:

The best time to go is all through the year except summer as the heat can make you tiresome.

It is one day trekking trip can be enjoyed with family and friends.

You must carry your water bottle and snacks as you may not found anything here.

Camera is a must to capture fantastic sceneries.

One can take bus or local transport from Pune city to Kamshet to reach there.

It may take 2 hours from Pune city to reach there because the approximate distance is 65 kilometers.

Shopping Malls and Entertainment Centers in Pune

Shopping malls are the perfect place for young, seniors and kids because they have everything for all age groups. Pune is the place with plenty of malls and entertainment centres across the city. Malls are advantageous because there are attractive sale and discount offers throughout the year. These malls are fully facilitated and quite an attraction for everyone. Some of these are as follows:



Wonder Funky
It is located at survey no. 71, near Chandni Chowk on Mumbai Bangalore Highway, Kothrud. It is one of the entertainment centres which provide full entertainment to youngsters as well as kids. It has a family restaurant that serves delicious food and the main attraction is the interior of the restaurant that has get up of a jungle with wild animal statues which look quite real. On the ground floor some snack stalls are there which provide mouth watering chaats, bhels and other items. There are plenty of games for everybody to enjoy upstairs. In short it is a complete entertainment place for family and a must visit. Website: www.wonderfunkey.com



Inox Multiplex
It is a well known multiplex in the centre of the city situated at Plot D, Bund Garden Road, Pune. Apart from multi screens it has Barista coffee shop, Mc Donald fast food restaurant and retail Pantaloon showroom. One can enjoy movies, food and shopping here.
Website: www.inoxmovies.com

E-square Multiplex
e- Square is one of my favourite places to visit not only for movies but for shopping too. You can enjoy a variety of food here along with watching movies. It is located at the prime location of University Road. It has many retail outlets including Crossword, Archies and other shops of accessory items. Aundh, Baner, Pashan and S. B. Road are surrounding areas.

Gold Adlabs Multiplex
It is current fashion that almost all new multiplexes are having shopping places in them along with premium food joints and Gold Adlabs is no different. It is situated at Marigold Complex in Kalyani Nagar in the centre of city. It is a perfect place to enjoy with friends.
Website: www.adlabscinemas.com

Inorbit Mall Pune
Long awaited mall in Pune is opened in April 2011. Finally Pune is on the track of Mall culture like other cities as Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon, etc. Inorbit mall is located at Pune Nagar Road. The complete address is Viman Nagar Chowk, Pune Nagar Road, Vadgaon Sehri, Pune. It is becoming the prime destinations among the mall lovers who want to shop different brands under one roof. The brands on offer here include Lifestyle, Shopper’s Stop, Nike, Adidas, Lee, Wrangler, Bata, Hidesign, Woodland, etc. There will be a multiplex upcoming in this mall which will have four screens. Apart from theses there will be a bowling alley and ice rink soon that can be a new experience for Punekars. Website: www.inorbit.in

Pune IT Mall
It is an electronic goods mall where one can choose from a range of brands of electronic goods like laptops, notebooks, desktops, printers, projectors, multi function devices, different softwares, etc. This mall is located at the Sakhar Sankul Road in Shivaji Nagar.



Croma Mall
It is well known shopping mall and a perfect place to buy any electronic good. There are a variety of electronics displayed and one can select after comparing with different brands. The Croma mall is located in Aundh as well as in Hadapsar. Croma is affiliated to the Tata group. It is a very spacious mall and can satisfy all your electronic requirements.

Pune Central Mall
Central mall has now in almost every big city of India with the same glow everywhere. It is one big mall with multi floors, lifts and escalators. It is famous for its attractive red appearance and wide variety of brands that is around 250 brands in clothing under one roof. It is located at Bund Garden Road and University road. The mall on university road has more than 500 national and international brands to choose from in clothing, apparel, fragrances, cosmetics, footwear, time pieces, hand bags and many more. Eat, Shop and Celebrate is the slogan famous for Central Malls. It is a much needed mall in the area.



Ishanya Mall
Now in Pune almost everybody has visited the super mall Ishanya which is young today as it is opened recently having international standards housing unlimited shopping spaces. It is huge in size and easily satisfies all your needs especially home decor and furniture. It is located at opposite golf course, off airport road, Yerwada, Pune.

At Home
Located at Shivaji Nagar it is fully loaded with home furniture and home decor items. One can find the best decor items suited to their home here. It is situated near Shoppers Stop.

SGS Mall
This mall is located at Moledina Road in Pune. It is one of the biggest malls in that area with an impressive ambience and almost all modern amenities. It is owned by Subash Gulati Group. A happening place for all age groups specially youngsters who can enjoy delicious food along with international shopping experience as the international brands are serving here like Body Shop, Marks and Spencer, United colours of Benetton, Spykar and Indian brands Westside, India Bulls, a range of shoe stores like Mochi, etc. The timings of this mall are from 9am to 9 pm.



Nucleus Mall
This mall is concentrated on shopping and recreation facility. It is situated in the prime location of Camp spread over 218000 square feet. Here you find some big brands like Shopper’s Stop, Van Heusen, Zodiac, Sony World and Hidesign. You may also like to visit the Ritu Kumar showroom in this mall. The management is up to mark apart from artistic entrance and good security and fire fighting system. It also has a two level parking facility. The timings are from 10.30 am to 10.30 pm.

Hot Location - Bavdhan

High hills, blue skies merging all with greens depicts modern Bavdhan. The National Highway cutting and bending across Bavdhan, connecting a new way of life. Tall rising building in whites and browns reflecting light which never existed in Bavdhan before. Migrating birds resting on all so silent peaceful Pashan lake, while the natural greens jazz it up.