Kerala Property News

Kerela Govt gives green signal to SEZ policy

The Kerala Government cleared the road for private special economic zones. The Government has brought in a state-specific SEZ policy which would be binding on all SEZs, including the 11 which had already got the Centre’s clearance.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said that 10 SEZ applications, nine of them in the private sector, would be rushed to the Centre for its final approval. The state’s SEZ policy contains a dozen conditions, mainly to ensure the welfare of workers and to curb the real estate interest of the developers. The state government has insisted that 70 per cent of the land should be utilised for industrial purpose. This is a major shift from the Centre’s policy, which stipulates that only 50 per cent of the land needs to be used for industry. Read More>>

Sunday, November 02, 2008  India-Realestate

Kerela Govt. postpones decision on SEZ policy

The LDF government in Kerala postponed a decision on finalising a policy framework for setting up special economic zones, (SEZ) in the state after CPI insisted on firm guarantees on issues like labour rights in SEZs. Despite a broad understanding reached at the LDF liaison last week, CPI state council had last night directed its ministers to insist on a clear set of conditions, preferably legislation for sanctioning SEZs without compromising on the party’s position on the matter. After the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said a final decision on SEZs would be taken by the cabinet next week after detailed discussion looking into all aspects of the matter. The question whether legislation was required as demanded by CPI would also be decided, he said.

The LDF had last week recommended the government to work out a condition-based policy framework and forward 10 pending proposals to the Centre. However, a powerful section in the CPI including its trade union and youth wings was of the view that SEZs should be based on stringent conditions to ensure labour rights, state control and proper utilisation of the land. Read More>>

Sunday, November 02, 2008  India-Realestate

Kerela builders opting for high rise structures

Property prices have been soaring in the state of Kerela due land shortage and an unending stream of foreign remittances and money orders Homesteads in the State have become costly, and contiguous land for new projects too has become prohibitively expensive. “Land in prime locations in Munnar costs anything between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh a cent, adding to the project cost substantially. The cost in Kumarakom is not much different. And good land is hard to come by in these prime tourism spots,” sources in the real-estate sector said. Consequently, the character of resort tourism, with sprawling buildings and cottages, is giving way to high-rise buildings.

While the advent of high-rise buildings in places such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram can be considered as an inevitable part of urbanisation, the extension of this culture to high-profile resort tourism destinations such as Munnar and Kumarakom is totally unwarranted, says Mr George Dominic, Executive Director of the CGH Earth group of hotels. “The height of buildings in these tourist destinations should be restricted to the height of the coconut trees in these places,” he says. While arguing strongly against high-rise structures, Mr Dominic said the only way forward for the hospitality industry would be to increase the price of rooms. But there are limits beyond which room rates cannot be revised. Already Kerala is perceived as a high-cost destination and attracts mainly the discerning international traveler with deep pockets. With several competing destinations within and outside the country, further revision in room tariffs could deter fresh tourist arrivals. Read More>>

Tuesday, October 21, 2008  India-Realestate

Bangalore firm sets up SEZ in Kerela

A Bangalore-based real estate developer Enterprises Ltd has entered the Kerala market with an IT SEZ Project at Kochi Info Park. The project, which will be co-developed with Kochi Info Park, will be build at an investment cost of Rs 160 crore. According to the company, the IT SEZ space will house about 5,000 employees and the project is expected to be completed in about two years.

Recently, Brigade Enterprises had secured a tender to co-develop 5 acres of land in Kochi to develop about 6 lakh square feet IT SEZ space. The company is committed to invest about Rs 400 crore in the state for projects related to IT SEZ and retail. Apart from this, the company also plans to start Rs 150 crore luxury island resort at nearby Vaikom with international standards. The firm is also exploring opportunities in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam. The company is wiling to invest Rs 1,000 crore on its various projects in Kerala in the next three years. Read More>>

Saturday, September 20, 2008  India-Realestate

Kerala Govt. to retrieve public land

Proving that the LDF government in Kerala is committed to retrieving public land from encroachers and assigning them to landless people, Chief Minister V S Achutanandan on Wednesday said, “The LDF government will continue its initiative to retrieve land illegally occupied by plantation groups in the state.” He alleged that real estate businessmen were buying prime land all over Kerala using ‘hawala and unaccounted money’. The situation was such that an ordinary person could not buy a single cent of land at current prices, he said.

The government had so far succeeded in recovering 1200 acres in Munnar during its first phase of ‘Munnar eviction drive’ and 13,000 acres in different parts of the State. The government’s new legislation to protect paddy fields and water resources has received the nod from the President, he said, adding that this would give an impetus to the government resolution. He said the LDF government was only following the policies formulated by the late E M S Namboodiripad, A K Gopalan and other CPI-M leaders through the land-rights struggle in 1970. Read More>>

Saturday, September 06, 2008  India-Realestate

Kerala CM postpones decision on SEZs

Thursday as Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan postponed decision on the proposed 21 special economic zone (SEZ) proposals. The chief minister’s statement came barely a week after the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), to which he belongs, urged the state government to speed up decisions on SEZs. The Communist Party of India (CPI), the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Janata Dal, all are part of the ruling LDF, are not very keen to setting up SEZs in the state. Hence, the Kerala Industries Department’s efforts to attract as much as Rs.250 billion ($5.8 billion) fresh investment in different sectors appear to have hit a roadblock. Kerala today has one SEZ in Kochi and 13 more projects have got the final clearance. Besides, eight more SEZs are awaiting the central government’s nod.

‘A decision can be taken only after discussing the issue with the party leadership in Delhi. The Left has its own reservations on SEZs,’ Achuthanandan told reporters here after the weekly cabinet meeting. When reporters pointed out his party’s stand, Achuthanandan said: ‘The state committee of the party can take any decision. But when the Left Democratic Front (LDF) makes a decision, it has to be discussed with all allies.’ ‘See, those who get approvals to build SEZs get a lot of benefits. They get discount on all materials in construction. Once completed, they get so much tax benefits. We have to make sure that this benefit is passed on to the state too,’ the chief minister said. Read More>>

Monday, August 25, 2008  India Realestate

Kerala properties on offer at Qatar show

Various township development projects and designs of residential complexes in Kerala were displayed at a property show in Qatar which aimed at attracting investments from NRIs. Kerala Property Expo, a three-day exhibition, featuring about 50 builders, is currently on in Doha.

The show organised by the Kerala Builders Forum (KBF), is sponsored by HDFC bank and State Bank of India. “Kerala gives good investment opportunities now. Earlier stress was given to the tourism industry. But now it has shifted more or less to the IT sector. A number of IT parks are coming up in major cities of Kerala, resulting in increase in population density here,” V Raveendran, Executive Director, KBF, told the Peninsula daily. Read More>>

Wednesday, May 14, 2008  India Realestate

Next Page > 1