No one is stealing Telangana’s water - A fact sheet

Since India is a federal democracy, and because rivers cross state boundaries, creating efficient and equitable mechanisms for allocating river flows has long been an important legal and constitutional issue. We must understand the real picture regarding the utilisation of river waters within Andhra Pradesh to judge the Telangana question.

The two most important rivers for Andhra Pradesh are the Krishna and the Godavari.

The KrishnaThe riparian states in the Krishna basin are Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. As the three states could not come to an amicable settlement for division of the river waters, the Central Government set up the Krishna River Water Disputes (KWDT) under the chairmanship of Justice R S Bachawat in 1969.

Maharashtra and Karnataka pleaded before the tribunal to allocate the river waters according to the proportions of catchment area, drainage contribution, population, culturable areas, etc, in the three states. The tribunal rejected this demand, stating that no state has a proprietary interest over a particular volume of water in an interstate river on the basis of the catchment area or with reference to its irrigated area, population or drainage contribution, and the existing use of a state is an important evidence of its needs.

The tribunal, after studying the issue for seven years, issued their final orders in 1976. It awarded 800 tmc ft of water to Andhra Pradesh, 700 tmc ft to Karnataka, and 560 tmc ft to Maharashtra, all adding up to 2060 tmc ft. It also permitted Andhra Pradesh to utilise the surplus waters over and above 2060 tmc ft, without, however, acquiring any right on the use of such waters. The demand of the two upper riparian states to be given a share of the excess waters was rejected.

However, Karnataka and Maharashtra have been persistently violating the tribunal’s orders by constructing unauthorized projects to the detriment of Andhra Pradesh. To resolve this dispute, the Union government constituted the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal under the chairmanship of Brijesh Kumar in 2004.

The upper riparian states have been arguing for an enhancement of their share in the dependable waters and also to provide a share in the surplus waters. Andhra Pradesh has requested that the present allocations continue and that an independent monitoring body be appointed to control and implement the earlier tribunal’s orders.

Telangana’s demand for Krishna watersSome aspirants for a separate Telangana state are propagating the view that the 800 tmc ft allocated to AP should be distributed among the three regions of the state, Rayalaseema, Andhra and Telangana on the equitable basis of the catchment area, drainage contribution, population, culturable areas, etc. This is a misinterpretation by a few propagators knowing fully well that distribution of water cannot be made on such a basis. It is unfortunate that they are mortifying the minds of the people of Telangana, including innocent students and rural people, and creating enmity among the Telugu-speaking people of AP.

In this context, it is to be clearly indicated that Andhra Pradesh has pleaded for appointment of an independent monitoring authority to exercise control and implement the tribunal’s orders without any deviation. Also, it is desirable now to plead before the tribunal that the bulk and lumpsum allocations made to each riparian state shall be distributed among the various projects in that state in order to avoid use of more water than allocated under the pretext of en bloc allocation and redistribution among the projects within their states (which is now being adopted by the upper states).

It is evident from the above that even in case of division of Andhra Pradesh, there should be no difficulty or problem for distribution of allocated waters among the regions.

The Bachawat Tribunal has considered all the anticipated usages in Telangana while making its report. The special consideration shown to the Jurala project is an example. Telangana has not lost any legitimate water rights either in the Godavari or in the Krishna river.The people of Andhra Pradesh are peace-loving and have a law-abiding nature. If a few miscreants propagate against the basic principles of obedience of the law and create enmity amongst the people there will be considerable harm to them which would be difficult to set right in future.

The Godavari

There are five riparian states in the Godavari basin, namely Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. All the states approached the central government with a request to set up a water disputes tribunal as they could not come to an agreement over the division of the waters among themselves dy direct negotiations.

The government set up the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal in 1969 under the chairmanship of Justice R S Bachawat.

But before the matter was heard by the tribunal, the riparian states changed their mind and agreed to divide the waters among themselves by mutual negotiations. Accordingly, some bilateral and multilateral agreements were concluded between 1975 and 1980 and filed before the tribunal with a request to include them in the final orders.

The bulk of the contribution to the Godavari is from the Pranahita, Indravati and Sabari tributaries and there is no dearth of water in the river below the confluence of the Pranahita for use by Andhra Pradesh. But, as a major part of the cultivable area in Telangana is situated at an elevation of 100-600 m above mean sea level, any reservoir will serve only a limited ayacut under gravity flow. To serve large tracts in Telangana, water is to be lifted to a considerable height. Under the Jalayagnam programme of the AP government, a number of lift irrigation schemes, such as the Godavari Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS), Pranahitha- Chevella LIS, Dummagudem-Nagarjunasagar Tailpond LIS, etc. have been taken up and there is no dearth of water in the river for these projects.

Out of 3,216 tmc ft of utilizable water at 75% dependability in the river, the share of AP is about 1480 tmc ft. This has been earmarked for the projects under operation, construction and contemplation.

In addition, every year huge quantities of water, amounting to about 3,000 tmc ft are flowing into the sea in the flood season. Hence, there may not be any serious problem regarding the availability of water to all the projects under construction and contemplation even in case of division of the state.

Jalayagnam

Under the Jalayagnam programme, 45 major and 29 medium irrigation projects are being taken up, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,62,365 crore, to create an ayacut of 10.60 lakh acres and stabilize the old ayacut in the three regions of the state. In addition, rehabilitation and repairs to 10 flood banks and modernization of 8 irrigation projects have been contemplated at a total cost of Rs 17,314 crore.

Jalayagnam will bring 139.51 lakh acres under irrigation at a cost of Rs 1,07,871 crore in Telangana, 123.01 lakh acres (Rs 44,465 crore) in Coastal Andhra, and 52.52 lakh acres (Rs 2,637 crore) in Rayalaseema.

It is evident that no injustice has been done to any region, especially to Telangana, in the irrigation sector. In the best interests of all the three regions, it is advisable and desirable to complete all the balance works in a united state, or else it would be difficult for each of the future individual states to complete such projects with large outlays.

One important factor to be borne in mind is that the irrigation potential created in coastal Andhra is comparatively greater than that in other regions because of historic reasons, mainly the early efforts by British rulers and the advantage of gravity. The formation of a delta is a nature’s gift which contributes to the development of irrigation in that region. Because of this reason, the economic condition of Andhra Pradesh is comparatively more stable than other parts of the country.

Other issues

The government of Andhra Pradesh decided to modernize the Krishna delta system and save 29 tmc ft of water from the allocated 181.2 tmc ft to the Krishna delta. The government is yet to modernize the Krishna delta but meanwhile they have allocated 20 tmc ft to the Bhima project in Mahboobnagar in Telangana.The farmers of the delta never questioned the propriety of reallocation to 20 tmc ft to the Bhima project as they feel that Mahboobnagar district should get water for its needs. The balance of 9 tmc ft is allocated for evaporatioon losses in the Pulichintala project, which is a balancing reservoir.

The politicians of Telangana have been stating that the Pulichintala project is being constructed to provide water for a third crop in the Krishna delta.This is totally false propaganda. In fact, the project is only a balancing reservoir to store about 35 tmc ft of water. This storage will help all the three regions in one way or another.It is also necessary to remember that the Polavaram project being planned on the Godavari as a national project is going to help both Telangana and coastal Andhra.

In view of the above facts, we request the Srikrishna Committee to conclude that the fears expressed by some vested interests of Telangana are not correct and need to be ignored.

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/no-one-is-stealing-telangana%E2%80%99s-water/167373.html

Affordable homes are fine, but for whom?

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Are our policy planners and key stakeholders of realty sector serious about providing affordable homes to lakhs of Indians? This is really a very key question given that these days, talking and discussing affordable homes has become a fashion, practically among everyone even remotely associated with realty sector. It goes without saying that the term 'affordable housing' sounds alluring. But when we talk about affordable homes, we must ask - affordable for whom? Is it affordable for those earning Rs 8,500 to Rs 40,000 per month, who comprise 44% of our populace and fall both in the formal and the informal sectors? And if so, where are the flats for these 44%? Where are the builders? And, critically, where are the banks which will dole out the loans? The answer for all these questions is the same - as good as none. These are some of the key questions, which have been discussed by Arun Mohan, a senior advocate and writer, in his latest offering "Affordable Housing: How Law and Policy can make it possible" . Arun Mohan has tried to prove that all the advertisements , whether by the builders or the local development authorities, bank finances is for the top few - about 4%! While the lower 52% will have to wait for the country to develop further, the 44% of the population, or the great Indian middle class, is a victim through absence of laws and they have denied what is their due - an opportunity for an ownership of flats. At whichever strata or class a person is born, housing must be notionally considered a fundamental right - a right step has been taken with regard to education by making it a fundamental right. The rest depends on his skills, labour, determination, and also, to an extent, on his destiny. A basic flat as a shelter is a prerequisite for proper education. In his endeavor in moving upwards , the laws of the land should not fail a citizen , but encourage and support him. The issue has perforce to be addressed from the standpoint of annual household income. Presently, only those with Rs 5 lakhs plus annual income (or less than 4% of the population) are attended to. Unless we attend to the 'middle class' (44%), which we easily can, we can never hope to attend to the 52% poorer masses. Arun Mohan argues in his book that there are three areas that deserve urgent attention to provide affordable homes: One, availability of land for housing; two, availability of flats which are affordable; and, three, availability of bank finance . There is another problem and because of that prices are so high and the market is restricted . And that is there is crisis of confidence. And what is the answer to these issues? According to him, after analysing this problem, he believes a "certifying-cum-performance guaranteeing company" [or a regulator] is needed, which keeps a control on the builder and issues a "wideguarantee certificate" to the flat buyer that he will be delivered the flat he pays for. With this guarantee in hand, a flat buyer will be willing to part with his money and a bank will also be willing to finance it. While making sufficient land available for affordable housing is important, one has to cater to the flat buyer who is not willing to part with his life savings and assume a liability because he does not trust the builder. There is the bank that is not willing to lend. And there is the builder, who, in the absence of a large market, cannot have the economies of scale and pass that benefit on to the buyer in terms of lower price. Mohan writes that it is this "crisis of confidence" which is one of the major factors that has stifled growth of affordable housing in the country . So large is this sector and so important is housing, both for the citizen welfare and for nurturing and education of the young ones, that attention to this section, who comprise 44%, will hopefully propel national growth. Once this crisis of confidence has been overcome , the housing sector will see a boost. Mohan says that pricing is unnecessarily high, when it need not necessarily be so. If we divide the population of our country into sectors according to income, it is only the top 4%, in fact less, and who are attended to by the banks for home finance. Only those at the top can afford houses. He notes that 44% of our middle and upper-middle class, which earns more than Rs 1 lakh a year or even Rs 5 lakhs a year receives no assistance for housing primarily because the flats that they can afford are not worth the money and, two, the bank finance is not available to them. FOCAL POINT There are three areas that deserve urgent attention to provide affordable homes—avilability of land, availability of affordable flats and availability of bank finance While making sufficient land available for affordable housing is important, one has to deal with the ‘crisis of confidence’ , which is the most major factor that has stifled the growth of affordable housing in our country Source: Economic Times

Interest Rates for Real Estate Loans may go Up

These is a possibility that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may make borrowing more expensive for builders by asking banks to set aside more capital for loans to commercial real estate projects. Due to higher capital requirement, banks will have to raise interest rate on such loans.

Senior banking professionals feel that RBI may either raise standard provisioning or risk weight on bank loans to real estate companies in the forthcoming policy.

As per an official of Indian Overseas Bank, If RBI does not raise cash reserve ratio and keep signalling rates like repo rate and reverse-repo rate untouched, my feeling is that it may tighten the prudential norms. A hike in risk weight, particularly on real estate loans, is not ruled out."

Risk weight is the capital that is set aside for the calculation of capital adequacy ratio, which is 9 per cent for all banks. For real estate companies, risk weight is 100 per cent, irrespective of the rating due to which banks have to keep aside Rs 9 for every Rs 100 loan to builders.

The Tellapur Story...

With signs of economic recovery and reality sector beginning to gather momentum, Tellapur Technocity Pvt Ltd has come forward to go ahead with its integrated township project at Tellapur in Ramachandrapuram Mandal in Medak district. The project was put on hold two years ago.

However, the proposed integrated township would have a different plan and not as announced as a 400-acre project at one go. The developer has proposed to take up the project in a phased manner beginning with a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Information Technology companies.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) sources said Tellapur Technocity, which is a consortium led by Tishman Speyers, ICICI and Nagarjuna Constructions Company, met the metropolitan authority officials a few days ago and expressed their willingness to take up the project.

“The developer has reworked on the integrated township and presented a proposal for SEZ in 100 acres as it paid land cost. The proposal is being examined,” a senior HMDA official said.

The 400-acre integrated township was planned along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and close to Hi-Tec City and financial district at Gachibowli which falls in Tellapur village in Medak district. As per the original proposal, 30 million square feet built up area was to be provided in the township in eight years for Class A commercial, residential, recreational and mixed use.

The consortium, which turned into a special purpose vehicle Tellapur Technocity Pvt Ltd, has paid Rs 420 crore to HMDA in 2007 towards the land cost at the rate of Rs 4.21 crore per acre. The consortium was supposed to pay the balance amount, about Rs 1,700 crore, within six months. But the developer was reluctant to take up the project due to the slump in the real estate market for the past two years.

“We did not insist Tellapur Technocity to pay the balance as of the 400 acres, 240 acres are in legal wrangles and only 160 acre is free from litigation,” another HMDA official said.

Meanwhile, HMDA is mulling on providing Ramky Infrastructure more time to pay development premium for Srinagar township. The developer was supposed to pay development premium of Rs 25 crore in June, 2009, but sought six month extension which expired in January, 2010.

The township was proposed in about 700 acres at Srinagar in Maheshwaram Mandal of Ranga Reddy district. Due to legal problems, the HMDA denotified about 200 acre land from acquisition of the total 700 acres proposed. Later, both Ramky and erstwhile Hyderabad Urban Development Authority entered into an agreement to take up the project under public-private partnership in 355 acres of which 200 acres is government land and 155 acres private land. “Of the Rs 100 crore development premium, Rs 25 crore was paid in 2008 and the balance was to be paid within six months, but the developer did not pay the amount due to land problems,” he added.

Choosing Decent Localities In Hyderabad With Reasonable Realty Prices

There has always been a good demand for affordable housing in Hyderabad. For many people Hyderabad is one of the preferred cities to get settled. Amidst growing demand during boom times, Hyderabad city became Greater Hyderabad from April 2007 and has grown from 175 sq. km to 650 sq. km and is divided into 5 Zones. The reality prices were exorbitant during those times, however later that showed some respite at least in some localities.

With the expansion of the city, many people are unable to figure out the best area to buy a house at affordable price and stay close to the city. Many of them are not aware of the prices in different zones of Hyderabad and are purchasing houses far away from the center of the city, often at higher prices. The information given below gives you an idea of the property pricing in Hyderabad and the detailed table may help you in decision making while purchasing a house.

Prices of properties in some interesting localities
North Zone: Double bedroom flats at Sainikpuri and Yapral are available at around Rs. 19 lakhs. At Balanagar, they will cost around Rs. 26 lakhs.

East Zone: A 2 bedroom flat at Mallapur costs around Rs. 19 lakhs only. It will cost around Rs. 23 lakhs at Bandlaguda or Uppal.

South Zone: A 2 bedroom flat at Dilsukhnagar costs around Rs. 23 lakhs. At L.B nagar, it would be bit more expensive at around Rs. 25 lakhs.

West Zone: Double bedroom flats at Chandanagar cost around Rs. 14 lakhs (around 900 sq. ft.). When it comes to Kukatpally and Miyapur, double bedroom flats range between Rs. 29 and Rs. 34 lakhs.

Expensive localities
According to the property prices listed in the outlook money recently, the most expensive area in the city is Begumpet. If you want to buy a double bedroom flat in Begumpet area, it would cost you around Rs. 48 lakhs of rupees. They are more costly than the flats at Kondapur, which cost around Rs. 40 lakhs.

Reasonable places to buy a flat
Flats at Mallapur are the most affordable as they cost under Rs. 20 lakhs and most importantly, they are not far away from the main city. One more option you can consider is Uppal. The distance between Begumpet and these areas is approximately 15 kms. Double bedroom flats at Ramanthapur are also affordable at Rs. 25 lakhs and are very close to the center of the city.

Click to view detailed list of property prices in Hyderabad

Note: Have mentioned the approximate prices of double bedroom flats with areas ranging from 1100 to 1200 sq. ft. just to give you an idea of the pricing in different locations. The prices will vary depending on the exact location of the property.

CyberCity Builders Coming with another venture near Hitech City

Cybercity to Construct Premium Integrated High-Rise Township at Hi-tech City

March 31, 2010

Is recession over? Will people buy flats with rich amenities at Hitech city? ‘Yes’ says Cybercity Builders and Developers. Recently they have launched a latest project offering two and three bedrooms flats with rich amenities at Rock Gardens near Hitec-city MMTS station.

Cybercity Builders & Developers is promoted by Ashoka Developers & Builders. They are about to construct 1,220 units with feature-rich amenities and a fully loaded clubhouse spread over an area of four acres at recently launched residential apartments ‘Rainbow Vistas @ Rock Garden’ at Hi-Tech City. The overall cost of the project is said to be around Rs.570 crore.

According to the CEO of Cybercity Builders & Developers, the apartments would range between 1,085 sq. ft. and 2,075 sq. ft. and they will be costing between Rs.30 lakh and Rs.65 lakh. It is said that the project would be completed in two phases. Apartments with 600 flats will be ready in a span of two years in the first phase.

This integrated high-rise township with four-acre central park is said to have a world-class clubhouse on hilltop. Apart from this, it is said to consist all the amenities like grocery store, pharmacy, travel desk, utility payment office, strong room with safe deposit lockers and car washing area to make the stay hassle-free.