Having burnt its fingers in Nandigram and Singur, the state government appears to be taking a different, more generous, approach to compensation for land-losers in future projects.

This was made clear today as state municipal affairs and urban development minister Mr Ashok Bhattacharya announced a rehabilitation package that includes a number of new facilities for those due to be evicted to make way for a township project in Siliguri. The minister also announced they would follow the same rehabilitation package for the DLF project at Dankuni.

According to the new package, announced at Writers Buildings, those who give up their land for the township project will be given alternative plots or flats in addition to financial compensation for the land itself. They will only have to pay the cost of acquisition for the alternative plots.

More : thestatesman.net

Indias largest share sale, to mop up Rs 9,625 crore, for DLF Ltd, a real estate developer, was at least 3.47 times subscribed, according to the data available on the National Stock Exchange website as of 9pm on Thursday.

Of the 607 million bids the company got for the 175 million shares on offer, about 482 million appear to be at the higher end of the campanys price band of Rs550 per share. The lower end of the price band was set at Rs500.

DLF, promoted by billionaire Kushal Pal Singh, 74, has been attempting to raise money for almost a year, with a series of disputes with minority shareholders delaying the share sale. With this offer, the company will become Indias largest listed real estate developer and Singh and his family could be worth nearly Rs82,000 crore, at the higher price of Rs550 a share.

More : livemint.com

In wake of two Hindi actors-turned-farmers,viz. Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, both acquiring agricultural land in UP, at village Daulatabad in district Barabanki and at village Shahabad in district Hardoi, respectively, yet another yesteryear Hindi actor Jeetendra and his wife Shobha Kapoor, actor-son Tushaar and TV serial producer-daughter Ekta Kapoor have jointly bought agricultural land at village Ranipura in Bundi district(Rajasthan) last year, measuring three bighas and two-and-a-half biswa (about 52,530 sq. feet).

Additional district magistrate of Bundi , Bhawani Singh Palawat confirmed that land had been registered in the name of Jeetendra, Shobha, Tushaar and Ekta. Records show that the land was purchased for Rs. 43,000 a bigha from a farmer, Chhotu Khati for total value of Rs One lakh thirtyfour thousand. The Mumbai address of buyers is mentioned in the registration papers as: Krishna Bungalow, House No. 26, Gulmohar Cross Road No. 5, JVPD Scheme, Mumbai.

While Jeetendra, Tushaar and Ekta signed the papers in Mumbai, Shobha had personally come to Bundi for completing all formalities. Chhotu Khati has been retained by the Kapoor family as caretaker of the land on a yearly remuneration of Rs. Ten thousand.

More : screenindia.com

Days after a motorist in south Delhi was bludgeoned to death by young men on motorcycles, a group of Gurgaon call centre cab drivers brutally assaulted a 58-year-old property dealer with hammers and screwdrivers in Karol Bagh on Wednesday evening.

The victim of this latest instance of road rage, Rajender Dhawan, is in hospital with multiple skull fractures and temporary loss of memory. The attack followed an altercation in the morning between Dhawan and one of the drivers after he had parked in front of the property dealers shop. The police have lodged a case of attempt to murder against the five drivers, who are absconding.

The main accused, who was involved in the spat in the morning, has been identified as Rohit, alias Rishikesh. The attack comes amid reports that the BPO industry is putting pressure on transporters to sensitise cab drivers and avoid bad publicity.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

THE National Consumer Commission has directed Ansal Properties and Ansal Buildwell to pay nearly Rs 40 lakh as compensation to a buyer who did not get her apartment despite paying for it 11 years ago.

In a recent judgment, the Commission directed the builders to pay Rs 7.5 lakh as compensation for the delay in handing over possession, and Rs 30 lakh as refund, including simple interest. This makes it one of the countrys single biggest private property compensation cases.

The buyers, however, now plan to file a criminal case against the real estate giants for planning to sell off the property.

More : cities.expressindia.com

Mahindra Gesco has announced its first quarter results. The company has posted standalone net profit at Rs 12.20 crore as against Rs 3.38 crore. Standalone net sales stood at Rs 34.84 crore versus Rs 34.28 crore.

Arun Nanda, Vice Chaiman, Mahindra Gesco said that they have got approvals for three new projects. Sale of Knight Frank shares got them a Rs 6 crore profit.

Q1 numbers dont include Mahindra World City revenues. The company has also received an operational approval for IT SEZ. Though, the approval for biotech SEZ is still pending.

More : indiaearnings.moneycontrol.com

Upscale hotel chain Lemon Tree is set to launch six properties across metro cities in India. It is also initiating talks with Nirulas for its F&B outlet - Potpourri - for its no-frills brand Red Fox.

The company plans to launch its Lemon Tree brand in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, South Delhi and Hyderabad by 2008 and one property in East Delhi by the end of this year. Patu Keswani, chairman and managing director of Lemon Tree Hotels, said, The properties in Hyderabad, Jaipur and East Delhi will be mixed-use developments. The East Delhi property is located above the East Delhi Mall (EDM).

It plans to take the figure to 14 across 12 cities by 2010. We are building Lemon Tree Hotels in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Pune, he said. Keswani added that the group will also initiate talks with Nirulas to open its F&B brand in its Delhi Red Fox property, and will consider it for the other properties as well.

More : expresshospitality.com

Unitech Ltd. Chairman Ramesh Chandra said his Indian real-estate company plans to invest $720 million in four years building 28 hotels with partners including Marriott International Inc., the worlds biggest hotelier.

Four hotels are being built and another 10 will be under construction by the end of the year, Chandra said today in an interview in Gurgaon, near New Delhi. Four of these hotels will be operated by Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott, he said.

Per capita annual income in India has risen 86 percent since 2000, spurring Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and InterContinental Hotels Group Plc to build properties. India may be one of the top five destinations for business travelers in a decade from 18th now, according to the London-based World Travel & Tourism Council.

More : bloomberg.com

Shares of DLF Ltd., the Indian property developer that raised $2.3 billion last month, may rise on demand from investors who missed out on the countrys biggest initial stock sale.

The company controlled by billionaire Kushal Pal Singh may debut today at 555 rupees ($13.72), 30 rupees higher than its IPO price, according to the median estimate from five analysts and investors surveyed by Bloomberg. The New Delhi-based developer received orders for more than three times the shares offered.

Indias benchmark Sensitive Index has risen to a record since DLFs June 15 sale, led by cement makers on expectations the fastest pace of economic growth in two decades will sustain a construction boom. Prices near the capital New Delhi, where DLF has half its 10,255 acre (4,150 hectare) land bank, have tripled in three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

More : bloomberg.com

The film city project proposed to be set up in Jaipur has got a boost with an Australian company showing interest in the project.

Australia-based Movie World had made its presentation before Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and senior government officials here recently, officials said.

The proposal has a list of the facilities, along with ideas on the model, scale, size and design of the film city. The presentation contained details about how the project would give a boost to employment in Rajasthan for artists, technicians and others.

More : business-standard.com