Workers of the St Thomas Mount cum Pallavaram Cantonment Board, second oldest cantonment board in the country after Barrackpore, were giving final touches on Thursday to the stretch where nearly a thousand shops would sell their produce on Friday.

After 10 acres of land on both sides of Bazaar Road was bought by ISRO and IGCAR to set up a Rs-100 crore research facility, the Cantonment Board had no alternative but to relocate the market to Old Trunk Road. The sensitive nature of the new facilities was the reason behind the weekly market being shifted.

As per the directions of the Madras High Court, in its order dated November 19 last year, to provide public amenities in the new location, the board has constructed toilets, provided water taps and street lights, and also relaid the road with bitumen.

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Offer for Chennai CF Users: Two lucky ones will get an invite to dinner with Mr.Shah out of the folks who bought tickets through CF. Book your ticket through CommonFloor and be the lucky one. BOOK Ticket Here

Book tickets Now for the play “Ismat Apa Ke Naam” and be the lucky one to win  dinner with Mr.Naseeruddin Shah. Ismat Apa Ke Naam- hindustani Play is a series of three short stories Mughal Bacche, Chhui Muee and Gharwali by the famous Urdu writer Ismat Khanum Chughtai and Directed by Naseeruddin Shah.

CommonFloor, an online platform for apartment owners and apartment communities, brings an  opportunity for CF users in Chennai to win an invite to dinner with Mr.Naseeruddin Shah.

Ismat Apa Ke Naam

Date & Time : 3rd Dec, 2010 | 7:30 PM
Venue: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba concert hall, Chennai

Tickets available in Landmark stores of Chennai

• Nungambakkam – 044 64523150     Aminijikarai – 044 64523101
• Annasalai – 044 64523166     Mylapore – 044 64523500

Tickets Fare

• Rs.2000 (Tickets available)
• Rs.1000 (Tickets available)
• Rs.600 (Tickets available)
• Rs.300 (Tickets available)

This signatured evelopment is brought to Chennai by DLF Homes, pioneers in building India’s finest residential enclaves and urban infrastructure. DLF Garden city comprises six unique blocks, each planned around an exclusive green space. DLF Garden city is located off the prestigious 6 lane IT Corridor  also called Old Mahabalipuram Road. DLF Garden city Chennai is accessible by a 60 feet road leading 2 km west from the OMR. This premium township will have access to the proposed Siruseri Airport Road, allowing faster access to the airport.

An exclusively designed club house with an area of about 1,30,000 Sq.ft with the following facilities:

• Gents and Ladies Spa with steam, sauna, jacuzzi, massage, locker room & change room facilities
• Creche with separate children’s toilet
• Children’s Play Area
• Watch the children splash in the kid’s pool
• Library/ Business Centre
• Exclusive basement parking for club members
• Multicuisine Restaurant
• Bar
• Squash Courts, Tennis Court, Badminton Courts, Card room, Table Tennis & Billiards room
• Master & Paddle Swimming Pools
• Gymnasium, Aerobics, Yoga
• Banquet hall, Guest Rooms, Meeting Rooms, Computer / Internet Room

Gardencity offers not only superbly designed high rise apartments, but also Chennai’s finest School, Club, Shopping Centre and Healthcare facilities, all within the township. Sprawled across 53.5 acres with large open spaces, Gardencity is like a breath of fresh air. DLF Garden City Chennai offers unparalleled lifestyle privileges such as having the prestigious PSBB Millennium school, Chennai’s finest club, excellent shopping centre and healthcare facilities, all with in the township. Gardencity offers convenience shopping & services, covering everything from your daily needs, to banking facilities, beauty treatments, and even a Healthcare Centre on stand by.

Location:

DLF Garden City Chennai
IT Corridor,Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Chennai

The real estate developers in Tamil Nadu have began importing cement from neighboring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh as it works out much cheaper. A group of builders have already begun importing cement from Pakistan via Kochi port. The cost of an imported 50 kg cement bag worked out to Rs 190 (in Kerala), compared to Rs 295 in Tamil Nadu.

Economic Times

More than 70 tax assessors have fanned out across the Kilpauk zone comprising Anna Nagar, Shenoy Nagar, Purasawalkam, Kilpauk, Aminjikarai, parts of Koyambedu, Virugambakkam, Nungambakkam and Villivakkam. There are 21,000 listed commercial properties in the Kilpauk zone and several hundreds more that are not accounted for, sources said. The mixed residential zone has been invariably exploited, with individual bungalows being transformed into malls and restaurants, especially in Shanthi Colony, Purasawalkam and Anna Nagar.

“We’ve taken up the survey in the Kilpauk zone, and it will be extended to other zones, including T Nagar and Saidapet, in the coming weeks,” said corporation revenue officer B Ramanathan.If the corporation has its way, for instance, a landlord in Anna Nagar East who owns a twofloor building with a built-up area of 1,000 sqft each, will now have to shell out Rs 8,100 towards commercial use of the ground floor. He can no longer pay just Rs 1,687.50 for each floor under the residential slab. The basic rate of property tax in Anna Nagar East is Rs 1.25 per sqft for residential and Rs 6 for commercial properties.

Sources said many property owners were misusing the rebate of 25% guaranteed by the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, for owner-occupied buildings. Tax assessors are made to believe that the tenants are relatives and the dwelling units are not rented out. Lack of assessors in the city municipal limits is, meanwhile, hampering assessment.

“Each house in the corporation zones will get a collection bag from the civic body. Each conservancy staff will be paid an advance of Rs 2,000 and it will be deducted at source in the following months,” mayor M Subramanian announced in the council on Tuesday. Conservancy staff of the corporation will offer Rs 5 per kg for paper, plastic and other recyclable stuff. This would prevent tonnes of recyclable waste getting accumulated in the dumping yards and contaminating ground water.

ITC has entered into an agreement with the corporation to collect recyclable waste from Anna Nagar and Shenoy Nagar in Kilpauk zone. The firm has been collecting waste from households for the last six months, paying Rs 2 per kg. Officials said the collection of recyclable waste would begin in 17 divisions in July and subsequently be extended to other divisions. Divisions 4, 9 and 12 in Tondiarpet zone, 16, 21 and 24 in Basin Bridge, 53, 57 and 59 in Ayanavaram, 71 and 77 in Kilpauk, 98, 108 and 111 in Nungambakkam and 133, 134 and 135 in Saidapet zones will be covered. Mayor M Subramanian distributed jute bags in Choolaimedu for collection of recyclable waste in April 2010.

“The civic administration was mulling over the plan for some time, as the municipal conservancy staff have been engaged in door-to-door collection of waste in tricycles for more than eight years now,” an official said. The program is aimed at inculcating the habit of segregation of waste at source. Corporation offers Rs 5/kg for recyclable waste and have placed orders for jute bags for collection. Each house in the corporation zones will get a collection bag.Each conservancy staff will be paid an advance of Rs 2,000.

Real estate development in the city has been witness to several transformations over the past four to five years. While in certain areas residential development was a defining factor for industrial growth, in others, commercial and industrial growth have paved the way for improved infrastructure and connectivity. Oragadam has been touted as Chennai’s largest and most developed industrial belt. With over 22 Fortune 500 companies (of which six are global car manufacturers), the Sriperumbudur-Oragadam belt has seen tremendous industrial growth, in less than four years. The area is well-connected via road and rail and according to industrial experts, the presence of automobile giants like Renault-Nissan and Ford has triggered growth in and around Oragadam. In addition, JCBL Ltd, Essar Steel, BPCL, Delphi TVS Diesel Systems Ltd, GE Bayer and Silicons (India) Pvt Ltd have set up offices at SIPCOT Industrial Park.

MRJ Premnath, General Manager, SIPCOT, says, “We have more than 10,000 employees, most of who commute to and from their homes in the city by company buses. It is high time that there are apartments or villas built in Oragadam, so that people do not have to spend two hours traveling.”

Devendar Singh, Deputy Manager, Motherson Group of Companies, GST Road, is quick to agree. “For me,” he says, “traveling from GST Road to the city is a nightmare. I recently bought an apartment in Oragadam (in Temple Green, an Arun Excello project). In fact, nearly half the project is occupied by employees from my company. Living so close to work will cut down on travel time and reduce additional expenditure incurred by companies when providing transportation. We want more such projects in this part of the city, as it will benefit thousands of employees working in and around Oragadam.”

Kiran Chandan, Deputy Manager, Renault-Nissan, says, “Despite working at Renault-Nissan, whose offices are in the Oragadam area, my wife and I moved from Tambaram to Kodambakkam. We did so, largely, because my wife works in Nungambakkam and commuting, for her, would have been difficult.” Kiran adds that commuting, for him, is quite a problem now. He continues, “We have been looking, for some time, for an opportunity to move closer to Oragadam. Our budget, currently, is about Rs35 lakhs. So far, we haven’t really found anything.”

Oragadam, the industrial hub on the outskirts, is growing rapidly. Oragadam used to be a sleepy little village even about three years ago. However, when SIPCOT was set up in 2007, the area underwent a sea change. The resultant flood of working professionals and their family, complete with residential and shopping demands had, and still has, the potential to wake the sleeping giant of urban development in the area.

Courtesy: Time Property Chennai

Earlier, elected ward members from all 10 zones complained about water contamination. Following the rains triggered by Cyclone Laila, complaints of water contamination are pouring in from Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Korukkupet, Ice House, Chintadripet, Velachery and Saidapet. PMK floor leader Jayaraman said unauthorized sewer connections to storm water drains would have to be checked, since rainwater mixes with sewage and contaminates drinking water supplied by the Metrowater.  “There are several areas like Cemetery Road, Royapuram, Mint, Rajaji Salai and SN Chetty Road from where we are getting reports of contamination, but Metrowater lacks the manpower to rectify the problems. There is no one to maintain sewer lines in the TNSCB tenements,” said Shanmugasundaram, zone chairman, Basin Bridge. Congress leader Saidai P Ravi said the department should operate additional shifts in the pumping stations.  “It takes at least two days for the Metrowater staff to identify the source of contamination,” he said.

Mardi said the government had issued orders saying local area development funds of MPs and MLAs could be used for purchasing of desilting machines. The agency currently has 56 jet-rodding machines and 53 desilting machines. Metrowater will get 25 jet-rodding machines, 17 desilting machines and three suction-cum-jet-rodding machines soon, using local area development funds.

“We are proud of achieving this important milestone. Palace Gardens is designed to offer superior quality residential spaces for our valued customers,” said Mr. Firdose Vandrevala, Chairman and Managing Director, Hirco Developments Pvt. Ltd. Suresh, Principal Executive Officer, Hirco, said the township, set on 369 acres, would have 10,000 apartment units with the accompanying physical and social infrastructure.

As part of the first phase, 928 apartments was under construction across two towers of 15 floors; six towers of 27 floors and 11 low rise buildings. Mr. Suresh said that out of 2.9 million sq. ft. the company had already sold 2.14 million sq. ft. in the Chennai township. The prices per sq.ft. ranged from Rs. 2,400 to Rs. 3,600. Hirco is also developing another master planned township ‘Palace Gardens’ set on 583 acres in Panvel, in the Mumbai

The Kathipara flyover Guindy-Chennai, reduced the travel time drastically, enabling free movement of traffic across the junction. In turn, the connectivity in these areas and even beyond, like Porur, all the way upto Sriperumbudur has improved, making it the next hot destination for the middle-income group to buy apartments. This infrastructural growth in turn, triggered the real estate market, as with the arrival of the grade separator, land value of residential properties went up by 10% (approximately).

Ramesh Nair, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj – Chennai, points out, “The city-centre has been gradually shifting. While at one point, areas like Nungambakkam, Anna Flyover and Adyar were the central areas in the city, Kathipara has now become the city-centre. In 2008, because of the economic downturn, real estate was at an all-time low in these areas and the demand reduced by 20%. But now the demand has increased and areas like GST Road, Porur and Nanganallur, are considered as potential hubs for housing by real estate developers.”  Ajit Chordia, Managing Director, Olympia Tech Park, Guindy, says, “The Kathipara grade separator was a result of the growth and expansion of the city. Several hotels and IT Parks including the Olympia Tech Park were developed in and around the Kathipara Junction between 2005 and 2008 which resulted in traffic bottlenecks. To sustain an enormous development like this, a well-defined infrastructure like the flyover was the need of the hour.”

Commercial project in the area such as Vishranthi has an IT Park, Jayanth Techpark, spread over 3,25,000 sq ft at Porur. Yet another commercial project in the area is DLF’s IT Park, a 7.6 million sq ft project at Manapakkam (Mount Poonamallee Road). With over 40 companies, it is touted be the biggest IT Park in the country.With more and more IT companies coming up in this side of town, the demand for housing is also growing by the day.

While Porur and Nanganallur have become residential hubs, other parts of Kathipara like Ekaduthangal and Guindy are playing host to many star hotels like the Hilton, ITC Grand Chola, Grand Hyatt, etc. With the flyover, the demand for residential property has doubled and the cost of land has also gone up by 15% to 20% in surrounding areas like Guindy and Ashok Nagar. Since there is a smooth flow of traffic around the flyover, people don’t mind buying houses here as they can commute to any part of the city in less than 30 minutes.

Infrastructure development is the key driver of economic growth in India. Whether real estate development precedes infrastructure growth or infrastructure defines property development in an area is still debatable. But Kathipara Flyover is a boon to commuters as the travel time reduced drastically. Since there is a smooth flow of traffic and commuting to any part of the city is easy, the demand for residential property has doubled.