Office space deals down 30 per cent in Kolkata: Research

KOLKATA: Office space transactions in Kolkata fell by 30% from the last quarter. According to the Research and Forecast Report by Colliers International, the recorded office space transaction volume stood at 0.2 million sq ft in the third quarter of 2015. 

www.sevagiri.com

"We have not seen any major office developments being completed barring a mixed use project at Acropolis Mall, which has an office component of about 0.35 million sq ft," said Surabhi Arora, associate director, research, Colliers India. "Low demand kept the developers cautious in starting new projects, thus no new commercial, Grade A project / parts of the project was launched during the quarter," she added. 

Less congestion and availability of Grade A space in Salt lake sector V and New Town were the first choice for occupiers that included corporates from the pharma, IT/ITeS and BFSI sector. 

Notable deals signed during this time included leasing of about 70,000 sq ft office space in Martin BurnBSE 5.00 % Business Park by Cerner Corporation, followed Capgemini leasing out 30,000 sq ft office in Infospace and Serco Global leasing another 20,000 sq ft in Godrej Water Side. Leasing apart, Veheretech IT Solution bought 10,000 sq ft in PS Srijan Corporate Park. 

Rentals saw 4% quarter on quarter increase in Sector V, Salt Lake and New Town only. There is no expected change in the rental market too as MNCs and major IT/ITeS firms continue to keep a distance from the Kolkata market. 

Also, according to experts the volume of new office development will remain low in the coming quarters, as builders are focusing to complete their small scale projects under construction. 
 

Source - ET

Turning Kolkata's New Town into a future city

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) will need to work on effective data collection and its graphic presentation to develop the township into a futuristic smart city, urban experts from the UK prescribed during a workshop held recently. 

www.sevagiri.com

The six-member team from Future Cities Catapult (FCC) was in Kolkata for two days to visit New Town and organize a workshop where experts have put forward recommendations and suggestions to develop the township. 

The Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) authorities had signed an MoU with the agency during chief minister Mamata Banerjee's London visit on July this year. FCC is a global centre of excellence on urban innovation that is helping NKDA and Hidco as a handholding agency to prepare a road map. 

"The experts said New Town has the potential to become a true Asian Township. The recommendations will be followed," said NKDA chairman Debashis Sen. A state delegation, including Sen and other senior government officials, is scheduled to meet officials of the AmCham India national chapter in New Delhi on October 5 where discussions will take place on the four smart cities and six theme townships in the state. 

One of the main recommendations that came from the FCC team was to have an effective data collection system where data of different issues would be presented on a graphic manner. "For example, there could be a data of a day's traffic volume in a graphic manner as to which time of the day the traffic volume is highest, or lowest," an official said. 

Inward investment strategy, in which jobs and economic opportunities will be created within the township, was discussed at length at the workshop. 

Last week, the NKDA authorities held a consultation meet where local residents were asked to suggest on ways and means to develop the township. Proper pavements, traffic signals, car parking plazas and underpasses with escalators were some of the demands on part of the locals. They also called for a green and clean environment. 

The NKDA has launched a smart phone application, named as 'Smart City New Town', to get feedback of New Town residents. 

Source - TOI 

'Self-assessed’ property tax collection from April

A property owner in the city will get the option of adopting the Unit Area Assessment (UAA) method of valuation from next April along with the existing method of determining property tax. 

www.sevagiri.com

Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials believe the UAA system will do away with inspector raj, make tax collection transparent, tax-paying easier and generate more revenue. 

After the new method is introduced, corporation inspectors will not visit the taxpayers' properties as they do now. Instead, taxpayers will make a self-assessment of their properties and fill in a self-declaration form sent by KMC. 

The corporation will only charge 10% of the annual valuation of the property, which will be revised every six years, as property tax. This is applicable only if there are no additions or alterations of the property between two assessment years. 

If owners make alterations to the property, they have to mention it in the form. If someone tries to hide it, there will be a high penalty, sources said. KMC will also send an objection form where a taxpayer can argue against the existing tax rate. 

Those who accept a flat 10% hike on annual valuation will be sent a revised tax bill. Assessees who have made changes to their premises will be sent a fresh tax bill based on their declarations. And those who disagree will have to submit the objection form that will then go to KMC assessment department for special hearing. 

MMiC-revenue Debabrata Majumder said, "We want taxpayers to come forward and clear dues. To encourage them to pay on time, we should not make unjustified hikes in property taxes," he added. 

Source - TOI