Real estate prices remain low
By A.S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 15 — The real estate prices in the Union Territory of Chandigarh which went into a nose-dive almost two years ago are still down. And as things stand today, there are no signs of an early recovery.

Although property prices are down all over the country, Chandigarh has been regarded as a safe haven, generally immune from the ups and downs of the real estate business for a variety of reasons. It is the only planned city of India, offering a quality of life and ambience unrivalled by any other city in the country. Since it is almost "house full" as regards the development of the planned sectors in the city, the availability of new houses and plots available for sale and purchase is limited. Therefore, most of the business in real estate is conducted in existing plots and buildings. There is thus always a scramble among prospective buyers whenever a piece of property is up for sale.

But the situation has undergone a change during the past couple of years. "It is no longer a sellers' market", says Mr Amarjit Singh Sethi, patron of the Chandigarh Property Consultants Association. "It has now become a purchasers' market. Buyers are few and far between and they take their own time to make up their mind".

"I never seen such a sustained and prolonged depression in the real estate business during my years in this line", adds Mr Sethi. Prices of real estate have fallen by between 15 per cent and 20 per cent during the past two years. In commercial property, it is much higher.

For instance, the owner of a one-kanal kothi in Sector 11 who asked for Rs 73 lakh found no buyers. He had to wait for a year before he finally disposed it of for Rs 63 lakh.

In another case, a seller who could have got Rs 63 lakh for his one-kanal kothi settled for just Rs 55 lakh because he wanted the payment immediately.

While the fall in the prices of houses of areas of one kanal and below is moderate, it is substantial in houses measuring two, four and eight kanals. Prices are down by as much as 25 per cent as compared to those prevailing two years ago. A 4-kanal kothi in Sector 9 which sold for Rs 2 crore two years ago does not fetch more than Rs 1.60 crore now. Similarly, an 8-kanal house in a northern sector which could be easily sold for Rs 4 crore two years ago has no buyers even for Rs 3 crore.

A 5-marla house is now available at between Rs 18 lakh and Rs 20 lakh against Rs 20 lakh and above two years ago, a 7.5-marla house is available at between Rs 20 lakh and 22 lakh as against around Rs 25 lakh and above two years ago. A 10-marla house is now available for about Rs 25 lakh as against Rs 30 lakh and above two years ago.

"It is a buyers' market," agrees Mr J.D. Gupta, president of the association. One reason why the prices are down in Chandigarh is that the private investor who had surplus money to plough into real estate is now totally absent. This in turn is due to the slowdown in the economy and industrial recession.

NRIs who used to invest heavily in property in Chandigarh have also been holding back their savings for the past couple of years because they find the returns better if they keep their money in dollars and pounds. The Indian rupee has been depreciating steadily against major foreign currencies during the past two years.

In commercial property, things are even worse. Rows upon rows of showrooms in Sector 8, 9 and even 17 are empty because there are no tenants. This in turn has pushed down the rental charges. Still, the tenants are not forthcoming.

"The prices of commercial property buildings are dictated by their rental value. Over the past two years, there has been a steep fall in rentals. This in turn has led to a decline in the prices of the commercial property. This is reflected in the auctions of commercial property conducted by the Estate Office. A two-bay SCO in Sector 9 auctioned for Rs 2.23 crore in 1998 was auctioned for just Rs 1.53 crore earlier this year. Similarly, another two-bay SCO auctioned in 1997 for Rs 3 crore could not go beyond Rs 2.86 crore this year.

Mr Gupta says that when the liberalisation of the economy began in 1991-92, there was a sudden rush of multinationals. "They all wanted to open offices in Chandigarh. Rentals in Chandigarh skyrocketed. Now things are in the reverse gear. A large number of multinationals have pulled out".

Another reason why commercial property is down in the dumps in Chandigarh, says Mr Gupta, is that it is sold on a leasehold basis by the Estate Office. However, similar property is available in Panchkula and Mohali on a freehold basis and at a much less price. Hence, the scarcity of buyers for commercial property in Chandigarh.

Mr Gupta says that things may start looking up after the elections due in September and the installation of a stable government at the Centre.

Insect poses threat to plants
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 15 — Chafer Beetle, an insect notorious for causing damage to rose, guava, peach, pear, plum and grapevines during monsoons, has launched its worst-ever attack on plants and trees of these species, grown in abundance in city gardens, homes and orchards in surrounding areas.

The insect, also known as June Beetle, has a peculiar characteristic of coinciding its attack on the flower and fruit crops with the onset of monsoon. It is extremely harmful for the health of trees and plants in the long as well as short run as it gobbles up the entire green part of a leaf, responsible for storage of food through the process of photosynthesis.

Though the attack of the insect on such plants and trees is a common phenomenon during monsoons, the intensity of attack by armies of the insect is much more this year as one could see almost all trees of these species in the region afflicted with the insect, which eat a leaf in such a way that it causes numerous holes in it.

Besides thousands of affected trees and plants, the worst form of onslaught by the insect could be seen at the Sector 16 Rose Garden and other city gardens, where almost all rose plants have been affected by the “incorrigible” insect. According to an estimate of the UT Horticulture Department, in the Rose Garden alone about 50,000 rose plants have been afflicted by the insect, which initiated its attack a bit early right from the first week of June.

According to horticulture experts, it is very difficult to destroy the insect completely, primarily due to its nocturnal character, “It keeps concealing itself in the soil during the day and attack the plant in thousands as soon as the sun sets. Due to this, spray of insecticides, which is normally done during the daytime remains more or less ineffective. The best way to eliminate the insect is to undertake the spray exercise during the twilight hours, “ said Dr Darshan Singh, Head, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana. He said people whose plants have been under attack should spray Chloroperphos repeatedly.

Elaborating on the habits and character of the insect, Dr Darshan Singh said it loved to feed on grass, for which its larvae form make household lawns its abode and keep there in hibernation during winter. After which the insect in adult form launches a fresh attack during monsoon, which provides a perfect setting for it to multiply for during this season it has enough foliage to feed and survive on. “ It causes extensive damage to grass in lawns as its larvae sucks the juice from the roots, resulting in drying up of grass in patches,” he said.

Dr Satish K Narula, the city based representative of the PAU, said the insect could also be contained by spraying Sevin (50 per cent WP), but a complete eradication was difficult. Talking about the long term effects of chafer beetle on plants, Dr Narula said by eating leaves it affects the next crop as a plant depended on storage of food gained by leaves through the process of photosynthesis. But the process was affected as the leaves are eaten, thus hampering the storage of food, which in turn affects the quality, size and yield of fruit or flowers on a plant.

“The adverse effect is witnessed in case of grapevines as when beetle attacks the wine is already exhausted after bearing fruit in the month of May,” said Dr Narula. He said there could be 20 per cent more yield if the plant was saved from the attack of the insect. He said the only remedy against the insect was proper and regular spray of insecticides during evening.

Under-staffed institute
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, July 15 — The Institute of Indian System of Medicine and Research in Sector-3, Panchkula, was inaugurated on June 10, 1991, as an autonomous body under the chairmanship of the then Governor, Mr D.L. Mandal. In December, 1998, a proposal was cleared to take over the institute by the Directorate of Ayurveda, Haryana.

The institute aims to provide sources of medicine other than allopathy like homoeopathy, acupressure, acupuncture, naturopathy, ayurveda, magnetotherapy and yoga.

The Director, Ayurveda, Haryana, is the permanent member-secretary of the institute, managing administrative and other affairs. The government has not laid down any fixed amount as grant for the institute. Around Rs 5 lakh per annum is granted which mainly takes care of the salaries of the staff.

The institute is spread over 12 acres. But there are no doctors in the fields of naturopathy, acupuncture and magnetotherapy and no attendants for the doctors. There is no lab technician, pharmacist nor any laboratory, no X-ray machine.

No research and development activity has taken place here which was one of the main purposes of the institute.

The institute does not have a phone connection or provision of safe drinking water coolers for the staff and the patients.

Most of the allotted area in the premises is for growing herbs and plants for research and preparation of medicines. Unfortunately, what is observed is only barren patches of land with boards of the herbal plants. The maintenance of the area other than the covered area is presently with the Forest Department.

The staff members fear that with its takeover by the Directorate of Ayurveda, the other alternative fields would be neglected. However, Dr Paramjit Singh, Director, Ayurveda, said that the fears were baseless.

Panchkula was once a land of five ‘kuhls’
By Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, July 15 — What was once a land of perennial natural water courses or ‘kuhls’ — as these were commonly called — is now a fledgling city thanks to rapid urbanisation which has altered the basic character of this place. Five ‘kuhls’, from which the place derives its name — Panchkula —, now only find mention in archives.

The ‘kuhls’, which originated from Ghaggar river before traversing through the land, are now either buried under structures of urban planning or have dried up due to blocking of its natural channels. Now very little remains of what was once an effecient network of irrigation.

Some old-timers recall that before urbanisation took over the place, life without ‘kuhls’ was impossible. The dominant ‘kuhls’ used to flow through Manimajra, Bhaina Tibba, Mauli, Judian (now Kharak Mangoli) and Buddanpur villages.

The place which was earlier known as ‘Kharak Mangoli Mauza Bechra’, meaning a village without lights, was renamed ‘Panchkula’ by Swami Dhani Ram, a Jain saint who established a gurukul here in February, 1929.

Mr Ram Krishan Jain, who has been residing in the area for the past over 50 years and served as Principal of Gurukul School at Old Panchkula here, remembering the old days says: “The ‘kuhls’ used to be a major source of irrigation. Small villages like Devinagar, Majri, Haripur, Kundi, Mahespur and Fatehpur dotted the area covered with fields, mangroves, owned by private persons and dense jungles”.

The Tribune team while tracing the history of the ‘kuhls’ reached a place near Saketri village where certain sections of a dried-up ‘kuhl’ are the only remains of a once reliable system of irrigation.

A former Haryana minister, Mr Kani Bhalla, who owned over 100 acres of land in Kharak Mangoli village and which was later acquired for urbanisation, says water from the ‘kuhls’ was drawn as per “sharat wajwul araz”, a set of instructions issued by the kingdom of erstwhile Manimajra state. The instructions varied from village to village.

At least one third of the area of Panchkula was under the erstwhile Patiala state and the control of the rest of the area wrested with the Manimajra state. “We were allowed to erect temporary bandhs — then termed as ‘Rajbandhs’ — on the embankments of the Ghaggar by a Patwari to divert the Ghaggar water towards the ‘kuhls’. Some water from springs in the Chandimandir area also flowed in the ‘kuhls’. We used fresh water for drinking purposes also”, remembers Mr Bhalla.

There used to be fights among farmers over sharing ‘kuhls’ water and the matter used to sorted out by the ‘daroga’ of the area. Mr Jain says that Panchkula, in fact, was a place — located somewhere near the land on which a famous hotel stands today — where the five ‘kuhls’ flowed very close. It was a meeting point for the locals.

Gursewak Singh, a resident of Saketri village, remembers his childhood days of ‘kuhls’ when he irrigated fields. “A ‘kuhl’ flowing near our village used to irrigate an acre of field in about 20 minutes. Now we have to install deep-bore tubewells at a depth of at least 300 feet at a heavy cost”. The once productive land of the village has almost turned infertile after the ‘kuhls’ dried up in early 60s and 70s, says another resident of Saketri village, Tirlok Singh.

He remembers that some of ‘kuhls’ flowing through the Chandimandir area were closed in the early 70s by the Army authorties when Western Command headquarters came up here. For some years the fresh water of the ‘kuhls’ was being used by the Army, he recalls.

Mr Kanti Bhalla says that ‘kuhls’ were an effecient medium to channelise the water of the Ghaggar. The water could be lifted from the river and pumped by the medium of the ‘kuhls’, which follows a natural gradient. “Now the government was thinking of adopting different measures to tap the water flowing through seasonal rivulets in the area to deal with the problem of drinking water in the coming years, the ‘kuhls’ could be the answer”, he added.

A reference to some old records showed that the ‘kuhls’ besides being a source of irrigation were used to run ‘water mills’ to grind wheat for flour.