The hills are alive

Rati Chaudhary / TNN / Jan 14, 2006, 23:40 IST

Share

AA

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Despite the prohibitive cost more and more Delhites are buying homesin the hills.

NEW DELHI:Delhiites seem to have it all. The Ford Ikon, the four bedroom house,courtesy the six-figure salaries earned by both husband and wife, which promise a life today that past generations could never even have dreamed of.
And with such huge disposable incomes,having one home is clearly not enough.
So more and more Delhiites (often in contravention of local laws) are opting for their dream destination: a house in the hills.
Why do they buy?

The scenic beauty and the chance to get away from stress-filled lives drives most people to snap up land in the hills. Radha Kothari,whose husband bought land in Kumaon (Uttaranchal),six months ago says,"My husband studied in Nainital so he always wanted a house here."
Adds Nikita Pathak,"Currently we own two acres of land in Kasauli on which we are planning to build a cottage. When we retire,both my husband and I are planning to go and settle down there."

...The high cost of land,along with maintenance charges,does not seem to be a deterrent. Kothari says,"Land there is much more expensive than the usual land rates here.
We bought the land for around Rs 40 lakh and after we make the cottage the entire cost will be more than one crore. Every two months we have to go there to oversee the land as it is unattended."
Strictly speaking,the Kotharis and Pathaks violated state laws,as only locals are allowed to buy land in the hills. But despite these laws,Delhiites continued to acquire land.
As Nalini Joshi,an executive in a multinational corporation reveals,"We acquired land near Ramgarh (Uttaranchal) five years ago. I won't reveal how we got hold of it."
Ironically,Joshi and others like her are not aware that the law in Uttaranchal changed only last week. The state government now allows people from other parts of India to buy property here,which could further fuel the building -- and buying -- boom.
...How do they buy?
The new law in Uttaranchal is good news for hill-smitten Delhiites,who till now had to enter into a nexus with property dealers. Says Kothari,"The law stated only locals could buy land,while outsiders could buy small chunks. So we bought different chunks of land under different names of various family members."
Locals also see the change as inevitable. As Vivek Khera,a resident of Uttaranchal,explains,"Local landlords are more interested in selling the land to outsiders because that fetches them more money. The eagerness for money ensured that property dealers found ways around the law."
But while the law may have changed in Uttaranchal,it hasn't in Himachal Pradesh. The HP Tenancy Land Reforms Act,1972,bars non-Himachalis from buying land in the state. Outsiders can,however,buy limited land after procuring due permission from the government.
...But there are problems. As Hemant Trivedi,a Himachal resident now based in Delhi,explains. "The procedure for clearance of non-Himachalis to buy land in the state is very lengthy. This causes people to adopt illegal means."
People in the trade claim property dealers enter into an agreement with local Himachalis where they purchase the property in their name. This practice is called 'benami'.
If questions are ever asked Delhiites claim to be tenants of the person in whose name the land deal is registered. As Kothari declares,"Even before the rules are made people find ways to break them. What is required is the right access."
...The impact
The rising number of outsiders buying prime property in recent years has become a major source of concern here.
Figures in Himachal Pradesh show that the number of registered benami transactions rose from 18 in 1998 to 40 in 1999 and 75 in 2003. Most of the buyers are said to be from Delhi and Punjab.
And if the numbers of illegal transactions continue to rise,Delhiites could find they are unwanted people the next time they visit the state. With inputs from Jagdish Bhatt in Shimla and D S Kunwar in Nainital Some names are changed on request.

End of Article

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA