In Mumbai, Rs 4,053 cr for 25,000 sq metres

Wed, May 26 05:42 AM


A 25,000-sq-m plot in Wadala has attracted a sky-piercing bid of Rs 4,053 crore to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the offer coming after a two-year slump in the realty market.

The winning bidder, Lodha Crown Buildmart Pvt Ltd, has quoted a price of Rs 81,818 per sq m of the permissible built-up area on the plot, which the MMRDA had earlier earmarked for an iconic tower.

If the deal goes through, it will be the country's highest land transaction ever. The Delhi-based BPTP had quoted Rs 5,006 crore for a 95-acre plot put up for sale by the Noida Authority, but the deal soon fell through.

With the payment model allowed for the Wadala plot -five years at 10 per cent compound interest � the total amount that the developer will shell out works out to a staggering Rs 5,700 crore.

The aggressive bid by Lodha group comes ahead of the launch of its initial public offering (IPO). The deal is unprecedented in terms not only of the price offered but also of floor space index (FSI) � a whopping 19.8 � offered on the plot against the standard of 1.33.

"This is an iconic bid for us. The price offered works out to more than double the MMRDA's reserve price of Rs 40,000 per square metre," said MMRDA additional commissioner S V R Srinivas.

He added the aggressive bidding is justified in view of the expected boost to connectivity in the area. "Both the monorail and the Eastern freeway, which will make the area more accessible, will be commissioned next year. After that, Wadala will be a hot cake for real estate," said Srinivas.

Rolling back its plans to build a 101-storey iconic tower, the MMRDA decided a few months ago to sell the plot to private developers who could then build a tower. Granting further leeway, the MMRDA soon said the winning developer was free to build multiple smaller structures instead of a sole tall tower.

The FSI boost entitles the developer to a total built-up area of 5 million sq ft. Taking the super-built-up area into account, the final saleable component will go up to as high as 8 million sq ft, which will translate into an astronomical profit.

Lodha Group director Abhishek Lodha said the company plans to build a residential project on the plot. "We haven't yet drawn up plans as to whether the project will have a single tall tower or several structures but we plan to launch the project at Rs 13,000 per sq ft," said Lodha.

The existing residential rates at Wadala are around Rs 8,500 per sq ft, which could be hiked after the deal. Over the last few months, Ajmera Developers have increased their rates at the Bhakti Park project to Rs 13,000 a sq ft. Real estate sources, however, say they have been unable to sell flats at the increased rates.

Sam Walton's 10 Rules For Success

Rule #1

Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anything else. If you love your work, you will be out there every day trying to do the best you can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you - like a fever.

Rule #2

Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

Rule #3

Motivate your partners. Money and ownership aren't enough. Set high goals, encourage competition and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs.

Rule #4

Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they'll understand. The more they understand, the more they'll care. Once they care, there's no stopping them. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.

Rule #5

Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.

Rule #6

Celebrate your success and find humor in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails put on a costume and sing a silly song.

Rule #7
Listen to everyone in your company, and figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front line - the ones who actually talk to customers - are the only ones who really know what's going on out there. You'd better find out what they know.

Rule #8

Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don't make excuses - apologize. Stand behind everything you do. `Satisfaction guaranteed' will make all the difference.

Rule #9

Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you're too inefficient.

Rule #10
Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction.
--- by James E. McClain

Air pollution can kill

A growing body of evidence shows that air pollution is linked with heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.


People, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, should limit their exposure, says an updated American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement.

The evidence is strongest for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) having a causal relationship to cardiovascular disease, said the expert panel of authors who updated the AHA 2004 initial statement on air pollution.

There are several ways by which PM2.5 could affect the cardiovascular system; however, one leading explanation suggests that several components of PM2.5, once inhaled, can cause inflammation and irritate nerves in the lungs.

These responses can start a cascade of changes that adversely affect the rest of the body, Brook said. 'It's possible that certain very small particles, or chemicals that travel with them, may reach the circulation and cause direct harm,' said Robert D. Brook, associate professor of internal medicine University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor.

'The lung nerve-fibre irritation can also disrupt the balance of the nervous system throughout the body. These responses can increase blood clotting and thrombosis..., elevate blood pressure, and disrupt proper cardiac electrical activity which may ultimately provoke heart attacks, strokes, or even death,' said Brooks.

The major source of PM2.5 is fossil fuel combustion from industry, traffic, and power generation. Biomass burning, heating, cooking, indoor activities and forest fires may also be relevant sources, particularly in certain regions.

'Particulate matter appears to directly increase risk by triggering events in susceptible individuals within hours to days of an increased level of exposure, even among those who otherwise may have been healthy for years,' said Brook, lead author of the statement.

It was written after review of epidemiological, molecular and toxicological studies published during the past six years.

'Growing evidence also shows that longer-term PM2.5 exposures, such as over a few years, can lead to an even larger increase in these health risks,' said Brooks.

'The foremost message for these high-risk groups remains that they should work to control their modifiable traditional risk factors - blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking,' said Brook, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor.

'These studies also indicate that there is no 'safe' level of PM2.5 exposure,' he said, according to an U-M release.

Recommendations include: Physicians should emphasise treatment of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, which may lessen patients' susceptibility to air pollution. Patients with cardiovascular disease should be educated about the risks of air pollution.

These findings were also published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association

Laughter is good exercise for promoting health

Laughter is as good as exercise in promoting health and a sense of well-being, a new study says.


Lee S. Berk, preventive care specialist and researcher at Loma Linda University's Schools of Allied Health (SAHP) and Medicine, and Stanley Tan have come up with the study.

They have been studying the human body's response to mirthful laughter and have found that laughter helps optimise many of the functions of various body systems.

Berk and his colleagues were the first to establish that laughter helps optimise the hormones in the endocrine system, including decreasing the levels of cortisol and epinephrine which lead to stress reduction.

They have also shown that laughter has a positive effect on modulating components of the immune system, including increased production of antibodies and activation of the body's protective cells, including T-cells and especially Natural Killer cells' killing activity of tumour cells.

Their studies have shown that repetitious 'mirthful laughter,' which they call Laughercise, causes the body to respond in a way similar to moderate physical exercise, says a Loma Linda release.

Laughercise enhances your mood, decreases stress hormones, enhances immune activity, lowers bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol (HDL).

As Berk explains: 'We are finally starting to realise that our everyday behaviours and emotions are modulating our bodies in many ways.' His latest research expands the role of laughter even further.

Berk along with Jerry Petrofsky at Loma Linda University presented their findings at the Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, CA.

Smart phones exposing kids to suicide, sex

Smart phones such as Apple's iPhone are allowing children to download violent and sexually explicit games that have escaped government classification.


The classification loophole means schoolchildren given smart phones and similar devices by their parents are being exposed to material which would be restricted in other forms of media, such as video game consoles, magazines and movies.

The material can be downloaded on to iPhones from Apple's App Store in as little as 60 seconds, and only a credit card or debit card is needed to create an iTunes account to download the apps.

An example of such games is the '5 Minutes to Kill (Yourself)' game, which has an image of a man with a knife through his head as a logo, and where players have the option of a number of weapons to "get the job done".

Another is the 'Girls And Drinks' game where players are encouraged to drink excessively to attract "sexy" barmaids, with a spiel saying, "Choose a sexy bartender. The more you drink, the sexier she gets".

The suicide game triggered a furious response from Beyond Blue chairman and anti-depression advocate Jeff Kennett.

"Put this in the hands of a kid who is depressed or has been bullied, it's like throwing fuel on the fire to the problem," News.com.au quoted him as saying.

Apple has about 150,000 apps available on its site in Australia, and the ratings it gives are in small print on the games' listings.

The games do not contain ratings from the Government's Classification Board, as they are required to under Federal law.

The board's website notes "games must be classified by the board before they can be sold or hired in Australia".

A spokeswoman for the Federal Attorney-General's Department said it was "considering the issue of mobile phone applications".

An Apple spokeswoman said the company "self-rated" a number of the game apps on its site.

"Our approval process is about protection of consumer privacy, protecting children where we can," she added. (ANI)

Is crash dieting is the best way to keep weight off?

Forget long-term diets - the best way to lose weight and keep off the pounds is to do it quickly, scientists have found.

New research shows the key to achieving and maintaining a slim figure is to shed the weight rapidly, at a rate of one pound a week, reports express.com.

The findings, however, contradict previous advice which suggested a slow but steady weight loss is the best way for a healthy weight-loss regime.

The new study has found that the greater the initial weight loss in obese patients, the larger the total loss in the longer term.

However, nutrition experts still argue over whether fast or slow initial weight loss is the best approach for long-term weight control.

In the latest research, a team from the University of Florida analysed the cases of 262 overweight women who had followed a six-month programme, encouraging them to cut their calorie intake and increase physical activity. They split the women into three groups according to how much weight they lost in the first month of the trial.

Women in the fast weight-loss group shed almost one pound per week, those in the moderate weight-loss group lost nearly half a pound in a week and those in the slow weight-loss group lost less than half a pound per week.

The authors then looked at the women's weight loss after six months and 18 months, as well as any weight regain. They found there were long-term advantages to fast initial loss of weight.

The fast group lost more weight overall, maintained their weight loss for longer and were less likely to put the weight back on than the more gradual weight losers.

Losing weight at a fast initial rate leads to greater short-term weight reductions, does not result in increased susceptibility to weight regain and is associated with larger weight losses and overall long-term success in weight management, the report said.