------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | New on Goanet's website's A&E section - http://www.goanet.org | | Book in Review: A Kind of Absence - Joao da Veiga Coutinho | | POEM: SUSEGAAD - Cynthia Gomes James | | http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=216 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOI Jan 16 had this prominently featured article titled "The hills are alive .." which continues with the tag line "... with the sound of construction. Despite the prohibitive costs, more and more Delhiites are buying homes in the hills. But this practice has upset some locals".
Sound familiar? Well check it out some time. Here are some points worth pondering: 1. Many metrozens are earning 6 figure salaries and when they are DINKs they have a lot of money to throw around. More and more are opting for homes in dream destinations such as those in hill schools where they once studied. [And beaches they spent their honeymoons on?] 2. The high cost of land along with maintenance charges does not seem to be a deterrent. Unattended land has to be secured against encroachment and squatters. [Building on them costs a bomb] 3. Purchase of hill land by outsiders is a violation of state laws which allows only locals to do so. Uttaranchal recently changed its law but it hasnt changed in Himachal Pradesh. [What's the story in Goa?] 4. Local landlords are more interested in selling land to outsiders because that fetches more money. This causes people to opt for illegal means such as benami transactions. [Maybe those who invest in property in Goa are just hoping to make a killing in the property market in future! Forget cultural and ecological values!] 5. "The rising number of outsiders buying prime property in recent years has become a source of concern here. ... Most of the buyers are said to be from Delhi and Punjab". [Does this ring a bell in Goa? No foreigners?]
