Real Estate Intelligence Report, Monday, February 23, 2009

REALTORS landlocked

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SLIPPERY GROUND

REALTORS landlocked
The Economic Times, February 22, 2009, Page 1

DLF, Unitech, Emaar MGF, Omaxe, BPTP freeze land acquisitions as values dip

Neha Dewan & Aman Dhall NEW DELHI

THERE was a time when real estate biggies were literally banking on land. Huge land banks were considered an invaluable asset to flaunt aggressively when selling projects or raising money. But today things have changed and the benchmark of the valuation of these companies — the land bank — is coming back to haunt them. Leading real estate developers across the country — DLF, Unitech, Emaar MGF, Omaxe, BPTP and Hiranandani Developers — have all put a freeze on their ambitious and aggressive land acquisition spree. Also, in some cases they are even trying to give back the land they had acquired. The unproductive nature of land banks coupled with erosion in notional value means that the most prized possession of real estate majors is languishing in the slowdown.

SundayET dug out some data on land banks of the top real estate companies and found that the current kitty of DLF stands at approximately 13,055 acres while that of Unitech is around 14,000 acres. Omaxe has 3,700 acres as its land holding while BPTP has 2,000 acres. According to a real estate consultant, who didn’t wish to be named, value of land prices have dropped by almost 30% since July last year, when they had peaked. By that estimate, assuming a correction of 30%, DLF’s land value stands at Rs 1,272 cr against Rs 1,817 cr standing in its balance sheet in March ‘08. Similarly, Unitech’s land value is priced at Rs 316 cr at current market prices, as compared to its value of Rs 451 cr in March’08.

Most developers, however, are not willing to concede that land banks have lost lustre. Says Sanjay Chandra MD of Unitech Group: “It depends on how you have acquired the land. We didn’t participate in open auctions. Most of our land is directly acquired from either land owners or from government auctions. Hence the cost is on the lower side. We are not burdened with any of the land parcels as the FSI cost of all our land bank is sub Rs 200 per sq ft.” But denials apart, developers such as DLF, Unitech and BPTP are shying away from mega land deals signed during the real estate boom. This asset class is, in fact, especially pinching those developers who acquired land at various auctions at heavily escalated costs.

BPTP, which hogged the limelight for the costliest land deal in Noida, surrendered a part of the land parcel earlier this month. Last year, the developer had bagged a 95-acre plot at Noida in an auction for a princely sum of Rs 5,006 cr. However, foreseeing difficulties in executing the project, the developer only retained part of the land. The case is similar with other developers, many of whom have withdrawn from key projects which would have ensured availability of large tracts of land for them. For instance, DLF recently gave up the Rs 5,000 cr Dankuni project in West Bengal and a multi-crore convention centre project in Delhi’s Dwarka.

Others like Omaxe are looking at a shift in strategy of the current situation. “Currently, we have around 3,700 acres of land. Now we are not acquiring more land, so the strategy is to develop the acquired land first,” says Omaxe Group chairman and managing director Rohtas Goel. Valuation of land is not the only problem. It’s also got to do with availability of funds for developing the land.

Identify unused land in cities: Centre

Identify unused land in cities: Centre
The Economic Times, February 22, 2009, Page 6

Neha Dewan NEW DELHI

IN Abid to push the agenda of affordable housing, state governments have now begun the process of identifying vacant land in key cities which would be handed over to local development authorities for building houses. This follows a directive in this regard from the Centre to states, with the idea of making governments more active in house building in the future.

At a time when private developers are facing acute cash crunch, government's plan to develop such land could actually help in bringing the overall costs down. It will also help generate surplus resources to boost the demand for housing.

"The states are already in the process of identifying such unused land, and we will soon know the total number of hectares. This exercise will also find out what priority should be given to such land. The objective is to see how best can housing be encouraged so that demand is bolstered again," Union urban development secretary M Ramachandran said.

While talking to SundayET, Mr Ramachandran further said that housing boards and development authorities might soon come back to play a major role. "We will soon be going back to an era where housing boards will occupy a central role again. Nearly 98% of the population cannot afford to buy houses from private builders. At what cost can the private sector accommodate this chunk of the population?

Although affordable housing has been initiated by most private developers, these may not be able to meet the bulk need in the low-cost housing bracket. However, if the state governments implement vacant land in city areas, it would imply more supply in the offing for the real estate sector. "Almost every city has land which is unutilized or is a nonperforming asset. If such a move is implemented, it will mean added supply or other infrastructure coming up within the respective cities which will be very beneficial," says Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CB Richard Ellis South Asia.

However, a large number of clearances would still be needed to acquire the vacant land, depending on the city's rules and regulations, land usage and the owner of the said land. "Every city has its own rules and regulations regarding transfer of land. In some cases there is also multiple ownership of land which takes more time in clearances," adds Mr Magazine.

Economic growth may pick up in second half of 2009-10’

Economic growth may pick up in second half of 2009-10’
The Hindu Business Line, February 21, 2009, Page 5

Our Bureau, Mumbai, Feb 20.

The Indian economy should grow at more than 7 per cent in the financial year 2009-10, said Dr Suresh Tendulkar, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

Though the growth may be weak in the first half of the next fiscal, it will pick up in the second half, ensuring that the economy grows at more than 7 per cent in 2009-10, he said.

He was delivering the keynote address at a seminar organised by the Maharashtra Economic Development Council.

In the current fiscal, the economy is expected to grow at around 7.1 per cent according to the estimates, he said.

The monetary and fiscal policies that have been introduced will work with a lag and their impact will be seen from the first quarter of 2009-10.

Fiscal consolidation should have taken place during the past five years when the economy was booming, he said. But it did not happen due to the subsidies regime that was followed.

Admitting that fiscal deficit is a problem, he said there is not much room for fiscal measures and the dependence would be much more on the monetary policy.

“Going ahead, we do expect a lower interest rate regime,” he said. It will take some time for banks to cut their lending and deposit rates and move towards lower interest rates, he said. Falling rates will help leverage consumption and lead to a pick up in investment demand. Therefore, the psychology of gloom and doom, which is impacting sentiments of bankers, investors and consumers, is not justified on the evidence available.

However, he cautioned that asset quality of banks may deteriorate in the current scenario though the rise in NPAs might not be significant.

Conceding that small and medium enterprises are facing a credit crunch, he said efforts are being made through a variety of channels to address their concerns.

Expect 100 bps repo rate cut: Economists

Expect 100 bps repo rate cut: Economists
Sunday Business Standard, February 22, 2009, Page 5

BS REPORTER Mumbai, 21 February

With inflation falling below 4 per cent and the government unable to boost spending or cut taxes due to fiscal deficit constraints, bankers and economists are expecting the Reserve Bank of India to cut the repo rate by around 100 basis points over the next few weeks to provide a fillip to economic activity.

“The fiscal headroom is very limited. Also, given that support from fiscal measures can remain limited on account of upcoming elections, more rate cuts from RBI are expected,” said Anubhuti Sahay, economist at Standard Chartered.

The expectations of a rate cut have gone up after RBI Governor D Subbarao said in Tokyo that there was room for further rate cuts. In recent months, exports and industrial output have shrunk, the services sectors, the main growth driver over the last five years, has witnessed aslowdown and investment demand is coming down.

Since October, RBI has responded through a series of rate cuts and has reduced the repo rate – or the rate at which it lends to banks by 350 basis points – while the reverse repo rate – the rate at which it accepts surplus funds from banks –has been lowered by 200 basis points. Similarly, through a400-basis-point reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) –or the proportion of deposits that banks set aside – the central bank has injected Rs 1,60,000 crore into the system.

At its current level of 4 per cent, the CRR is 350 basis points lower than the level when inflation was last under 4 per cent, which was in December 2007. Similarly, the repo rate is at 5.5 per cent, while it was at 7.5 per cent in December 2007. At 4 per cent, the reverse repo rate is 200 basis points lower than the December 2007 level of 6 per cent.

The liquidity situation too is comfortable with banks parking over Rs 40,000 crore with RBI on Wednesday. In contrast, in December there was negligible surplus with banks as they were lending heavily to meet the credit demand of an economy growing at 9 per cent.

This year, the economy is projected to grow by 7.1 per cent this year, and by around 7 per cent next year. In January, the credit flow of scheduled commercial banks fell by Rs 22,000 crore on a year-on-year basis.

Through fresh rate cuts, the central bank will provide banks the right cues to lower lending rates. So far, banks have responded through a reduction in their prime lending rate by 50-200 basis points, with private and foreign banks being at the lower end of the band.

“Interest rates would be soft with inflation numbers showing a fall and the cost of funds for banks remaining low,” said Dena Bank Chairman and Managing Director D L Rawal.

The fall in inflation due to the easing of commodity prices gave RBI room for rate cuts, said IDBI Gilts Managing Director NS Venkatesh, while indicating that the central bank will announce a cut in the first week of March after factoring in the extent of growth moderation. He expected RBI to lower the repo rate by 100 basis points.

Suresh Tendulkar, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee, did not put any number to where interest rates are headed but said, “Moving ahead, the system is likely to see a lower interest rate regime.” “Given upcoming elections, the entire onus on stimulating growth now rests on monetary policy and we expect an additional easing of 100-150 basis points,” said Citi India economist Rohini Malkani.

Standard Chartered’s Sahay said that the repo rate would bottom at 4 per cent, the reverse repo rate at 3.00 per cent and CRR at 3.50 per cent by mid-2009. Over the next few weeks, she said, RBI would lower the repo rate by 100 basis points, while the reverse repo rate could be cut by 50 basis points. “Though, it cannot provide push, it can perhaps work to see that growth is not stalled,” Venkatesh said.

THE STORY SO F THE STORY SO F AR AR
Actual/potential release of primary liquidity since mid-September 2008

Measure/Facility Amount (Rs.crore)
Cash reserve ratio (CRR) reduction 1,60,000
MSS unwinding 63,045
Term repo facility 60,000
Increase in export credit refinance 25,500
Special refinance facility for SCBs (Non-RRB) 38,500
Refinance facility for Sidbi/NHB/Exim Bank 16,000
Liquidity facility for NBFCs through SPV 25,000
Total 3,88,045

Memo: Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) reduction is Rs 40,000 crore
Source: Reserve Bank of India

And now, de -globalisation

WEEKEND RUMINATIONS TN Ninan

And now, de -globalisation
Business Standard, February 21, 2009, Page 11

The world has seen several phases of globalisation, starting with the first migration of homo sapiens from Africa some 70,000 years ago. The last bout of globalisation began in 1870, when there was a burst of trade and human migration; that ended with World War I in 1914. In language that was a foretaste of recent years, people talked at the time of “the annihilation of distance”, before the trade and other barriers went up.

The current phase of globalisation acquired momentum in the 1980s. Trade grew twice as fast as global GDP between 1990 and 2005, reaching 30 per cent of the latter. In the same period, the stock of global foreign direct investment grew almost five times as fast as world GDP. Private, cross-border capital flows two years ago reached a stratospheric $929 billion. And people talked once again of the “death of distance”.

The question today is whether this latest bout of globalisation too has ended. Certainly, one participant at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos came back this year with the clear message that the world is now a de-globalisation phase. The numbers coming out support his thesis. The International Monetary Fund says that global trade is expected to shrink 3 per cent this year, for perhaps the first time in 60 years. The Institute of International Finance forecasts that global private capital flows will collapse by as much as 80 per cent, to $165 billion, as capital is sucked in by the big economies. American and European banks will need to re-capitalise by half a trillion dollars, just to maintain their present rate of capital adequacy, low to begin with.

Fewer people will cross national boundaries. When it comes to migrants looking for work, the US stimulus law has put curbs on the employment of people under the H1-B programme, which already has onethird of the cap that it used to. Britain has tightened its immigration rules for foreign workers, with inflows expected to drop 10 per cent; low-skilled workers from outside Europe have been banned. As for tourist traffic, Thailand as a bellwether destination expects a 20 per cent drop this year.

With less trade, reduced capital mobility and fewer people crossing borders, three key elements of globalisation have been reversed; the only one that remains is the mobility of technology—which no one has measured yet to see what is happening.

This reversal could be a passing phase, of course. After all, the structure that brought in trade globalisation is still in place—large companies have integrated production globally, tariffs in the developing countries have dropped by two-thirds since 1983, transport costs are low, and innovation continues to create the scope for new trade. But the incipient signs of protectionism are everywhere (including in India, which has moved against Chinese toys and aluminium). The existing structures could conceivably begin to give way if the downturn gets long and deep enough. The US economy is expected to shrink 1.6 per cent this year, and the eurozone’s by 2 per cent. Japan’s is shrinking at the astonishing annual rate of 12.7 per cent. These trends will result in the loss of 51 million jobs this year (says the International Labour Organisation); imagine millions of migrant Indian workers in the Gulf returning home.

Countries like China which have enjoyed export-led growth will be hit hard. States like Singapore, which built their prosperity on the back of the global movement of goods, money and people, are in shock. And so, once more, India might benefit from not having globalised as much as the others. As the old company ad line said, “the best means of growth come from within”.

Real estate market looking positive: Sobha Developers

Real estate market looking positive: Sobha Developers
The Hindu Business Line, February 22, 2009, Page 2

Signs of improvement in sales seen.

Anjana Chandramouly, Bangalore, Feb 21

With interest rates falling and market sentiments getting better, Sobha Developers claims the real estate market is looking positive with its sales now showing signs of improvement.

“Our December-January sales have been far better than October and November,” said Mr J.C. Sharma, Managing Director, Sobha Developers.

According to him, out of 10 million sq ft of ongoing projects across the country, only less than 1 per cent is unsold property.

“With interest rates falling and market sentiments improving, we have been able to increase our market share,” he added. What more, the company plans to “launch a couple of residential projects in Bangalore in the next two quarters. That shows our optimism,” said Mr Sharma. Though refusing to give further details, he said the launch would be “much before 2009-end”.

Looking for partners
There have been a few lessons learnt in these bad times, he said. According to him, the company has stopped buying land, “instead we sold some of our lands”, he added. The company’s land-bank now stands at about 3,000 acres. “We are looking for partners for some of our lands, while for some we are looking at outright sales,” said Mr Sharma.

“We have also improved on efficiency at the project and fixed cost levels, and have started looking at volume benefits. Our operating margins this year would be 30 per cent,” he added.

Mr Sharma said that the company’s cash flows have improved now, but declined to divulge further details. The company is in talks with institutions to re-align its Rs 1,800-crore debt. “In view of our revised cash flow position. If that happens, we hope this issue will not have any adverse impact on our operations,” said Mr Sharma.

Showcasing projects
To cash in on changing consumer sentiments, the company is organising ‘Sobha Home Mela’ on February 21 and 22 showcasing about 18 exclusive company projects. “About 1,500 apartments are on display,” said Mr Sharma.

The projects include villas, row houses, luxury apartments, semi-luxury apartments and plots. Company officials at the mela said first-time customers can book a flat by paying Rs 50,000 through a credit card.

DLF in talks with banks, LIC to raise funds

DLF in talks with banks, LIC to raise funds
The Financial Express, Corporates & Markets, February 21, 2009, Page I

Kakoly Chatterjee, New Delhi

The country’s largest real estate firm, DLF Ltd is in talks with Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Life Insurance Corporation to raise Rs 1,000 crore to pay off its short-term debt. The company is likely to get the loan at the rate of 13-14%.

The short-term debt that DLF would be retiring from the new loan was for a period of 12 months at the rate of 11%. The new, long-term debt would be for a longer tenure.

DLF needs to repay around Rs 2,000 crore of debt by March 2009. During the October-December quarter, DLF replaced Rs 1,000 crore of short-term debt. The company had earlier announced that it plans to replace its short-term debt of Rs 4,000 crore that is going to mature in the latter part of the year with long-term debt.

At a time when demand has plunged in all segments of the realty sector, DLF is in the process of restructuring its debt, like most other realty companies. Currently, DLF has a net debt of around Rs 13,000 crore on its books.

It is also looking at raising Rs 2,000 crore by selling non-strategic assets, such as its power business and the land that was to be used for retail and commercial projects over the next few quarters.

Additionally, it plans to raise around Rs 2,500 crore in DLF Assets Ltd (DAL), owned by its promoters, by selling stakes to private equity investors. DAL was established to buy and hold completed commercial assets of the listed developer. DAL owes around Rs 5,500 crore to DLF for the assets that it has bought from the parent company.

DLF reported a 68.72% decline in net profit at Rs 670.79 crore for the third quarter ended December compared to Rs 2,144.98 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company’s revenue was down by 39.42% to Rs 673.46 crore during the quarter compared with Rs 1,111.85 crore during the corresponding quarter a year ago.

On an overall basis, realty companies have been hit really hard by the downturn. The sector’s stocks have experienced immense value erosion, with shrinking toplines and bottomlines. While toplines have declined from 60% to 70% on an annual basis, bottomlines have declined by 60% to 95% on most occasions.

Land mine
• Likely to get loan at the rate of 13-14%
• The new, long-term debt to be for a longer tenure
• Needs to repay around Rs 2,000 cr by Mar 09
• DLF has a net debt of around Rs 13,000 cr

DLF, Unitech books sketchy on subsidiaries

DLF, Unitech books sketchy on subsidiaries
The Financial Express, February 23, 2009, Page 1

Sunny Verma

Audit trails of subsidiaries of India’s two largest listed real estate companies are running dry. Annual reports of DLF shows the accounts of its subsidiary, Silverlink Holdings Ltd, acquired in January 2008 and having total assets of Rs 2,291.12 crore, have not been comprehensively audited despite the listing requirements of the stock exchanges. Similarly, the annual report of Unitech Ltd show that the financial statements of many of it subsidiaries and joint ventures, with total assets of Rs 541.39 crore, were not audited as on March 31, 2008.

Neither statutory auditors nor the internal auditors have audited the accounts of these subsidiary companies of the real estate majors, the annual reports show. Clause 41 of the listing agreement of the stock exchanges mandate audit of consolidated and standalone accounts by the end of the financial year and a limited audit review at the end of every two quarters. The Institute of Chartered Accountant of India rules also require listed and unlisted companies as well as their subsidiary companies to get their accounts audited.

Incidentally, the DLF subsidiary Silverlink Holding Ltd, in turn, has 74 subsidiaries, 71 of which are incorporated abroad and hold various properties overseas. “Silverlink Holding Ltd was acquired in January 2008, so we could not audit the financial statements in the year ending March 2008,” said DLF CFO Ramesh Sanka. “But subsequently audited accounts are available,” he said.

But the limited review by the audit committee of DLF for the December 2008 quarter makes no mention of any audit conducted by Silverlink Holding’s auditor for the year ended December 2007. It also does not reflect any subsequent audit of the company.

“It (Silverlink Holding Ltd) is in 18 countries. It is very difficult to get the audit done for different countries,” Sanka said. Another official of DLF, asking not to be quoted, said the financial statements of some subsidiaries were not audited due to the time constraint but “that is not significant since DLF has over 200 subsidiaries.”

“The consolidated financial statements include total assets of Rs 2,291.1176 crore, total revenues of Rs Nil and total cash flows of Rs 155.7814 crore, of a subsidiary (Silverlink Holding Ltd), acquired in January 2008, which have not been audited by us or any other auditor,” DLF’s auditor Walker, Chandiok & Co said in its report. “The same are included based on the unaudited consolidated financial statements as at December 31, 2007, adopted by the board of directors of the subsidiary, Silverlink Holdings Limited, and no further adjustment is considered necessary in the consolidated financial as the management has confirmed that no material event affecting the financial position of the subsidiary and its constituents has occurred during the period from January 1 to March 31, 2008.”

Unitech’s company secretary and compliance officer S Ravi Aiyar said the nature of real estate business demands creation of subsidiaries. “Accounts of some of the companies could not have been audited as on the date (of annual report) but subsequently they will be audited,” he said.

These subsequent quarterly reports of Unitech, too, do not mention the subsidiaries whose accounts were not audited in the 2007-08 fiscal year. The total number of these subsidiaries and JVs could not be ascertained. Aiyar said the company has over 10 joint ventures wherein its stake is less than 50%. “In such cases, the responsibility of the audit is with the majority shareholder,” he said.

The statutory auditor of Unitech, Goel Garg & Co, in its report had said that it did not audit the financial statements of subsidiaries and joint ventures having total assets of Rs 541.39 crore and total revenue of Rs 121.79 crore as at 31st March 2008. Their statements were ‘accounted based on unaudited financial results,’ Goel Garg & Co said.

Of the total 316 companies owned by Unitech Ltd, 30 are incorporated abroad. “They are not guided by Indian laws. These are basically SPVs to fund the main business. Their audit standards are different,” Aiyar said.

The DLF stock closed 0.83% lower at Rs 155.05 at the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday. Unitech ended lower 0.55% at Rs 28.05 at BSE on Friday.

In a report last month, global investment banker Credit Suisse stated that DLF had “significant intangible asset/goodwill on its balance sheet”. Plus, there are significant departures from conservative accounting practices, including material related-party transactions. On a more damaging note, the report said the company has not disclosed detailed accounts of key subsidiaries on a regular basis. About Unitech it questioned the extent of related party transactions of allegedly Rs 350 crore in financial year 2007-08.

An official of ICAI, who wished not to be named, said material and non-material penalties can be imposed under the Companies Act, 1956 on companies that do not adhere to the auditing standards, including presenting audit of all subsidiary companies.

“Every subsidiary company is required to get its financial statements audited, not doing so will be a violation,” said Pavan Kumar Vijay, former president of Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Punjab cabinet okeys Rajpura Thermal Power Project, new SEZ policy approved

Punjab cabinet okeys Rajpura Thermal Power Project, new SEZ policy approved
Punjab Newsline Network, Friday, 20 February 2009

CHANDIGARH: Decks have been cleared for setting up of 1320 MW Rajpura Thermal Power project at Rajpura with the Punjab Cabinet giving its nod to the revised tariff offer of Rs.3.309/kWh by the bidder – Lanco Infratech Ltd.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal here at Punjab Bhawan this morning.

It may be recalled that at present the total power generation capacity in the state was 6609 MW against the peak demand of 7428 MW. Perhaps it was the biggest ever initiative by any state government in the power sector to usher in power revolution by generating additional capacity of 6480 MW to make Punjab as a power surplus state within next three years by setting up four super thermal plants at Talwandi Sabo (1980 MW), Goindwal Sahib (540MW), Rajpura (1320 MW) and Gidderbaha (2640 MW).

Disclosing this here Friday a spokesman of the Punjab government said that the Cabinet also approved a slew of concessions for affordable housing and relief to the promoters/developers in response to the memorandum submitted by Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association India (CREDAI) and National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) to the Chief Minister. These concessions included reduction in government charges (External Development Charges (EDC), license fee, Change in Land Use) moratorium of EDC payment, increase in the period for payment of EDC and waiver of penal interest on delayed payment of EDC installments.

The Cabinet also approved the Special Economic Zone Policy to facilitate the development of Special Economic Zones in the State of Punjab to give boost to the economic and industrial development of the state leading to generation of new employment opportunities. The SEZ policy would provide a comprehensive framework for establishment, operation and sustainability of SEZs in the state.

In another significant decision the Cabinet also approved a comprehensive policy for the survival and revival of Goindwal industries for the promotion of existing and new industry there.

The Cabinet also authorized the Chief Minister to approve the draft of the Governor's Address for the 6th session of 13th Punjab Vidhan Sabha beginning from 27th February, 2009 and also approved the tentative date-wise programme of the forthcoming session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

The Cabinet also gave approval for amending the Punjab Government Houses (General Pool) Allotment Rules 1983 for the allotment of Government accommodation to its employees. The amended rules would now entitle the government employees to retain the house till the completion of the academic session of their children in order to avoid harassment caused to them on account of mid session transfers. The permissible period for retention of the house has also been increased from the period of four to six months. Likewise, the House Allotment Committee would also now allot a house on out of turn basis to the spouse on retirement of the government employee provided such spouse was working at the same headquarter and entitled to the said type of accommodation.

The Cabinet also approved the conversion of the Punjab Entertainment Tax (Cinematograph shows) amendment Ordinance, 2009 (Punjab ordinance No.1 of 2009) and Punjab Tax on Luxuries Ordinance, 2008 (Punjab ordinance No.4 of 2008) into Acts through presentation of a Bill in the forthcoming session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

The Cabinet also approved the enactment of Punjab Public Records Act 2009 for acquisition of 25 years or more old records of the various departments of Punjab government and their proper maintenance, preservation and conservation. This initiative would enable the researchers to pursue their research works for their M.Phil and Ph.D thesis and the historians for writing books which throw light on the historical and cultural heritage of the Punjab.

The Cabinet also gave approval for the enactment of the Punjab Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009 in order to stop depletion of water level on account of early sowing of paddy in the month of April and May through the conversion of Ordinance into Act presentation of a Bill in the forthcoming session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

The Cabinet also approved to increase the official as well as non-official members in the Punjab Mandi Board under Section 3(1) of the Punjab State Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 from 8 to 10 in both categories. In light of the amendment the reconstituted board would now have Chairman, Farmers Commission and Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agriculture University as two more additional official members and one member each from the category of licensees under section 10 of the Act and one from progressive farmers as non-official members. The newly reconstituted board would also now have the Director Agriculture in place of Director Animal Husbandry as an official member.

The Cabinet also considered the new industrial Policy and to enable the Industries Department to further take a holistic view before finalizing it, deferred the item to be brought again in the next Cabinet.

The Cabinet also gave approval for the grant of Rs.1 crore for the 'Advocate Welfare Fund' to be utilized for the needs of advocates from time to time.