Think India Foundation

Delhi govt to use DUSIB land for schools, hospitals

New Delhi : Construction of 9,780 low cost houses under JNNURM has also been approved: Dikshit

Grappling with the problem of paucity of land, Delhi government on Thursday decided to make use of land available with Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for its various projects. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Cops wait for complaint to curb illegal parking at Galleria

Gurgaon : Facing criticism for not lodging an FIR against a contractor, who has been running a parking lot in Galleria Market illegally, the city police on Thursday put the ball in the court of developer under whose area the vacant land falls. Last week, the Sector 29 police station had refused to register a complaint filed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) against the contractor, Sanjay Dagar. Apart from Huda, residents of DLF City also complained before the police commissioner KK Sindhu. 

On Thursday, the police commissioner said the department cannot take action against the contractor until the land owner files a complaint. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio calls for development of Kohima suburbs

KOHIMA: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday stressed on the need to expand the state capital Kohima and establish satellite townships and sub-urban areas on the outskirts of the city. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 11-km road from Viirie to Kohima constructed under MGNREGS, Rio urged the state's real estate owners to have a positive mindset and handover their lands to government for developmental works as it would ensure better and proper planning in the expansion of the state capital.

The CM also greeted the people on the occasion of Sekrenyi festival and congratulated the Kohima Village Council and Village Development Board (VDB), Kohima, for successfully completing the road, which was constructed at a cost of around Rs 1.5 crore. Lauding the land owners of Kohima Village for donating the land for developmental works, Rio hoped that the establishment of the road will ease the flow of vehicular traffic in Kohima and improve transport and communication in the area. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

1.5L illegal structures to go legit in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat government has cleared a major proposal to regularize an estimated 1.5 lakh illegal structures in urban areas constructed on so-called new tenure lands, which the government distributed free of cost to the poorer sections of people, especially landless, during the land reforms days.

According to sources, people bought such lands in large numbers in Eastern Ahmedabad and urban areas of Vadodara and Bharuch districts, mainly in the former Gaekwad ruled areas to build structures without bothering to pay up premium to regularize their titles. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Regularise bagair hukum land, government urged

BANGALORE : Demanding regularisation of land around the city used for bagair hukum cultivation, hundreds of farmers staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's Office here on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda's car passing in front of Towan Hall where Members of Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha ( KPRS) staging a protest demanding Cultivation of Rights to Bagarhukum farmers within 18 kilometers radius of Bangalore in Bangalore on 22nd February 2012. Photo : K . Bhagya Prakash .

“Around 20,000 farmers in Bangalore Urban and Rural districts have been cultivating land for more than 30 years, and yet the Government refuses to regularise their land,” said N. Venkatachalaiah, Bangalore District Unit president of Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha (KPRS), which organised the protest. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

HUDA fails to possess its plot for 21 yrs, gets HC notice

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has failed to take the possession of plot in Faridabad that it had ‘resumed’ from a private party 21 years ago. The plot was earlier allotted to the private party in 1991.

Questioning ‘the magnanimity’, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday asked HUDA to explain why it had not taken back the possession of the plot. A division bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and A N Jindal gave HUDA two months to submit its report. The directions came after HC dismissed a petition filed by the private party, M/s Printers Engineers Company, terming it as “gross abuse of process of law.” Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Inequality has grown in last 20 years, P Sainath

INEQUALITY has grown a lot more in last 20 years became of neoliberal economic policies than any other period in the history of independent India, said famous journalist and Magsaysay Award winner P Sainath. He was delivering the second C Sarath Chandran Memorial lecture on "Inequality, livelihood and agrarian crisis" organised as part of VIBGYOR International Film Festival-2012 at Sangeeta Nataka Akademi KT Muhammed Memorial Theatre yesterday. 

P Sainath, eminent journalist and Magsaysay award winner delivering Sarath Chandran memorial lecture on "Inequality, livelihood and agrarian crisis" as part of VIBGYOR-2012 at KT Muhammed Smaraka Theatre yesterday.

Kerala is the most globalised economy in India. So, the state is more vulnerable to the volatility of global market prices. The neoliberal policies followed by the central government will be implemented full-blooded after the coming elections to five states with various international treaties affecting the farm sector in the state, which is focused more on export-oriented cash crop cultivation, he warned. Read more

Source : cityjournal.in

MEG helped protect heritage structure: BBMP

BANGALORE : The Sappers official says the land around it was acquired by the Indian Army

BBMP officials candidly admit that but for the MEG fencing, the property would have been converted into another slum. File photo: K. Murali Kumar

By “encroaching” upon the property of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the Madras Engineering Group and Centre (MEG) had “helped” the civic authority protect the watch tower constructed in the 16 Century by Kempe Gowda II. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

BDA lets housing complex crop up inside a ‘park’

Babus, IAS officials allow illegal conversion of 7.9 acres of land, ignore alteration of building plan by developer

The apartment blocks coming up on Bannerghatta Road will have 301 flats

Bangalore : Corruption has crept so deep into the BDA and the state administration that a 7.9-acre piece of land originally meant for a park now houses a residential complex and the owner of the plot has even sold the area marked in the building plan ‘sanctioned’ by BDA as the approach road.

After hearing a private complaint about the discrepancies, in which a few senior IAS officers have also been accused of giving the go-by to the rules, the court directed Lokayukta police to investigate the matter and submit a report before March 30. Read more

Source : bangaloremirror.com

Notices to leaseholders of idle Salt Lake plots

KOLKATA: The state urban development department has sent notices to the leaseholders of around 15 plots that are lying vacant for years in Salt Lake.

Urban development secretary Debashis Sen said the process of utilizing the vacant plots has started. "We have already put up boards on some plots and served notices on the leaseholders," he said. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Designed to kill: Trees versus development

For sustainability and natural balance of the eco-system, forest cover of one-third of land area is considered desirable.

In pre-independent India, green cover was in the vicinity of about 40%. Today, we have depleted it to nearly 23%, most of it under the pretext of development and mainly to cater to ever increasing consumerism. As per quick estimate, human habitation over the globe account for only 6% of surface. The scary part is that even with only 6% space occupied for habitation, we feel the pinch of resource scarcity. It implies that we have perhaps consumed the resources of remaining 94% for sustenance of the six. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Master plan nod may take time in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Approval of the master plan for the extended areas of Hyderabad Metropolitan Region is likely to be delayed further with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority(HMDA) planning to extend the last date for receiving objections and suggestions from citizens. 

The HMDA has now reportedly taken a decision to extend the date to receive objections and suggestions to March 31 as it has to also draft the master plan in Urdu. This draft is to be displayed at all zonal offices apart from on the HMDA website for the convenience of the Urdu-speaking populace. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Improve fiscal governance for service delivery

OneWorld South Asia 

In an exclusive opinion piece, Rajesh Tandon, President, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) has appealed to the Union Government for improved and better implementation of policies and Centrally-sponsored schemes in its Budget 2012. He focuses on high inflation that is reducing the nutritional intake of the poor; improving the infrastructure of small and medium sized towns and cities; and problems faced by NGOs after amendments were made to Section 2(15) of the IT Act, 1961.

Persistently high inflation during the past year has caused severe hardships to many households which are living below or close to the poverty line. This issue was discussed in consultations last year. The pattern of food production is shifting in a manner that high nutrition, low cost food supply is stagnating or declining. The likely fall of production of pulses will further increase the risk of malnutrition in poor households. During the year, milk prices have increased nearly 50 per cent, further resulting in lower consumption of nutritional foods by poor households. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Bihar needs new model for urban growth: Expert

PATNA: While rising urbanization is considered a necessary accompaniment of any developing society, Bihar is likely to reach the dead end of development sooner than later, since the state's urbanization process has been moving at a pace far below the national average. 

Harsh Singh, director of Market Solutions for Inclusion (New Delhi), who participated at a panel discussion on 'Devising an appropriate strategy for urban development' at the 'Global Summit on Changing Bihar'on Sunday said he has an alternative model called Navoday Shahar Model (NSM) for the poor and landless. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Growth rates of 9-10% key to employing more

CHENNAI : India would have to achieve a 9-10 per cent GDP growth rate in the coming years to absorb its employable population. In the next 20 years, there would be millions of employable young adults in India. But, the problem would be that their skills might not match the national or global needs, said Mr Shirish Sankhe, Director, McKinsey & Co. For the 9-10 per cent growth rate, he said the unfinished reform agenda has to be expedited in all sectors, especially in the GST programme, power sector, urban land and infrastructure and FDI reform.

Addressing a convention on Reinventing India, organised by the Madras Management Association here on Saturday, he said there would be 600 million people living in cities by 2030. Already eight States, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra are more than 50 per cent urbanised. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

PIL against windmill work in Jaisalmer dismissed

JODHPUR/JAISALMER: The Rajasthan High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking prohibition on setting up of windmills on pasture land in Jaisalmer. Terming the petition as frivolous, the court refused to consider the land referred to as pasture area.

Earlier on 24 December last year, the court while admitting the petition filed by an NGO, Libra India, had issued notices to revenue department, district collector, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC) and windmill companies with regard to the allotment of the common land, more specifically known as "Charagah" land for establishing windmills in the district and had stayed the setting up of the windmills on this land. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Jaipur: Now, own a home on Delhi-Jaipur highway!

Jaipur: The world is running out of living space. And, India has an answer. The ministry of surface transport wants to turn areas abutting major highways to turn into residential hubs. Rajasthan will lead the way.

Initiating a new model of highway-at-your-doorstep, the Road Transport and Highways department has proposed development of integrated townships along a 230-km stretch of Delhi-Jaipur expressway. Read more

Source : daily.bhaskar.com

Rlys looking to build on station rooftops

NEW DELHI : As land acquisition becomes a contentious issue, the Railways are contemplating monetising station rooftops, as part of its overall strategy to commercially exploit railway land to garner additional revenue.

A pilot project for this could be undertaken in the Mumbai suburban system, which has about 51 stations with 6.27 lakh square metre space. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Maharashtra bars arbitrary changes in land reservations by civic bodies

AT a time when most municipalities in the state are due for a revision of Development Plans (DPs) — the 20-year land use blueprint — the state government has clamped down on the arbitrary changing of public reservations by urban local bodies. In a majority of cases, the changes were found to have been made to facilitate private residential projects.

The state government has over the past month cleared the revised DPs for 40 municipalities, with five more slated to be cleared by April. Some of the cities and towns whose DPs have been sanctioned include Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Sangli, Ichalkaranji and Pandarpur. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Madhya Pradesh govt gives rights to landless

Bhopal: The government approved on Monday to legalise accommodations of landless persons made on government land on the cities’ outskirts. Those persons who have not got land rights for such occupations from April 14, 2004 to December 31, 2011 would be eligible.

In a cabinet meet chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan persons who have made such dwellings on private land will also be given land rights. Read more

Source : daily.bhaskar.com

UN: Soil erosion increasing global warming threat

Global warming will get worse as agricultural methods accelerate the rate of soil erosion, which depletes the amount of carbon the soil is able to store, a United Nations' Environment Programme report said today.

Soil contains huge quantities of carbon in the form of organic matter which provides nutrients for plant growth and improves soil fertility and water movement.

The top metre of soil alone stores around 2,200 billion tonnes of carbon, which is three times the level currently held in the atmosphere, said the UNEP Year Book 2012. Read more

Source : buenosairesherald.com

Hospitality industry hobbled by land costs, taxes, delays: CII

New Delhi : High real estate costs, lack of any tax incentive and bureaucratic hurdles are huge problems for the growth of the hospitality industry that is one of the country's top job earners, a survey revealed Sunday.

"The high costs of real estate and lack of any tax incentives by the government are acting as hurdles for the hospitality sector. These challenges are further accentuated by overall infrastructure deficit in the country," said a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Multi-crore land scam accused continues in Delhi government

New Delhi (IANS) : One of the accused in Delhi's multi-crore land scam in 2007, who allegedly allotted plots to fictitious people and sold them at exorbitant rates and was accused of cheating and criminal conspiracy, continues to be director in the Delhi government's sensitive Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) despite his deputation having expired way back in 2008.

IANS has access to documents which show that the six-year deputation term of S.N.S. Sidhu, who is currently director (Administration and Law) in DUSIB, expired on June 3, 2008, and no extension has been granted to him. Read more

Source : daijiworld.com

NHAI on backfoot over demand for land on expressway

Gurgaon : In absence of a concrete plan, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) appears to have taken a backseat over the demand of 15 metre strip of land along the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway for widening service lanes from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda).

“We do not have much idea about the plan of widening lanes and construction of subways. But the demand still stands,” said Rajiv Yadav, member administration, NHAI. He refused to give details of the project. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Idea of B2 bypass in Jaipur was conceived 36 years ago

JAIPUR: The idea of constructing the B2 bypass was first conceived some 36-years-old, when the area was actually on the city outskirts. In 1975, it was incorporated in the master plan. Following various problems including the availability and acquisition of land, the project remained on paper.

The B2 bypass finds itself surrounded by controversies ever since. While the project got delayed time and again, several colonies mushroomed in the area over the years. The housing board too developed residential colonies here. As on date, it is one of the most populated areas and part of the city. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rs 200-crore land scam shadow on Tripura governor DY Patil

New Delhi : Tripura governor D.Y. Patil has been accused of perpetrating a Rs 200-crore land scam at Pimri-Chinchwad near Pune. The charge has been made by RTI activist and builder Ravindra Barhate.

Barhate claimed on Thursday that Patil was in possession of 39.90 lakh sq ft of land in violation of rules. The former Maharashtra MLA had in 2003 got registered the Dr D.Y. Patil Educational Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which purchased 100 acres from farmers. But the acquisition was against the urban land ceiling Act, which has since been repealed, Barhate claimed. Read more

Source : indiatoday.intoday.in

Farmers of Aurangabad oppose land acquisition

AURANGABAD: Farmers and activists affiliated to different social organizations joined hands on Thursday to oppose land acquisition by the government for the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, under which 10,000 hectares land would be acquired for setting up four mega industrial projects in the district.

"The activists have planned a meet at Bidkin, about 20 km from the city, on February 11 to chalk out the future course of action. Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar has been invited to address the meet", said Vijay Diwan and Subhash Lomte, members of the action committee. Thousands of affected farmers from Aurangabad and Jalna districts would attend the Bidkin meet, they said. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Plan panel, UD ministry headed for showdown on financing of Metro projects

NEW DELHI: The stage is set for another slugfest between the Planning Commission and urban development minister Kamal Nath over the viability of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Metro projects. The plan panel has been vigorously advocating PPP for new Metro projects while the UD ministry has asked states to look at innovative financing mechanisms to fund capital intensive projects under public sector mode. 

The ministry, quoting a global study on urban rail transit, said PPP in Metro rail projects was not very successful. The analysis of Metro rail systems in 132 cities found that in 113 cities, 88% projects were developed and were being operated in the public sector whereas only in 12% cities some form of PPP existed. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rajasthan government to provide flats to its employees

JAIPUR: The state government has decided to provide flats on concessional rates to all its employees in a move to placate their demands for independent plots for their homes. The move was made given the shortage of land for independent plots.

A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting at the urban development and housing (UDH) department chaired by additional chief secretary P K Deb here on Friday. The Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) has also been appointed as the nodal agency to invite applications from government employees and to identify land for construction of these flats. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

DLF, state govt get HC notice over allotment of 350 acres in Wazirabad

GURGAON / CHANDIGARH: Allotment of around 350 acre prime land, acquired for public purpose by Haryana government, to real estate giant DLF for developing luxurious golf villas and golf course in Gurgaon has come under the scanner of Punjab and Haryana high court.

The HC on Thursday issued notices to the state government and DLF seeking their response on the issue. Division bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has also issued notices to Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) asking them to file a reply by April 19. DLF is developing air conditioned apartments/villas and an 18-hole golf course on the land under the project 'The Magnolias'. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Did builder in Punjab sell you plot he doesn't own?

Chandigarh : Here's a scam warning for those who have recently bought plots and apartments from private property developers.

The dream home you own, or the plot on which you aim to build it, may have been sold to you by people who do not even own it. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Property registration falls in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad : Despite all-round development of Ahmedabad and the growing urbanisation, property sales deed registration in the city has declined, which indicates that the realty market is entering into slowdown. The city witnessed 1.05 lakh sales deed registrations at 14 sub-registrar offices during 2011, which was 1.09 lakh in 2010. It shows a decline of 3.5% in the city.

The comparative property sales deed registration data of 2010 and 2011 reveals that the city and west zone have witnessed a fall, while the east has registered a growth. The west zone, covering sub-registrar’s offices in Memnagar, Vadaj, Paldi, Vejalpur, Daskroi (agriculture), Sola and Bopal, witnessed registration of 50,601 sales deeds in 2011, which were at 57,664 in 2010, thus showing a decline of 12.24% over the previous year. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Declining farm rentals worry rural landlords

AHMEDABAD: Rural landlords are bracing themselves for charging less rent from their tenant farmers for the first time in several years, signifying a reduction in remuneration from the livelihood that sustains about half of India's population. While rentals are likely to be revised downwards in Punjab and Haryana, a revised formula is being devised in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, where landlords get paid in kind.

The annual rental in Punjab will come down from Rs 25,000-30,000 per acre depending on the land quality to Rs 20,000-25,000 per acre in the contracts due to be signed soon, says Sukhjit Bhatti, a progressive potato farmer from Jalandhar. "Two consecutive years of bumper crop across the country, leading to poor returns, have led to this situation," he says, "This hasn't happened for a long time." Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Urban development ministry suggests measures for self-financing of Metro

JAIPUR: To make a strong case for self-financing of the Metro projects in the state the Union ministry of urban development has suggested a slew of innovative measures. The ministry pointed out that in the backdrop of the financial constraints of the state and the Central government, innovative financing schemes could be introduced such as using land as a prime resource and levying taxes to discourage people from buying and using personal vehicles.

It maintained that the cities that conceived the Metro projects should cash on the hiked property rates the fall in the Metro corridor and the catchment area. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Terminus shift gets in top gear in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Almost a decade after environmentalist Subhas Dutta filed a PIL in Calcutta high court on pollution affecting Victoria Memorial, the government is finally ready to shift the bus terminus from Esplanade. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the government was looking for land near Strand Road, not too far from the disputed venue and Victoria Memorial.

"I have asked Union minister of state for shipping Mukul Roy to sort out the matter with Kolkata Port Trust and the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners so that space can be carved out of land in their possession," Mamata said at Writers' Buildings on Saturday. Both the organisations are said to possess some land in the area. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Kalinga Nagar, Bolangir identified as probable manufacturing hubs in Orissa

Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar : Orissa has identified the Kalinga Nagar industrial cluster in Jajpur district and Bolangir in the economically backward KBK (Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput) region as probable locations for development of National Manufacturing and Investment Zone (NMIZ) envisaged under the National Manufacturing Policy of Government of India (GoI).

The proposed NMIZ needs to be developed on a contiguous patch of 5000 hectares of land as mandated by the policy. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

BDA plans hi-tech zone to recover PRR costs

Bangalore,DHNS : In an apparent bid to recover the land cost of Rs 2,000 crore for the construction of the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the State government are likely to deem one kilometre area around the 65-kilometre stretch as hi-tech zone.

Hi-tech zoning is the creation of a priority area for the establishment of industries like automobile, IT and other allied industries. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Two Cidco plots sold for 123 crore

MUMBAI: Two commercial plots owned by City Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) in CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, were sold for Rs 123 crore on Friday. Marriot Realtors emerged the highest bidder for plot no 18 & 19 measuring 7,162 sq m (almost two acres) when it quoted Rs 1.22 lakh per sq m. Its bid worked out to Rs 87 crore.

The second plot (no 74) measuring 3400 sq mts fetched Cidco Rs 1.06 lakh a sq m or about Rs 36 crore. The winning bidder was Mahadev Patel of NMS Enterprises. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

No room for poor on government land

HYDERABAD : Luxurious quarters for IAS officers to come up on 113 acres of land across four prime areas

Demolished Governments Quarters at Erramanzil Colony, where the state government, proposed to construct a multi-storied residential complex for IAS and IPS Officers, in Hyderabad on Friday. Photo: Nagara Gopal

While the government has been claiming paucity of land within the city to rehabilitate its poor; it has decided to construct luxurious quarters for IAS officers on its 113 acres of land across four prime areas in the city. The poor, however, have found no place on them yet. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

KSRP to probe forgery by cops

MYSORE: The Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) on Thursday said it will investigate the case of police personnel trying to procure sites from MUDA submitting forged documents.

The KSRP commandant (V battalion) Krishnappa said he received information about the case and will launch a probe. Of the 12 cops accused in the case, 10 are attached to the V battalion, he told TOI. One is serving in XI battalion based at Hassan and another is attached to Indian reserve battalion stationed at Bijapur, he said. "This is a serious case and we will probe it," he stated. The 12 cops are facing charges of trying to procure the sites clandestinely forging the sanction letters. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Land sharks corner 2,580 acres in Bangalore Urban

BANGALORE : This land is estimated to be valued around Rs. 5,000 crore

Chief Minister D. V. Sadananda Gowda on Thursday revealed that land sharks had got 2,580.02 acres of government land in Bangalore urban district illegally transferred to their names by fabricating 382 files. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Centre clears 356 Crore project for Dal Lake

New Delhi/Jammu (Scoop News) – In a significant development, the Union Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of  Prime Minister approved rehabilitation package for the Dal dwellers worth Rs. 356 Crore., today. It is pertinent to mention here that the commitment for this package was made by the Hon’ble Prime Minister himself during his visit to the state of Jammu & Kashmir last year.

The Housing and Urban Development Department which administers Lakes and Waterways Development Authority, had taken up with Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI for funding the compensation to be paid to the Dal Dwellers for acquisition of their land and structures within the Dal lake. The project has now been cleared after its techno-financial justification. Read more

Source : groundreport.com

MP Govt to lease out 700 hectares for tourism projects

Khajuraho : In a bid to attract and encourage private investment in the tourism sector in the state, the Madhya Pradesh government will lease out 700 hectares of land for tourism-related projects. The land will be leased through open competitive bidding for a period of 30 years. Speaking at the first Tourism Conclave organised jointly by Madhya Pradesh Tourism and FICCI at Khajuraho, Vinod Semwal, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Madhya Pradesh, and Pankaj Rag, MD, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corp., said that the state intended to engage private investors in a proactive manner.

Of the 700 hectares identified, Semwal said about 450 hectares will be earmarked for projects based on the PPP model. Regarding the poor state of roads connecting various tourist destinations, he said that the Public Works Department is working hard to improve the roads and is updating the Tourism Department on a day to day basis. He added that the government currently has various incentives for private investors, including luxury tax exemption for a period of five to eight years for new hotels. Read more

Source : travelbizmonitor.com

New land conversion law in Rajasthan to be transparent, IT savvy

Jaipur : The state cabinet on Wednesday repealed the disputed Section 90B of Land Revenue Act, 1956 and gave the nod for creating a new set of sections under 90A. This is likely to put to rest the controversy over 90B.

"The cabinet has authorized the enabling power authority to make the set of rules for Section 90A. Now the urban development authority department (UDH) can create provisions which will replace Section 90B and allow the swift land conversion laws," said PK Deb, additional chief secretary, UDH. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

More cities, cheaper land needed for affordable housing

NEW DELHI : Though affordable housing is the need of the hour for a developing country with a large population such as India, several roadblocks need to be first removed to achieve this dream.

At a meet organised by the National Housing Bank titled ‘Growth with Stability in Affordable Housing Markets,' challenges such as poor accessibility of finance and shortage of land in urban spaces were highlighted. Other factors necessary are a transparent and supportive legal system and innovation in the sector. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

A RAY of hope for slum dwellers

VISAKHAPATNAM : 10,000 housing units to be built in the first phase

A total of 10,000 housing units are proposed to be constructed under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in 131 slums during the first year.

Under RAY, unlike in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, there is no need for contribution from the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

2011-20 declared irrigation decade by Karnataka govt

BANGALORE : State Government to make efforts to totally utilise its share of Krishna waters

Prafulatha Bharadwaj, wife of Governor, watching the proceedings while Governor H R Bharadwaj addresses the Joint session at Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on 30th January 2012. Photo. K. Bhagya Prakash

The State Government has declared 2011-20 as Irrigation Decade and all out efforts will be made for total utilisation of the waters of river Krishna allocated to Karnataka under the Krishna Tribunal Award-2. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

No construction in urban areas without HUDA approval

CHANDIGARH:No construction can be carried out in the urban and notified areas of Kururkshetra, Ladwa, Pehowa and Shahabad without the permission of Haryana Town and Country Planning Department.Stating this here on Tuesday, a spokesman of the Department said that the Department has been declaring the plots sold in unauthorized colonies as illegal from time to time.

It had come to the notice of the Department that some property dealers were misleading the people and selling the plots in unauthorized colonies by saying that unauthorized colonies would be regularized after removing the encroachment.However such colonies would not be regularized till a written order was issued by the government in this regard. Read more

Source : punjabnewsline.com

VMC to finish 5 projects

Vijayawada : The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) hastened development works under the JNNURM as the project tenure will conclude by March 2012. The VMC so far spent Rs.904 crore for the development of infrastructure and construction of houses in the city since 2004. The VMC has designed 20 projects at a cost of Rs.1,422.67 crore from 2004 to 2012 March. The civic body completed nine projects and is trying to complete another five projects by the end of March 2012. Two housing projects are unlikely to be grounded due to land acquisition problem.

In all, 12 projects were taken up under the Urban Infrastructure Governance (UIG) at a cost of Rs. 679 crore and eight projects planned at a cost of Rs. 743.31 crore under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) for the development of slums. JNNURM works started in 2004-05. Government of India’s share is Rs. 414 crore and state government’s share is Rs. 158 crore of the total cost. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Port ready to exchange land with Navy for elevated corridor

CHENNAI: The Chennai Port Trust is ready to hand over land in Tondiarpet to the Navy, whose land on Kamarajar Salai is to be acquired for the Port-Maduravoyal elevated project, port officials said on Monday. The project, beset with land acquisition problems since the beginning, finally got stuck when the Navy refused to hand over the land near Gate 10 of the port compound. Chennai Port Trust chairman Atulya Mishra told TOI that "land owned by the port trust near Tondiarpet could be exchanged for the prestigious project. We have already conveyed the message to the authorities concerned. As the project needs only a small portion of Navy land, I hope it will be settled soon." The alignment of the Rs 1,655 crore elevated corridor from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal is being finalized. Last week, Union shipping minister G K Vasan and highways minister C P Joshi discussed with state government officials the much-delayed 19 km corridor that will have a 17 km elevated stretch. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is executing the project, has settled a part of the land acquisition. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com