The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed an amendment bill that proposes to make rainwater harvesting mandatory in all city corporations of the State.

Rainwater harvesting is already mandatory in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits with the Assembly passing the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill, last year, making it mandatory for citizens living within the jurisdiction of the Palike to install rainwater harvesting systems in their buildings.

Environment ministry stops Ansals housing project at Dadri in Greater Noida as the area is home to migratory birds. The BSP government in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh is once again caught in a controversial land sale. The state government sold 2,400 acres of wetlands in Greater Noida to a private builder even though the law bars the sale of such areas. The state government failed to notify this area around Bil Akbarpur as wetlands.

Slum improvement project under BSUP

The city Corporation will launch a slum improvement project under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) project at Kalladimukham by February-end.
As many as 318 housing units will be constructed in two phases under the Rs.10.5-crore project. This includes 105 units for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes families and 213 units for general category families. The project will be implemented by COSTFORD.

Dispur has decided to draft a new legislation to ban construction of multi-storied buildings in some areas like Sonapur, Chandrapur, Rani and Deepor Beel to save greenery as well as execute projects to attract tourists. An Assam government official told The Telegraph that chief minister Tarun Gogoi had already instructed the departments concerned to start preparing the draft bill of the proposed legislation. He said the legislation was expected to be tabled during the monsoon session of the Assembly.

Tamil Nadu Government would construct one lakh concrete houses at a cost of Rs 1000 crore to replace damaged huts in the Cyclone Thane affected districts of Cuddalore and Villupuram, Governor K Rosaiah said on Monday.

The state government has also presented a memorandum spelling out the quantum of damage and has sought an assistance of Rs 5248 crore from the Centre, he recalled.

Builders constructing malls and multiplexes, even in district headquarters across the state, have to leave a whopping 66 per cent space of the total built-up area for parking.

It is mandatory for all municipalities, municipal corporations and urban development authorities in the state to follow this rule while approving building plans for malls and multiplexes. Presently, the space reserved for parking varies in municipalities and corporations.

The state government has issued a notification making it mandatory for all projects on more than 2,000 sq m land to reserve 20 per cent of the plot or constructed space for smaller sized affordable housing.

The rule would be applicable to the 26 municipal corporations and all municipal councils in Maharashtra. The notification issued by the state urban development department is meant to promote the concept of inclusive housing at a time when most developers, especially in Mumbai, are in the business of creating luxury housing.

The members of All India Farmers' Association staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate on Monday.

They urged the Government to construct houses under the Green House scheme to those who built dwellings in the Government poromboke areas. Before removing the encroachment by the officials of Public Works Department they should ensure alternative area and provide houses to them under Green House scheme.

After dealing with the Adarsh file on several occasions, seeking a green nod for its construction and owing a flat in the same building, former babu PV Deshmukh now says that he isn't sure if the 31- storey apartment building in upscale Colaba is legal or illegal. " I cannot say whether the construction of Adarsh building is legal or illegal," Deshmukh, a former deputy commissioner in the UDD, who also owns a flat in the building, told the Adarsh inquiry commission on Thursday. Deshmukhs admission came during his cross- examination by advocate Saket Mone, counsel for Adarsh members.

25 acres for Amritanandamayi Trust to set up hospital, medical college

The State Cabinet on Thursday went on a land allotment spree sanctioning prime real estate in different parts of the State to private players and government agencies for commercial, industrial and residential purposes.