Around 750 houses and shops located around the Velachery Lake in Chennai are facing eviction due to an ongoing clean-up drive in the area. The drive, initiated by the Chennai Corporation and the Water Resources Department, aims to remove illegal encroachments around the lake and restore its original capacity. The eviction drive is being carried out in phases, with the first phase covering areas around the lake's southern side. The eviction drive has faced criticism from some quarters, who argue that it is being carried out without providing adequate compensation or rehabilitation to the affected people.Read more

The Maharashtra Virtual Incubation Centre (MVIC) is being established by the Maharashtra government in collaboration with 91Springboard Business Hub Pvt. Ltd., a leading co-working space provider that offers amenities like office infrastructure, administrative support, mentoring, access to networks, and community. Startups in Maharashtra would be given preferred access to MVIC's incubation-related goods and services, such as legal, finance, intellectual property, cloud, and mentoring.Read more

In the latest development of the MahaRERA scam involving sixty five developers in Kalyan-Dombivli, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found that the two architects responsible for certifying the plan layouts for most of the illegally constructed buildings have provided false details about their firms. The ED team was unable to locate the offices of both architects during their visit to Dombivli last month and the mobile numbers provided belonged to other individuals. The ED is now seeking the assistance of bodies such as the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) and the Council of Architects (COA).Read more

The appointment of two consultants by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) at a cost of Rs 699 crore has been called into question by Ambadas Danve, a Shiv Sena leader in the legislative council. CIDCO had awarded the contract to Heliosmedium Bazaar Pvt Ltd and Thoughtrains Designs Pvt Ltd to provide marketing, branding, sales, and post-sales services for 67,000 residential and commercial units developed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) project. However, activists have criticized the move as wasteful, arguing that CIDCO flats are always in high demand among the masses.Read more

Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last week for nearly two hours in connection with the land-for-jobs scam case. The CBI is investigating allegations that people were given employment in the railways in exchange for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and its associates. Prasad’s examination comes a day after his wife and former Bihar chief minister, Rabri Devi, was quizzed by the agency for nearly five hours at her Patna residence.Read more

The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) in India recently launched a new initiative to clear pending building proposals. On the first day of the initiative, the KMC earned a whopping Rs 1.5 crore from the registration fees alone. The KMC had set up 27 counters to facilitate the submission of proposals and the payment of fees as well as online setups to help those who could not attend the camp physcially. The initiative is part of the civic body's effort to improve the ease of doing business and attract investment to the city.Read more

The Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has reversed a decision it made to revoke the project licence for an affordable housing development in Sector 106 by MRG Skyline. The license was revoked due to a lack of clarity about ownership and inconsistencies in the conversion of KN Infracon's group housing licence into an affordable housing scheme. The developer was also accused of selling its licenced property to another developer as agricultural land. KN Infracon Pvt Ltd has now cleared all dues, upon which the license was reinstated.Read more

The Indore district administration has taken action against three private colonies - Kalindi Gold, Phoenix Township, and Satellite Hills - where developers have been accused of cheating plot owners through various means. The district administration has served a final notice to the developers, including Ritesh alias Champu Ajmera, Chirag Shah, Mohan Chug, Kailash Garg, and Happy Dhawan, demanding that they settle their accounts with the plot owners. According to sources, only a handful of buyers have obtained possession and other rights related to the property they had paid for after the developers were granted bail by the Supreme Court in November 2021.Read more

The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) recently made headlines by leasing out two plots of land in the Mihan project for the construction of high-end flats. The plots, each measuring 4 acres, were leased out to two city-based builders through an e-tender process, which brought in a total of Rs 43 crore for MADC. Mihan, which stands for Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur, is a special economic zone (SEZ) developed by the Maharashtra government. Located near the Nagpur airport, it has been developed to promote trade, commerce, and industrial activities.Read more

An Indore-based builder has been arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly cheating homebuyers and failing to deliver the flats as promised. The builder, identified as Rajesh Mehar, was arrested on the orders of the district collector after several complaints were filed against him by homebuyers. The NSA (National Security Act) is a law under the Indian Penal Code that allows the government to detain an individual without trial for up to 12 months if it believes that the individual's actions pose a threat to the national security of the country or to public order.Read more