#RealtyNewsRoundUp: Kejriwal Calls All-Party Meet To Discuss Sealing Issue

Stressing on the need to "rise above politics", Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called for an all-party meeting on March 13 at his residence to find solutions to problems being faced by traders because of an ongoing sealing drive in the national capital. Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders has written to the Delhi Police Commissioner, alleging power has been "misused" at times during the ongoing sealing drive. The body has been opposing the action taken by city civic authorities as part of the drive that began late December last year, at the instance of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee.

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Expressing concern over under-utilisation of Central funds released by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry under its major schemes, a Parliamentary panel has asked the ministry to "get its act together and identify problematic areas" to expedite use of funds. According to the reports, of the Rs 36,194.39 crore released since the launch of six flagship programmes, only Rs 7,850.72 crore has been utilised.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for concessional financing and less-risky funds for solar projects to raise the share of solar power in the energy basket, provide cheaper electricity and cut carbon emissions. Speaking at the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on March 11, he said India would generate 175 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2022. This would be more than double the present renewable energy capacity and would be enough to overtake renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time.

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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is working on a National Urban Rental Housing Policy (NURHP) to alleviate housing shortage in urban areas by encouraging renting of homes as millions of houses lie vacant across the country. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says his ministry is preparing a national urban housing policy said to create a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rental housing market in the country.

Source: Media reports