Realty News Roundup: DDA Demolition Drive Along Yamuna Bank; India Has A Shortage Of 2 Crore Homes In Urban Areas
Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector.
Top News
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) bulldozed fields and farmers' huts spanning over 20 acres along Yamuna Bank following a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order asking the Authority to remove all the unauthorized settlements in the area. According to the Delhi Peasants Society, DDA's demolition drive affected around 100 farmers, who suffered a loss of around Rs 20,000 to 25,000. DDA plans to build two biodiversity parks by clearing 26 km of land in Delhi, from Wazipur to Okhla.
To encourage people to convert their property from freehold to leasehold, the DDA decided to slash the fine they levy on people who violate their land use policy. If tenants misuse property, owners will have to pay only 25% of the misuse charges from the date of eviction. If commercial or industrial property in Delhi is used for residential purposes, again, there will be a rebate of 75% on the fine levied.
The Karnataka government will create a new regulatory framework to protect home buyers from fraudulent developers. To prevent exploitation by fly-by-night operators the Karnataka government will make registration of projects compulsory and insist that developers must make information on approval status, available inventory and sales proceeds to home buyers.
Off the front page
The Centre said that there is a shortage of around 2 crore homes in urban areas, of which 95% should belong to economically weaker sections (EWS) and lower income groups (LIG) because urbanization in India is not planned. The government is in the final stage of initiating its program to provide homes for everyone by 2022.
Opinion
Read this opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on the glut of mall space in India because less than 2.5% of India's middle class has disposable income that is enough to sustain them. This is true of malls in other emerging markets like Brazil too.
Buyers News propguide