#RealtyNewsRoundUp: Make Efforts To Stand Up On Your Own, Puri Tells Municipal Bodies

Financial condition of municipalities was a "cause of concern", Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on January 12, and pitched for a "robust financial management" to enhance their revenues and raise funds by tapping capital market through bonds. He said the combined receipts of all municipalities in India was estimated to be lower than Rs 1.5 lakh crore, with less than a third of the amount coming from their resources, making them dependent on Central and state governments. It is also estimated that nearly Rs 65 lakh crore would be required as capital investment and for services in Indian cities over a 20-year period, the minister said, adding the space to raise private funds was "enormous".

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Over 30 units in a flatted factory complex in north Delhi's Bara Hindu Rao area were sealed on January 11 for allegedly violating building norms. The sealing action was taken by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on the instruction of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on January 11 announced that over the past two days it had sealed 12 eateries for flouting fire-safety norms and demolished unauthorised construction carried out in 135 establishments. A senior BMC official said that the action was carried out by 52 squads that surveyed 795 eateries across Mumbai.

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Crimes in the national capital increased 12 per cent in 2017, with factors such as high number of migrants, economic disparity and slack family control having a bearing on the rising figures, according to data available with the Delhi Police. According to the data shared by the Delhi Police, 223,075 cases were registered in 2017, as opposed to 199,110 in 2016. The total Indian Penal Code crimes per lakh population during 2017 was 1,263, in comparison to 1,137 in 2016.

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The Punjab government has decided to implement an online building plan approval system. The proposed system will allow people to submit required documents and pay fee online in order to get their building plan approved. Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on January 11 said his department had decided to implement the system in all the municipal bodies of the state.

Source: Media reports