#WeeklyRoundup: Work On Mumbai Trans Harbour Link To Start From January

With the Bombay high court granting the permission to cut mangroves, the much-delayed Mumbai Trans Harbour Link — a 22-km road bridge connecting the island city with Navi Mumbai — can finally see the light of day. Recently, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the construction of the important road link would begin by January next year. The project will impact around 47.4 hectares of forest land, including 38.6 hectares of land that is covered with mangroves at Sewri and the Navi Mumbai side.

Union environment minister Anil Madha Dave told the Rajya Sabha that 90 per cent of development projects got environmental clearance last year as compared to nearly 54 per cent in 2014. The minister also said that Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, governs the process of grant of prior environmental clearance for activities mentioned in the schedule of the notification. The process of environmental clearance includes screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal, he added.

According to reports proceeds from the demonetisation drive could fuel the government's plans to give a leg-up to the housing market. Senior cabinet ministers are in favour of using the money earned from demonetisation to announce a housing scheme with cheaper home loan rates of 6-7 per cent. The new housing scheme is likely to be announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the annual budget to be presented in February next year.

As part of an initiative to provide homes to lakhs of homeless people in the state, the Kerala government has decided to allot them apartments. The state government intends to construct four lakh low-cost housing facilities by the end of 2021.

In a bid to decongest the state capital, the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA) recently gave its nod to a Singapore company for developing a 32-hectare smart integrated township on the outskirts of Shimla. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will soon be signed with Singapore Cooperation Enterprises for developing a township at Jathiadevi near Jubbarhatti airport.