The Centre has responded positively to the Delhi Government’s appeal to regularise more than 1600 of the city’s unauthorised colonies. However, the truth is that even after this notification, the ground reality in that these colonies are unlikely to change for now.
The Sahara Group has clarified their stand in public after the jolt by the Supreme Court asking them to refund within three months Rs. 24,029 crore it had collected between 2008 and 2011 from over 2.96 crore investors, flouting mandatory regulatory provisions and the Company Act. In the wake of media onslaught after the Court asked two Sahara Companies to pay 15% interest on the amount, the Group in a statement has following version in its defence.
The Sahara Group will have to refund Rs. 17,400 crore to retail investors raised in 2008-09, the Supreme Court has ruled. The apex court had upheld the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order directing two Sahara companies to refund this amount. Former Supreme Court Judge BN Agarwal will monitor the refund to investors, the court said.
For flat owners in Maharashtra, the VAT battle is not yet over! VAT on flats, or material used on construction, amounts to double taxation since the developer has already paid while buying them from registered suppliers, said Atul Puranik, convener of newly started consumer group FORAM – Flat Owners’ Rights protection Action committee of Maharashtra.
A division bench of the Supreme Court today stayed the Bombay High Court judgment in VAT case and passed an interim order extending the deadline for developers in Maharashtra for paying VAT by two months.
Seeking to fight the vexed VAT issue on flats in Maharashtra, a consumer group called FORAM–Flat Owners’ Rights protection Action committee in Maharashtra – has been formed with consumer interest groups coming together.
A DTZ survey has found unrest in Noida Extension has had a mild impact on total number of housing units planned. The survey says that the total number of housing units that were planned before the unrest in Noida Extension has remained more or less the same with a minor downward revision.
The Karnataka Government is contemplating to introduce a single window clearance system for the construction of houses and complexes in the state, taking into consideration the demand raised by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI).
The Noida Extension land acquisition fracas was all about the authorities allowing developers to acquire land at considerably low prices from farmers and also changing the planned use pattern from industrial to residential. Farmers revolted and were able to gain wide support from different quarters.
Greater public and private participation is required in sectors such as railways, ports and power as India looks at investing USD 1 trillion in infrastructure over the next five years, Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Ray has said.