"Disputed land aquisition by Developers Prohibited"

There are many instances when we see Developers acquiring disputed land and developing buildings on that land. Noiw the developers acquiring disputed land will be penalised. The urban development ministry(UDM) is planning to check all land deeds of properties acquired by builders. On finding any discrepancies, the ministry will refer it to the judiciary for taking punitive action against such buyers. The proposal is a result of a recent trend where builders are buying disputed land and properties at a discounted value and use illegal means to settle property disputes.

After buying disputed properties, builders use force to acquire them. The government has received several complaints in this regard. In order to check such practices, the ministry is planning to undertake detailed enquiries into the sale and purchase of disputed properties. However, the government is in favour of more stringent scrutiny of land titles than coming out with any specific legislation to curb the practice. “We must distinguish between actual sincere buyers and those who buy properties to speculate on it. In that case, only those instances would be considered for review which appear cagey. The cases after being scrutinised by the urban development ministry can then be referred to the judiciary for taking punitive action against the buyers,” an official at the ministry said.

According to government sources, undervaluation of disputed properties by paying lesser stamp duty, palming off properties with unclear land titles are several such indication of unlawful practices in the real estate industry, which need to be effectively plugged.

So we can hope for a more transparent dealings in our Real Estate System in the coming future.

Govt clears 16 new special economic zones

The government on Wednesday approved 16 proposals to set up special economic zones from a list of nearly two dozen which had already received preliminary clearance.

Vedanta Alumina, Suzlon Infrastructure, real estate firm DLF and Unitech were among firms given the nod by a state approval board, a government statement said.
London-listed Vedanta Resources is setting up a 1.4 million tonne alumina project in the eastern state of Orissa, but it was not immediately clear whether this was the project cleared.
A senior official said a decision on a proposal by Reliance Industries for an SEZ in Navi Mumbai, on the outskirts of India's economic hub of Mumbai, had been deferred as customs officials wanted further details.

He added the proposal was likely to be taken up at the next meeting of the board on May 31.
Last month, India ended a two-month freeze on approvals of special economic zones, which are large tax-free industrial enclaves created with the aim of boosting industrial growth.
The ruling Congress-led coalition had embarked on an ambitious plan to revitalise industry through SEZs in its quest for 10 percent annual economic growth.

But thousands of farmers across the country had protested against the government's compulsory land acquisition at some sites, claiming they had not been adequately compensated.
In West Bengal, 14 farmers were killed in clashes with police in the village of Nandigram. Ruling communists eventually shelved plans for an industrial park there that was to have been built with the help of Indonesia's Salim Group.

Regularization of Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi

Once again the issue of regularization of unauthorised colonies in Delhi on the News. As the process of finalizing the revised guidelines is on following the Union Government's approval for revision in the guidelines for regularization of unauthorized colonies in Delhi. Unauthorized colonies fulfilling the prescribed conditions will be eligible for regularization. Once regularized, as per the provisions of Master Plan, unauthorized regularized colonies would be covered by the Special Area Building Regulations to be framed for special area, unauthorized regularized colonies and village abadis.

Owners in special area, unauthorized regularized colonies and village abadis shall register themselves with the local body within a period of four months indicating the existing extent of construction. Thereafter, a certificate of structural safety by qualified engineers shall be submitted within the next six months. Subject to height restriction of 15 meters, all buildings covered by such registration shall be exempted from punitive action till Special Area Building Regulations for these areas are notified or for a maximum three years, whichever is earlier.

The concerned local bodies/agencies responsible for civic services will provide civic facilities as per their service plans and over a period of time, those colonies will be integrated into the planned development. In view of the legal and administrative issues involved, no time frame has been fixed at this stage.

Source: PIB