The Union Government on Thursday signed an agreement for a $100-million loan with Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the second tranche of Uttarakhand’s urban sector development investment programme.

According to an official release here, the loan assistance will support rehabilitation and expansion of basic urban infrastructure in five major urban towns of the State and ensure sustainable municipal service delivery.

The Delhi Cabinet has approved “simplified and liberal guidelines” for relocation of jhuggi-jhonpri dwellers as recommended by the Group of Ministers constituted for this purpose on October 15, 2012.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said following a Cabinet meeting on Thursday that the GoM has recommended an extended cut-off date from March 31, 2007, to June 4, 2009, for the purpose of relocating the jhuggi dwellers. Also it has been stated that the clusters only be removed after receipt of the contribution from the land owning agency.

IMPHAL: Wildlife books, written a few decades ago say that many species of animals and birds were available in plenty in Manipur.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests is giving final touches to a plan that will insist on full forest clearance for the entire mining lease area, instead of granting clearance to a smaller sect

The Union Ministry for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) has identified sites for in situ rehabilitation of slums in the city. To be taken up on a pilot basis, the project will be initiated in slum clusters that have come up on Railway land and perilously close to the tracks in Zakhira and Choona Mandi.

A meeting of officials from HUPA and the Railway authorities was held recently to draw up a plan for clearing out the slums that have come up near the tracks. “There are about 9,000 hutments that have come up in these areas on Railway-owned land. The Ministry is now working out a plan to rehabilitate these people within one kilometre of their existing dwellings,” said an official who was part of the meeting.

PANJIM: Governor of Goa B V Wanchoo announced that government would pay monthly cash compensation ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 to mining dependent persons, and spend approximately Rs 15 crore monthly for providing interim relief to them through a rehabilitation scheme. Wanchoo was addressing the first session of Goa Legislative Assembly of 2013, which commenced on Monday.

This is a step taken by his government towards ameliorating the sufferings of mining dependent persons, who are currently rendered jobless due to suspension of mining activities, Wanchoo said, during his half hour speech.

A Bill prohibiting manual scavenging can be passed in the Budget Session if Parliament exhibits its resolve to eliminate this “despicable” practice, the Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh sa

NEW DELHI: Delhi Development Authority will build 8,064 flats for slum dwellers at A-14, Kalkaji, in south Delhi. Construction for the mega slum rehabilitation project is expected to begin within a month or two. Sources said tenders have already been floated. "We will award this work soon," said a DDA official.

Work will be taken up in phases and the first phase will involve construction of about 2,200 flats. Details are still being worked out, but each building will have 15-16 floors. Sources say vertical growth is necessary to make the project feasibile. In phase-I, flats will be built on an empty plot near a slum.

Slum rehabilitation projects, like Rajiv Awas Yojana, should not be shifted to the peripheries with no room for livelihood

Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) is a major flagship programme of the UPA-II government that projects a vision of a slum-free India. It promises to make urban poor families realise their dreams of owning a house with full land title and access to basic amenities. However, its announcement raised diverse expectations. The actors in housing and real estate sector saw it as a programme giving a boost to the land market and creating business opportunity. Banking agencies anticipated huge inflow of subsidies and state support in the name of affordable housing. Urban upper and middle classes hoped that slums that are being perceived as a threat to their safety would disappear either through upgradation or eviction. Unquestioningly, RAY became a darling of everyone, despite conflicting interests.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and the Goa Government on a plea that alleged that the State Government, in violation of its order, has allowed export of iron ores, purport