Civic body told to seek opinion from NDMC and arts panel;

The Steering Committee of the Civil Aviation Ministry, which considered the proposals of the Karnataka government to set up greenfield airports at Gulbarga, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga, on Friday granted "in principle' approval for the projects. The approval is subject to the condition that the Standard Operating Procedure will be formalised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Defence Ministry on air space management of the airports at Gulbarga and Bijapur in view of the defence operations in Pune and Bidar.

Failing to kick-start its ambitious Rs 1,850 crore Nanocity project -building a sustainable city with world-class infrastructure - in Haryana's Panchkula district, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia's company Nanocity Developers Pvt Ltd has initiated talks with private property developers to bail out the project.

The Union Government's plan to construct a heliport near the sprawling new Akshardham Temple on the Yamuna floodplains in the Capital has set off a wave of concern among activists fighting to save the grand old river. Reacting to the Central Government's statement that a suitable location was being sought near the Akshardham Temple for construction of the heliport, members of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan have written to Delhi's Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna to draw attention to the destruction of natural resource that the proposed construction would cause.

As China continues to boom in the coming decades, it would be well advised to think big. Big cities, that is.

Bank team, state bodies try to identify financial resources for Rs 2.60 lakh-cr business plan In a boost to its much-touted plans to transform Mumbai into an international city and improve the quality of infrastructure in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the State Government is tapping financial sources to help it implement its ambitious Rs 2.60 lakh-crore business plan.

Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy has come to the rescue of NGOs in the capital, who were being sealed out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The minister asked the NGOs to suggest some norms and criteria that can provide the basis for regularisation of NGO activity in residential and mixed-land use areas. Following the meeting with the minister last week, the NGOs have submitted a note to the ministry. At least 12 NGOs in the South Delhi district have been sealed so far. These include the Wildlife Trust of India and SOS Villages of India.