Page 2 - Housing And Urban Affairs Ministry

Need credible framework to differential good & bad builders: Housing Secy

Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi on Monday pitched for a "credible framework" to differentiate between good and bad real estate developers, enabling the realty sector in accessing credit easily from banks to build projects without being dependent on customers' money. Addressing a real estate conference organised by CII, the secretary noted that real estate projects, especially housing, are largely funded through customer advances and said this model needs to be changed. He suggested that the credible framework could be a rating system and appraisal of past performances. Joshi pointed out that one of the main reasons for the delay in the construction of projects is cash flow issues. He said there is no bank finance at the level of main contractors and small vendors, which leads to project delays and cost inefficiencies. "Are we helping our economy by not providing finance to such an important segment of our economy?" he asked. "We are hurting far more," he quipped. "

GatiShakti: Govt looks to develop local areas via national masterplan

Going forward, the focus will be development of a region as a whole, a senior government official said, adding that towards this, as many as 100 projects for area planning has already been taken up

Leveraging tech for projects in line with PM Gati Shakti vision: MoHUA

Over the last few years, technology has played a key role in improving project implementation, and leveraging new-age technologies for collaborating data among various projects is also in line with the prime minister's Gati Shakti vision, a top official said on Friday. Manoj Joshi, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), made the remarks at the knowledge-sharing conference 'Leveraging Technology in Project Implementation' here which was led by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). During the inaugural session, Joshi said, over the last few years, technology has played a key role in improving project implementation, by construction and infrastructure agencies. "Leveraging new-age technologies for collaborating data among various projects is also in line with the prime minister's vision of Gati Shakti master plan, and is going to help the upcoming projects in the country," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the NCRTC. The ...

Govt decides to extend Smart Cities Mission deadline till June 2024

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has decided to extend the deadline for the Smart Cities Mission till June 2024, following requests from some cities that sought more time to complete their ongoing projects, officials said on Monday. The existing deadline of the Mission was June 2023. An official said that it would be inequitable to grant an extension merely to "a selected subset of cities". "The extension is being granted not only to complete projects but to complete documentation, dissemination, institutionalisation of all best practices, templates, innovations created under the Mission so that they can be taken up for replication across the country," the official told PTI. The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship Smart Cities Mission (SCM) on June 25, 2015 and 100 cities were selected for redevelopment through two-stage competition from January 2016 to June 2018. The official said that on-ground project execution began at least 18 months post city ...

Delays by approval authorities should be addressed by RERA: Naredco

NAREDCO said that customers got the due respect, and in these six years, RERA has been able to get transparency and has addressed the trust deficit in the secto

Centre launches competition for cities to create beautiful public spaces

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has launched a 'City Beauty Competition' that aims to encourage and recognise transformational efforts made by cities and wards to create beautiful, innovative and inclusive public spaces. In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said under this competition, wards and public spaces in cities would be judged on five broad pillars accessibility, amenities, activities, aesthetics and ecology. The last date for participating in the competition is July 15. The ministry said the competition provides a unique opportunity to wards and cities to showcase their interventions towards creating beautiful public spaces. It would also promote heritage and culture, sustainable communities and ecological conservation and would also encourage peer learning among states and cities. "While selected wards would be felicitated at the city and state levels, the top most beautiful public spaces in the cities under four categories viz. waterfronts, green spaces

161.34 sq km of land available with Archaeological Survey of India: Govt

The total land available with the Archaeological Survey of India is 161.34 sq km according to the Government Land Information System (GLIS) portal of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Parliament was informed on Monday. Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha. "ASI has 161.19 sq km land available around the Centrally Protected Monuments/Sites and 0.15 sq km of office building/staff quarters belonging to 39 Circles/Mini-Circle of the ASI. Hence, the total land available with ASI is 161.34 sq km as per the Government Land Information System (GLIS) portal of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs," he said. He was asked about the details of land belonging to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the country, with state-wise details. Asked whether any state government agencies or public sector enterprises have encroached the land of ASI, the minister responded, "Yes". In his response, he shared state-wise data

Govt moves to end possibility of attachment of DMRC's assets in RInfra case

On March 17, the Delhi High Court handed down an order to ensure the payment of an arbitral award due for over five years

Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry gets 26 proposals to develop new cities

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry has received 26 proposals from 21 states to develop new cities to meet the demand for urban expansion in the country and they are currently at scrutiny and evaluation stage, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. In a written response to a question, Minister of State for HUA Kaushal Kishore said the 15th Finance Commission has allocated Rs 8,000 crore for performance-based challenge fund for incubation of eight new cities and the amount available for each proposed new city is Rs 1,000 crore. "A state can have only one new city through this fund. Thus, maximum nine new cities in nine states can be selected," the minister said. Considering the small urban population in north-east and hill states, Rs 1,000 crore for two new cities (Rs 500 crore each) for two different states has been proposed, he said. "The Ministry has specified minimum eligibility conditions and bid parameters for the states to compete in the challenge. The last da

Bipolar nature of city planning

Private clauses, like those for balcony dimensions, building setbacks etc, are highly overstretched

MoHUA has approved 6,527 projects under AMRUT 2.0 scheme: MoS Kishore

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has so far approved 6,527 projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. Minister of State Kaushal Kishore, in a written response to a question by MP Anil Baluni, said Rs 45,482 crore central assistance has been approved for the projects under the scheme, out of which Rs 5,318 crore has been released. He said the AMRUT scheme aims at making cities 'water secure' and provide universal coverage of water supply through functional taps to all households in the statutory towns of the country. It also aims at providing sewage/septage management to all households of 500 cities covered in first phase of the scheme. "So far, 6,527 projects have been approved by the ministry. Of these, detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared for 1,492 projects worth Rs 28,774.91 crore, tenders have been floated for 306 projects worth Rs 9,796.27 crore, while 166 projects worth

Cities should rethink traditional planning models to deliver outcomes: Puri

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said cities need to rethink traditional planning models in order to deliver desired socioeconomic outcomes. In a video message to the inaugural session of the two-day Urban-20 City Sherpas' meet, the minister also said that comprehensive infrastructure development would necessitate a robust discussion on investments and financing. He underlined that with rapid urbanisation, it was critical to ensure water security through better planning, policies and governance. The Urban-20 City Sherpas' meet which aims to focus on promoting solidarity among cities to find common solutions that are in sync with the overall objectives of the G20 began here on Thursday. This is the third of the G20 events being held in Gujarat as part of India's Presidency of the Group of 20. "Resonating with the theme of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam One Earth, One Family, One Future', this year's summit will be the crucible from which a framework

Almost all 100 cities under smart cities initiative doing fairly well: Govt

The government on Thursday said almost all 100 cities selected under the smart cities initiative are progressing "fairly well" with some facing a slowdown in work due to Covid and local factors. The Centre's assertion came in response to a question in Lok Sabha by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who asked about "discrepancies" in the implementation of the projects under the smart city programme. Tharoor cited a comparison between Varanasi with Atal Nagar in Chhattisgarh, saying while most projects are complete for the former, only a few had wrapped up for the latter. In response to the question during Question Hour, Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said, "When you read facts and figures, you have to be careful." Sometimes, very little work is left for a project under construction to be completed but till the completion certificate comes, it will be shown as work under progress, Puri pointed out. "Almost all 100 cities are doing fairly well. In some due to the

Construction tech key for India to achieve zero emissions by 2070: H S Puri

The minister notes that the built environment generates significant carbon emissions accounting for almost 39% of gross carbon emissions worldwide

Speaker to decide if Winter Session will be in new building: Minister

Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore on Tuesday said finishing touches are being given to the new Parliament building and the Lok Sabha Speaker will decide whether the forthcoming Winter Session will be held there or the existing building. The Winter Session of Parliament will begin on December 7 and conclude on December 29. The government has maintained that the project would be completed by November. Kishore said the project was on track and efforts were being made to complete the construction work as soon as possible. "The Speaker will decide whether the Winter Session of Parliament will be held in the new building or the old one," Kishore told PTI. On the completion of the project, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month that it was up to the government to make the announcement regarding the date. In December 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament build

NAREDCO sets up finance committee to help builders in getting funds

The NFC will also support large-scale projects to access funds via financial institutions and educate members to enhance their credit ratings.

8 yrs of Swachh Bharat Mission: Govt to launch 15-day campaign on Sept 17

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry will launch a 15-day campaign on September 17 to mark the completion of eight years of the Swachh Bharat Mission, a statement said on Friday. The campaign, 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav', will focus on mobilising citizen action and commitment towards the vision of building garbage-free cities. Its launch will coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday. "To mark completion of 8 successful years of PM @narendramodi Ji's visionary #SwachhBharatMission on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti this year, @MoHUA_India will launch #SwachhAmritMahotsav, a fortnight long intensive campaign to make our cities #GarbageFree from 17 Sept 2022," HUA minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted. In another tweet, the minister said September 17 will be observed as 'Sewa Divas' when 'Swachh Amrit Mahotsav' will start in the form of 'Indian Swachhta League' -- a youth-led competition. In a statement, the ministry said Puri released the official logo for 'Swachh Amrit

76 start-ups to get govt financial support for work on water management

Seventy-six start-ups have been onboarded under the 'India Water Pitch-Pilot-Scale Start-Up Challenge' and they will be provided financial support of up to Rs 20 lakh each to work in the fields of water supply, used water management and water body rejuvenation, a statement said on Friday. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (HUA), in the statement, said the startups have been shortlisted by it through a challenge process launched in March 2022 under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Mission (2.0). It said a 'Startup Gateway' has also been launched wherein the start-ups can apply and be shortlisted by the ministry for financial support. "The shortlisted start-ups will be provided financial support of up to Rs 20 lakh each to work in the fields of water supply, used water management, water body rejuvenation and ground water management etc," the statement quoted HUA minister Hardeep Singh Puri as saying at an event. The ministry also launched a toolki

Delhi urban regeneration policy to give sweeping powers to Centre: Report

The block or area that the Centre will identify for 'regeneration' will have to be mandatorily redeveloped, and all the property owners will have to participate in the plan

Central Vista Avenue redevelopment project to be completed by July 18: Puri

Earlier this week, Puri had visited the stretch and said that Delhiites, who have warm memories of the place, would be pleasantly surprised to see how it is being totally transformed