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Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
Slums gone, UT gets rolling with new urban blueprint
1 2 Chandigarh: In the heart of India's most meticulously planned city, a quiet but powerful transformation is underway. Over the past six months, nearly 50 acres of prime government land — once swallowed by slums, unauthorized colonies, and makeshift markets — have been reclaimed by the administration in a sweeping anti-encroachment drive. What was once a patchwork of tin roofs and tangled alleys is now being cleared for a bold new vision: planned development, modern infrastructure, and long-delayed civic projects. From Sanjay Colony's demolition in April to the recent flattening of Adarsh Colony, the city's skyline is shifting—one bulldozer at a time. "For years, critical projects were stuck because the land was simply not available," said a senior UT official. "Now, with these encroachments removed, we can finally move forward with Chandigarh's next phase of growth." "The lands will be used by the department concerned, like UT engineering department, Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), and municipal corporation," the official added. The administration, in a recent meeting chaired by Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria gave a detailed presentation on how the vacated land would be used. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In April this year, the administration reclaimed 6 acres of land, worth around Rs 300 crore, by demolishing Sanjay Colony in Industrial Area Phase-1. In the drive, 1,200 hutments were demolished, and around 6,000 people were evicted from the land. "The land in this area will be used for industrial plots, and on a major chunk of it, a railway yard, godown, and railway yard extension are planned," said the UT official. Continuing with the drive to reclaim govt land, in May, the administration demolished Janta Colony, Sector 25. Ten acres, worth around Rs 450 crore, of encroached govt land was reclaimed during the drive. More than 10,000 residents were removed, and 2,500 structures were demolished during the drive. "As the encroachments were majorly within an existing resettlement colony, the long-pending development works in the area will be taken up now. These include parks, shopping areas, a creche, a school, and a community centre. Also, there are plans to develop a sizable portion of the vacated area into a green belt," said the official. On June 19, the administration demolished the Adarsh Colony, located between Sector 53 and 54, resulting in the recovery of approximately 12 acres of prime govt land, estimated to be worth Rs 500 crore. Around 800 hutments were demolished during the anti-encroachment drive. Earlier in Sector 53, ten acres were reclaimed from an unauthorised religious complex. "This land chunk is the most crucial for the city's expansion. The land has been earmarked for the development of the third phase of the city. While the first and second phase development of the city has been completed, the third phase has been held up for several years. Though multiple reasons were behind this slow progress of the third phase, large-scale land encroachments were the main reason. In the area, now the administration and the CHB can come up with planned residential, commercial, and institutional development," said the official. The administration is all set to reclaim another 15 acres in Sector 53-54 after the demolition of the furniture market. This will also be used for the development of the third phase of the city.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- Health
- The Sun
Malaysia and Singapore boost ties in GovTech, housing, and public sector reform
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Singapore are deepening cooperation in three key areas – GovTech, public housing, and public sector reforms – to improve public service efficiency. The initiative follows discussions during Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar's three-day working visit to Singapore. Shamsul Azri highlighted Singapore's expertise in GovTech as a model for Malaysia, which is in the early stages of implementation. 'We want to learn from Singapore, especially in GovTech, where they have already made progress. We are still launching our own system,' he said. Affordable housing was another focus, with Malaysia keen to adopt best practices from Singapore's Housing Board. 'Their public housing system is efficient, and we aim to replicate that success,' he added. The third area of collaboration is public sector reform. Shamsul Azri noted Singapore's openness to sharing knowledge. 'Singapore welcomed our proposals, and we held productive discussions on strengthening government cooperation,' he said. Speaking at the Sports Carnival of the Alumni Association of MRSM Malaysia (ANSARA Malaysia), Shamsul Azri also emphasized the importance of healthy living. Citing Singapore's higher life expectancy of 84 years compared to Malaysia's 73-74 years, he urged Malaysians to adopt better lifestyle habits. 'Prevention is better than cure. Taking care of health early is crucial,' he said. - Bernama
New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Polluting industries within Hyderabad ORR to be relocated beyond city limits: Dy CM
HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has directed officials to expedite the relocation of all polluting industries currently operating within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) to areas beyond it. On Saturday, the minister chaired a Cabinet subcommittee meeting on revenue resource mobilisation at the Secretariat. Ministers and committee members N Uttam Kumar Reddy, D Sridhar Babu and Jupally Krishna Rao were present. The committee instructed officials to formulate clear guidelines and a relocation calendar, including a final deadline for shifting the industries. It also reviewed the status of housing units under various stages of the Rajiv Swagruha Scheme and vacant plots under the Housing Board. Officials were directed to ensure that the ongoing public auction process by the Housing Board is conducted transparently. The committee emphasised that the Housing Board must prioritise affordable housing for the common people and the middle class. Reports on revenue growth achieved in the past month were also presented. The Commercial Taxes department reported a 1.8% increase, the Stamps and Registrations department recorded a 3.6% rise, and the Mines department reported a 7% growth in revenue. Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao, Principal Secretary of Finance Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Special Chief Secretary of Industries Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary of Mines Sridhar, MAUD Secretary Ilambarthi, HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz, Mines Commissioner Shashank, District Collectors Harichandan and Narayana Reddy, and TGTDC MD Valluru Kranti were among those present at the meeting.
AsiaOne
8 hours ago
- Business
- AsiaOne
Children living with or near parents to get priority in HDB sales exercises, regardless of marital status, from July , Singapore News
Singles applying for new flats can join married couples in getting priority access when they buy a home near or with their parents, beginning with the Housing Board's July 2025 sales exercise. That is when the new Family Care Scheme will kick in, said the HDB in a statement on Sunday (July 20). The launch date for the July BTO sales exercise has not been announced. News that singles can get priority during the BTO application process was first announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the National Day Rally last year. He had said that the Government will extend priority access to new flats to all parents and their children, regardless of marital status. Priority access was previously reserved only for married couples and their parents. HDB said in its statement last November that the new FCS — which has two components — streamlines three priority schemes for married couples, parents and seniors, and will also include singles. The two components are FCS (Proximity) — which will be rolled out with the July BTO sales exercise — and FCS (Joint Balloting), which will be implemented end-2025. For FCS (Proximity), both parents and children will have priority access if they are applying for a new flat to live with or near each other, regardless of marital status. This replaces the current replaces the Married Child Priority Scheme and Senior Priority Scheme. The FCS (Joint Balloting) is where parents and their children, regardless of marital status, will be able to jointly apply for two units in the same BTO project, where there are 2-room Flexi or 3-room flats in the BTO project. This will replace the current Multi-Generation Priority Scheme, which prioritises married couples and parents who live near each other in the same BTO project. More flats for second-tier families In their statement on Sunday, HDB also provided more details on the additional allocation of BTO flats for second-timer families, as earlier announced in March. Second-timer families will have an increased allocation quota of 3-room and larger BTO flats by five percentage points, said HDB. This is to support their upgrading aspirations or "right-sizing plans", they said. The proportion of BTO flats set aside for second-timer families will now be: • Up to 20 per cent (from up to 15 per cent currently) of 3-room Standard flats; • Up to 10 per cent (from up to 5 per cent currently) of 3-room Plus and Prime flats, and 4-room and larger Standard, Plus and Prime flats HDB added that at least 80 to 90 per cent of 3-room and larger flats will continue to be set aside for first-timer families. Increase in Fresh Start Housing Grant Other enhancements that will take effect from the July 2025 sales exercises include the Deferred Income Assessment (DIA) scheme and the Fresh Start Housing Grant for eligible second-timer families The DIA scheme allows eligible couples to apply for a new flat first and defer their income assessment for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) and an HDB housing loan until nearer to key collection. The enhanced scheme will mean that only one of the two parties will have to be studying or serving National Service where previously both parties have to meet this requirement. In addition, the Fresh Start Housing Grant will be increased from $50,000 to $75,000 to support more second-timer public rental households with children to own a flat. Eligible ST families can use the increased grant to buy a new 2-room Flexi or 3-room Standard BTO, or SBF flat, on a shorter lease, said HDB. HDB will offer over 10,000 new flats in the July sales exercise. Over half of these, or 5,500 flats, will be Build-To-Order (BTO) units, elaborated Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat in a Facebook post on July 16. [[nid:719872]] candicecai@
Hans India
12 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
TG registers good revenue growth in Q1
Hyderabad: The Telangana government achieved handsome revenue growth in the first quarter of the 2025-2026 financial year with commercial taxes registering 1.8 per cent, stamps and registration (3.6%) and the mining wing chipping in with a seven per cent increase during the period under review. These figures were revealed during a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on mobilization of resources headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka here on Saturday. The panel analysed the performance of the revenue generating departments. The officials updated about the measures taken to increase revenues by plugging loopholes in the commercial taxes wing. Prompt payment of taxes by traders bolstered revenues from the commercial taxes wing, the Finance Minister was informed. The measures taken by the government in streamlining the mining wing also drew good results, while adopting IT solutions strengthened the stamps and registration process resulting in a heavier inflow of income. Meanwhile, the sub-committee instructed officials to speed up relocating all polluting industries currently operating within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) elsewhere. The officials were instructed to prepare clear guidelines and a relocation calendar for shifting of industries, along with a final deadline to accomplish the entire process. The meeting also reviewed the status of housing units under various stages of the Rajiv Swagruha Scheme and vacant plots under the Housing Board. Officials were directed to ensure that the ongoing public auctions by the Housing Board are conducted in a transparent manner. They emphasized that the Housing Board should ensure affordable housing for common people and the middle class.
