The BWSSB had warned that owners of properties which have borewells would face action, if the borewells were not registered by March 31. The Water Board had said defaulters would have to pay fine or even undergo prosecution. It was also planning squads to crack down on unregistered borewells.

But a BWSSB official has said that there are no specific rules to mitigate illegal borewells or penalise people who have not registered theirs. The fate of the borewell registration deadline may not be too different from that for installing rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems at homes.

More than 10 years after it was made mandatory, BMC has failed to ensure rainwater harvesting in most new buildings.

A study by Observer Research Foundation, a think tank on public policy, has revealed most new buildings do not have rainwater harvesting facilities.
It said even if half the developed area in the city was roofed for rainwater harvesting, about 590 million litres — almost a sixth of the 3,000 million litres BMC supplies — could be generated every day. The study, to be released by mayor Sunil Prabhu Saturday, also revealed the city wastes over 900 million litres daily, much more than the about 650 million litres supplied in Pune.

The Australian government will provide Rs 130 million to improve planning and community resilience in four disaster prone cities, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya and Akkaraipattu.

India's first underground strategic naval base that was to house its nuclear-armed submarine has run into a tangle over green norms with the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Fores

The multi-storey Shubhada and Sukhada co-op housing societies in Worli, that are in the news for unauthorised alterations made by politicians in flats they own in these buildings, were apparently a

Govt Intention Must Be Notified, Can’t Deny Building Permit Citing Future Plan

Kochi: Building permit cannot be denied citing plans to acquire the land for a public project in future unless such acquisition is already notified by the government, as specified in Land Acquisition Act, the Kerala high court has held. The decision by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice K Vinod Chandran was given while considering an appeal filed by a resident of Thiruvananthapuram.

The environment ministry is likely to decide on a second set of key changes in green norms meant for SEZs, roads and the real estate sector, especially multi-storey buildings, next week.

Suggests highest qualified professionals at government housing wings

Achieving equitable urbanisation in Bangalore still remains a concern. Rapidly growing cities across the globe evoke similar sentiments.
Encrusting his suggestions in the context of development of Bangalore, Alfredo Brillembourg, professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, gave pointers to the government and builders in the City to achieve sustainable development.