City gets first metropolitan plan panel
Kolkata becomes the country's first city where a metropolitan planning committee has been constituted. This was announced recently at an all India meeting organised by the Association of Metropolitan Development Authorities in New Delhi.
Orissa bans construction of buildings in heritage zone
The Orissa Government has banned construction of buildings and high rise apartments within 100 meters of historical monuments protected by the archaeological survey of India (ASI) and the state archaeological department (SAD). The new Act, known as the planning and buildings standards regulation - 2001', which came into force from …
Scheme to provide urban facilities in villages
A national mission-mode programme that envisages urban facilities for rural areas (PURA) with private industry participation is on the anvil, according to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union Government. THE core feature of the project is establishing transport and electronic infrastructure in select villages …
Hashmi gives Diwali gift to bus operators
The Transport Minister Parvez Hashmi on Monday extended the last date for phasing out diesel buses from November 15 to November 30. He also allowed the bus operators, who had placed the orders with Nugas Technology Pvt Ltd for conversion of their buses, to get their buses converted by any …
Barefoot in the desert
India has once again made it to the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Bunker Roy's Barefoot Architects, Tilonia, Rajasthan is one of the nine recipients of the triennial awards which enters its twenty-fifth year in 2003, and carries a prize fund of US $50000.
Govt to construct 20 lakh low-cost, modern units
The Delhi government will construct 20 lakh low cost dwelling units adopting modern construction techniques for the economically weaker sections of society. The chief minister Mrs, Sheila Dikshit, speaking at the inauguration of the 13th National Congress of Housing Cooperatives here said this will help in constructions as well as …
Majuli a likely heritage site
The Unesco is likely to recognise the world's biggest river island Majuli as a cultural heritage site of the world, according to Prof Dilip K Medhi, who had led a team from Assam to the recent Unesco meet on cultural heritage at Lijiang of China.
Healing buildings
Japanese researchers have developed a new construction material that uses wood charcoal to absorb chemical substances and odours thought to be linked to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). The material, made form charcoal powder mixed at different heating temperatures, is aimed at virtually eradicating toxic chemical substances used in construction materials …
Houses for all in next 10 years
Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojna (VAAY), the grandiose slum housing scheme of the Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Ministry, announced by the Prime Minister on August 15 and approved by the Cabinet this week, promises 40 lakh houses over ten years and hopes to achieve the "housing for all" goal by …
Transport dept extends pollution control drive
To create "more awareness" among the vehicle owners in Delhi, the transport department has extended its pollution control drive, which started on 1 October and was to end on 20 October has been extended for an "indefinite period".
Rs 2,000-cr housing plan for urban poor
The Union Cabinet has approved the ambitious Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojna aimed at providing, or upgrading, shelter for those forced to live in urban slums. A component of this scheme is a new sanitation project, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, aimed at providing toilet facilities in slums all over the country.
Cabinet okays urban slum housing scheme
The Union Cabinet approved a highly ambitious scheme to provide housing for urban slum dwellers in the country. Announced by the Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his Independence Day address, the modalities have been finalised for the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana, which will target 75 million urban slum …
Welcome scheme
The Karnataka government's decision to grant tenurial rights of slum dwellers and launch a scheme to improve civic facilities in the slums is welcome if the plan is implemented in real earnest and is not caught up in bureaucratic hassles and corruption. The grant of property ownership rights to slum …
Urban services for poor launched in AP
The Andhra Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor (APUSP) has been taken up with the assistance of the British Department for International Development in 32 towns of the State at a cost of Rs 745 crore. The rate of urbanisation is more in Andhra Pradesh in comparison with the rest …
Tourism award for Kerala
The Outlook Traveller and the Travel Agents Association(TAAI) have chosen Kerala as the best State that promoted tourism in the country in 2001. Kerala is the first State to receive this award.
National slum policy soon
The government is to shortly come out with a comprehensive national slum development policy aimed at ameliorating the condition of slums and the urban poor. Stating this on Monday, the Union urban development minister Ananth Kumar said 'The draft is nearly ready and the policy will be announced shortly after …
Poor urbanisation
The recently announced supplementary report of the 2001 Census shows Assam recording the second lowest growth in urban population at the decadal rate of 12.7 per cent among the fifteen major States of India, next only to Bihar with 10.5 percent of urban population in 2001, down from 13.2 per …
B'lore in fourth slot for tech innovation
Bangalore, India's silicon city, has added one more feather in its cap as the United Nation's latest human development report has recognised it as one of the leading global hubs of technological innovation - better than many cities in USA, Europe, Japan and South East Asia. Among the 46 cities …
Seminar on rural tourism from Sept 8
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) in association with Udaipur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) is organising an international conference on 'rural tourism in India' on September 8-9, 2001 in Udaipur.The conference, first of its kind, aims to promote tourism as an avenue to achieve income, …
Bangalore scores 13 out of 16 among global tech hubs
Bangalore has scored 13 out of 16 points as the global hub of technological innovations ranked by a United Nations report. The human development report which identifies 46 locations as global hubs has placed Silicon Valley in the United States at perfect 16 points followed by Boston (US), Stockholm-Kista (Sweden) …
