-Live Mint The Maharashtra Housing Regulation and Development Bill passed by the state assembly on Monday paves the way for the establishment of the country’s first regulator for the housing sector. The Bill, which now goes to the state legislative council, aims to bring about transparency in the real estate sector and empower homebuyers. It also attempts to demystify some of the popular and often misused terms used in the sector, such...

-The Telegraph The second wife of a realty firm managing director, on the run for months for being part of a housing hoax that deprived hundreds of Jharkhand residents of crores, surprised investigators today by surrendering in the court of a judicial magistrate. Anamika Nandi, the second wife of Sanjeevani Buildcon Private Limited managing director and prime accused J.D. Nandi, turned up at the court of S. Kumar around 11.30am and dramatically...

-Live Mint   Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh is advocating a new approach to fighting the Maoist insurgency that has gripped 78 districts so far. Apart from development and security, the approach involves politics and justice, he said. In an interview, Ramesh warned that in the rush to attain high growth rates, India was placing the interests of tribals below that of mining firms. The minister suggested the setting up of a...

-The Times of India Between 60 and 65 million people are estimated to have been displaced in India since Independence, the highest number of people uprooted for development projects in the world.  "This amounts to around one million displaced every year since Independence," says a report released recently by the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR). "Of these displaced, over 40% are tribals and another 40% consist...

Scheme meant for the tribals has been hijacked by mining firms, claim activists The construction of 24 fortified police bases in the midst of Saranda, an 800-sq. km. patch of forested hills veined with a quarter of India's iron ore reserves, has sparked concerns among political activists who believe that a development plan intended for tribals in Jharkhand has been hijacked by mining corporations. In October last year, Union Minister for Rural...