28 Feb 2026

The Supreme Court of India has held that residents living on encroached railway land in Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani do not have any legal right over the property, which belongs to Indian Railways. While allowing authorities to proceed with infrastructure plans, the court directed the Centre and the Uttarakhand government to assess eligibility of over 5,000 affected families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 1, with officials required to submit a status report on rehabilitation steps.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The National Green Tribunal has issued notices on a petition alleging pollution caused by railway coal transport in Odisha's Talcher region. The plea claims that railway sidings serving nine open-cast coal mines are operating without mandatory consent from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board. The NGT's East Zone Bench in Kolkata has sought responses from concerned authorities within six weeks and scheduled the next hearing for April 16. The tribunal observed that the matter raises substantial environmental compliance issues that require detailed examination.Read more

Lucknow News Desk

27 Feb 2026

A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has raised concerns over construction quality and compliance in the Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation project. The report found that rail tracks do not meet prescribed hardness standards, which may lead to faster wear and higher maintenance costs. It also pointed to expired safety certification, noise levels above limits, irregular payments, missing approvals and the exclusion of one planned station without required consent. The findings highlight gaps in execution, oversight and adherence to the approved Detailed Project Report.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The Centre has approved the construction of 5,000 houses in Manipur under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) to rehabilitate families displaced by ethnic violence since May 2023. The decision followed a meeting between Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chief Minister N Biren Singh in New Delhi. A special window under the Awaas+ 2024 survey has been opened to identify eligible beneficiaries. The move is part of ongoing efforts to shift internally displaced persons from relief camps to permanent housing.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has started using advanced Mobile Quality Control Vans to improve monitoring of National Highway projects. The pilot has been launched in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Odisha, with plans to expand to 11 more states. These vans act as mobile laboratories equipped with non-destructive testing tools to check construction quality on-site. Test data will be uploaded to a central portal with GPS tracking. The initiative aims to strengthen supervision, improve accountability and ensure better quality outcomes in highway construction.Read more

Mumbai News Desk

27 Feb 2026

The Bombay High Court has quashed a decision by a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) officer to revoke a redevelopment no-objection certificate (NOC) after construction had progressed up to the tenth floor of a 16-storey redevelopment project in Tardeo, South Mumbai. The project, sanctioned under an NOC issued in 2019 for Satyabhama Building, had advanced with the developer, Kumar Agro Products Pvt Ltd, investing substantially in construction before the NOC was cancelled following a 2025 representation alleging altered ownership. The court, in hearings earlier this week, held that the officer acted beyond statutory authority and emphasised that ownership disputes must be resolved in civil courts, not through administrative revocation of redevelopment rights. The cancellation was withdrawn in open court and the NOC reinstated, with the bench warning officials to exercise caution and seek legal advice before issuing disruptive orders affecting ongoing real estate projects.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the development of a civil enclave at Srinagar airport at an estimated cost of INR 1,677 crore, marking a significant expansion of aviation infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. Spread across 73.18 acres, the project includes construction of a new terminal building with a built-up area of 71,500 sq m. Once completed, the terminal is designed to handle 2,900 passengers during peak hours and support an annual capacity of 10 million passengers. The approval was announced in New Delhi following the Cabinet meeting. The government stated that the project is expected to generate employment and catalyse further investment in the region, reinforcing the role of airport-led infrastructure in supporting economic activity and regional connectivity.Read more

27 Feb 2026

Kerala has completed five lakh houses under its flagship LIFE Mission housing programme, marking a major milestone in its effort to eliminate homelessness. The state has spent around INR 20,831 crore on the scheme so far, largely funded by the government and local bodies. Financial assistance of INR 4 lakh is provided to general beneficiaries, while Scheduled Tribe families receive INR 6 lakh. The announcement was made at a state-level function in Thiruvananthapuram, with remaining sanctioned houses currently under construction.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The Central government has approved 2.88 lakh additional houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0), raising the cumulative sanctioned units under the scheme to over 13.61 lakh across India. The sixth meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC), held in New Delhi on 23 February, sanctioned 2,87,618 units spanning 16 states and union territories. Sanctions were granted under key verticals Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) (1.66 lakh), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) (1.09 lakh) and Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) (12,846 units) designed to address affordable rental needs. A significant share of the houses has been allotted to women beneficiaries, senior citizens and socially disadvantaged groups. The CSMC also approved demonstration housing projects employing cost-effective construction technologies, and emphasised project localisation near mass transit corridors.Read more

27 Feb 2026

The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) has come under public criticism after it began issuing application forms for high-income group (HIG) and middle-income group (MIG) flats under its Atal Apartments housing scheme without providing the accompanying project brochures that set out legal terms, pricing, payment schedules and eligibility details. Prospective buyers were required to pay INR 500 per form and submit earnest money, yet were informed that the brochure a key document for informed decision-making was unavailable and would only be released at a later date, causing confusion and administrative inconvenience for applicants. Complainants said they faced inconsistent information and had to make repeated visits for documentation, undermining confidence in the scheme's execution. LIT Chairman Tarsem Bhinder acknowledged the delay and said brochures would be made available by the coming Monday amid mounting public scepticism.Read more