18 May 2026

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reviewing the 2015 municipal debt regulations to make it easier for local bodies to raise funds.
• The proposed changes will allow more urban local bodies and statutory organisations to issue bonds for city-level infrastructure and development projects.
• A new framework for 'Green Muni Bonds' has been introduced to attract investment specifically for sustainable and environmentally friendly civic initiatives.
• The regulator aims to improve transparency and financial reporting standards to encourage institutional investors to fund public utility and smart city work.Read more

18 May 2026

• The Maharashtra government has approved around INR 104.48 crore for land acquisition for the proposed greenfield airport in Gadchiroli district.
• The airport project will be developed across four villages in Chamorshi taluka with more than 311 hectares identified for acquisition.
• Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has been appointed as the nodal agency for implementation of the project.
• The proposed airport is expected to improve regional air connectivity and support upcoming industrial and mining investments in eastern Maharashtra.
• The project has also faced resistance from some local farmers over concerns related to land acquisition and livelihood impact.Read more

18 May 2026

The Karnataka government has launched the ‘Bhoo Guarantee – Nanna Khata, Nanna Hakku’ programme aimed at digitising and regularising nearly 23 lakh properties across Bengaluru. The initiative includes a 100-day one-time settlement window allowing around seven lakh B-Khata property owners to convert their holdings into A-Khata status by paying 2% of the guidance value instead of the existing 5% fee. The programme, announced by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, also proposes relaxation in building violation norms and expansion of property digitisation through Aadhaar-linked records and GIS mapping. Weekly open-house camps will be organised across Bengaluru to support property owners with e-Khata services and grievance resolution. The move is expected to impact property documentation, transactions, utility access and regularisation across the city’s residential market.Read more

18 May 2026

The National Company Law Tribunal has approved the withdrawal of insolvency proceedings against Nobility Estates, the developer of ATS Group’s Le Grandiose project in Noida, after lenders and the company’s earlier management reached a settlement. The proposal received more than 92% approval from the committee of creditors, including strong backing from homebuyers. The settlement includes repayment commitments, allocation of residential units to lenders, and timelines for regulatory approvals and project completion. The tribunal has restored management control to the company’s board, bringing temporary relief to homebuyers and lenders involved in the stalled project.Read more

18 May 2026

Punjab cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering investigation linked to a land fraud case. The petition contends that the arrest was illegal and carried out without following due legal procedure. The ED had earlier arrested Arora under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following searches and investigation into alleged irregular land transactions and related financial dealings. The matter is connected to a broader probe involving allegations of cheating, fraudulent property transactions and laundering of proceeds generated through the alleged offences. The High Court is expected to hear the matter shortly as legal proceedings continue in the case.Read more

18 May 2026

Chandigarh has introduced a new tenancy framework by extending the Assam Tenancy Act, 2021 to the Union Territory, replacing the decades-old East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949. The move is expected to formalise the city’s rental housing market, where a large share of residents live in rented homes. The new law makes written tenancy agreements mandatory, caps security deposits, introduces a three-tier dispute resolution system and brings digital registration of rent agreements. Officials believe the reforms will improve transparency, reduce disputes and increase the supply of rental housing across residential and commercial segments.Read more

Lucknow News Desk

18 May 2026

• The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) is planning to develop around 900 affordable flats for EWS and LIG families on Sitapur Road in Lucknow.
• The housing project will come up on nearly 16,000 square metres of land near Shia PG College that was recently cleared of encroachment.
• The scheme is part of LDA’s broader focus on increasing affordable housing supply across developing residential corridors in the city.
• Officials indicated that the project will include basic civic infrastructure, internal connectivity and improved residential facilities for lower and middle-income homebuyers.
• The development is expected to support rising residential demand in northern Lucknow, where infrastructure and housing activity have been steadily growing in recent years.Read more

17 May 2026

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has appealed to residents in the Airoli and Belapur assembly constituencies to cooperate with the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) programme being conducted by the Election Commission of India to update and verify electoral rolls. The exercise aims to align the 2024 voter list with the final electoral roll prepared in 2002 through a voter mapping process. Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam recently reviewed the progress of the initiative during a visit to the Navi Mumbai civic headquarters and instructed officials to accelerate the verification process. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been tasked with correcting duplicate, incomplete and invalid voter records while conducting field-level verification. Citizens have been advised to confirm their voter record mapping through the BLO application and provide accurate information during household verification visits.Read more

Bangalore News Desk

17 May 2026

• South Western Railway has extended the completion deadline for the Bengaluru Cantonment-Whitefield rail quadrupling project to March 2027 due to construction and land-related challenges.
• The 19-km corridor project, approved in 2018 at INR 492 crore, has now seen its estimated cost rise to around INR 664.5 crore.
• Nearly 75 per cent of the work has been completed, including commissioning of the Cantonment-Byappanahalli section.
• The upgraded rail corridor is expected to improve suburban train movement, reduce congestion and support additional MEMU services across Bengaluru.
• Station redevelopment and infrastructure upgrades are also underway at Whitefield and KR Pura railway stations.Read more

Mumbai News Desk

17 May 2026

The Bombay High Court has set aside the Maharashtra government’s decision to classify multiple land parcels in Ambernath as private forest land, giving relief to property owners after a prolonged legal dispute. The court observed that authorities had not properly followed the legal process required under the Maharashtra Private Forests Act before applying the classification. The ruling is significant for landowners and the real estate sector as such tags restrict development activity and reduce land usability. The judgment also adds to a series of recent court observations questioning procedural lapses in similar forest land disputes across Maharashtra.Read more