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

17 May 2026

Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India has decided to relocate its annual convention NATCON 2026 from Amsterdam to an Indian destination, citing support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to reduce non-essential overseas travel and conserve foreign exchange amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. The 23rd edition of the convention, originally planned in Amsterdam for August 2026, will now be hosted in India, with the new venue yet to be announced. NATCON is Credai’s flagship annual industry gathering and attracts more than 1,000 participants, including developers, investors, policymakers, architects and consultants. The move comes as industry bodies and businesses respond to the Centre’s call for prudent economic measures, including reduced foreign travel and greater domestic spending.Read more

17 May 2026

The Union government has approved infrastructure projects worth INR 1,290 crore for Pune, covering water supply augmentation in newly merged areas and flood mitigation works across the city. The approval was granted during the first apex committee meeting under the Urban Challenge Fund chaired by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Of the total allocation, INR 890 crore has been sanctioned for a drinking water project covering 12 merged villages in the Khadakwasla-Nanded belt, while INR 400 crore has been earmarked for flood control measures at 335 flood-prone locations in Pune. The water project includes a 200 MLD treatment plant, transmission and distribution pipelines, and smart metering infrastructure intended to serve nearly 7.78 lakh residents until 2052. The projects come amid continued concerns over water quality, uneven civic infrastructure in merged areas, and recurring urban flooding during the monsoon season.Read more

17 May 2026

• Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) has announced fresh land auctions for nearly 11 acres in Hyderabad’s Raidurg Knowledge City area.
• The upset price has been fixed at INR 139 crore per acre, with the government expecting revenue of nearly INR 2,000 crore from the auctions.
• The land parcels are located in one of Hyderabad’s most active commercial and IT corridors near HITEC City and Financial District.
• The auctions follow last year’s record land sales in Raidurg, where bids touched nearly INR 177 crore per acre.
• Developers are expected to show strong interest again due to increasing demand for mixed-use and commercial developments in the micro-market.Read more

17 May 2026

The Delhi government has made it compulsory for all construction and demolition sites across the capital to use green dust-control nets with a minimum thickness of 100 GSM to curb pollution caused by construction activity. The move follows recent assessments that found thinner nets ineffective in stopping dust particles from spreading into surrounding areas. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has directed all project proponents and civic agencies to implement the rule with immediate effect. The government is also expanding digital monitoring of construction sites through Dust Portal 2.0 to improve compliance, tracking and enforcement of anti-pollution measures across Delhi.Read more