#WeeklyNewsRoundUp: Maharashtra To Maintain Status Quo On Ready Reckoner Rates
Description
The Lok Sabha on December 27 passed a Bill to protect slums and unauthorised colonies in the national capital region (NCR) from punitive action till a framework for orderly arrangements are in place. The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill gives immunity to slums and some unauthorised constructions till December 31, 2020. The sealing exercise by the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee had created panic among the slum-dwellers and traders in part of the city. This legislation is expected to allay their apprehensions to a large extent
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The Maharashtra government plans to keep the ready reckoner rates unchanged in 2018. The decision has been taken keeping in mind a drop in property prices due to the ongoing slump in the market. It is worth mentioning here that in several localities of financial capital Mumbai, actual rates of property are less than the ready reckoner rates, thanks to an ongoing slump in the property market.
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Gujarat has constructed the highest number of houses for the urban poor under the Centre's flagship housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban in the country, official data show. As many as 54,474 houses have been constructed in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, since 2014-15 under the scheme. This accounts for 18.70 per cent of the 2.91 lakh total houses constructed in 36 states and union territories in the country, data available with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs show.
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The railways has re-categorised its stations using new criteria, which also take into account the footfall and strategic importance besides revenues, with a view to plan services and passenger amenities in an effective and more focused manner. The earlier criteria for categorisation of stations were based on the annual passenger earnings only, and they were grouped into seven categories. That scheme has now been revised to include footfalls at the station as a criterion and they have been clubbed into three groups: Non-Suburban, Suburban and Halt.
Source: Media report