| Shaveta Dua

In some good news for consumers, the government has added “education or educational institutions” and “housing and real estate services” under the definition of ‘public utility services’, which can be covered by lok adalats. So if a housing project delays possession but fails to pay interest or an educational institution refuses admission on frivolous ground, people can now approach a lok adalat for faster redressal than going to a regular court where cases take years to conclude. Read more

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has asked Gurgaon-based developer Unitech to refund around Rs 4 crore to a group of eight home buyers for delay in possession of their homes in Gurgaon. The buyers had bought apartments in Unitech’s Vistas project in 2010 and had moved court after the developer failed to deliver their apartments in 36 months’ stipulated time. Read more

Concerned about increasing air pollution caused by construction dust, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has asked pollution control boards and civic authorities in NCR to submit details of all construction projects spanning 20,000 square metres or more by month-end. These will typically be group housing projects, plotted residential colonies and commercial projects like malls, IT parks and industrial units. The pollution-control body, which has been appointed by the Supreme Court, has identified a nodal officer to inspect these sites twice a month. Read more

The Central government today gave its nod for the construction of over 80,000 houses to be built in urban areas in seven states for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The houses will come up in 163 cities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said a total central assistance of Rs 1,226 crore — at the rate of Rs 1.50 lakh for each house — will be provided under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (Urban) for West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. Read more

The 16-lane DLF-Huda expressway connecting NH-8 with Golf Course Road may get delayed. The DLF has written to Haryana Urban Development Authority seeking a nine-month extension to complete the project. Huda has already extended the deadline by six months previously. Till now, only about two-thirds of the work has been completed. The 16-lane expressway is an 8.3-km signal-free corridor linking NH-8 with Golf Course Road and will help reduce traffic congestion in Gurgaon.