Latest StoriesResidential

Delhi’s Low Property Regularisation Response Leads to Fee Cuts, Camps

NEW DELHI: Over a month after the MCD launched a portal for regularizing properties in unauthorized colonies, officials report plans to decrease regularization fees due to only two applications received from eligible beneficiaries. The SWAGAM portal, initiated on April 24, allows residents of unauthorized colonies to regularize their properties on an “as is where is” basis after securing ownership rights under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY). Despite nearly 40,000 PM-UDAY beneficiaries being eligible, only two have taken action through the portal. Officials speculate that this low response is due to a lack of…

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MCD to Seal Unauthorised Commercial Buildings in South Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will begin sealing unauthorized commercial buildings in the South Zone starting Thursday, following a tragic fire that claimed the lives of 21 individuals, including 11 foreigners, at the Flourish Stay bed-and-breakfast hotel in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday. According to officials, the devastating fire occurred in a Lal Dora village area, involving a building first constructed in the 1980s and then rebuilt in 2012-13. The hotel primarily served patients visiting a nearby hospital. Officials indicated that of the 35 injured, 19 remain in critical condition across various hospitals in Delhi. They noted that…

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Delhi HC: MCD’s higher luxury hotel tax not arbitrary

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has stated that the increase in property tax rates for luxury hotels imposed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi cannot be considered “arbitrary or capricious,” especially when viewed in the context of their target clientele’s economic background. The court explained that luxury hotels actively pursue star ratings, positioning themselves within a niche aimed at affluent customers while providing premium experiences at high prices. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, delivering the judgment on September 12 (published on the court’s website on September 16), noted, “The legislative intent behind the higher property tax rates for these establishments…