News

In India, Delhi Chief Minister will regularise all unauthorised colonies

Published in Wednesday January 9th, 2013 In In the media

Promising to construct three lakh houses for low and middle income families in national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Saturday said she will get all unauthorised colonies regularised as soon as possible.
Assuring that her government would not allow any house or colony to be demolished, Dikshit, who was addressing a convention of representatives of unauthorised colonies falling under ridge or Archaeological Survey of India’s land here, conceded that the government had failed to provide housing to migrant population due to which the problem of unauthorised colonies had arisen.

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With disasters on the rise, relief is the problem

Published in Tuesday January 8th, 2013 In In the media

The popular perception that natural disasters are on the rise has now been confirmed. Private insurers are preparing for rough weather, and governments would do well to heed calls for more precautionary measures.
Munich Re, the world’s largest re-insurer, had little good news to report in its January 3 wrap-up of disasters in 2012. Hurricane Sandy, droughts in the American Midwest, an Italian earthquake, a series of Midwest tornadoes and Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines were just five of the more than 900 events worldwide that caused $160 billion-worth of damage (122 billion euros) to the worldwide economy.

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Fires Rip Through Cape Town Slum in South Africa

Published in Friday January 4th, 2013 In In the media

At least three people died and thousands were left homeless after several fast-moving fires swept through a crowded slum at the edge of Cape Town on Tuesday, the South African Press Association reported. The fires broke out in a crowded township called Khayelitsha just before dawn, catching many residents as they slept.

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New rights for the homeless come into force in Scotland

Published in Friday January 4th, 2013 In In the media

Legislation which aims to effectively end homelessness in Scotland has come into force. The change entitles anyone finding themselves homeless through no fault of their own to settled accommodation. Previously, only those classed as being in priority need – often families with children – had that right. It meets Scotland’s historic 2012 homelessness commitment, first set 10 years ago by the Labour/Lib Dem government.

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Still Waiting for Sandy Relief

Published in Thursday January 3rd, 2013 In Opinion

Republicans haven’t made it easy for the Northeast to get the $60.4 billion in aid it needs to recover from Hurricane Sandy. They have objected to the amount — which is considerably less than the $82 billion requested by the region’s governors — and tried to slash it. They have demanded that $3.4 billion of the aid for flood control be offset by spending cuts in other programs. And in the Senate, as on virtually all bills, they filibustered the aid package proposed by President Obama.

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Halt eviction of Delhi slum dwellers

Published in Thursday January 3rd, 2013 In In the media

Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken Thursday asked Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna to halt the eviction of slum dwellers and vendors. Maken wrote to Khanna accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled civic agencies of “blatantly violating” a central law by evicting slum dwellers and vendors without affording them rehabilitation.

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Green belt housing gamble in England – a bet too far?

Published in Thursday January 3rd, 2013 In Opinion

Watching two of the better-known rightwing thinktanks prime their intellectual cannons and bombard the same target is an impressive, if stomach-churning, sight. In the past week the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and Policy Exchange, both of which have the ear of No 10 and No 11 Downing Street, have taken aim at the UK’s planning laws.
The IEA opted for a straightforward bombardment of the green belt. It argued that property developers should be allowed to give incentives to local communities to free up otherwise sacred ground. In other words, if developers see a profit in building on certain land, most likely in the London commuter belt, and the local parishioners can be successfully bought off, then what right does anyone have to intervene?

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Kenyan police murder four squatters during eviction

Published in Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 In In the media

Four people have been killed and ten others seriously injured when police opened fire on squatters protesting about being evicted from the 1200 acre Twiga Estate farm in Kenya, which they have lived on since 1952. 152 families (4,000 people) have been living on the farm since 1952, but claim they have owned the land since 1965 when itwas given to them by a white settler. They built homes and schools, and farmed the land for over 60 years.

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Flood Disaster Overwhelmed Our Capacity, says NEMA in Nigeria

Published in Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 In In the media

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Thursday said the country’s resources and response capacity were seriously over-stretched by the magnitude of the recent massive flooding that ravaged 19 states of the federation. The agency likened the magnitude of the Bayalsa flood as almost close to what occurred in Haiti where earthquake nearly made the entire country impassable.

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Jobless homeowners can apply for mortgage relief in California, US

Published in Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 In In the media

Jobless benefits could end for almost 30,000 San Diegans at the start of the New Year if President Obama and Congress don’t act. But some of those residents, if they move quickly, could qualify for mortgage aid from the state. Keep Your Home California is a $2 billion program that helps keep struggling homeowners in their properties. It catches them up on mortgage payments, helps them relocate after completing short sales and cuts their principal balances.
State officials have urged certain out-of-work borrowers to apply for a slice of the program that offers up to $3,000 a month in mortgage aid for a maximum of nine months. Since unemployment benefits could end in the New Year, borrowers must apply before this month ends, said Di Richardson, the program’s director.

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