As per primary estimations for two years from 2011 to 2013, the total number of tigers found in the core area surged from 72 to 80. The final count of tigers in the Dudhwa tiger reserve is expected to be 125, according to officials.In 2010-2011, the total count of tigers as per their census in the Dudhwa tiger reserve was 118.The latest findings have been sent to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for screening purpose, according to an official.Once the exact number of tigers present … read more at candidshare.com

Taj Mahal as Shah Jahan saw it

An exile Buddhist monk walks though a flooded Tibetan market close to the Yamuna river in New Delhi. Early Wednesday, the water level in the Yamuna crossed 495 feet, submerging large parts of the controversial Taj Corridor project. AP




People use a boat to move around a flooded area close to the Yamuna river in New Delhi. Not just Taj Mahal, other monuments like the Agra Fort, Etmaduddaula, Chini ka Roza and Mehtab Bagh along the banks of the river are drawing huge crowds as well. AP





A Tibetan exile wades through a flooded monastery close to the Yamuna river in New Delhi. While most people are happy with the state of the river, those living in low-lying areas are naturally alarmed and praying for an early relief. AP



A man takes photographs outside a monastery at a flooded Tibetan market close to the Yamuna river in New Delhi. Swollen river Yamuna has washed away boundary pillars demarcating districts of Uttar Pradesh from Harayana, officials said here. AP



Yamuna river in New Delhi. The boundary pillars and fix points in eleven districts of the two states have been washed away with the river Yamuna flowing above danger mark, they said. AP



A flood-affected resident wades through floodwaters in a slum near the river Yamuna in New Delhi. AP



A man watches the rising water level of the River Yamuna in New Delhi. AP



Locals looks at the rising water level of the River Yamuna in New Delhi. AP



Residents of the inundated Tibetan locality near ISBT carry a pup as they move to safer places after water from the overflowing Yamuna floods the area, in New Delhi on Saturday. AP



A man wades through a flooded lane caused by the rising waters of the Yamuna river at the Tibetan market in New Delhi. The river water level breached the danger mark again this monsoon season due to incessant rains in the capital and surrounding areas. AFP



A flood-affected family camps near the rising River Yamuna in New Delhi. AP





A flood-affected woman sits near the rising River Yamuna in New Delhi. The River Yamuna continued to flow above the danger mark in Delhi, affecting normal life. AP



Children from a flood-affected family camping on higher ground walk near the swelling River Yamuna in New Delhi. AP

UP land prices zoom 50 times in 10 years

Real estate developers are making a killing on projects along the corridor.



New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government is not the only one to rejoice the Supreme Court's dismissal of an appeal against acquisition of agricultural land for the Yamuna Expressway connecting Noida and Agra. Real estate developers are uncorking the bubbly, too.

The value of land around the expressway has already gone up an eye-popping 50 times in less than a decade. Nine years ago when the state government acquired land to connect Noida with Greater Noida with an expressway, it paid farmers Rs 50-300 a sq m.

Today, in the same location, the Jaypee group building the Yamuna Expressway and a 2,500-acre Sports City (with a cricket stadium and Formula-1 race track) is selling plots at Rs 15,000 a sq m.




Similarly, Supertech recently launched a 100-acre project called UpCountry along the expressway with independent plots priced at around Rs 12,000 a sq m.

While Jaypee group is responsible for a large part of the real estate activity along the road to Greater Noida, even the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority is selling land parcels to real estate developers at nearly 14 times the acquisition cost.

"We acquired the land from Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority at around Rs 4,170 a sq m and last month we were selling the plots at around Rs 11,250 a sq m and have now increased that further," said R K Arora, CMD, Supertech.






So, developers such as Jaypee and Supertech are charging up to 50 times the cost at which land was acquired from farmers -- and all in a span of less than a decade. In contrast, prices for independent plots in Noida have appreciated only five to six times in the same period.

Around 60 kms away in Tappal village of Aligarh, which is close to the epicentre of the land acquisition controversy, farmers are demanding more compensation for their land.

"Initially, we were paid Rs 350 a sq m. Once the agitation started, the price was gradually increased to Rs 450. But still we felt cheated as neighbouring villages like Gopalgarh and Badalpur were getting Rs 880 and Rs 1,500 a sq m, respectively. Finally, we were offered Rs 570. It is still below our expectations," said Kuldeep Choudhury, a farmer from the village.







In Aligarh's Zikarpur village, which is at the centre of the uproar against the Mayawati government's land acquisition, some farmers said they would be happy with a compensation of over Rs 800 a sq m. "We are not averse to giving land, but the compensation should be adequate. Right now, we feel that our land is being forcefully taken by the state government," said farmer Anwar Ali.

There are, of course, others unwilling to part with land on the ground that it is fertile and essential to their livelihood. "They can pay me any amount, but I am not going to give up my land. Our land here is very fertile and we can have three different crops in a season. We do not want any townships here," said Deshraj Singh, a farmer in Zikarpur village.

At Rs 1,500 a sq m -- the price reportedly being paid in villages such as Badalpur -- the appreciation in land value is probably close to the levels seen in Noida.




Jaiprakash Associates, which is part of the Jaypee group, said the appreciation was due to the Yamuna Expressway and that prices have risen by 400-500 per cent in the last few years. "If you have infrastructure development, then real estate is bound to get a boost," said a company executive.

Besides, Santosh Kumar, chief operating officer at consultancy firm JLLM, said the increase in prices is the result of development that is taking place due to the expressway, as well as in anticipation of a proposed airport in Greater Noida.

Whatever the reason, given the steep premium that developers are charging, even compared with the price at which they purchase land from the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, it is no surprise that land along the 22-km stretch from Noida to Greater Noida is a hotbed of construction.

Sam Chopra, director at Remax India, a subsidiary of a US real estate agent, said that once development work is over, developers would have invested close to $25 billion (around Rs 1,20,000 crore) into projects along the Noida-Agra expressway. "What you are seeing today is only 5-6 per cent of the real estate development that is likely to happen," said Chopra.

Nearly 20 developers have either announced projects or have started construction along the Noida-Greater Noida stretch, though the investment proposed or data on the area under construction is not available. Jaypee alone has six residential projects along the expressway.

The expressway, which is mandated to be completed before April 2013, is expected to easily meet that deadline. "We are on course to finish the 4,042-acre expressway well before schedule and plan to make it operational by December 2011," said Sameer Gaur, director-in-charge, Jaypee Infratech.

Source: Business Standard