On this Monday we bring you these stories, all with an international flavor:
- Transit-oriented development, Agra style: from the Times of India comes “For 12 yrs, marooned around Taj, villagers leading a no-vehicle life.” In 1998, “the Supreme Court [of India] banned fuel-driven vehicles within 500 metres of the [Taj Mahal] to avoid pollution.” No ambulances, no weddings, no funerals.
- More from India, on Kelo-style takings issues: the Wall Street Journal reports that “India Grapples With Land Acquisition Rules” (“Indian government ministers are vowing to bring legislation to overhaul the country’s ancient land acquisition laws when Parliament begins again next month, and everyone agrees that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, that’s where agreement ends. The biggest dilemmas are over figuring out who should get compensated when land is taken, what constitutes a fair price, and, most difficult of all, when exactly the government should use its powers of eminent domain.”)
- UK Windfarm case: from the Mail Online: “Couple driven out of home by constant hum of wind farm launch landmark battle to get a peaceful night’s sleep” (“Opening the case yesterday Peter Harrison QC, representing the couple, said: ‘For Jane and Julian Davis, wind farms have emphatically not been the source of trouble-free, green renewable energy which the firms promoting and profiting from wind energy would have the general public believe.’”).
- Security Rights in Property in China: via PropertyProf Blog a summary of a recent article on how the PRC is dealing with issues like mortgages and other security in property, “Security Rights in Property in Chinese Law – An Unattainable Goal to Construct a Coherent Legal Regime?“