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GHMC identifies 842 critical nala bottlenecks

Saturday, 03 June 2017 00:00 administrator

The Hindu 03.06.2017

GHMC identifies 842 critical nala bottlenecks

Statutory notices to be issued

With monsoon set to hit the State soon, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) seems to have realised the impending problem of encroachment on storm water drains (nalas) only now.

The civic body has sought individual sketches of around 500 such properties. While it has identified 842 properties as critical bottlenecks to be removed from various stretches across the twin cities, the town planning and engineering wings have been ordered to immediately prepare the structural compensation amount, even while making statutory notices ready to be issued to 500 properties, as per Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy’s instructions.

These, along with documentary proof of photographs, paper clippings, etc., should be handed over to the GHMC standing counsels to apprise the same before the civic courts to avoid any status quo orders that may hinder the demolition process. If necessary, caveat petition should be filed in lower courts.

Cellar excavation

Mr. Reddy wanted daily progress reports to be submitted to the head office, and for the entire exercise to be completed by June 15. No excavation of cellars should be taken up during the monsoon, and if it cannot wait, strengthening measures should be taken and old compound walls should be removed. For sloped terrains, care should be taken to ensure hut dwellers/temporary structures on the side of the retaining wall were shifted.

Dilapidated buildings

Steps should be taken to issue notices to dilapidated buildings and ensure inhabitants vacate the property, Mr. Reddy said.

MCC budget: Focus on roads, waste management

Saturday, 25 March 2017 07:45 administrator

The Hindu 25.03.2017

MCC budget: Focus on roads, waste management

Money play:Mayor M.J. Ravi Kumar and office-bearers of the Mysuru City Corporation arriving for the 2017-18 MCC budget presentation in the city on Friday.M.A. SRIRAM

Civic body looks to launch works to keep Mysuru clean and green, even as roadworks get big allocation; total expenditure pegged at Rs. 864 cr.

The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) budget for 2017-18 envisages a slew of development works to make the city pothole free, besides creating infrastructure for solid waste management.

Fresh efforts will be made to secure Mysuru’s status of as the ‘heritage city’, even as urban forestry programmes will be taken up in a big way to ensure that the city is not only clean but also green.

The budget, presented here on Friday, has projected revenue of Rs. 869.53 crore against expenditure of Rs. 864.83 crore. A total of Rs. 153.2 crore has been earmarked for road repair and other works. This divides into Rs. 126.5 crore for laying new roads and Rs. 26.70 crore for scientific repair and asphalting of roads and potholes.

The budget, which was presented by K.V. Mallesh, chairman of the MCC Committee on Taxation, Finance and Appeals, has set aside Rs. 72.11 crore for solid waste management, for which new infrastructure will be established. A detailed project report has been finalised and Rs. 53.7 crore has been earmarked for establishing two new facilities.

While a new facility to handle 150 tonnes of solid waste a day will come up at Rayanakere, another with a capacity of 200 tonnes will be established at Kesare. Besides, the capacity of the existing solid waste treatment plant at Vidyaranyapuram will be raised. The DPR has already been submitted to the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation for approval. At present, the city generates nearly 402 tonnes of waste a day, of which 145 tonnes is being dumped in landfills. The new facilities are expected to take care of this waste.

Estimate down

The revenue by way of property tax has been pegged at Rs. 175.12 crore, down from nearly Rs. 200 crore projected in the last year’s budget. But by the end of December 2016, the MCC had realised only Rs. 84.67 crore.

As part of urban greening and forestry, the civic body has held talks with the Forest Department and will hand over 400 lawns and parks in its jurisdiction to the latter. The allocation for urban greenery and park development through the department is Rs. 20.87 crore.

To restore lakes that are not fed by canals or rivers, Rs. 20 crore has been set aside to create rainwater harvesting systems to replenish the lakes in the low-lying areas.

Massive drive under way to make Nellore 100% ODF

Friday, 24 February 2017 07:42 administrator

The Hindu 24.02.2017

Massive drive under way to make Nellore 100% ODF

50,000 toilets have to be built in the next few weeks in the district to meet ODF targets.K_ RAVIKUMAR

700 out of 936 villages already covered in the district

Overcoming hurdles involved in the process, the district administration is leaving no stone unturned to make Nellore district 100% open defecation free (ODF) by the end of March.

There are nearly 236 villages still to be covered under this programme with the officials having drawn plans to mobilise all the necessary men and material to complete the task in the next five weeks.

As of now, nearly 700 of the 936 villages have been declared ODF as individual household latrines (IHHLs) were constructed in the houses of the beneficiaries by providing Rs. 15,000 subsidy from the side of the government.

A massive drive was taken up recently at the instance of Collector R. Mutyala Raju considering the fact that this programme named ‘Atmagauravam’ in Andhra Pradesh had assumed higher significance in the context of the rural sanitation and ‘Swachh Bharath’.

As per an estimate, there were 5.67 lakh households in the 936 village panchayats in the district. Of these households, it was found out that the toilets under the Atmagauravam would be needed for 3.24 lakh households, who had no latrine facility. As many as 2.21 lakh households were now covered under the scheme while another 50,000 households had constructed latrines prior to its commencement.

“We now have to focus on constructing nearly 50,000 toilets in the next few weeks. This will help achieve the 100% ODF status in the district and we are confident of achieving this,” said R.V. Krishna Reddy, superintending engineer, Rural Water Supply.

Issues in usage

He said there were many problems in making sure that the residents had made proper use of the toilets and this societal awareness would be taken up with a greater emphasis in the second phase of the programme.

His observations came in the light of the fact that in many rural households, the newly constructed toilets were not being used to serve the intended purpose but the inmates were turning them into either bathrooms or store rooms.

In some cases, the residents were preferring use of the toilet facility together with bathrooms in the combined format.

The officials are now involving the people’s representatives as part of the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) programme.

With active involvement of sarpanches and local employees, the sanitation programme in the district is expected to yield better results in future.

BBMP looks to insure waste processing units

Thursday, 11 February 2016 07:42 administrator

The Hindu 11.02.2016

BBMP looks to insure waste processing units

Operators of the six new processing units have also been asked to take proper odour control measures.— FILE PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

The proposal is still in the preliminary stages and the civic body is yet to choose an insurance company

Resistance is something the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now familiar with. With the resistance from the citizens living around landfills and waste processing units over the past few years, and in some cases damage to the plants, the civic body is now looking to insure the units.

According to sources, the proposal is still in the preliminary stages and BBMP is yet to identify an insurance company. Confirming the move, BBMP Special Commissioner (solid waste management) Subodh Yadav told The Hindu that insurance cover was actually part of the terms and conditions agreed upon by both the civic body and processing unit operators. “The main reason for this is that the equipment and machinery in the units, apart from the other infrastructure in place, is very expensive. These waste processing units are like any other factories. Factories are insured, and these units should be too,” he said.

Odour control

Mr. Yadav also recently issued a circular with regard to odour control and disposal of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in the six new processing units. Odour control measures were found to be inadequate at the units during spot checks by the Solid Waste Management Expert Committee.

Proper operation and odour control are the primary responsibilities of the operators, and they have been directed to put the necessary measures in place immediately.

He added that even six months after opening the plants, the operators had not made any arrangements for disposal of RDF. As per the agreement, the operator is responsible for the sale of by-products generated during the treatment process, and cannot stock RDF, compost or recyclables on the plant premises. “The plants cannot be used for storage. Once the by-products are channelled out of the plants, the space can be utilised in a more productive manner,” Mr. Yadav said.

Insurance cover was actually part of the deal between BBMP and operators, says an official

SDMC has just 2 staff to catch, shift monkeys

Thursday, 22 January 2015 09:30 administrator

The Hindu 22.01.2015

SDMC has just 2 staff to catch, shift monkeys

Its two humans against hundreds of monkeys in South Delhi, with the local civic body relying on a couple of monkey-catchers to round up and relocate the simian population.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has just two people employed as monkey-catchers and zero vehicles dedicated for the job, a senior Veterinary Department official said. A total of 371 monkeys were caught by the civic body between April and November 2014, the official added. The monkeys were relocated to the forests of the Asola Bhatti mines.

Office-bearers in the BJP-led Corporation had said the streets of South Delhi would be cleared of stray animals before the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama. He will be travelling through SDMC area on his way from the airport to a hotel in Central Delhi.

Leader of the House Radhey Shyam Sharma had ordered officials to make sure that stray animals were off the streets before Mr. Obama’s visit for Republic Day. However, officials are saying that the civic body’s cattle vans are not adequate to catch all the stray cows, dogs and monkeys.

SDMC Leader of the Opposition Farhad Suri said: “Just because the U.S. President is visiting, the civic body went into overdrive and announced that it will move all the strays. But, there are only two monkey-catchers.”

The other municipal corporations do not fare better in the monkey-catching business. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has three monkey-catchers and it caught 254 monkeys from April to October last year.

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