OFC: Teleservice Providers Offer to Pay Fee, May Strike deal with BBMP
Tuesday, 17 December 2013 07:22
administrator
The
New Indian Express 17.12.2013
OFC: Teleservice Providers Offer to Pay Fee, May Strike deal with BBMP
Nine teleservice providers have come forward to sign Memorandums of
Understanding (MoU) with BBMP to pay the fees for the unauthorised
optical fibre cables (OFCs) they have laid in the city. The MoUs are expected to be signed shortly. Four more teleservice providers are expected to join them soon. Earlier,
the BBMP Council had passed a resolution and constituted a committee to
look into the matter. The committee has submitted its interim report
and recommended the disconnection of the unauthorised OFCs. According to Mayor B S Sathyanarayana, the BBMP is expecting around `400 crore from its agreements with these companies.
Bangalore needs Rs 80,000 crore over 5 years to sustain itself: State urban development secretary
Friday, 13 December 2013 12:01
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The Times of India 13.12.2013 Bangalore needs Rs 80,000 crore over 5 years to sustain itself: State urban development secretary
BANGALORE: Bangalore city needs at least Rs 80,000 crore over the next five years to be sustainable. It needs this much for infrastructure, road development, drainage and several development activities to make the city more liveable, said state urban development secretary P N Srinivasachari.
Addressing a workshop on 'Cities of the future: Smart and Sustainable' here on Thursday, Srinivasachari said, "Every city will grow by 20 per cent and Bangalore is no exception. The city's population currently is 95 lakh. Assuming it goes up by 20 per cent, we will have 19 lakh more people in the city. If Bangalore has to sustain its rapid growth and introduce sustainable solutions to manage its waste, water, environment and transport, the government should invest at least Rs 80,000 crore over the next five years. But the state government can spend not more than Rs 20,000 crore. Our annual state budget is about Rs 1 lakh crore and it's hard for any government to earmark so much funds by ignoring other regions and aspirations.''
He said there has been huge private investment in Bangalore over the past 15 years but government has not been able to match it because of various constraints in policy making. "
Dr A Ravindra, chairman, Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD), under whose initiative the Smart Cities Council was launched in Bangalore, said: "We have joined hands with the council to learn the best practices in the world and designs solutions suited to the Indian context. Bangalore will benefit a lot as they will have ready solutions to most problems.''
Smart Cities Council is an industry coalition to advance smart city development and innovation. It has as members leading businesses in areas such as smart energy, water and transportation.
Ravindra said: "By 2031, close to 600 million people will populate urban areas and 68 cities in the country will have a population of over 1 million. The demands for urban services will increase manifold and the stress on environment will keep mounting.
Over a trillion dollars will be needed to meet the demand to improve the quality of urban life. That's why we have developed the Smart Cities Council concept in India.''
A host of speakers elaborated on the challenges Indian cities face with the population expected to reach 590 million by 2030, nearly twice that of the US. "We need to plan early by un understanding of India's issues and challenges will benefit every city in India," they said
Regional chapter
Smart Cities Council is an industry coalition to advance smart city development and innovation.
This is India's first regional chapter of the Global Smart Cities Council. It has as members leading businesses in areas such as smart energy, water and transportation.
The new chapter is a major milestone in developing cities to operate at their greatest potential with a balance of livability, workability and sustainability.
Since its inception in 2012, nearly 20 prominent companies have joined the Council, including IBM, Bechtel, Grid2020, MasterCard and Microsoft. Also, over 50 of the world's leading universities, national laboratories, standards bodies, climate advocacy groups, and development banks act as the advisory board. Brigade Group has already consented to be a partner in Smart City Council India.
The council is a response to rapidly growing cities and a lack of coordination to build or expand urban infrastructure that utilizes technology to work efficiently across an entire city. To address these barriers, the council recently released version 1.0 of the Smart Cities Council Readiness Guide , the first comprehensive, vendor-neutral smart city handbook for city leaders and planners. Designed with input from its partners and advisors, the guide enables city leaders around the globe to assess their current state of technology and readiness to become a smart city.
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NMC to appoint 20,000 'green soldiers' for Kumbh
Friday, 13 December 2013 11:46
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The Times of India 13.12.2013 NMC to appoint 20,000 'green soldiers' for Kumbh
NASHIK: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) is planning to create around 20,000 'green soldiers' with an aim to keep the city clean during the forthcoming Kumbh Mela in 2015.
With just less than two years left for the commencement of the Kumbh, the civic administration of the municipal corporation has speeded up preparations for the mela works. Keeping the city clean will also be one of the major challenges before the NMC as lakhs of sadhus and other pilgrims will be visiting the city during that time.
Municipal commissioner Sanjay Khandare said, "Students from city schools and colleges will constitute the 20,000 green soldiers, who will make efforts to maintain the cleanliness of the city during the huge congregation. We are in the process of identifying the schools and colleges for the purpose. Meetings with a few schools will soon to be organised in this connection."
Besides carrying out cleaning activities, the students will create awareness among people to keep the city clean, especially the Ramkund area and the banks of the Godavari. They will urge people not to throw 'nirmalya' and other waste into the river.
Nashik is one of the four cities where the Kumbh mela is held every 12 years. The forthcoming mela is scheduled to commence on July 14, 2015, following the hoisting of the Simhastha flag. The first 'shahi snan' (royal bath) will take place on August 29, while the second and third shahi snans will be on September 13 and 18, respectively. The flag of the Simhastha will be lowered on August 11, 2016, marking the end of the mass pilgrimage. Around 3 lakh sadhus and 75 lakh other pilgris are expected to visit.
Hit by funds crunch, Baroda hockey body seeks VMC help
Thursday, 12 December 2013 06:13
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The Indian Express 12.12.2013 Hit by funds crunch, Baroda hockey body seeks VMC help The Baroda District Hockey Association (BDHA) is gearing up to fight
the burden of heavy taxes. Ten days after the Vadodara Municipal
Corporation (VMC) sealed their office for non-payment of taxes amounting
to over Rs 15 lakh, the "non-commercial" hockey association is set to
write to the Municipal Commissioner, seeking exemption from taxes.
Ironically, the association ground will host the Khel Mahakumbh hockey
semi-final on December 16.
Acting on a notice dated November 30, the VMC sealed the
administrative office of the Association until the body clears the
outstanding municipal taxes amounting to approximately Rs 15.37 lakh.
This includes the dues towards property taxes and water connections,
which the association claims it does not have.
The association says that in the absence of any funds or grants,
it is simply left in the lurch. Shyam Prabhakar, BDHA president, says
that the body does not charge a single penny from the players. "These
taxes have become a major burden on us, especially since the VMC started
levying tax on the ground too. We are a non-commercial association that
is involved in training and promoting the national sport of India. We
are always willing to organise the ground for any district- and
state-level championship matches too. There must be some exemption shown
towards the game."
Prabhakar says that the association runs through donations of
well-wishers, which are hard to come by. "There is no rule or provision
that the government or the Indian Hockey Federation, of which the
Association is a member, must give us a stipulated grant. So, whatever
we manage to get from regular lovers of the game and sponsors is what we
have to run the game with. And it is not sufficient to pay heavy
taxes," says Prabhakar.
The BDHA ground, located right across the road from the Navlakhi
Ground on Rajmahal road in Vadodara, has been given to the association
on a lease by the erstwhile rulers of Baroda state. Prabhakar says the
onus of paying the property taxes, however, lies on the association.
Every year, the ground hosts several matches in the form of two
league tournaments, four knockout tournaments and several clashes in the
Under-14, Under-16 and Under-17 category for various district- and
state-level championships. Even as its administrative office lies locked
and sealed as per the VMC command, the ground is scheduled to host the
state-level hockey semi-final match of the Khel Mahakumbh on December
16. Official invites for the Khel Mahakumbh clash have been sent out by
the VMC.
Prabhakar says, "We are only interested in maintaining the ground
well and promoting the game of hockey." Almost 500 hockey players from
across Vadodara use the ground to practice the game.
Prabhakar is hopeful that his request will be heard. VMC
Commissioner Manish Bharadwaj said he will be able to examine the case
only when he receives a formal request. Bharadwaj, however, was aware
that the association had been slapped with heavy taxes. He said, "All
institutions that have any kind of premises are supposed to pay taxes
levied as per the provision laid down in lieu of municipal services
extended to them. We will need to examine the rules and see what we can
do once we get their request."
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