Mattanchery staring at another collapse
Wednesday, 04 August 2010 08:11
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The New Indian Express 04.08.2010
Mattanchery staring at another collapse KOCHI: Mattanchery division, a traditional stronghold of Muslim League, is reserved for women this time. The division was in the news recently for the Asraj building collapse. A thickly populated area with many slums and decrepit buildings, housing and improvement of basic amenities are likely to feature in the election promises that the contestants are likely to put forward.
“Slum development is definitely the priority here. Various funds including the division fund, KSUDP and People’s Planning programme have been used to improve the basic amenities including providing drinking water and sanitation,” says Mattanchery councillor T K Ashraf. He says that the general fund from the Corporation has been utilised to build a community hall, cultural centre and computer centre. Funds from the People’s Planning programme was also utilised for the development of roads. “Potable water shortage was solved to some extent, thanks to the Koovappadam drinking water project,” he said. Ashraf is confident that the introduction of two new boats this week will improve the water transport facilities to the area. Despite all these, residents say that Mattanchery is still a division that is desperately in need of development.
“Though the spice godowns in the area contribute significant revenue to the state exchequer, development of even basic facilities eludes the area. With tourism hotspots like the Jew Town being part of the division, work should be carried out to improve the conditions of the roads, transportation and sanitation facilities,” say residents. Water shortage is another problem faced by the residents. The thickly populated multi-storey slums in the area seek urgent attention. The old buildings need to be renovated or rebuilt.
Introduction of more boats to the area will help Mattanchery in improving its transportation facilities and will offer better connectivity with the city.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 04 August 2010 08:13
Eight months on, Sector-48 food street yet to take off
Monday, 02 August 2010 11:20
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Indian Express 02.08.2010
Eight months on, Sector-48 food street yet to take off
Khushboo Sandhu Tags : corporation, construction Posted: Mon Aug 02 2010, 04:33 hrs Chandigarh: Foundation stone was laid in December Tenders were invited, but response was poor
For the residents of southern sectors, the wait for a food street seems to be getting longer by the day. Even as the foundation for the food street in Sector 48 was laid in December last year, construction on the site is yet to start.
The Corporation has floated tenders for construction work a number of times, but without much success as the response to the tenders has been anything, but encouraging. The Food Street was proposed in the sector keeping in view the density of population with a large number of residential societies, coupled with the lack of such facilities available in the southern sectors.
Besides the foundation stone at the site, there is nothing else to show for construction. Work on the food street had earlier been delayed as the designs for the same had not been approved. Once the designs were approved, the civic body started the process of e-tendering, following which the which floating of tenders were delayed.
Chief Engineer S S Bidda, meanwhile, said the tenders have been reinvited and the response would be gauged in the coming few days. “At times, it does happen that positive response is not received the first time a tender is floated. We are hopeful that work on the site would start soon,” said the chief engineer.
The civic body had proposed food streets at three places in the city after the Night Food Street near PGI received a positive response from residents. Even as work was to start in Sector 48 first, there was delay for several months after the foundation stone was laid.
The delay in the construction of the Night Food Street, say sources, was due to the wrong policies of the Municipal Corporation. The policies of the civic body have, however, been revised now. The proposed food street would be open throughout the day. Modifications have been made in the designs for the upcoming food streets, which would make it different from the existing Night Food Street near the PGI, it is learnt.
Last Updated on Monday, 02 August 2010 11:22
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No more urban poor, govt seeks other criteria to give away flats
Monday, 02 August 2010 10:40
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Indian Express 02.08.2010
No more urban poor, govt seeks other criteria to give away flats
Lalmani Verma Tags : housing, poor Posted: Mon Aug 02 2010, 01:57 hrs Lucknow: Despite relaxing eligibility norms repeatedly, the state government is yet to find enough urban poor for the thousands of flats constructed in the first phase of Kanshiram Shahri Garib Awas Yojna.
The scheme was announced by Chief Minister Mayawati in 2008 and in its first phase ¿ 2008-09 — over 1.01 lakh houses were to be constructed for the urban poor in 71 districts. But so far, only 98,338 flats have been constructed of which, 86,809 have been allotted. Now the state government has asked the concerned district magistrates to suggest relaxations in eligibility norms or steps that can be taken to find beneficiaries for the vacant flats.
Directives in this regard have been sent to districts including Mirzapur, Azamgarh, Bulandshahr, Ramabai Nagar, Aligarh, Jalaun, Mahoba, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Pilibhit and Saharanpur. In Mahoba, 1,500 flats have been constructed but only 830 flats have been allotted so far.
“The government has asked for necessary steps could be taken to increase the beneficiaries,” said Ravindra Kumar, Additional District Magistrate, Mahoba. “After 830, we have found another 512 beneficiaries but still have 160 vacant flats. With no more applications pending, we are now going to start a door-to-door survey to identify the poor in urban areas.” In just one lakh urban population of Mahoba, it is tough to identify the poor as per the eligibility criteria of the scheme, he added.
In Sant Ravidas Nagar, of the 1,500 flats constructed only 802 have been allotted. “We have recently found 150 beneficiaries but almost 500 will remain unallotted,” said District Magistrate Kanchan Verma.
“I have suggested that the government give the unallotted houses to poor widows and men living alone in rural areas,” she said. In Azamgarh, only 852 flats have been allotted so far against the 1,500 built. District Magistrate Manish Chauhan said: “We are facing a problem in finding urban poor in small town like Azamgarh. I have suggested to the state government that the unallotted flats be given to widows and physically-challenged persons even if they do not belong to the BPL category.”
So far, people living within municipal limits have been eligible for this scheme. “I have also recommended that the government permit the residents of Azamgarh Development Authority development area to apply under this scheme,” he said. A senior official in the government said as per the suggestions of the DMs, a proposal will be sent to the Chief Minister’s office, seeking further directives.
ALLOTTED SO FAR
Against the 1,500 flats constructed in each district
* 924 flats have been allotted in Pilibhit
* 1,015 in Jalaun
* 1,203 in Badaun
* 1,280 in Faizabad
* 1,064 in Mirzapur
* 1,320 in Barabanki
* 1,031 in Lalitpur
* 1,021 in Hamirpur
* 1,100 in Kanshiram Nagar
* 1,060 in Bulandshahr
* 758 in Saharanpur
* 1,080 each in Balia and Mau
* In Ramabai Nagar, 1,000 flats were constructed but only 521 have been allotted
Last Updated on Monday, 02 August 2010 10:46
FE Editorial : Start on stats
Friday, 30 July 2010 11:00
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The Financial Express 30.07.2010
FE Editorial : Start on stats
The reported move by the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation to introduce a housing start-up index that will measure the construction of housing projects is welcome. The much-needed index, likely to be introduced in December this year, was first suggested by RBI two years ago. Then the National Buildings Organisation under the ministry was deputed to collect data on building permits issued for new residential buildings in various cities. But the work for creating the index went into limbo because of data collection issues. Such an index, which exists in countries like the US, the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia, will help all stakeholders to gauge the demand and supply in the housing market. Housing starts are also considered a lead indicator of economic activity because of their strong forward and backward linkages with other sectors, and will help policymakers understand the pace of economic activity, investment trends geographically and consumer optimism on new housing. The index will also become an important input in monetary policy and help authorities detect property bubbles in their early stage. An early warning in case of a bubble can help home buyers take informed decisions on purchases and pay a realistic price for the property. The buyer and the seller can compare the index price with the offer price and this would help to keep speculators at bay.
Timely and quality data on housing starts can help companies in industries like steel and cement—the two most important raw materials for housing—plan their inventory and capacity addition. The cement industry is challenged with overcapacity at the moment—a situation that has been carried over from the time there was a sharp slowdown in construction activity after the crisis. The index, when in place, can help check such misallocation of private resources. The index will also be useful for developers, help them to ascertain the risk of building in a particular area and prevent them from entering a location where there is excessive construction and saturated demand. However, the success of the housing start-up index will depend on the accuracy of data collection, coding and processing. Checks must be performed on the data quality and municipalities will have to ensure that they keep data in digital form, which will lower the risk of reporting errors.
Last Updated on Friday, 30 July 2010 11:36
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