Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 24.06.2009

Green City project to give Belgaum a new look

Staff Correspondent

Belgaum: The Belgaum City Corporation (BCC), Belgaum Urban Development Authority (BUDA) and the Forest Department have jointly come up with project “Green City” with a view to change the face of the city.

The project, which aims at planting 50,000 different species of plants at a cost of Rs. 1.12 crore, has been conceived with the support of MLAs Abhay Kumar Patil, Sanjay Patil and Feroz Sait representing Belgaum South, Belgaum Rural and Belgaum North assembly constituencies, respectively.

The salient features of the project were presented to a select section of the Belgaum city at a seminar organised under the banner of Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Patil complimented the Forest Department, BCC and BUDA for the project. But, he warned that it should not be another “vanamahotsava”, which only served the purpose of publicity.

He cited examples of certain villages where green cover was developed on the basis of participatory approach, involving residents. Consequentially, more than 70 per cent of the saplings planted had become huge trees.

Panchakshari Hiremath, landscape designer from Dharwad, disputed the claims of the Forest Department on its tree plantation programme.

He said: “If the claims of the Forest and Horticulture Departments on tree plantation programmes during last five to six decades are to be believed, then no space should have been left to plant even a single tree.”

However, he said the project was poised to change the face of Belgaum city if implemented and maintained in an effective manner.

Earlier, Deputy Conservator of Forest Girish Hosur highlighted the salient features of the project and said the average cost of each tree proposed to be planted would account for Rs. 224 for a maintenance period of three years.

Source : The Hindu Date : 24.06.2009

Solar city’ to come up in Bangalore

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Bangalore will soon have a “solar city” within itself. Karnataka is set to embark on a green power initiative called the “solar city” project, said to be the first of its kind in the country, under which 10,000 houses in a chosen locality will have roof-top solar photovoltaic panels installed with support from the Centre.

Disclosing this to presspersons here on the sidelines of a discussion-meeting on the “Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Series on Technology and Society” organised by the National Institute of Advanced Studies and Environment and Good Governance Trust (EGGT), Principal Secretary, Energy Department, K. Jairaj said the implementation of the project was likely to start in about six months.

The plan is to install photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 2 kW to 5 kW on roofs of every house in the chosen locality.

The energy produced will be used by households for their daily requirements. Excess energy will be pumped into the State grid.

Mr. Jairaj said the proposal had already been discussed with the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdulla who had agreed to extend support.

The Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (C-STEP), a non-profit research organisation set up by noted scientist V.S. Arunachalam, has been asked to prepare a workable model for implementing the project, he said.