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Urban Planning

Vadodara Municipal Corporation's town planning scheme head nowhere

Wednesday, 19 March 2014 10:43 administrator
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The Times of India     19.03.2014 

Vadodara Municipal Corporation's town planning scheme head nowhere

VADODARA: Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) that had announced ambitious plans to come up with 26 town planning (TP) schemes in the city, has managed to ensure that only six are submitted to the state government within the statutory deadline. The state government will now have to look into the remaining 20 schemes.

In March last year, the VMC had announced its intention of coming up with 26 TP schemes in the city and this was cleared by the general board. According to the Gujarat Town Planning and Urban Development Act, 1976, these draft schemes have to be published in the state gazette within nine months and if this does not happen, the civic body can seek an extension of three months.

But in the case of VMC, the civic body could not complete the work in a year's time and the ball is now in the state government's court. Former deputy mayor and BJP councillor Shailesh Mehta raised the issue with the urban development minister Anandiben Patel stating that only six schemes had been published in the gazette and a year had passed.

Mehta pointed out that the state government could now entrust the responsibility to its town planners instead of the VMC. If this was not done in time, the schemes in these areas could not come up for the next three years, he said.

VMC officials said the work could not be completed in time by agencies, which had been given the task. A VMC official added that the task was daunting and it seems this was not realized when they took up the work.

The schemes are important to the VMC not only for systematic infrastructure development, but also because the civic body gets plots of land that it can lease out for revenue. Also, it needs the plots for residential schemes for the urban poor as well as for welfare facilities.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 March 2014 10:48
 

CCMC ward to get modern town planning

Wednesday, 22 January 2014 06:23 administrator
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The Times of India               22.01.2014

CCMC ward to get modern town planning

MARGAO: A one-of-its-kind road and core network system is proposed to be developed in ward number 10 named Careamoddi of the Curchorem Cacora Municipal Council (CCMC). CCMC chief officer Agnelo Fernandes said that funds amounting to 12 crore have already been sanctioned for the exercise that will be executed by the Goa state urban development agency (GSUDA).

Careamoddi is the home ward of legislator Nilesh Cabral who is representing Curchorem constituency.

Fernandes said that tenders will soon be invited by the GSUDA for the "beautification and upgradation of road and core network system" which is being developed as a pilot project for the town.

Speaking to TOI, Cabral said that the project envisages construction of elevated pathways and underground cabling, among other things. "It is being planned to develop the ward on the lines of a modern town with the provision of utility services like ducts for sewerage network etc. Once the project gets functional, it will be replicated in all other wards of Curchorem," Cabral said.

Besides, the GSUDA is also executing two more projects in Curchorem - reconstruction of municipal market building after demolishing the existing one which is in a run-down condition, and reconstruction of the existing fish market.

Both the projects are awaiting the nod of the town and country planning (TCP) department, sources informed TOI.

Besides, the GSUDA is also taking up another construction project, which was initially proposed to house only the administrative block of the CCMC. The civic body had earlier proposed to construct a two-storey administrative block of the CCMC near the GSUDA market complex through the golden jubilee grants of 2 crore provided to it by the erstwhile Congress government and lying unutilized. But, the GSUDA has modified the plan which now envisages construction of a bigger project estimated to cost 10 crore.

"While the earlier proposal of the CCMC was to have a parking facility in the basement, shops on the ground floor and administrative offices on the first floor, the project is now modified by the GSUDA to provide more floors. The modified plan also includes construction of an amphitheatre and other public amenities," official sources said.

 

Not many takers for occupancy papers

Thursday, 26 December 2013 06:53 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle              26.12.2013

Not many takers for occupancy papers

Hyderabad: While thousands apply for building construction permissions, very few come back to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to obtain occupancy certificates (OCs).

Of the total 39,404 building plans submitted in the last four years, GHMC has approved 33,881 and rejected 4,310 for various reasons. The civic body earned Rs 1,558 crore through building, development and other fees towards approval of these applications.

However, only 4,219 applications were submitted seeking occupancy certificates (OCs). After inspection of the buildings, the Town Planning wing of GHMC issued OCs to only 3,054 applicants and rejected the remaining which had more than 10 per cent deviations.

OCs are issued only to those buildings which have been constructed as per the plans approved by the Corporation. GHMC officials do not have information on the remaining 29,000 buildings for which applications were approved and do not know whether these buildings have been constructed.

GHMC chief city planner G.V. Raghu said approved building plans are valid for five and three years for group development housing schemes and independent houses respectively.

“Some people construct the houses in the same year of the plan being approved, some go for construction in the final year; 33,000 building applications approved does not mean that construction of an equivalent number of buildings has commenced,” he said.

Stating that Town Planning officials have been identifying unauthorised constructions, he said as many as 3,867 buildings were identified to have deviated from the sanctioned plan in the last four years. “We have demolished 989 of them, there is a court stay on 1961 of, and criminal cases have been filed in 217 cases. The remaining are pending for action to be taken,” he said.

 
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