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KIADB to use GIS to map 126 industrial units in State

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The Hindu 21.07.2009

KIADB to use GIS to map 126 industrial units in State

Shankar Bennur

Mapping of Peenya, Dobbespet industrial areas to be taken up on pilot basis

 


‘The maps will incorporate all the information prospective industrialists and investors want’

The KIADB has also proposed computerisation of all its activities


THE HINDU— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Hebbal industrial area in Mysore will be covered under the GIS mapping project in the State. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has embarked on a novel project.

In its attempt to ensure orderly development of industrial areas and attract more foreign investment to the State, the KIADB proposes to map 126 individual industrial units (single unit complexes) using the Geographical Information System (GIS) to enable investors to know the status of occupancy, availability of plots and implementation of projects by allottees, and other information.

Computerisation

In addition, it proposes to computerise all its activities, including acquisition and development and allotment of land, as well as linking the headquarters with field-level officers for better governance.

Before launching the GIS mapping project in the State, the board will map the Peenya Industrial Area in Bangalore (a fully developed industrial unit) and Dobbespet Industrial Area on the Bangalore-Pune Highway (which is undergoing development as another important industrial unit) on a pilot basis.

“On completion of the pilot project, mapping of the remaining industrial units will be taken up. The pilot project will help us understand the project and make improvements,” said Chief Development Officer, KIADB, Prabhakara Chenni.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Chenni said that GIS mapping was useful for explaining the profile of industrial units since the maps would incorporate all the information prospective industrialists and investors wanted. “The maps give us complete data such as vacant plots, water supply lines and drainage. Besides giving the existing extent of the industrial unit, it also gives inputs on the proposed expansion of the industrial unit,” he said.

Since its inception, the KIADB has developed 126 industrial units covering an area of about 40,000 acres in the State.

Peenya, Electronics City and the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) in Bangalore; Hebbal in Mysore; Baikampady in Mangalore; Tarihal in Dharwad; Kakati in Belgaum; and the Auto Complex in Shimoga are among the prominent industrial areas developed by the KIADB.

With Karnataka being promoted as a premier destination for industrial ventures, the onus is on the KIADB to ensure balanced industrial development in all regions of the State. According to KIADB, firms having experience in handling large GIS base-mapping, survey, software development and implementation of customised Web-based GIS applications have been invited to submit proposals for implementing the project.

A team of professionals who have handled similar projects will execute and monitor the project in the beginning, it said.

As the maps have to be periodically updated, the KIADB has asked interested agencies to train its officers in this regard.

Technical Consultancy Services Organisation of Karnataka (TECSOK) has been authorised to collect expressions of interest from interested organisations and consortiums.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 04:51
 

‘Structural stability: onus on local bodies’

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The Hindu 15.07.2009

‘Structural stability: onus on local bodies’

Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM: Local bodies should focus on ascertaining structural stability of buildings by appropriate scientific methodology that may involve studying the designs adopted, physically verifying the steel using scanners and verifying the strength of the concrete by non-destructive tests, the Visakhapatnam Centre of the Indian Institute of Architects has said.

Members of the association participated in a meeting organised by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) on the implementation of the Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS) last week.

The Visakhapatnam Centre Chairman D.V.K. Sudhakar in a memorandum to Municipal Commissioner B. Sridhar said that members of the centre were at the service of GVMC to lend a hand for any citizen-friendly activities.

The association, however, noted that when it came to safety there could be no middle path. In the light of the High Court’s remarks on ‘BPS Mela’ organised in Hyderabad, the purpose of the meeting organised by GVMC appeared to find a middle path for obtaining the certificate. On the implementation of the BPS, Mr. Sudhakar said violation of building norms led to inadequately ventilated buildings, a cause for poor health. Under BPS, instead of addressing the deficiency, citizens were being penalised, he said. “Levying of penalty is meant to be a deterrent for not repeating violation of regulations but with recurring schemes of penalisation/regularisation wrong signals were being sent that one could violate norms and pay the penalty,” he observed.

Mr. Sudhakar said when the need of the hour was co-operation from people and their participation for cash-strapped civic bodies to do their duties better, citizens were being alienated because of BPS policy and the innumerable sets of regulations heaped on them which were “the real cause for violations.”

Structural aspects

In his opinion accompanying the memorandum, a structural engineer, S.V.N. Suryanarayana Raju, said as far as safety of people living in the buildings was concerned there was only one approach- a comprehensive structural analysis of the building. Any other means of visible inspection should not be deemed as technically qualified assessment, he said. Comprehensive assessment was mandatory for buildings built on encroached areas like ‘geddas’ as there was more possibility of structural failure due to soil settlements and erosion.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 07:24
 

Rain-related damage in Udupi put at Rs. 29 cr.

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The Hindu 12.07.2009

Rain-related damage in Udupi put at Rs. 29 cr.

Staff Correspondent

Home Minister Acharya directs officials to take up repair of roads in the district on priority

 


64 villages in the district have been affected

by the monsoon

Two NDRF teams have been requisitioned to help tackle emergencies



GEARING UP: Members of the National Disaster Response Force unit who arrived in Udupi on Saturday conducting a drill at Kalmady near Malpe.

Uudpi: Home Minister V.S. Acharya said on Saturday that the damage to life and property owing to rainfall in Udupi district had been estimated at Rs. 29 crore.

Addressing presspersons after a meeting with district-level officials here Dr. Acharya said that lightning had killed two persons and two others were drowned in floods in the last 10 days. Sea erosion had been reported from places such as Udyavara and Padukere villages. As many as 64 villages had been affected. The Udyavara-Padukere concrete road had been damaged, he said.

Various department in the district suffered losses owing to the rainfall. The Public Works Department suffered a loss worth Rs. 11.19 crore followed by Udupi City Municipal Council Rs. 2.89 crore; Kundapur Town Municipal Council Rs. 1.05 crore, Kundapur Panchayat Raj Rs. 2 crore; Zilla Panchayat Engineering Department Rs. 8.15 crore; Mescom Rs. 59 lakh; agriculture Rs. 27 lakh; minor irrigation Rs. 89 lakh; revenue Rs. 57 lakh; National Highways Authority Rs. 50 lakh; abd Karkala Town Municipal Council Rs. 51.5 lakh.

Roads in the district had been seriously damaged owing to monsoon, he said and added that the authorities concerned had been told to take up immediate steps to repair the roads and not wait till September for the monsoon to end as was normally being done. The Government would be urged to provide Rs. 10 crore for repair of roads, Dr. Acharya said.

An 89-member unit of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had arrived in the district to help the administration in tackling any emergency arising out of heavy rainfall. The State Government had requested the Prime Minister’s Office to station two units of the NDRF permanently in the State, one each at Udupi and Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district, to deal with exigencies, he said.

The district administration had been asked to provide a permanent building to store equipment such as boats and ropes to take up rescue operations in case of emergencies, he said.

In response to a question, Dr. Acharya said that the people from 10 districts and the neighbouring State of Kerala were involved in a pitched battle with the police a few days ago in Mysore. It was a wilful violation of prohibitory orders that had been clamped there to precipitate the situation. A daily report on the situation in Mysore was being sent to the Union Government, he said.

MLAs Lalaji Mendon and Raghupati Bhat, in-charge Deputy Commissioner Prasanna Kumar and Superintendent of Police Pravin Pawar were present.

Dr. Acharya handed over a compensation cheque to the parents of Rajashri (24), who had drowned in a rivulet at Manipura village. Later, he visited flood-affected areas here.

Two houses damaged

Two houses were partially damaged owing to rains in Udupi district on Saturday.

According to Kundapur taluk office, a house was partially damaged at Shedimane village and the loss was estimated at Rs. 5,000. The Karkala taluk office sources stated that a house was partially damaged at Kantawar village and the loss had been put at Rs. 3,500.

Rainfall

Rainfall in the district has receded significantly. The district received an average rainfall of 30.46 mm. The rainfall in the three taluks was: Udupi – 56.8 mm; Kundapur 9.2 mm; and Karkala – 25.4 mm.

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 July 2009 11:46
 

'Town and Country Planning Act' mooted

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Source; The Times of India Date : 09.07.2009

'Town and Country Planning Act' mooted

JAIPUR. This year's budget, presented in the assembly on Wednesday, has laid stress on infrastructure development, especially for inviting investment and generate better employment opportunities. This is apart from the focus on expanding road facilites and improving basic amenities. The chief minister has also indicated a further amendment in the 90-B policy.

Presenting the budget in the assembly, the chief minister said that the government is considering a proposal to form a Town and Country Planning Act' for organised development of towns and to invite investment. He also stressed the need for revision of the 2002 township policy. It was also informed that to formulate development plans, a Centre for Urban Affairs' will be established in Jaipur.

The work area of Ajmer Urban Improvement Trust (UIT) will be expanded to include Pushkar, whereas a Mount Abu UIT will be established for development of the hill station and Abu Road.

To improve investment opportunities, a Master Plan has been proposed for development of Shahajahanpur-Nimrana-Behror area, to be known as Nimrana global city and also for Greater Bhiwani.

The budget also assured that the master plans for 109 other cities will be prepared over the next three years.

However, an immediate boost to infrastructure sector has come in the form of reduction of VAT on construction materials and stamp duty on property registration. Reduction in taxes will not only bring down the development costs but will also help to generate a transparent market," said Gopal Gupta, president, Builders Association of Rajasthan. "Also, the association of development with investment is necessary for sustainable growth," he said.

The budget kept a balance in not only the urban and rural areas but also among various sections of the society. There were also assurance for upgradation of basic facilities for those dwelling in slum areas. The chief minister said that under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, there is provision for Rs 544 crore for development works in Jaipur, Ajmer and Pushkar during the current fiscal year

 

Landslip creates havoc in city

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Source : The Hindu Date : 26.06.2009

Landslip creates havoc in city

Special Correspondent

A few buildings on Arya Samaj Road have been severely damaged

 


A large bungalow, nursing home are worst hit

Police to send a report to Deputy Commissioner on the situation


— Photo: R. Eswarraj

PRECARIOUS: The landslip on Arya Samaj Road in Mangalore on Thursday brought a few structures near Mangala Nursing Home to the verge of collapsing.

MANGALORE: A large house behind Mangala Nursing Home, belonging to Loretta Rebello, appears to be standing precariously atop a hill following a landslip on Arya Samaj Road here on Thursday. A part of the retaining wall of the nursing home too has collapsed into the premises of another house at the foothill.

The large house is about 50 ft above the surface of a plot which has been levelled for the construction of a building by Srushti Ventures. Its office in-charge Shwetang Shah told The Hindu that the company was constructing a 43-ft retaining wall to prevent landslip. Already about 30-ft wall had been raised when the landslip occurred, he said.

Retaining wall

Mihir Rebello, son of Mr. Loretta Rebello, said the landslip happened at 2.15 p.m. when a huge chunk of soil slipped, bringing down the retaining wall as well as pillars. Mr. Rebello said the builder had not reacted quickly in taking precautions and reduce the damage from further landslip. He told The Hindu at 4.30 p.m. that the builder could have covered the surface with tarpaulin to prevent further loosening of the soil owing to rainwater.

The slush created by the landslip has splashed all over the house of Grace D’Cruz, which is about 20 ft above the levelled site. Boulders from the retaining wall of the nursing home have been strewn near the bedroom of her house, while its windowpane has been broken. B. Balakrishna Gowda, town planning officer of Mangalore City Corporation, said that the builder had been asked to complete the work before the beginning of the monsoon but this had not been complied with. The builder would be asked to evacuate the people from the two houses before carrying on with the construction, he said.

Niranjanraj Urs, Mangalore East police inspector, who visited the spot, said that Mr. Rebello’s family had been advised not to live in the house.

He said he would send a report to the Deputy Commissioner stating that the house of Mr. Rebello might collapse any time. He said the police had not received any complaint from the residents of the house.

Last Updated on Friday, 26 June 2009 11:25
 


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