Urban News

NEW DELHI: Even as Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claimed that chief minister Sheila Dikshit had agreed to release funds needed for fast-tracking preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2010, Dikshit maintained that she had asked the civic agency to improve its performance and create more avenues for fund generation before additional funds were released by the government.

Said mayor Kanwar Sain: "To ensure all projects are completed on time, especially those related to the Games, we have asked the CM to release Rs 500 crore.'' The mayor discussed the annual outlay of MCD for the year 2009-10 at a meeting with Dikshit at Delhi Secretariat on Thursday.

"The chief minister has accepted our request. She also said that as a matter of procedure we should send a formal request to the Delhi government with details of various projects which require funding,'' added Sain. Meanwhile, sources in the CM's office said that MCD had asked for Rs 1,000 crore.

"A number of projects are under way and need immediate funding for timely completion. For instance, under the transport sector, we have got Rs 70 crore, but the construction of railway overbridges/underbridges will cost Rs 312 crore. So we have asked for Rs 350 crore under that head. In education, we have been provided with Rs 65 crore, while we usually get Rs 120 crore. We have demanded for Rs 240 crore for construction of classrooms, etc. Under the Sixth Pay Commission, we have arrears pending that need to be paid to our employees,'' said Mayor Sain. MCD has also asked for a lump sum amount for improvement of sanitation in the city.

Accepting that the CM had asked MCD to improve collections of property tax, the mayor said, "Only 9 lakh properties out of 22 lakh pay property tax in Delhi. We were asked to improve our collections and we are working towards that,'' said the mayor.

Misused water is Mumbai's woe

The city is grappling with an unprecedented water crisis due to the delyaed monsoon. But a survey carried out by the BMC's water meter department has found another culprit --unaccounted water usage. The survey has blamed not only developers in the city, but also industries and commercial units outside, for the water woes.

The internal analysis carried out in the wake of the present scarcity has revealed that while construction activity increased over the last decade, revenue collected from developers has surprisingly dipped to a measly Rs 1.5 crore in 2009. Until 2001, the BMC collected at least Rs 70 crore from the developers. The racket is difficult to control, officials said. For example, a builder takes a water connection under the pretext of providing drinking water for labourers-charges for which are minimal. But the water is then diverted for construction. "Over the years, number of builders opting for `water for labourers' has way surpassed those saying they want it for construction,'' said a senior official.

Currently, only seven builders are paying charges for `construction use' - Rs 60 per 1,000 litres. At the same time, 2,080 developers pay for the use of water for `labour', which is charged a flat rate per month. For example, a connection pipe with a width of 15 mm is charged at Rs 3,500. "This makes it very cheap. Ideally, with increased construction, revenue should have gone up considerably but surprisingly it has touched rock bottom,'' said officials. Municipal commissioner, Jairaj Phatak agreed surveillance needs to be tightened even as builders say they rely on tankers for water for construction. "We'll have to regularly check for what purpose this water is being used, and that it is accounted for. The problem of misuse by industries is also being examined,'' he said. "When a project is started, the BMC considers it as land under construction, which means temporary supply of services including water. This is for labour as well as construction. As per my knowledge, there is no misuse. If there is a shortage, we opt for tankers,'' said Sunil Mantri of Mantri Group.

Moreover, the supply to 25 major industries outside Mumbai is 185 million litres every year but revenue collected is only for 125 mld. "Nobody knows where the remaining 60 mld disappears,'' said an official.

With no end to Mumbai's water crisis in sight, the civic administration ordered on Tuesday that non-priority usage of water should be reduced or cut to help the city tide over the problem till the six catchment areas get sufficient rain. Meanwhile, the BMC continued its drive to curtail water supply to commercial establishments. By Thursday, over 100 construction sites, nine gardens and swimming pools, had faced the brunt of the drive.

Getting ready for cloud-seeding

The BMC is enlisting firms with expertise in cloud seeding and de-salination. Municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak said both the procedures are not a necessity now, but the process has to begin as a precaution. "Our focus is water rationing, but we have to prepare for the worst."