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Union to seek probe into allocation of house sites

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Source : The Hindu Date : 23.06.2009

Union to seek probe into allocation of house sites

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) seems to have messed up the issue of allocation of house sites to its employees at Gunadala. The Corporation officials have violated the resolutions passed in the VMC general body and the laid down procedures, if the information provided to employees’ union leader is to be believed.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Employees Union general secretary A. Ranganayakulu recently applied under the Right to Information Act seeking information about the employees’ housing proposals.

The officials told him that the land was divided into plots of a size of 200 sq. mtr., 150 sq. mtr. and 100 sq. mtr. at Gunadala. They put the number of 200 sq. mtr. plots as 406, 150 sq.mtr. plots as 13 and 100 sq. mtr. plots as 227. It was apparently against the agreed size of division of plots. It was earlier decided to divide the land into 192 plots of 200 sq. mtr. each, 195 plots of 150 sq. mtr. each and 427 plots of 100 sq. mtr. each. The 100 sq. mtr. plots were designed for class-IV employees, while the remaining ones were for other categories of employees.

The employees union is livid that the officials have brought down the number of plots at their whims and fancies, while the resolutions directs them to allocate 1,814 plots for the employees.

Mr. Ranganayakulu said on Monday that the VMC officials had ‘furnished false information’ under the RTI Act. The violated the Act, as well as done injustice to the employees. The issue would be placed before the Municipal Administration Secretary shortly. The union would urge the Secretary to initiate inquiry into this, he said.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 June 2009 05:12
 

Health officials charge pollution control board with double standards

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Source : The Hindu Date : 23.06.2009

Health officials charge pollution control board with double standards

Afshan Yasmeen

Some private hospitals have been exempted from setting up treatment plants

 


All hospitals above 100 beds need to have an appropriate treatment plant

‘Closing down government hospitals will affect thousands of poor patients’


Bangalore: The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) appears to have two standards — one for government hospitals and the other for private hospitals — when it comes to treatment of liquid bio-medical waste.

Last week, based on the board’s adverse report, the Lok Adalat directed it to order the closure of nine government hospitals in the city for not setting up treatment plants for bio-medical waste.

Reacting sharply, at a meeting with Medical Education Minister Ramachandre Gowda on Saturday, senior officials from the State Health Department alleged that the Pollution Control Board had exempted a few major private hospitals having more than 100 beds from setting up similar treatment plants. As per the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, all hospitals above 100 beds need to have an appropriate treatment plant.

Two of these “beneficiaries” are prominent corporate hospitals at Halagevaderahalli in Rajajeshwarinagar and Basaveshwaranagar, which have 121 and 102 beds respectively.

The pollution control board has allowed them to discharge both domestic effluent and liquid waste on land meant for gardening and into public drains. The consent letter also states that the authorisation is valid only for 50-bed hospitals. Officials at both hospitals were not available for comment.

State Joint Director (Medical) H.C. Ramesh asked the Minister at Saturday’s meeting: “When it is mandatory for all 100-bed hospitals to have bio-waste treatment plants and when the rule is strictly being enforced for government hospitals, why is the pollution control board exempting private hospitals?”

According to documents with The Hindu, the consent granted by the board for the Rajajeshwarinagar hospital is valid till June 30 and that for the Basaveshwaranagar hospital is valid till December, 2009.

These two hospitals had in their declaration to the Government for empanelment had stated that they had more than 100 beds.

“These hospitals had declared their actual bed strength to be 121 and 102 respectively in their submission to the government for empanelment. But we rejected their requisition because they had enclosed the pollution control board’s consent letter that is suitable for 50-bed hospitals,” Dr. Ramesh told The Hindu.

Private hospitals clamour for empanelment as this will make them eligible to treat government employees under its health insurance scheme.

According to sources, the Health Department will point out these facts to the Lok Adalat in the next hearing scheduled for June 25. “The pollution control board should apply the same rules for government and private hospitals. It is impossible to close down government hospitals as it will affect thousands of poor patients,” the sources said.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 June 2009 03:33
 

Salaries of municipal staff through treasury

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Source : The Hindu Date : 23.06.2009

Salaries of municipal staff through treasury

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: In what comes as a relief to the municipalities and their employees, the government issued orders on Monday for payment of salaries to municipal employees through treasury on the basis of their service registers.

Accordingly, 29,430 municipal employees, barring those of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Vijayawada and Greater Visakhapatnam corporations, were identified for payment of salaries through treasuries with retrospective effect from April 1 this year.

The government will bear Rs. 298.43 crore towards salaries and Rs. 64.19 crore towards pensions of 11,516 retired employees annually hereafter.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy briefed the media persons about the review meeting with the Chief Minister.

He said though the government issued the orders much before the announcement of elections for payment of salaries of municipal employees from treasury from April 1 this year, its implementation was delayed as the municipalities could not provide the details of sanctioned posts sought by the Finance department to arrive at the number of employees.

However, as the sanctioned orders issued decades ago could not be traced in majority of municipalities and were not available even in the State Archives department, the Chief Minister directed the officials to find an alternative.

Service registers

Accordingly, the number of employees was finalised on the basis of the service registers of municipalities and local fund audit reports.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 June 2009 03:27
 


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