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BBMP order cancelling mutt’s building licence stayed

Thursday, 31 May 2018 07:37 administrator

The Hindu 31.05.2018

BBMP order cancelling mutt’s building licence stayed

Ramachandrapura Mutt alleges that the then BBMP Commissioner passed ‘illegal’ order for ‘extraneous reasons’

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday stayed an order, passed by the then Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) N. Manjunath Prasad, cancelling the approved building plan and the khata besides “declaring as null and void” the sale deed executed in 1978 in favour of Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt by a house building co-operative society in relation to a site at Girinagar where the mutt is now constructing a building.

Justice B. Veerappa passed the interim order on a petition filed by the mutt, which has questioned the April 7, 2018 order passed by the then Commissioner.

The petitioner has “reason to believe that the impugned order has been passed much after Manjunath Prasad was transferred from the BBMP. In other words, the impugned order has been backdated and passed by the then Commissioner BBMP when he had become functus officio,” it has been complained in the petition.

The April 7 order was passed by Mr. Prasad “for extraneous reasons and at the instance of vested interests” after he demitted the office as Commissioner, BBMP, in the first week of May 2018 by putting a backdate, it has been alleged in the petition.

The Commissioner has no powers to declare a sale deed as null and void as such powers are given only to the civil courts, the mutt contended while claiming that the BBMP Commissioner cannot term as “illegal” the action of Bangalore Development Authority in granting no-objection certificate in favour of the mutt.

The mutt contended in the petition that Mr. Prasad heard mutt’s point of view through its advocate on correctness of plan approval and reserved his order in November 2017. It has been stated in the petition that on April 16, 2018, the BBMP’s Legal Cell head orally asked mutt’s counsel to give clarification on the issue pending for adjudication before the Commissioner, but shockingly the order was dated April 7.

The BBMP, in 2013, approved the mutt’s plan for constructing a community hall, etc. on the site. However, the BBMP, in 2016, cancelled the approval without issuing any notice to the mutt. Later, the BBMP withdrew order of cancellation after the High Court in July 2017 found fault with its action in a petition filed by the mutt. In August 2017, the High Court disposed of two PIL petitions against the approved plan and directed the Commissioner to examine whether the plan approved has to be cancelled or not after giving opportunity of hearing to the mutt.

Garbage bin issue raises a stink at BBMP council meet

Thursday, 31 May 2018 07:06 administrator

The Hindu 31.05.2018

Garbage bin issue raises a stink at BBMP council meet

Protest:BJP members demanding an apology from BBMP’s Joint Commissioner (SWM and Health) Sarfaraz Khan, during the council meeting on Wednesday.Chitra V. RamaniChitra V. Ramani

Opposition members take officials to task for installing the bins

Opposition members raised a stink about garbage bins installed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at a 100 black spots across the city, at the council meeting on Wednesday.

The BBMP has installed these semi-automated, semi-buried bins for wet and dry waste on a pilot basis. The former Mayors B.S. Sathyanarayana and N. Shanthakumari took the officials of the Solid Waste Management Department to task and said all earlier attempts to make Bengaluru a “garbage bin-free city” had come to a nought, and claimed that the bins had now become black spots themselves.

Govindarajanagar councillor Umesh Shetty sought to know who permitted the installation of these bins at a cost of Rs. 53 crore. Alleging that the council was kept in the dark over the issue, he charged that officials were taking unilateral decisions, without following protocol. He sought to know the status of the bins installed across the city at Rs. 2 crore when G. Padmavathi was the Mayor.

Responding to the questions, BBMP’s Joint Commissioner (SWM and Health) Sarfaraz Khan said bins were mandatory as per Swachh Bharat guidelines and SWM Rules, 2016. “The bins were first proposed by the State government, following which a proposal was sent to the Standing Committee for Health. After approval from the committee and council, e-tenders were floated. We have installed 100 bins so far; the High Court of Karnataka has directed the BBMP to install 100 more in the city,” he said, and added that the civic body had yet to pay the German firm. “Funds have been earmarked under the Nagarottana Scheme. Each bin costs around Rs. 5.5 lakh, plus maintenance for five years,” he said.

Mayor R. Sampath Raj directed the Commissioner to instruct the Technical Vigilance Cell under the Commissioner to conduct an audit on the status and condition of the old bins installed across the city. The TVCC, he said, should submit its report within 15 days.

Bins are mandatory as per Swachh

Bharat guidelines and Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

Sarfaraz Khan,BBMPJoint Commissioner (SWM and Health)

‘Maharashtra lacks e-transport infra’

Friday, 25 May 2018 06:33 administrator

The Hindu 25.05.2018

‘Maharashtra lacks e-transport infra’

The UNEP report said there was lack in clarity on who would install the charging stations for the e-bus launch.File Photo

UNEP reviews State’s plans to convert 8,000 buses into battery driven vehicles

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which is reviewing Maharashtra government’s electric vehicle policy, has expressed concerns over the lack of infrastructure to support an e-transport system in the State.

While the manufacturers of electric vehicles have proposed an investment of over Rs. 10,000 crore in the State, the UNEP has said the government’s policy needs better clarity. UNEP teams and experts from Tata Power recently reviewed the State’s plans to retrofit and convert 8,000 State-run buses into battery driven vehicles.

The UNEP, Maharashtra government and the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) are slated to sign an MoU on May 31.

Under the plan, the bus fleet of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking are to be considered for retrofitting and charging stations will be installed at bus depots.

The UNEP has promised to facilitate a partnership with the State government and provide support through its Green Fund for financing the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy. However, the teams discovered during the review that infrastructure to set up charging stations was missing. “We need better clarity on who will install the charging stations for the e-bus launch. Better understating is needed to complete modalities between partners and stakeholders,” the UNEP said in its note to the government.

Maharashtra recently launched its e-vehcile policy, which has reportedly attracted an investment of Rs. 10,000 crore in the form of the three proposals from manufacturing units. The government aims to support manufacturing of around five lakh battery-powered vehicles while setting up 250 charging stations in six cities.

The policy envisages a complete switch of the State transport system to the electronic mode by 2030.

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