The Hindu             25.06.2013

BWSSB hopes State will agree on tariff hike

BWSSB chairperson Gaurav Gupta, who has apprised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah about the board’s financial condition, told The Hindu Monday the monthly power, operation and maintenance costs would go up drastically after the new Cauvery Stage IV Phase II project is fully commissioned.

Although the new project has been planned to augment the city’s supply of 900 million litres of water per day (mld) by 500 mld, the BWSSB is drawing only 200 mld. “But once the project is fully commissioned, our expenses will go up drastically. But nothing can be said about when the rates will be hiked and by how much.”

The BWSSB, which has spent Rs. 1,759 crore on the project with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has been pushing for a hike for several years. Although the power tariff was revised more than twice since 2005, the water tariff has remained the same in the last eight years.

Although the former BWSSB Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu had in April 2011 announced that water rates would be hiked, the proposal was not approved by the Cabinet.

Appeal for grants

A source said the Board has also requested the government to either sanction annual grants or permit it to hike water tariff. The Board has not been receiving any government grants so far. “We cannot compromise on operation and maintenance of existing lines. We need money to replace and rehabilitate the old lines.”

BWSSB spends Rs. 28 crore a month on power to pump water to the city from its reservoirs. “As this cost is likely to increase by another Rs. 20 crore (Rs. 240 crore annually) after pumping of the extra 500 mld starts, we are asking for an annual grant of Rs. 200 crore,” the official said.

The Times of India              24.06.2013

PMC to charge for ads on bus stops

PUNE: The civic administration will soon come up with a policy to charge a fee advertising fees for the advertisements on bus stops. The advertisement rates will be the same as the charges for putting up hoardings.

"At present, the civic body does not charge anything for such advertisementson bus stops. But, we are considering a policy to charge for the advertisements on bus stops in order to generate revenuefor the administration. The decision was taken recently during a meeting with the officials associated with of the traffic department in the PMC. We will convey the decision to the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML)accordingly," said Rajendra Jagtap, additional commissioner in the PMC, while speaking to reporters on Friday.

Jagtap said that the charges for bus stop advertisement will be same as that of hoarding charges the PMC will earn about Rs 222 per sq ft from the advertisements on bus stops. The intention is to generate revenue for the administration.

"Both hoardings and advertisements are used for outdoor publicity. So, the charges for both should be the same," he said.are used for same purpose i.e. outdoor publicity, so the charges for both should be similar, was the thought behind introducing the fees for bus stop adds," said Jagtap.

In 2012, the public transport undertaking had planned to install over 1,000 well-designed bus shelters in the city. The bus-shelters will be constructed on a public-private partnership basis and would be ready for use by early 2014.

According to the PMC records, out of 4,900-odd bus stops in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and adjoining areas only 1,000 have been provided with bus shelters.

The transport undertaking has now planned to fix the bus shelters at 1,019 locations, including 652 in Pune and 367 in Pimpri Chinchwad.

The bus stops will be designed in two sizes which will be made of stainless steel for longevity and cleanliness. Two designs of Mumbai pattern and Ludhiana pattern have already been selected for the purpose.

The PMPML will select bidders who will finance and construct the bus shelters and will be responsible for their maintenance for the next 15 years. In return, the bidders will be allowed to display advertisements on the sheltersto earn revenue.

Jagtap said the civic officials have also observed many builders, who are involved in on-site advertisements of their projects, put up more hoardings when they have taken permission for one or two.

"The administration has plans to recover the charges for the additional hoardings. The builders will be informed accordingly. If they refuse to pay for the extra hoardings, we will remove them," he said. They have taken permission for one or two hoardings, but have set up more hoardings. The administration has planned to recover advertisements charges for that additional hoardings too.