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Nashik Municipal Corporation seeks Rs 200 crore to acquire land

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 12:03 administrator
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The Times of India                21.04.2013

Nashik Municipal Corporation seeks Rs 200 crore to acquire land

NASHIK: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has demanded Rs 200 crore from the government to acquire land for the Simhastha Kumbh mela 2015, but is unsure if it will get the entire amount and also if the land would be acquired permanently.

Around 274 acres of land need to be acquired for the sadhugram for the coming mela, as the NMC has acquired only 54 acres of the total requirement of 328 acres since the last Kumbh mela.

"We have demanded for Rs 200 crores for permanent land acquisition, but will have to see how much we get. It will take some time to acquire land on a permanent basis. The other option is for the district collector to acquire the land on a temporary basis four or five months before the Kumbh mela," said municipal commissioner Sanjay Khandare. "There are some feelers from the government that the corporation should formulate some strategies. We are working on it," he said.

Meanwhile, the akhadas of sadhus have demanded that the land be acquired for sadhugram on a permanent basis. "Not only do the sadhus have a say in this matter, but the land owners also. They ask why they should give away their land for such a short period. But since the land is reserved, it has to be acquired," said Khandare.

The commissioner said he felt the land should be acquired but keeping around 325 acres of land idle for 11 years would amount to a huge waste. "Some activity should be conducted to generate revenue when the Kumbh mela is over. This will even keep away the encroachments," Khandare said.

 

BMC to knock on govt door for solution

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 10:48 administrator
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The Indian Express              21.05.2013

BMC to knock on govt door for solution

FOLLOWING Bombay High Court order banning disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) at the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, BMC has decided to approach the state government to find a solution to the problem of lack of landfill sites.

Earlier, the partially opened Kanjurmarg dumping ground received 500 metric tonnes of garbage daily. The Mulund dumping ground received 1,000-1,500 metric tonnes and Deonar received the remaining chunk of 5,500 metric tonnes.

The HC order has now considerably increased pressure on the Deonar and Mulund landfills. The capacity of these two landfills was breached in 2009 and 2010, respectively. "We are following HC's decision but Deonar and Mulund dumping grounds have reached their capacity. We will soon have no place to dump garbage. We will approach the state government on the issue and jointly file an appeal in the Supreme Court," said deputy municipal commissioner Prakash Patil.

For the last two years, BMC has been writing to the state government requesting amendment to a clause in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act of 1886 to include the name of the contractor to the land lease agreement for landfill sites. Till date, garbage remains untreated at the two main dumping grounds as contractors refuse to set up a facility without their name added to the lease agreement between the BMC and the state government.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) rules of 2000 say the state government must provide land to BMC for garbage treatment and disposal plants, and the corporation must ensure that the waste is processed. "HC made its decision based on data provided by MPCB and MCZMA. The state is yet to make an amendment to the MMC Act so that we can lease out dumping grounds properly and begin waste treatment practices," Patil said.

"Contractors say it is difficult for them to get bank funds to set up the composting plant without the lease agreement in their name," Patil added.

 

Civic body muses running own buses

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 10:19 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle               21.05.2013

Civic body muses running own buses

Picture for representational purpose only.
Picture for representational purpose only.

Kochi: As part of the formation of Metro Cochin Transport Corporation (MCTC), a special purpose vehicle to manage the urban transport sector, a meeting of stakeholders convened by the mayor Tony Chammany has proposed that the civic body look at taking over the JNNURM low floor buses from KSRTC or have its own bus services.

Another major proposal was to run buses on a public private participation (PPP) basis with the corporation having 51 per cent stake and the rest with government employees and the public.
The meeting also mooted incorporating all private buses plying on city routes to be under the MCTC. Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation member James Vadakkan is to be entrusted with conducting a feasibility study and submitting the report.

It was also proposed to request the government to constitute an exclusive SPV for Kochi in the urban transport sector. Since the Centre has already issued guidelines for JNNURM Phase II, formation of an SPV and Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) is mandatory to get funds for the urban transport sector and additional low floor buses.  The authority will function as a coordinating agency integrating various stakeholder departments.

There is an increased public demand for an independent authority to co-ordinate public transport in a developing metropolis like Kochi. In many other metros in the country, city transport authorities are coordinating urban transport, the meeting observed.

Deputy mayor B. Bhadra, standing committee chairpersons, corporation secretary Ajith Patil, James Vadakkan, Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development director Rajan Chedambath and Centre for Public Policy Research chairman D. Dhanuraj also attended the meeting.

 
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