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Register before Apr 30 or face action, civic bodies tell traders

Saturday, 27 April 2013 06:52 administrator
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The Indian Express               27.04.2013

Register before Apr 30 or face action, civic bodies tell traders

Rules
The traders’ strike had led to a complete shutdown of business in the city. They had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from May 8 if the state government failed to issue a notification on changes made in the LBT rules

LBT Govt issues notification on relaxation of norms; minimum limit increased, penalty down.

With the state government issuing a notification on changes in the draft rules of local body tax (LBT), after fulfilling most of the demands of protesting traders, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) are gearing up to initiate action against the traders not registering under LBT by April 30.

"The traders had threatened to go on an indefinite strike if no notification was issued by state government by May 7 on the announcement made in the Legislative Assembly to relax the rules for LBT. Now, the notification has been issued and the traders should cooperate with the civic body as most of their demands have been accepted," Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak said at a press conference.

Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi, too, appealed to traders to register for LBT before April 30, while stating that LBT offices would remain open on April 27, 28.

Pathak said the minimum limit for traders to register under LBT had been increased from business of Rs 1 lakh to that of Rs 3 lakh, while the penalty on defaulters had been reduced to five times of LBT from the earlier 10 times.

Pardeshi said the state government had also allowed the traders to keep a computerised soft copy of their records, which was one of their main demands. "However, the traders have also been told to keep the manual record at hand for inspection purpose," said the PCMC chief.

Pardeshi said the state government had also given discretionary power to the commissioner regarding the processing of industrial items.

Pathak said he was hopeful that more traders would come up for registration with the civic body, adding that the copy of notification had been forwarded to the traders' association. "The last date for registration is April 30 and the civic administration will have to initiate action on those failing to register themselves," he added.

PMC Joint Municipal Commissioner Vilas Kanade said the civic administration had completed 70 per cent of the survey to identify traders operating in the city and the entire data would be ready by the end of this month.

"In the ongoing door-to-door survey, the administration has identified around 33,000 traders who have not yet registered under LBT. The PMC will initiate action against the traders doing business without LBT registration. The survey data would be used for such action," he added.

"There is a good response from traders to register themselves under LBT," Kanade said, adding that the transport and courier companies operating within the civic jurisdiction too had asked to register under LBT and maintain all records of transportation of goods.

PMC and PCMC have started implementation of LBT in place of octroi from April 1, as directed by the government. This led to protest from traders as they launched an indefinite strike from April 1, but withdrew it after the assurance of the chief minister to dilute the LBT rules. The traders had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from May 8 if the state government failed to issue a notification on changes made in the LBT rules.

 

Right to Service Act in Kollam Corporation

Saturday, 27 April 2013 05:28 administrator
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The Hindu              27.04.2013

Right to Service Act in Kollam Corporation

Staff Reporter

List of 49 services rendered by the civic body published

A meeting of the City Corporation Council on Friday decided to implement the Right to Service Act in the Kollam Corporation.

In this connection, a list of the 49 services rendered by the Corporation has been published, along with other details.

Building ownership and residential certificates will be issued in five days. The number for a new building will be issued within fifteen days of submitting application. Birth and death certificates will be issued through the Corporation kiosk in a day and marriage certificates in seven days. Permit for construction of buildings will be issued in 30 days and occupancy certificate in 15 days.

As per the law, if these certificates are not issued within the prescribed time limit, the officer concerned will be slapped with fines ranging from Rs.500 to Rs.5,000.

Abattoir issue

Meanwhile, the meeting decided to strictly implement the Pollution Control Board norms at the abattoir of the Corporation on the banks of the Ashtamudi Lake near the KSRTC stand at Vadakkumbhagam in the city.

Councillor Honey Benjamin said hygiene standards maintained at the abattoir was pathetic.

While the service of a veterinary surgeon was not available at the abattoir, and stink from the facility constantly engulfed a big area of Vadakkumbhagam.

Animals were slaughtered there without even an examination by the health inspector.

All this posed a threat to the health of people who consumed meat of the animals slaughtered there, Ms. Benjamin said.

Residents in the area were bracing up for an agitation because of the situation, the councillor said.

The meeting also gave direction to speed up activities to ensure hygiene across the city before the arrival of the monsoon. Additional sanitation workers would be recruited for the purpose.

 

AMC to renegotiate loan interest rate

Friday, 26 April 2013 12:13 administrator
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The Times of India                     26.04.2013

AMC to renegotiate loan interest rate

AURANGABAD: After a gap of about four year, the Aurangabad municipal corporation (AMC) is now planning to re-negotiate terms with IDBI Bank. It is also exploring opportunities to transfer its fixed deposit amount of Rs 160 crore to another bank to earn more interest.

A senior officer in the AMC on Thursday said that the rate offered by the IDBI was not competitive and hence the administration was looking for options.

In addition to this, the civic body is also making attempts to bring down rate of interest of its loan amount which it had procured from the IDBI on two different occasions. In April 2012 and December 2012, the municipal body had availed Rs 97 crore and Rs 94.50 crore respectively. The officer said the IDBI was charging 13% interest rate on the amount.

In 2009-10, the AMC had deposited Rs 138 crore in IDBI at the rate of 7% per annum. But four years down the line, the AMC feels the rate is very low. "We should get at least 0.5% more," said another senior officer in AMC's accounts department on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Harshdeep Kamble said the AMC was paying installments of Rs 3.75 crore to IDBI every month on account of the loans. "We have requested the bank to cut interest rates," he said.

However, he denied that the civic body was looking out for another bank. "We have good financial terms with the bank and hence there is no question of knocking on another door. Nevertheless we can certainly request the IDBI to bring down the rates," he said.
Last Updated on Friday, 26 April 2013 12:15
 
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