The Indian Express                17.04.2013

Licence at doorstep for industrialists and shopkeepers in PCMC area

Industrialists and shopkeepers will soon get at their respective offices the licence they need to do business within the jurisdiction of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). The move aims to generate more revenue for the civic body and also help the businessmen avoid bureaucratic delays in getting the important document.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Satish Kulkarni said PCMC had decided to appoint a private agency to deliver licences to the respective offices of industrialists, shopkeepers and traders' community in general. "We have floated the tender for the purpose. Soon, we will complete the procedure and put the agency on the job," he said.

Kulkarni said the agency would be tasked to collect information about the shopkeepers or industrialists who do not possess licences.

"The agency would conduct a survey across the town to understand the problems faced by the business community in getting licences. If the shopkeepers are facing problems in getting the required documents, the agency would help them on that front. The agency is also supposed to collect fees and pay it to the PCMC. It will then help the shopkeepers in getting the licence issued from PCMC," Kulkarni said.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial area has over 5,000 small, medium and large-scale industrial units. Besides, it has around 30,000 small and big traders and shopkeepers. It is mandatory for them to possess a licence to operate in PCMC jurisdiction. The licence is issued by the PCMC after necessary documents are submitted and licence fees paid. For the year 2011-12, the PCMC Sky Sign licence department generated a revenue of Rs 53.45 lakh from the licences. Besides, it received Rs 14 lakh as penalty from those who did not possess licences.

For 2012-13, PCMC has estimated a revenue of Rs 57 lakh.

Officials said considering the number of business establishments in Pimpri-Chinchwad area, the revenue generated from the traders was very low.

"If licences are issued, more traders will come under the civic ambit helping it to get additional revenue," said an official.

P I Varghese, chairman and managing director of Suvarna Fibrotech, a small-scale industrial unit, said units currently operating in MIDC area were mostly old and several of them had proper licences. "The new ones face a lot of problems. If PCMC is going to help industrialists with licence right at their doorsteps, it is a heartening development. This will help create a good atmosphere in the industrial belt, which is going through a tough time. In a positive atmosphere, I am sure more and more industries would come up in Pimpri-Chinchwad," he said.

Subash B, a distributor, said: "While dealing with shops, I have come across shops refusing to stock certain products or trying to hide some dealings. This is because many of them do not have the licence to operate. It is also true that they come across several hurdles in getting the licences. If PCMC has decided to provide licence at the doorstep of shopkeepers, it is a welcome step," he said.

The Indian Express                17.04.2013

MC launches SARAL way for getting building maps passed

To simplify the process and encourage residents to get the maps of their new buildings, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has now launched SARAL, a one form to get passed the maps of buildings of upto 200 square yards of area.

"We studied the data of the past four years and noticed that the number of maps getting passed was decreasing year by year. To simplify the process of getting maps passed, we have launched SARAL. In this scheme, the owner just has to fill the form which has been kept very simple and even MC representative will assist him/her in filling it. They just need to give us a copy of registry of land along with an outlining sketch of proposed building along with fee," said Commissioner (Zone D) Isha Kalia.

The proposed SARAL is far simpler than the earlier way of getting maps passed which was long and tiresome. Residents had to

fill five forms A, B, C, D and E, and other technical formalities took months and thus residents avoided getting maps passed, fearing harassment.

In the SARAL form, the MC has given a box in which basic dimensions like width, height and outlining with pencil has to be made by the owner and the form then can be submitted in Suvidha Centres where representatives from all four zones will be present. The draftsman concerned will check all required information and the map will be passed in one day.

"We are simply not bothered about what is the interior of the building proposed unlike the previous process; we are only asking for basic outline. We are especially targeting small plot owners," added Kalia.

"Whenever we used to issue challan of a person with, say, 50 square yards area for building violations, he/she used to plead that they did not know technicalities but now with this simple system, there is no scope for these kinds of excuses. Having a small plot does not mean having the right to violate laws," said Kalia, adding that the form would soon be uploaded on the Internet and scheme would be operational from Wednesday onwards.

The forms would be available at all zonal offices, sub-zonal offices and Suvidha Kendras, she added.