Urban News

The Hindu  10.11.2010

BBMP to have Project Management Unit soon

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will soon have a Project Management Unit to oversee projects. The unit will also ensure that there is transparency while implementing the projects, said K.V. Raju, Financial Adviser to Chief Minister.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Task Force for Quality Assurance in Public Constructions here on Monday.

“The unit will help design projects in a qualitative manner for timely implementation. It will lay emphasis on adopting new technologies and mobilising funds either from the Government or through public-private partnership,” he said.

Mr. Raju said that the unit was announced in the 2010-11 budget of the civic body as part of the Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya Infrastructure Development Plan. The unit will have onboard transaction advisers and technical experts. The unit will ensure that the tender process is transparent, accurate and easy.

The BBMP was also working out the feasibility of white topping at least 1 km of roads in each ward.

Mr. Raju suggested that young engineers be sent on study tours to other countries to learn about best practices. He said that engineers' services were not being utilised optimally. He urged the task force to frame guidelines to streamline the system.

Earlier, I. Ravindranath, member of the task force, urged the Government to accord magisterial powers for assistant executive engineers and above cadres to put projects on the fast track. Agencies for third party inspection must be short-listed by checking the equipment they have and a particular fee must be fixed for the same, he added.

The Pioneer  10.11.2010

Rajesh Kumar | New Delhi

Failing to regularise unauthorised colonies in a stipulated period, the Delhi Government has decided to approach the Central Government to seek more time to start the process of regularisation of 1,639 unauthorised colonies. Urban Development Minister Ashok Kumar Walia said on Tuesday that the Delhi Government would ask the Urban Development Ministry to grant more time for regularisation of unauthorised colonies. The Delhi Government had approached the Centre last November to seek more time to regularise these colonies.

It may be noted that 770 colonies have been cleared from all angles for regularisation and now the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is working on the final layout plan. The civic body has also been told to prepare the final layout plan in respect of 500 colonies which have been cleared by the Survey of India.

The colonies which are ready for regularisation include Madhu Vihar near Dwarka, Bhagwati Garden, Risal Garden, Vikas Vihar, New Ashok Nagar, Sanjay Enclave, Mohan Baba Nagar, Viswas Nagar, Molar Band Extension, West Karawal Nagar, Brijpuri, Rajapuri, Durgapuri, Laxmi Nagar (Kanjhawala), Rajiv Colony, New Roshanpura, Uttam Nagar, Sadatpur, Prem Nagar, Siraspur, Yadav Park Extension, Hanuman Enclave Nangloi, Jain Colony, Gupta Park, Begumpur, Friends Enclave in Sultanpuri, Mahavir Enclave, Sukhvir Vihar, Nihar Vihar, Om Vihar Extension, Nai Basti, Buland Masjid colony, Rejendra Park, Mange Ram Park, Najafgarh Park Colony, Shiv Ram Park colony, New Hira Park, Chander Vihar, Harijan colony, Upkar colony, Bhagwan Park, East Vinod Nagar, Balbir Nagar, Niti Vihar, Ekta Vihar, Bharat Vihar, Pratap Vihar, Nishat Park in Kakrola, Ishwar colony, Swarn Park Extension, Inder Enclave, Jaitpur, Narayan Vihar, Ankur Enclave, Mithapur, Amar colony and Rama Park Extension.

Sources said that the Government is finding difficult to regularise unauthorised colonies in a stipulated period due to its lengthy process. “The agencies involved in the regularisation are taking too much time to discharge its duty,” sources said. On the other hand, Walia says the Delhi Government has stepped up the process of regularisation of 1,639 unauthorised colonies that were given provisional regularisation certificates on October 4, 2008.

Beside this, there are 117 unauthorised colonies which are missing from the map and authorities are finding it difficult to locate these colonies. The list of missing colonies are available with The Pioneer, which include Saint colony, Bijwasan, Kapasheda Extension C Block, Phirni Road and NH village Kapasheda (Gali 18), Manak Vihar Extension, Samalkha village (Gali 18), B-1, F-1,2,3, E Block, J -1,2,3 of Sangam Vihar, Part-I and II of Chanchal Park Nangloi, Part-I and II of Bakarwala on Nangloi and Najafgrah Road, Onkar Vihar in Dwarka, Shankar Park Dharampura Extension, D Block of Dharampura on Karola Road, Rama Park C-1 Block in Uttam Nagar, Vidyapati Nagar in Nangloi (Tilang pur Kotla), Sector 1,2,3,4 of Maqsoodabad in Kotla Vihar Phase-II, Sector 1A of Roushan Garden-II, D-1 block of Arjun Nagar in Nangli-Sakrawati on Najafgarh Road, some parts of Mahavir Enclave in Palam, Indira Park in Bindapur, B and C Block of Mahavir Nagar, F block of Panchsheel Enclave, C,E and F block of Viswas Park in Palam, Nandihar, some parts of Pochan Pur, Nasirpur and Dabri.

Sources further said that there are a large number of colonies in south Delhi which are located on either the ridge area or the forest area. The Delhi Government has finalised a formula that colonies, developed on the forest land or Ridge area prior August 1990 may be considered for regularisation. If the formula is accepted, it may regularise 150 more colonies across the Capital. The forest department and Ridge Development Board have refused to give NOC to 238 unauthorised colonies, saying these colonies have come up on the notified forest and Ridge areas.

It may be noted that the Sheila Dikshit Government had won the Assembly election in the Capital due to unauthorised colonies as the Government had started providing basic facilities prior the elections and it had assured the residents of these colonies that these colonies would be regularised within a year after the elections. The cases pertaining to the regularisation are pending with Lokayukta and Delhi High Court.