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Property records project set for launch in Bangalore

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Deccan Herald          12.12.2013

Property records project set for launch in Bangalore

Under UPOR, survey, mapping and measurement of all properties will be done.

The Urban Property Ownership Records (UPOR) project, which envisages distribution of property titles (also property cards) to private immovable property owners, is set to be launched in Bangalore.

The Directorate of Survey Settlement and Land Records (DSSLR) has completed the tender process and shortlisted two firms – Hyderabad-based Infotech and Bangalore-based Alcon – to implement the project in 50 Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards in old Bangalore areas.

Commissioner of DSSLR V Ponnuraj said the tender details had already been sent to the government, seeking its approval.

The two agencies have quoted a higher price than what was stipulated in the tenders.
The tenders will be awarded to the agencies after securing the government’s approval, Ponnuraj added.

It was for the third time that the project was tendered. There were no takers for it on two earlier occasions.

The government, as a result, modified certain conditions in the tender such as allowing firms to participate in the bidding as a consortium and
engaging the services of other agencies at the time of implementation, official sources said.

Under the UPOR project, survey, mapping and measurement of all properties will be done and the authenticity of their ownership verified using old village maps and revenue records (urban properties were once villages and they had revenue numbers.

History of the properties and change in ownership over the years will be traced using those details).

The DSSLR will issue titles to the owners of private properties by charging a nominal fee. The titles will not be issued to the disputed properties. Under the existing system, there is no document that establishes the ownership of a property. Sale deed and khata are deemed as property ownership documents, sources said.

The project is expected to help the government identify encroachment of its land. The pilot project has been successfully implemented in Mysore city, and it is under implementation in Bellary, Shimoga, Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad, sources said.

25 wards each

Ponnuraj said each of these companies will be given 25 wards to implement the project. The government will bear the cost of the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 13 crore.

Money will be paid in instalments as the work progresses. The contract also involves maintenance of data for the initial three years. The project will be later extended to all BBMP wards and other cities and towns across the State.
 

PCMC quietly targets old structures

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The Indian Express            12.12.2013  

PCMC quietly targets old structures

Even as politicians in Pimpri-Chinchwad are going all out to stall the drive against illegal structures, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has quietly started demolishing illegal structures that were set up before March 31, 2012. All this while, the civic body had been demolishing structures that were set up after March 31, 2012. The action comes in the wake of Bombay High Court directive, which was issued last month.

Last month, PCMC had demolished 11 structures that were occupied and set up before March 31, 2012. However, the PCMC action on these structures was kept under wraps, presumably to avoid public protests. On its part, the PCMC administration was quick to issue updates on demolished structures and filed FIRs without evoking protests.

"This is because we have been facing lot of resistance. We had been demolishing structures that were set up after March 31, 2012, which were not occupied. Now, we are demolishing structures that came up before March 31, 2012," said Municipal Commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi.

Since June-July last year, PCMC has been going hammer and tongs against illegal structures. So far, it has demolished as many as 462 structures and have filed 2,094 FIRs against residents.

Hearing a petition filed by Pimpri-Chinchwad resident in November, a high court bench, headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud, observed that there was an "alarming state of affairs" in connection with the illegal structures in PCMC and corrective measures should be take to address the issue. The petition by Jaishree Dange had alleged that a portion of New Millennium School in Sangvi was constructed illegally on the Pavana riverbed. A garage and a restaurant were also set up adjacent to the school. These structures polluted the Pavana river, which is a source of drinking water.

According to an affidavit presented before the Bombay High Court, there are over 60,000 illegal structures in Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, the PCMC later clarified that the figure was 25,000.

 

Put up info on water supply bills online, CIC tells BMC

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The Indian Express            12.12.2013 

Put up info on water supply bills online, CIC tells BMC

In a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Ratnakar Gaikwad said that information on balance payments of water supply should be uploaded on the civic body's website along with the names of residents and the amount to be paid by them to BMC.

The letter mentions that around 687 residents of the F-North ward have Rs 50,000 as arrears for their water bills, the total amount adding up to Rs 20 crore. This was revealed after an RTI application was filed by a resident of the ward, asking for names of residents whose water bills were over Rs 50,000 in the same ward.

Gaikwad has also set a deadline by which the civic body has to put up the information. "It is essential that people know of these arrears of payments and BMC should put up all the information on their website by January 30, 2014," Gaikwad's letter said.

Refusing to comment on the issue, an official from the F-North ward office said that the information given in the letter is false and an explanation for the same will be given to the CIC by January 26.

Gaikwad's letter, dated December 7, also says that the information was not given to the concerned individual within 30 days of filing an RTI.

 


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