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Builders Get Breather: BWSSB to Issue NOCs for Cauvery Water Supply

Monday, 09 December 2013 06:37 administrator
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The New Indian Express                09.12.2013

Builders Get Breather: BWSSB to Issue NOCs for Cauvery Water Supply

Builders and developers, who were struggling to get no-objection certificates (NOC) from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for their projects, can now heave a sigh of relief.

The Board has decided to start issuing NOCs in areas where it supplies Cauvery water. The issuing of NOCs was stopped a while ago owing to water scarcity. However, with the commissioning of the Cauvery IV Stage II Phase drinking water project, the BWSSB has resumed the process.

Speaking to Express, chairman of the BWSSB, M S Ravishankar, said, “We are constituting a committee consisting of senior engineers, who will evaluate each application, and issue NOCs. The committee will also fix charges for providing infrastructure based on the size of the project, water requirements and distance between the site and our pipeline.”

However, BWSSB will not issue NOCs for projects in around 110 villages that were recently added to Bangalore city as it does not supply water to the area.

An NOC is mandatory for every construction project to obtain clearance. Till now, the BWSSB provided NOCs for projects where the builder could prove that arrangements for alternate sources of water had been made. However, recently, this practice was stopped.

For high rises and apartments, builders will have to meet around 24 conditions, including sewage treatment plants for apartments with over 100 units and rainwater harvesting facilities.

 

'Lost' public toilets to be singled out

Saturday, 07 December 2013 09:59 administrator
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The Times of India               07.12.2013

'Lost' public toilets to be singled out

HUBLI: The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) has taken the first step towards reclaiming public toilets lost to encroachers in the twin cities by initiating a survey.

According to HDMC's records, 96 public toilets were built here over several decades, but many were slowly encroached upon.

Take the case of the ones near Deccan, Shringar and Ajanta theatres, as well as on Koppikar Road, Coen Road and CBT. They have allegedly been taken over builders, but no action has been taken against them.

To get a clearer picture of this, the HDMC has now begun a survey on the number and condition of public toilets in the twin cities.

S H Naregal, a special officer at HDMC, explains that the authorities have been making detailed reports on existing public toilets. "Besides, we are conducting a survey of public toilets that have been encroached upon. Once we complete it, we will serve notices to the encroachers."

D Govindrao, social activist and president of Kannada Para Mahamandal, claims, "In Hubli, 22 public toilets in market areas were encroached upon by builders, which has caused much inconvenience to the public."

He alleges that HDMC officials are hand in glove with such builders. "If the civic body fails to remove the encroachments, we will move court against it."

Some organizations in the city had recently staged a protest against the HDMC for not taking action against encroachers, and demanded additional public toilets in market and residential areas.

TOI had last week highlighted the shortage of well-maintained public toilets in the twin cities.

 

Illegal houses in way of Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad project demolished

Saturday, 07 December 2013 09:36 administrator
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The Times of India               07.12.2013

Illegal houses in way of Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad project demolished

NOIDA: To speed up work on the much-awaited Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad(FNG) Expressway, Noida Authority on Friday conducted a demolition drive to remove massive encroachment. The action was taken after the violators did not pay any heed to the Authority's notices.

FNG has become the Authority's most-awaited project to ease congestion. "No encroachment on government land will be allowed to hamper the work of the expressway. The Authority aims to complete it as soon as possible," said Rajesh Prakash, DCEO, Noida Authority.

The demolition drive on Friday lasted six hours. The Authority team, comprising officials from the anti-encroachment cell and land wing, removed houses built on government land meant for the expressway. Land mafia had illegally sold the plots long back. Similar kinds of anti-encroachment drives will continue in future, said officials.

The Authority CEO Rama Raman had earlier directed engineers to speed up work on all projects. "FNG is a very important project not just for residents living around it, but also the realty sector. It is due to such factors that we are clearing hurdles to make way for early delivery of the project," said a senior Authority official.

Also, officials have been on their toes to resolve all legal issues between farmers and the Authority so that work does not come to a standstill. The Rs 1,000 crore, 43km-long FNG Expressway has faced several hurdles in the past as farmers had refused to give up their land for the project. Besides, local land mafia sold land for the project to people, who built houses on it.

Plan for the expressway was started in 1989, while work commenced in 1993. The Authority has already completed work on 16 kilometres of the 21km stretch which falls in Noida's jurisdiction. The remaining part of FNG lies in Ghaziabad and Faridabad. Since the Authority's progress on this road was very slow, colonizers saw an opportunity and sold the expressway land illegally, claimed officials.

 
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