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Udyog Vihar may come under Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 06:02 administrator
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The Times of India            11.02.2014

Udyog Vihar may come under Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon

GURGAON: Management and upkeep of the industrial sectors of Udyog Vihar have been exclusive concerns of the HSIIDC up until now. But some of the civic responsibilities in these parts may soon be taken over by the MCG, according to senior state officials.

Senior HSIIDC representatives in Gurgaon corroborated the claim, saying the MCG may begin work in Udyog Vihar 'within a month or so.'

"The municipal corporation will be taking over hygiene management here, which includes works like sweeping the roads and garbage disposal. The MCG will also be looking after streetlight maintenance in the industrial areas," said O P Goyal, Gurgaon DGM, HSIIDC.Even since the inception of Gurgaon's industrial zones, the HSIIDC has remained the sole authority here. Such a transfer of powers, although limited in scope, remains without precedent in Gurgaon. "The government has decided that the MCG will be taking over some responsibilities here. We have also referred the municipal officials to the state government's directive. We are waiting for their response," Goyal said.

The latest point of contention between Gurgaon's industrial community and the state authorities had to do with property tax collection by the municipal corporation in this area. Plot owners in Udyog Vihar maintained that MCG's tax demand was illegitimate as the civic body had no part to play in the industrial zones, which lay squarely under the purview of the HSIIDC.

Some industrialists are now suspecting that the new government order might be a ruse to provide legal standing to MCG's property tax demand, which has been challenged by local associations in the court of law.

"This is completely unacceptable. The MCG has taken up insignificant duties here only to justify its property tax demand. The point is that the industrial area needs one civic authority, not two," said H R Vaish, president, Udyog Vihar Chamber of Industries.

 

Civic body all set to carry out biometric survey of hawkers

Tuesday, 11 February 2014 05:57 administrator
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The Times of India            11.02.2014

Civic body all set to carry out biometric survey of hawkers

NASHIK: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) will be conducting a biometric survey for identifying hawkers - and provide them with identity cards - in all the six divisions of the city from this week.

The survey, to be conducted by a private agency, will include the number of street vendors and their locations in various parts of the city.

"We have appointed an agency to carry out the biometric survey and they will begin the survey this week," said Dattatreya Gotise, deputy municipal commissioner, NMC. "The survey is being carried out as per the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors. Hawkers will have to get themselves registered with the civic body, following which they will be issued identity cards," Gotise said.

NMC officials said that the 12-member Town Vending Committee has already been formed and that the committee needs to finalize locations for hawkers' zones in all six Nashik divisions.

"We have already suggested some spots and will also issue the identity cards soon," an NMC official said.

The identity cards will include a vendor code number, vendor name, category of vendor, address and photo of the vendor, name of any one nominee from the family/and/or a family helper, nature of business, category (stationary or mobile). If stationary, the vending location will be mentioned. All these will be done with the help of the Town Vending Committee (TVC). Children below 14 years will not be included in the ID card for conducting business, as per the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors.

"Till the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors is implemented, the NMC should not evict any hawker. The centre has directed all states to instruct all the municipal corporations to implement the street vendors' policy and the state government has done so. Now the corporation should speed up the process," said Shantaram Chavan, president, Nashik District Hawkers' and Street Vendors' Union. "Vendors form a major chunk of the unorganised sector but are considered as encroachers and are held responsible for congestion. But this is our means of livelihood: people also depend upon us. Once the policy is implemented, it will benefit everyone," Chavan said.

 

GHMC to Charge Ad Fee from Private Vehicles

Monday, 10 February 2014 11:44 administrator
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The New Indian Express              10.02.2014 

GHMC to Charge Ad Fee from Private Vehicles

For the first time, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is planning to collect advertisement fees from private buses, cabs, vans, autos and LMV vehicles for display of advertisements on their vehicles from April this year.

GHMC would collect Rs 12,000 each from mobile buses, vans and light motor vehicles, Rs 6,000 each for a cab and Rs 1,200 each from autorickshaws per annum.

Nearly 3 lakh vehicles will come into advertisement fee net and the corporation would earn revenues to the tune of Rs 25-30 crore annually from vehicle display advertisements. In GHMC limits, there are about 25,000 cabs, 1.45 lakh autos, 3,800 RTC buses, 3,000 private buses, and 15,000 buses belonging to educational institutions.

After the operationalisation of international airport at Shamshabad, several cabs and buses are displaying advertisements on which no advertisement fee was being charged by the corporation and it has decided to include in the schedule of rates.

With Metro Rail Corridors, PVNR Expressway, and Outer Ring Road (ORR) becoming high potential for advertisements, the GHMC has identified them as special category ‘S’ and going to levy hefty advertisement fee on the said stretches. All national and state highways within the GHMC limits are now classified as category ‘A’  where high advertisement fee will be levied on the basis of per square metre.

Also the GHMC has revised the advertisement fee on hoardings, bus shelters, foot-over- bridges and bus shelters by doubling them from the coming financial year. The GHMC Standing Committee which met on Thursday had approved the said proposals, GHMC officials told Express.

GHMC has decided to do away with the collection of advertisement fee on installment basis from the next financial year. The agencies who erected the hoardings have to pay 100 per cent advertisement fee in advance during March every year for the succeeding financial year instead of existing practice of collecting in four installments i.e, 40 per cent in March, 20 per cent each in May, June and July.

Further, GHMC will impose penalty if advertisement fee is not paid in March and  those who come for renewal, a penalty of 10 per cent would be levied in April, May (20 per cent), June (30 per cent) and if the boards were not renewed with penalty by June end, the same may be cancelled duly collecting the dues. GHMC has proposed to have a uniform rate for both lit and non-lit categories in view of the practical difficulties in assessing the advertisement fee, GHMC officials added.

 
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