The Indian Express               27.04.2013

BMC allots Rs 1,200 crore for road repairs this year

The BMC standing committee passed a proposal Friday allotting Rs 1,200 crore for construction and repair of roads this year. While Rs 900 crore has been set aside for major roads, minor ones will be reconstructed at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

The money will be used through a new maintenance system under which the civic body will assign one engineer the upkeep of every 8-12 km stretch. The new system is to be implemented next month.

The road engineers (REs) in each ward will be responsible for maintenance and repair of roads less than 30 feet wide. Wider roads will be the responsibility of engineers in the road department office.

REs have been asked to survey and submit a list of roads to be reconstructed by May 15, after which BMC will invite tenders for repair and construction. "REs will ensure upkeep and maintenance of stretches assigned to them. They will also be able to call bids for road repairs costing up to Rs 20 lakh," said Aseem Gupta, additional municipal commissioner.

Meanwhile, BMC has decided to conduct an audit of roads under the defect liability period and ask contractors to undertake repairs before monsoon.

The standing committee also gave contracts to maintain 158 gardens for a year. The proposal was cleared despite protests by corporators and despite contractors bidding as low as 56 per cent below the base price, raising quality concerns.

BMC said it was facing staff crunch and would not be able to maintain the gardens developed in the last three years. "It was wrong to bring such a proposal for approval before the standing committee when the municipal commissioner has said proposals where bids are abysmally low will not be tolerated," said Manoj Kotak, BJP corporator and member of the standing committee.

"It will take at least two months for fresh tenders. We will give these contractors a month and also get their work audited for quality," said Gupta.

The Hindu              27.04.2013

VMC to introduce Intelligent Traffic Management System

‘Smart city’ concept is catching up, says Municipal Commissioner.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation is working on an Intelligent Traffic Management System to be introduced on the BRTS Road.

“We need smart technologies to manage traffic efficiently,” said Municipal Commissioner S. Panda Das on Friday. Pointing to the fact ‘smart city’ concept was catching up, he said that all stakeholders such as street vendors and others would have to be involved in the traffic management drive.

He was speaking as part of a discussion on ‘Expansion and Development of Vijayawada City’ organised by the Vijayawada chapter of CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India).

“Expansion of cities is a natural phenomenon. It is very important to look at the broader development of the city but the Corporation has its own limits. The image of a city can improve only when its peripheral areas develop,” he said, listing out infrastructure, recreational facilities, traffic management, sanitation and water supply as basic features required for developing a city.

Visionary leaders, said Mr. Das, could help a great deal on this count. Pointing to the narrow road which, he said, posed a major challenge to development plans, he said to develop a peripheral area, one had to face initial hurdles to enjoy long-term benefits.

Stressing the need to develop infrastructure resources like roads, drains and other facilities, he said the city had high potential on the recreation front. “This city has developed along canals which can be beautified by keeping them litter-free. A big park can be developed for some lung space, a place where people can distress,” he suggested.

Ramesh Srikonda, Head of the Architecture Department in the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, listed out development options, through a power point presentation. Explaining about the real estate scenario in India, he explained about the planning initiatives citing appropriate examples, the ToD (Transit Oriented Development) and facility corridor and resource generation.

Elaborating on how to bring in urban designs to the city, he stressed the need for cyclist-friendly and pedestrian-friendly roads in the city. Beautification of canals by transforming them into recreation hubs and introduction of waterless urinals were among his other proposals.

Earlier, CREDAI’s Vijayawada chapter president Y.V. Ramana Rao, urged the VMC to develop roads, drainage and power supply in peripheral areas to enable developers take up projects there.

Roads and drains

He also urged UDA to construct roads and drains between Eluru Road and Bandar Road to reduce pressure on the highly populated area and pave the way for organised growth of the city.

Satellite Township on Hyderabad road, construction of flyovers and expansion of Gannavaram airport were other demands.

Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry president M. Murali Krishna and others were present.