Indian Express 11.10.2009

This mayor-turned-MLA wants to reserve industrial plots for IT firms

During his stint as Mayor of Thane, Rajan Vichare had staunchly opposed conversion of industrial plots to residential ones. And now in his maiden stint as a MLA (Thane Assembly constituency) Vichare aims to push for state policy that would regulate plot conversions with emphasis on compensation to the original landowners, and reservation of certain portions of plot for business process outsourcing (BPO) and Information Technology.

“During my stint as the Mayor there was not a single plot that was converted from industrial to residential,” said Vichare. “With the real estate prices soaring high, the industrialists thought it was wise to sell the land that was purchased at throw away prices, and set-up base in other states such as Gujarat that offer tax waiver,” said Vichare. “Had these plots been retained by their owners they would have served as invaluable assets now. I will also try to reserve 30 per cent of the industrial plots that go for conversion to residential category for setting up BPOs and IT firms for ensuring employment.”

Besides the conversion of industrial plots, traffic is an issue which Vichare says he would focus on. “In a congested city where the population is growing by the day, multi-tier flyovers are the only solution. The second phase of SATIS (station area traffic improvement scheme), the extension from Jamli Naka to Meenatai Thackeray Chowk, will be a priority for me,” said Vichare.

He sarcastically adds that the proposed flyover Kapur Bawdi, to be built by the state, has witnessed three bhumi pujans by various ministers and yet there is no sign of work. “Currently there is a project under Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) wherein 200 slum dwellers have been provided proper houses in apartment buildings at a nominal cost. There has to be more of such projects with an aim to make the city slum free,” said Vichare. Garbage dumping ground, handing over plots reserved for schools to educational trusts and restoration of lakes are also on the to-do-list of Vichare. For this veteran Sainik, perform or perish is the motto with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena eating into its vote bank and Nationalist Congress Party making inroads into the city which was once considered to be Sena’s fortress

Deccan Chronicle 10.11.2009

Water connections free for city slums

Bengaluru, Nov. 9: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has taken up a Rs 42 crore project to provide free water connections to households in 362 slums in the core Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) area.

Water will also be supplied to slum-dwellers at a subsidised rate. At present, the BWSSB, under a volumetric metering system, levies a lowest tariff of Rs 6 per kilolitre.

The board has been supplying water to slums through 6,100 public taps and has sunk 6,310 borewells in these areas but, if things go as planned, residents of these localities will not have to queue up with pots on the streets but will be able receive water in their homes by November 2011.

The BWSSB will in the next two weeks float tenders to appoint agencies to survey the slums identified and prepare a detailed project report. Work on the the project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will begin in five months and will be completed in 18 months, said BWSSB chairperson P.B. Ramamurthy.

While the project is part of the BWSSB’s pro-poor initiatives, board officials said it could also help check unaccounted use and wastage of water in the city. Some 43 per cent, or 408 million litres per day (mld), of the water supplied by the BWSSB is not accounted for, due to leaks, old pipes and misuse of water at public taps.

After the project is implemented in the core BBMP area, it will be extended to othe former TMC areas, Mr Ramamurthy added.

The BWSSB has waived the interest on unpaid water bills of over 12,000 households in slums in the city, an official said. Around 10 per cent of Bengaluru’s population lives in over one lakh households in the city’s 780 slums.