The Times of India               06.06.2013

Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s target: A vat-free city

KOLKATA: Residents of several areas across south Kolkata were in for a surprise on Wednesday. Instead of the regular whistles they are used to hearing every morning, which is a signal that it's time to deposit garbage in the rickety vans, a swank battery-driven vehicle was standing at their doorstep to collect the household waste. And there were civic workers in uniforms requesting them on the public address system to dump their garbage.

Prodded by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) solid waste management department has undertaken an ambitious project to make Kolkata a vat-free city. The CM has given the Trinamool Congress-run civic board two years to complete the task. As part of it, the department first set up four 'garbage compactor stations' at Tallah Park, Kalighat Park, Southern Avenue and Ballygunge Circular Road.

Now, these battery-operated vans, once filled up with garbage, will go to the 'garbage compactor station' and release the load there. It started with the Southern Avenue station on Wednesday for which garbage was collected from Sarat Bose Road, Rashbehari Avenue and Lake View Road. The compactor will squeeze the garbage and the vehicles will then be driven to the Dhapa dumping ground for disposal of waste. These localities under KMC's ward 85 will be the first ones to become a 'vat-free zone' in Kolkata.

Local Trinamool councillor Debasis Kumar had put the system under trial for the past month and it was inaugurated on Wednesday by former mayor Subrata Mukherjee at a function organized near Deshapriya Park.

"These compactors have replaced four major vats from where garbage would spill over, causing major environmental pollution. Now, the scene is completely different. With modern technology at work, there is hardly any scope for environmental pollution," said Debabrata Majumder, mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC solid waste management department. Majumder added that two more compactors are lined up for installation at Samsul Huda Road and Chetla.

Giving the details of a movable compactor machine, adviser to the solid waste management department Arun Sarkar said that it is capable of carrying three truckloads of garbage. "This apart, these battery-operated vehicles are environment friendly," Sarkar said.

A KMC official said the civic body has bought more than 20 such compactor vehicles under the Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP). "We are trying to arrange funds for buying more such vehicles so that the entire city may be made vat-free," said a KMC official. 

The Statesman               06.06.2013

North Corpn withdraws hike in property tax

NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE: There is a good news for the industrial sector falling under the ambit of North Corporation as the Corporation has withdrawn the 10 per cent hike in property tax.  

According to the Chairman, Standing Committee, North Corporation, Mr Ram Kishan Singhal, this year, the Corporation has made a commitment not to increase any tax. However the Commissioner, without taking consent of House and Standing Committee, issuing a letter had increased over 10 per cent of property tax for industrial sector putting them into the category of commercial establishment. Today, in the meeting of Standing Committee, Mr Singhal undid the tax hike and the establishment of new category.

The Corporation directed the Commissioner to issue a fresh order immediately to nullify the effect of previous one. " There will be no hike in the property tax without the consent of House and standing committee. If the department has collected the property tax at the rate of 20 per cent (after 10 per cent hike) on place of 10 per cent it must try to adjust it in the next financial year or refund it to the owner," Said Mr Singhal.