Towns and Cities

No civic official during visit hours, MNS locks office

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 11:31 administrator

Indian Express 15.12.2009

No civic official during visit hours, MNS locks office

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Monday launched an agitation against the Pune municipal administration and locked two offices in the civic headquarters when officers were not present during the visiting hours for public.

The MNS said absence of officers was causing inconvenience to citizens. “The civic body has kept 3 pm-5 pm as visiting hours for public, but the officers have been frequently found missing from their offices. The citizens are facing inconvenience due to this and have to make rounds of the civic body to get their work done,” said MNS leader Ravindra Dhangekar. He locked the office of city engineer Prashant Waghmare and Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Electrical) Vijay Dahibhate. “We will continue to keep a watch on them. If they remain absent during the visiting hours for public, the offices will be locked even if it is the office of the municipal commissioner,” he said.

Dhangekar said civic officers had recently been to Mahabaleshwar at the behest of ruling NCP for a brainstorming session on the development work of the PMC. “It is beyond our understanding how the civic officers could attend such a meeting but find no time for the citizens,” he said, calling for an investigation into such behaviour of the officers.

The BJP has also criticised the civic officers attending the meeting. “What kind of discussion on development was being carried out in Mahabaleshwar which was not possible in the city. The munincipal commissioner should clarify the stand of civic administration,” said BJP leader Mukta Tilak. A delegation of BJP corporators would meet Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade on the issue. The civic administration said the officers were not present in their offices as most of them were in a meeting on budget 2010-11 .

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 11:34

After WHO call, civic body eases rules for mobile towers

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 11:24 administrator

Indian Express 15.12.2009

After WHO call, civic body eases rules for mobile towers

Less than six months after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi announced its decision to curb the increasing number of cellular towers in the Capital, the civic body has altered its track.

Following a study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the MCD, the civic body has come up with a set of revised guidelines to allow installation of cellular towers at a reduced cost of Rs 1 lakh per site as permission charges.

The civic agency had sought WHO’s opinion on cell phone towers being hazardous to human health and the study held that there “is not enough scientific evidence to prove that the cellular towers pose health hazards.”

As per the revised regulations, no-objection certificates will be issued for the installation of cellular towers only in non-residential buildings and multi-storeyed group housing buildings. Further, the MCD has directed mobile network operators to refrain from installing towers near schools and hospital premises, considering that “children and patients are more susceptible to electro-magnetic field.”

According to MCD officials, while the revised regulation has reduced the permission charge from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh, it also has provisions to reduce arbitrary or illegal installation of cellular towers. Those who have illegally set up cell phone towers will now have to apply to the MCD for regularisation, failing which the tower will be brought down, the regulations specify.

“A total of 2,517 cell phone towers were set up illegally. An opportunity is being given to them to apply for regularisation. If they meet the criteria the tower will be legalised. They need to apply within six months otherwise the tower will be demolished,” a senior MCD official said.

Recently, in response to an RTI application, MCD additional commissioner (Engineering) had admitted that out of 4,532 mobile towers in the city, only 2,015 have requisite permissions.

The revised guidelines also state that the network operators will also have to get prior approvals from the from the Airports Authority of India, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, Chief Fire Officer, Archaeological Survey of India and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for each site where the base station or the towers are to be installed.

The operators will also need to obtain structural safety certificates from either the Indian Institute of Technology, the Central Building Research Institute, the Rail India Technical and Economic Services limited or the National Council for Building Material.

Revised guidelines
* Permission charge reduced from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 lakh
* Provision to legalise towers
* No towers near schools, hospitals
* Approval from other state agencies required
* Structural safety certificate necessary

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 11:28

Mayor’s maiden city tour a damp squib

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:13 administrator

The New Indian Express 15.12.2009

Mayor’s maiden city tour a damp squib

Express News Service

Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy and Deputy Mayor Jaffer Hussain inspect sewage works in Saidabad.

HYDERABAD: The maiden visit of Greater Hyderabad Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy to different parts of the city on Monday turned out to be a damp squib. Senior officials, who were to accompany her, stayed away, rendering the tour a mere waste of time.

Apart from Commissioner MT Krishna Babu, no Additional Commissioner accompanied the Mayor. Chief engineer Panduranga Rao and South Zone commissioner Subramanyam accompanied her only for a brief period and left midway, causing embarrassment to the city’s first citizen.

Deputy Mayor Jaffer Hussain was also on the tour.

Observing the slow pace of construction of a bridge on the Musi near the Race Course connecting the northern and southern banks (Golnaka to Race Course), Karthika Reddy asked the contractor to speed up the works. The bridge is to be completed and thrown open to traffic by August 26, 2010. The work, costing about Rs 5.02 crore, is being executed by JSR Constructions Pvt Ltd.

The bridge will be 219 metres long and 12 metres wide. The bridge will connect Golnaka at Zinda Tilismath Road to Old Malakpet at the proposed 80-feet road and provide the shortest route from Golnaka and Amberpet to Malakpet. Besides, it will help in relieving the traffic congestion on the Chaderghat bridge, Moosarambagh Road and corresponding stretches on the Warangal highway and National Highway-9.

From there, the mayor visited Saraswati Nagar, IS Sadan and inspected the sewerage works. Saidabad corporator Singireddy Srinivas Reddy complained to her that the HMWS&SB was to lay pipelines in all of Chandrayangutta, Malakpet and Yakutpura but concentrated only on localities where HMWS&SB and GHMC officials reside. He wanted the pipelines to be laid in consultation with local corporators and MLAs. The Mayor assured him that she would hold a meeting with HMWS&SB officials in this regard.

Karthik Reddy also inspected a community hall at Teen Mahal temple in Saidabad and received complaints from locals about civic problems.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 10:23

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