Urban News

Hindustan Times  09.09.2010

Important civic plans get clearance

Three years after the state-appointed Standing Technical Advisory Committee’s recommendation, the municipal corporation decided to appoint consultants to observe and assess each bridge in the city. The consultants will then submit reports on the estimated cost of repair and what should be done.

“The consultant will carry out non-destructive test and physical test [on the dilapidated bridges], which will be the bases of their recommendation,” said a civic official, requesting anonymity.

On the geo-tube technology, the official added: “This technology uses a thick synthetic permeable geotextiles with uniquely designed retention properties to reduce the soil erosion. It has been implemented at the INS Hamla in Malad.”

“We want to use this technique as it has given results across the world,” said Standing Committee Chairman Rahul Shewale, who had arranged the presentation along with PWD officials.

The total cost of the geo-tube project is Rs 5 crore, but the civic body will first conduct soil testing to see whether the soil is compatible to the new technique. The cost of conducting these tests is Rs 25 lakh.

On Wednesday, the corporation also cleared the proposal to purchase upgraded versions of the Honda City for Mayor Shraddha Jadhav and Municipal Commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya.

“The existing official vehicles [older version of the Honda City] often required repairs and hence we decided to get new ones for them,” Shewale said.

The proposal said that as the cars have travelled a lot, technical wear and tear caused repeated problems and it was not financially viable to maintain them.

The Pioneer  09.09.2010

Mayor tells officials to remove hoardings fast

PNS | Dehradun

Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli issued some important instructions to officials of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun regarding utilisation of MCD land and action to be taken regarding the installation of advertisement hoardings in town. The Mayor directed officials to draft a proposal for construction of low-cost residential buildings in the Brahmawala Khala area. The MCD officials have also been directed to draft proposal for construction a CMI-level hospital in the Kedarpur area and facilitate the auction of the shops constructed by the MCD.

The Mayor directed officials to work on decisions taken by the MCD regarding the installation of advertisement hoardings in town. However, councillors say that even though the Mayor has issued important directions, the same cannot be executed effectively by the MCD without a full-time Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA). Presently, the chief development officer Indu Dhar Baurai is handling the additional charge of the MNA.

The MCD owns about 70 bigha land in Brahmawala Khala area out of which about 25 bigha land has been allocated to the Culture Department and the remaining area is either vacant or has been encroached.

In order to put this land to good use, the Mayor has directed MCD officials to draft a proposal for construction of low-cost homes under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna with funds provided by the Union Government. In the past, the MCD and the MDDA had tried to construct homes here but the venture was not successful because only the Urban Local Body receives Central Government funds for the task.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli also directed officials to draft a proposal for construction of a CMI-level hospital in the Kedarpur area under the PPP mode. He also pulled up officials for the slow pace of removal of unauthorised hoardings. Chamoli directed officials to remove hoardings within 30 metre radius of intersections in addition to which they were also directed to facilitate the removal of illegitimate rooftop advertisement hoardings.

The MCD will invite tenders on September 14 from companies interested in removing these rooftop hoardings. However, observers state that though the orders issued by the Mayor are important, they are not likely to be executed as efficiently as desired in the absence of a full-time MNA. Even the Mayor has said that discussions are being held with the Government to facilitate the appointment of a full-time MNA. In spite of this, councillors believe that important decisions taken by the Mayor will remain ornamental until there is a full-time MNA to ensure its effective execution.