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‘Crippling shortage of garbage compactors’

Wednesday, 01 August 2012 10:17 administrator
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The Indian Express   01.08.2012

‘Crippling shortage of garbage compactors’

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) failed to award fresh contracts for collecting garbage across the city, there is now a crippling shortage of almost 300 collection trucks, admitted senior officials on Tuesday.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajeev Jalota, while assuring corporators that all problems will be ironed out in the next fortnight, said the city is facing a deficit of almost 300 garbage collection vehicles. He blamed “technical problems” for the delayed tendering process and the subsequent delay in awarding new contracts.

The previous contracts, in force from June 1, 2007, expired on May 31 this year.“All garbage issues in Mumbai’s 24 wards will be sorted out by August 14. Mumbai produces 6,500 tonnes of garbage daily. Of the total number of vehicles plying for collection, 30 per cent are supplied by the BMC and the remaining are rented vehicles supplied by the contractors.

At present, there is a shortage of contracted vehicles, so we have hired 257 dumpers and 40 JCBs to fill the gap,” said Jalota at the BMC general body meeting.

Among the reasons for delays in the tendering process, the Additional Municipal Commissioner also cited the problem of procuring Euro IV vehicles.

According to a 2010 Supreme Court order, all garbage compactors must be upgraded to Euro IV. “These vehicles are not easily available as suppliers do not stock them. We requested the Bombay High Court to give us some time to acquire these. We have been granted an extension till June 2013 to ply Euro III garbage vehicles. Tata Motors is in the process of manufacturing the vehicles and should meet the supply in the next six to eight months,” said Jalota.

 He added that to tide over the delay, existing contracts were extended by 45 days since the end of May. However, Anthony Waste Handling Cell, which was awarded the contract for garbage collection in 10 of the 24 wards, is unable to supply as many vehicles as needed.

“Since the contract ended on May 31, from supplying 90 per cent of the total number of rented vehicles, the contractor now supplies only 65 per cent because they are facing a deficit. The supply problem should be solved soon,” said Jalota. He admitted that Zone 6, which constitutes Ghatkopar, Mulund and Bhandup, are worst affected by the backlog.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 10:19
 

North agency to remove structure at disputed site within 15 days

Wednesday, 01 August 2012 10:11 administrator
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The Indian Express   01.08.2012

North agency to remove structure at disputed site within 15 days

A day after the High Court ordered to demolish the illegal construction at the disputed site, where the remains believed to be that of the Akbarabadi Masjid was excavated, the North Corporation on Tuesday said the the structure will be razed in 15 days.

The civic body on Monday evening wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner to provide adequate security to carry out the demolition. In the letter, the corporation also cited the contents of a letter sent to them by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

“The ASI had written to the corporation on July 19 requesting us to demolish the unauthorised construction, which had come up in the Subhash Park within 15 days. We have now fixed the same deadline to procure the required force and follow the direction of the High Court,” said Pawan Sharma, Additional Commissioner of North Corporation. The decision was taken in an urgent internal meeting convened after the court’s ruling.

Artefacts and masonry were unearthed in Subhash Park on July 5, during digging work carried out under the leadership of Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal. He termed the findings part of the Mughal-era Akbarabadi Masjid and started constructing a structure resembling the ancient mosque.

“The court in its order has certified the structure erected at the site as illegal. The mosque was constructed in the regulated zone, where no construction is permitted without an approval of National Monument Authority. Hence a decision has been taken to carry out the needful at the earliest,” said Sharma.

However, sources revealed that the corporation will have to extend the date of demolition by a few days as Independence Day was close. “The Delhi Police might not be able to provide adequate force as they need to provide security ahead of the Independence Day. Also, since the Ramzan is underway, police will be wary to provide force. The safe date to carry out the action is August 20 after Ramzan,” said an official.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Iqbal has decided to move the Supreme Court demanding a stay order on the demolition. “We respect the judgement of the High Court, but we are going to appeal to the SC demanding a stay order on the demolition exercise,” said Iqbal.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 10:15
 

New construction stayed till Aug 21

Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:17 administrator
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The Times of India    01.08.2012

New construction stayed till Aug 21

 CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday reiterated its earlier ban on usage of underground water for construction work and fixed August 21 as the next date of hearing.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice (acting) Jasbir Singh directed the Gurgaon deputy commissioner to hold a meeting with the Central Ground Water Board to constitute a committee for checking the illegal borewell connections used for construction work in the city. Directions have also been issued to ensure all the authorized borewell connections in the city are equipped with meters. The HC further directed the state government to inform the court about the main source of water for construction work in the city and how the authorities concerned plan to tackle the water woes in Gurgaon. The authorities will also have to inform the court about the total requirement of water for the city and how much out of that is required for construction work.

When the matter came up for hearing before the bench on Tuesday, principal secretary, department of Town and Country Planning Haryana, S S Dhillon, secretary, local bodies, Ram Niwas and other senior officers of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) were present in person before the court.

Apparently miffed with the attitude of the departments for their failure in keeping a check on misuse of groundwater in Gurgaon by builders, bench observed that the state appears to be hand in glove with them. On a query from the bench, S S Dhillon informed the court that around 628MG underground water was being used every day in Gurgaon, the bench observed that if the exploitations of underground water continue to this extent, there would not be a single drop of water in Gurgaon by 2017.

The bench also observed that the misuse of groundwater could not be checked without a strong will from the state authorities. While fixing August 21, as the next date of hearing, the bench also directed the authorities to inform the court about the total requirement of water for the city and how much out of that is required for construction work. The matter had reached before the court through a bunch of petitions filed by Qutub Enclave Residents' Welfare Association and others alleging that the builders in Gurgaon were illegally extracting underground water and using it for construction purposes, because of which the level of underground water has gone down.

In the earlier order, the court had restrained the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) from issuing new licences to developers in Gurgaon unless they give an undertaking that groundwater would not be consumed for construction work.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 09:21
 
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