Indian Express 08.12.2009
Civic body proposal to survey silt in river for dredging drive
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to undertake a survey of the silt to be dredged from the Mula-Mutha river as part of its river improvement project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
In a proposal tabled before the standing committee, the civic administration has sought Rs 26.47 lakh to carry out the survey of silt in the three-km and 250-metre-wide riverbed, from Sangam bridge to Bund Garden bridge.
“The civic administration does not have necessary equipment to carry out the survey. Thus, the Maharashtra Maritime Board should be given the contract for the purpose,” the proposal said.
It is necessary to carry out pre-dredging, post-dredging and hydrographic survey to ascertain the amount of dredging to be carried out. The river improvement project has to be completed by 2010, it said.
In another proposal, the civic administration has sought permission to pay the premium of life insurance cover for the 444 employees of its fire department.
It has tied up with the New India Assurance company to give life insurance and medical claim for the staff of the fire brigade. Their insurance cover need to be extended by one year and a premium of Rs 3.18 lakh has to be paid for the purpose, the proposal said.
The fire brigade is exposed to various risks at work. Anyone with permanent disability gets a compensation of Rs 3 lakh while the kin of deceased will get a compensation of Rs 6 lakh.
The PMC has also sought an approval for extending the service period of labourers involved in anti-encroachment drive. The civic body has launched an extensive drive to bring down illegal structures in the city and the staff is hired on a six-month contract basis.
A total of 177 labourers are recruited for the anti-encroachment drive, it said adding most of them have been confirmed as PMC employees. So the contract of the remaining labourers needs to be extended.
1.75 cr recovered from IT firms
AS part of its drive to collect property tax, the PMC has begun recovering tax from properties owned by IT industry. “On Monday, a special drive was undertaken to recover property tax from IT companies in Hadapsar, Wanowrie and Bibvewadi area and it recovered Rs 1.75 crore,” said Vilas Kanade, PMC property tax assessor and collector.
The civic administration will further intensify the drive, he said. “Those who have not paid their property tax so far should do it immediately to avoid confiscation of the property,” he said.
