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Half-demolished MG Road buildings pose threat, MCD waits for word from Delhi govt

Tuesday, 07 December 2010 11:05 administrator
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Indian Express         07.12.2010

Half-demolished MG Road buildings pose threat, MCD waits for word from Delhi govt

Hamari Jamatia Tags : demolition drive, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Special Provisions Act, MCD Posted: Tue Dec 07 2010, 03:54 hrs

New Delhi:  The buildings on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road were once popular for the style and high fashion brands that they housed. But four years after the demolition drive first struck the area, they have turned into a skeleton of their former self, threatening passersby and motorists.

And come New Year these buildings may go forever, bringing a sigh of relief to those living in the neighbourhood. The four malls on the road were partially demolished four years ago and have stood dangerously close to collapsing ever since. With the Special Provisions Act restraining the MCD from completing the demolition work, residents of the area fear the structures may fall any time.

On December 31, the “status quo” ordered for the buildings comes to an end — earlier the buildings could not be fully demolished by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions Act). After December 31, the MCD can take over and complete its job, in case the Delhi government does not extend the deadline again.

“The Act is revised and updated every year to protect buildings in village areas. The MCD had to stop its demolition drive under the Act and the malls were given status quo, due to which neither the MCD nor the owners could change anything about the buildings,” said S K Midha, Deputy Commissioner of MCD (South Zone).

He added that after December 31 the MCD can continue with its demolition work. Two of the four partially demolished buildings on the road —1 MG and 13 MG — have been protected from crumbling by buttressing them with iron poles. They have been covered with blue cloth to ensure that a falling piece does not hurts any passer-by. The MCD began the demolition work in 2006. After it had sealed and pulled down hundreds of properties in the area, it was stopped by the Delhi government in 2007 under the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions Act). The owner of 2 MG, one of the partially-demolished building, had also filed a petition to stay the demolition order but the court did not decide in his favour.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 December 2010 11:17
 

Corporation to act tough on erring contractors

Tuesday, 07 December 2010 09:20 administrator
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The New Indian Express  07.12.2010

Corporation to act tough on erring contractors

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation Council which met on Monday decided to take strict action against those contractors who fail to complete the repair and maintenance work of roads properly.

"The maintenance work of 191 roads have to be completed this fiscal. It will be a Herculean task for the engineers to inspect all the sites. Hence the civic representatives should also take initiatives to monitor the work," Mayor Tony Chammany said.

Chammany said a contractor would have to carry out the work on a minimum guaranteebasis according to the PWD manual. According to the manual, a contractor is bound to ensure a minimum guarantee of six months to the road work that he is undertaking. The Council has also instructed the contractors to put up boards on the work sites which will display the details of the work.

The details include the estimate of the work, the length of the road and other specifications.

"This will help ensure public participation and transparency in contract work," the Mayor added.

It was Opposition Leader K J Jacob and development standing committee chairman T J Vinodh who raised the issue of roads.

M Anilkumar, Sunila Shelvan, K V Manoj and Leno Jacob took part in the discussions.

Brahmapuram issue

Earlier in the day, a team lead by Mayor Tony Chammany and Deputy Mayor Bhadra Satheesh conducted a lightning inspection at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant.

Later, the Mayor said there were certain key technical issues in the plant that should be sorted out soon.

"A meeting will be convened soon in this regard and urgent steps taken to repair the plant to increase its efficiency," the Mayor said.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 07 December 2010 09:22
 

70,000 slums to be left out of mapping

Monday, 06 December 2010 11:41 administrator
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Hindustan Times  06.12.2010

70,000 slums to be left out of mapping

At least 70,000 slums in the city will get a breather from the new capital value-based property tax system the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had planned to introduce in March 2011. The corporation has said it will not be able to map these slums because it will not use the Geographical Information System (GIS) to map properties in the city.

The Hindustan Times had reported how former additional municipal commissioner AK Singh was against using the GIS to map 1.2 lakh properties in the city, expressing apprehension over private BMC-appointed contractors entering the homes of citizens.

The BMC has no records of these properties and will now be forced to map them manually. “Mapping slum properties could be tricky and time-consuming. Hence, we don’t want to take a chance by initiate the mapping of these 70,000-odd slums.”

The official added that the BMC will aim to map the 40,000-odd flats out of the properties waiting to be mapped.

Under the new property tax system, the BMC will calculate the tax based on the property’s capital value, taking into account factors such as the age of the property and quality of construction.

The BMC, which failed to meet the April 2010 deadline it had set for itself to implement the new tax system, said the April 2011 deadline also seems daunting. 

A staff crunch could add to the problem. “We had set a target of mapping every city property by January 2011 so we could start processing bills under the new system,” a BMC official said requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. “However, it’s December already and we haven’t yet decided how to map 1.2 lakh properties. It’s impossible to finish mapping them in a month or two.”

Deputy assessor and collector RB Dalvi could not be contacted for comments on the decision to put off the mapping of slums.

Another senior BMC official, requesting anonymity said: “We are keen to ensure that the March 2011 deadline is met. Hence, no matter what, we’ll have to keep these slums aside for later, and implement the new property tax system by March.”

Last Updated on Monday, 06 December 2010 11:42
 
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