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People invited to apply for 680 RDA sites

Monday, 04 October 2010 11:47 administrator
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The Hindu  04.10.2010

People invited to apply for 680 RDA sites

Staff Correspondent

Last date to file applications is October 5

Two layouts developed on city outskirts

Raichur: The Raichur Development Authority (RDA) has established residential layouts on the outskirts of the city, at Siddrampur Road and at Bolmandoddi Road. As many as 680 sites have been formed.

A notification inviting the public to file applications for purchasing the sites had been called by the RDA last month. Those interested may file their applications at the RDA office by paying 10 per cent of the cost of the site on or before October 5.

Disclosing this to presspersons on Sunday, chairman of RDA Jagannath Kulkarni said the RDA had acquired 51.21 acres of land to develop the two residential sites. This had been made into 516 sites at Siddrampur Road and another 164 at Bolmandoddi Road.

The RDA proposed to spend about 14 crore to develop facilities including water supply, electricity, roads and underground drains at the two layouts. In this regard, a budgetary provision of Rs. 5 crore had been made and a loan of Rs. 6 crore raised. It expected to collect Rs. 23.44 crore from the sale of sites, making a profit of Rs. 9.44 crore.

Mr. Kulkarni said that sites of various dimensions had been formed. The sites would be allotted to all eligible beneficiaries as per Section 13(2) of the Karnataka Urban Development (Sites Allotment) Act, 1991, he said.

Those interested may obtain details from the RDA office, Mr. Kulkarni added.

Last Updated on Monday, 04 October 2010 11:48
 

After gold in dome, stained glass panels to be restored in BMC

Monday, 04 October 2010 11:29 administrator
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Indian Express   04.10.2010

After gold in dome, stained glass panels to be restored in BMC

sharvaripatwa Tags : BMC, urban heritage conservation committee, Parveen Mistry Posted: Mon Oct 04 2010, 08:38 hrs

Dome restored to golden glory in July

Dome restored to golden glory in July
Mumbai:  After restoring the historic gold dome in the BMC headquarters, the civic administration now plans to restore stained glass panels throughout the heritage structure.

“We will begin restoration and and repair of windowpanes and install stained glass in the arch windows,” said A Sabnis, senior architect with the BMC’s urban heritage conservation committee.

“The original building had historic stained glass of various shapes sizes and types and we are aiming at restoring it in its full glory,” said heritage architect Abha Narain Lambah. “We have selected a specialist glass conservator, Parveen Mistry, to head a team for this work.”

Mistry, a “stained glass preservator”, has done such restoration work at the Convocation Hall in Mumbai University.

“Over the years, the stained glass in the BMC building has been damaged; some has come off or even rusted,” said Lambah. “The work is of over a dozen types ranging from rose windows to landset windows. The restoration work is expected to be completed within a year,” said Lambah.

The total cost of the stained-glass restoration has been estimated at about Rs 75 lakh. Only the upper part of windows, which are arch-shaped, will have stained glass. “The lower part did not have stained glass in the original plan. Also, stained glass at the bottom will obstruct visibility,” said Sabnis.

In July, the BMC headquarters had got a coat of 23.5-carat gold on its main dome. While working on overall restoration, Lambah’s team had found specks of gold on the dome.

All this is part of a massive project to restore the 125-year old colonial structure built in the Gothic-Revival style in 1884. Work had begun in 2008. The process includes restoration of interiors and the exteriors, from the roof tiles to the Minton tiles inside, from strengthening several wooden beams to stained glass work. The BMC had appointed a panel of three conservation architects, Lambah, and Shimul Zaveri Kadri, for the Rs-80-crore project.

Last Updated on Monday, 04 October 2010 11:31
 

Panchayats are the real fixers

Monday, 04 October 2010 10:34 administrator
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The Times of India          04.10.2010

Panchayats are the real fixers

 The recent Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment on Nathupur may have exposed the nexus between government and private real estate majors but there is a third party too that benefits from such deals. It is the gram panchayat.

According to a senior official of the revenue department, gram panchayats involvement in such deals has become more obvious after private players started showing interest in village lands. With the land price in Gurgaon and adjoining areas hitting the roof, private real estate developers are trying to get village land at a low price by colluding with the panchayat head and other key members, he added.

Many gram panchayats own huge chunks of land outside the villages, and after the Municipal Corporation emergence many such panchayats are worried that the civic body might just take the land from them.
Private players are trying to exploit this situation, said a senior official in the district administration.

After identifying a patch of panchayat land, a private developer approaches the deputy commissioner (DC) of the district. The developer tries to convince the gram panchayat to let go of the land. After convincing its head and key members, it makes the panchayat pass a resolution that the said land can be sold to a private party, the official told TOI.

A local property dealer, who is aware of the entire exercise, said private players normally bribe panchayat members to get the land at a lower price. The DC constitutes a committee of senior officials to look into the sale of the land. Based on the committees recommendation, a decision is taken, said another revenue department official.

Ideally, according to the dealer, the administration should check whether a particular patch of panchayat land should be sold at prevailing property price or at the government fixed circle rate with interest over and above it.

Here bureaucrats play the big game and try to help the private player in getting the land at low price, a highly-placed source said. In fact, a nexus of this kind had rocked the district administration recently in Gurgaon. A real estate major had moved a plan to buy over 100 acres land in Palri. The district administration was reportedly pushing for the sale of land at a lower price but an objection by some junior officers foiled the purchase.

 
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