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GMADA to auction sites, raise loans to tide over shortage of funds

Friday, 18 December 2009 11:43 administrator
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Indian Express 18.12.2009

GMADA to auction sites, raise loans to tide over shortage of funds

Short of funds, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has decided to go in for desperate measures to finance infrastructure projects.

The authority has decided to hold another auction in January besides raising loans to meet the required expenditure for land acquisition and development projects that are in advanced stage of execution, GMADA Chief Administrator (CA) Vivek Partap Singh told Newsline.

Besides the 52 commercial and 15 residential sites left in the previous auction held in September, certain new sites will also be put under the hammer in the forthcoming auction.

In dire need of around Rs 5,000 crore to complete projects, GMADA has already applied for Rs 1,000 crore loan with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO), and talks are on with Punjab National Bank and other financial institutions to borrow another couple of thousand crores.

While HUDCO has consented to grant the loan, PNB and other banks have also expressed their interest in financing the GMADA.

Earlier, the GMADA Executive Committee had also approved to issue bonds of the authority to generate funds but the move was not considered suitable due to the recession.

GMADA has to acquire around 1,500 acres for various projects, including connectivity to international airport, road network, mixed land use and Mullanpur Urban Estate.

While Rs 2,250 crore are required for land acquisition, development projects are estimated to cost Rs 2,500 crore but GMADA hardly has a couple of hundred crores, said an official.

Though GMADA also offered land pooling scheme as an alternate to cash compensation, farmers have not shown much interest in the scheme under which a residential site of 968 square yards and a commercial site of 121 sq yards were offered against every acre of acquired land to the landowner

The ongoing work to develop approach roads to the upcoming international airport is a cause of major concern for GMADA as they have to be completed before the airport becomes operational next year.

Besides, a 6.5-km-long bypass from Sector 80 to National Highway-64, grid roads in Sectors 81 to 114 and Mullanpur Urban Estate are major development projects to be executed in the next year.

Though the Haryana government had, in December last, paid its share of Rs 230.41 crore to the Punjab government in the airport land acquisition cost (Punjab and Haryana have equal share of 24.5 per cent in the airport project with Airport Authority of India having 51 per cent equity), GMADA is yet to get the money from the Punjab government.

Among other liabilities, GMADA is yet to pay Rs 225 crore to the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA), Rs 160 crore to Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and Rs 37.5 crore to Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA).

Last Updated on Friday, 18 December 2009 11:46
 

State mulling mandatory rainwater harvesting

Friday, 18 December 2009 04:39 administrator
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Deccan Herald 18.12.2009

State mulling mandatory rainwater harvesting
Bangalore, Dec 17, DHNS:

The State government is contemplating to bring in a law to make rainwater harvesting compulsory for residences across the State. As of now harvesting rainwater is compulsory within the limits of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP).

 

 


The government is expected to bring in a Bill to this effect in the next budget session.

Minister for Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Katta Subramanya Naidu, on Thursday, said if rainwater harvesting system was adopted strictly 45 per cent of water requirement would be fulfiled. Besides residences, the government would insist that industries, commercial establishments, schools and government offices should have the system.

The government would allocate funds in the next budget for the programme. The government would consider constructing tanks to store rainwater for a longer time.

The minister said the government had taken up revival of 31 tanks in Bangalore. The work would come to an end in the next six months. As many as 135 tanks in and around Bangalore would be revived in a phased manner. Once all the tanks were revived, the board would get around 1,000 MLD of water for non-potable purposes by 2011.

Asked whether BWSSB would revise water tariff following increase in power supply charges, the minister said there was no such proposal before the State Government.

Film awards

Naidu, who also holds Information portfolio, said the film awards for the year 2008 would be presented in a function to be held in Bangalore next month.

Naidu, replying to a question, said the JD(S) and the Congress were dreaming about dethroning BJP government. “The Opposition parties should understand that their dreams will not be fulfiled. Differences in the party are our internal matter. Senior leaders of the party will attend to it,” he said.

 

HMDA office proposal ‘on hold’

Friday, 18 December 2009 01:50 administrator
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The Hindu 18.12.2009

HMDA office proposal ‘on hold’

Empty coffers, piling bills spell trouble for HMDA

Madhapur project plan worked out at Rs.80 crore

HYDERABAD: In ‘deep financial distress’ with empty coffers and piling up of bills for various works to be cleared, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) appears to has kept it’s much publicised plans of a central office complex at Madhapur in a ‘very deep freeze’.

The project plan has been worked out at an ambitious Rs.80 crore with the proposed world class office building incorporating Green Building concepts (Platinum rating) with high energy efficiency and environment friendly.

Alongside an existing lake on the northern side of the site, it is to roll out on 8.50 acre site at HITEX premises and have a built up area of around 4.50 lakh sft to house all the different wings of the Authority.

Former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had laid the foundation stone for the project in August 2008 and the HMDA invited architects of national and international repute for innovative conceptual plans and decided to select the ones furnished by Israel-based Yashar Architects for implementation. The firm has to prepare all the required plans and drawings based on the basis of selected conceptual proposals. However, the issue had remained there itself with the HMDA with its empty coffers failing to even consider of managing such a whopping budget.

Officials concede that the proposal might take quite some to take shape as the Authority was struggling to meet its present financial commitments on different infrastructure projects. Financial institutions which were approached by the HMDA with an offer of mortgaging a slice of its land bank for money in return too did not give any positive commitments so far.

“All of our ongoing projects are facing troubles and bills are just piling up without timely clearance and where is the question of raising Rs.80 crore for the complex,” points out another official admitting that even for the pending works on P.V. Narasimha Rao Elevated Expressway, the HMDA has commitments to the tune of several crores of rupees.

Last Updated on Friday, 18 December 2009 01:51
 
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