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Urban Planning

Civic chief okays dedicated TDR cell

Thursday, 19 November 2009 11:24 administrator
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Indian Express 19.11.2009

Civic chief okays dedicated TDR cell

Under criticism for alleged irregularities in approving Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) by the civic body, Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade on Tuesday gave consent to the standing committee proposal of setting up a dedicated cell for TDR.

“There have been lot of irregularities in the issuance of TDR for the various properties. All the members of standing committee pointed out the loopholes to the civic chief,” said NCP leader Anil Bhosale.

Since 1997, the PMC has approved TDR of 1.5 crore sq ft while 3,000 proposals of TDR issuance are still pending with the civic administration, he said.

It has been observed that the TDR proposals of few select people are being approved on priority basis while the rest are delayed unnecessarily, Bhosale said.

The PMC issues TDR in return for the land acquired for the various development projects like road, gardens, hospital and schools that are being executed in the city.

Bhosale said the fast issuance of TDR will bring down housing rates in the city.

The standing committee also demanded that the civic chief transfer officials who have been working in the same department for a long time.

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 November 2009 11:26
 

Corporators do not want urban experts to plan city

Thursday, 19 November 2009 11:01 administrator
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Hindustan Times 19.11.2009

Corporators do not want urban experts to plan city

Despite the pathetic standards of living in Mumbai our elected representatives in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) do not think the city's future should be planned by experts.

The civic standing committee does not want professional urban planners to prepare the city's new Development Plan (DP). They want it to be done by the civic staff though civic officials themselves say they do not have the expertise.

The committee members opposed a proposal from the BMC's DP department to hire private consultants to prepare the new plan on Wednesday saying no outsider can understand the city. Congress corporator Sameer Desai said, “The problem is of compliance. There is a complete disconnect between what is written in the DP and what is actually done. Throwing consultants in will not help in improving the state.”

The civic administration is set to revise the DP for 2014 to 2034 to ensure the city’s systematic growth. It includes reserving land for civic amenities like roads and open spaces.

The plan also looks at utilities like water supply, sewerage and storm water drains. Many experts blame the improper implementation of the DP for the July 2005 deluge.

“We want to outsource the work because our DP department does not have the expertise,” said Manisha Mhaiskar, Additional Municipal Commiss-ioner. “Even if we want to have our own people to do the job we will have to hire 300 people.”

The DP includes selecting the process for opening land for urban development.

Mhaiskar said that the consultants would conduct a survey of existing land use and plan according to the city’s future transport needs. The BMC will be the supervisor and a panel of three standing committee members and four state appointed members will hold the decision making power and can give suggestions and objections, she said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 November 2009 11:04
 

State to have 18 seismic centres

Thursday, 19 November 2009 10:50 administrator
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The New Indian Express 19.11.2009

State to have 18 seismic centres

N R Madhusudhan


BANGALORE: Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) will set up 18 seismic centres in different parts of the state to study seismic activities.

In the first phase, the centres will come up in Gulbarga, Alamatti dam site, Hidkal dam site, Narayanapura, Supa in Uttara Kannada, Linganamakki, Tungabhadra dam near Hospet, Hemavathi dam near Gorur, Krishnarajasagar dam, Thippagondanahalli reservoir and Vanivilas Sagar in Chitradurga. The Gulbarga centre will be opened shortly. It is already being termed one of the best seismic centres in the country.

In the second phase, seismic centres will be set up at Manjira in Bidar, Kollegal, Sringeri, Kodagu, Chincholi and at lower Mullamari dam site.

KSNDMC has already placed an order for procuring the seismo meters from UK-based company Gurlap. It is expecting the company to deliver the meters in 20 weeks. The setting up of the seismic centres is expected to cost Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore to the government.

These centres will be powered by solar energy and conventional electricity.

The data collected by the seismo meters will be transmitted to the computers installed in vital places for experts to analyse.

The seismo meters to be installed at these centres are designed to record even the micro-tremors and all the major earthquakes from any part of the globe if they have a magnitude above four.

According to seismic experts, the distance from the surface of the earth to its centre is 6,371 kilometre and the happenings beneath the ground cannot be known without the seismic meters.

Micro-tremors below two in magnitude cannot be perceived with our cognitive faculties. These micro-tremors are precursors to a major earthquake. If an expert studies the happenings beneath the ground for some time, he can predict a major earthquake to some extent.

KSNDMC director V S Prakash said, “According to one of the inscriptions, there was a major earthquake in 1024 near Bangalore and people have forgotten it. If an earthquake of 6.7 magnitude occurs anywhere near the city most of the buildings will collapse, whereas in California not much damage will be caused. The data collected in these centres will help structural engineers design future buildings to suit to the area conditions.”

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 November 2009 10:52
 
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