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AMC razes illegal structures near Gyaspur

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 07:12 administrator
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The Times of India 09.09.2009

AMC razes illegal structures near Gyaspur

TNN 9 September 2009, 06:13am IST

AHMEDABAD: The estate department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) authorities went hammer and tongs on the illegal structures constructed on land acquired for sewage treatment plant near Gyaspur on Tuesday.

The demolition was carried out in Aman Park and Fatima Park, near ice factory in Juhapura. More than 75 housing units, 800 m of running fence and 300 m compound wall were brought down.

Most of the structures were unoccupied. Deputy estate and town development officer VK Balat said, "The houses were illegally constructed on AMC land which was meant for sewerage treatment plant." According to AMC authorities 35,000 sq m of AMC land was made open by authorities.

Former sarpanch, Makhatmpur-Juhapura, Mirza Haji Baig accused AMC of highhandedness. Baig said, "These structures have been built under the very nose of AMC, but then the authorities turned a blind eye to them. These houses are owned by people mostly from the poor section."

AMC authorities deployed a team of 150 AMC officers from three municipal zones with five JCB machines.

 

JN-NURM And New Infrastructure Plan Look Similar

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 06:57 administrator
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The Times of India 09.09.2009

JN-NURM And New Infrastructure Plan Look Similar

TNN 9 September 2009, 12:54am IST
BANGALORE: By 2012 end, the government will have pumped in Rs 44,536 crore for Bangalore's infrastructure development. A whopping amount that should lift the city to Singapore or Shanghai standards!

Going by the BBMP's own estimates and development plans, a Rs 22,536-crore city development plan, designed in 2006, is already on the anvil. The latest is the Bangalore infrastructure plan, unveiled on Saturday with a spend of Rs 22,000 crore.

What's new?

Both plans focus on infrastructure, with little difference. The first has flyovers as a solution to traffic congestion, the second has a modified version of flyovers -- elevated corridors.

* Underpasses done away with, for escalator-powered elevators

* Plan kissed goodbye to magic box underpasses, will be replaced by escalator-powered skywalks

* Has 12 traffic-free corridors

* Elevated North-South corridor between Madiwala and Hebbal, cost Rs 1,800 cr

* Elevated eastern connectivity corridor from Vellara Junction to Kundalahalli, cost Rs 1,200 cr

* Roads in new BBMP zones

* 40 road over/underbridges, roads over storm water drains, remodelling of drains in new areas

Grand total: Rs 22,000 crore

Deadline: Again, 2012

"There is nothing new. Whatever was planned in 2006 has been rebranded and spelt out again. Look at the status of JN-NURM projects, they are in limbo. Only 7% of the work has been taken up and instead of concentrating on hastening these projects, the government has yet another plan. Will that mean the city gets a double bonanza? We need work and financial audits on these projects,'' former Bangalore mayor P R Ramesh said.

Projects won't overlap

Said transport minister, in-charge of Bangalore, R Ashoka, "The two plans are entirely different. The plan for JN-NURM was done when the city was BMP with just 226 sqkm. The infrastructure plan of 2009 caters to 750 sqkm. However, if a project overlaps, it will be deleted from the latest plan. JN-NURM's projects will go on as planned. The new plan is for a bigger Bangalore and we have included elevated corridors, road over drains and works for new areas. It will not be clubbed with JN-NURM projects."

FUNDING PATTERN

* Govt will approach Union urban development ministry for Rs 2,000 crore under JN-NURM

* Hudco committed to lend Rs 6,000 crore

* State, BDA will give Rs 2,000 cr each

* Rest by BBMP

JN-NURM PROGRESS

Sanctioned: 46 projects to remodel storm water drains, construct underpasses, grade separators, rehabilitate sewerage system, bulk water flow metering system, sanitation in old CMC areas, development of TTMCs, rehabilitation of slums

Cost: Rs 3,141.61 cr

Utilised: Only Rs 717.5 cr
 

City has less road cover

Wednesday, 09 September 2009 01:41 administrator
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Deccan Chronicle 09.09.2009

City has less road cover

September 9th, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Bengaluru, Sept. 8: Road space is abysmally low in Bengaluru and several other Indian cities, contributing to the traffic problems that besiege them.

A study on road-land ratio, says ideally the road space reserved in cities should be closer to 30 per cent to allow smooth flow of vehicular traffic. For instance, if a city is spread over 1,000 sq. km, 30 per cent of it should be road, explains additional commissioner of police (traffic and security) Pravin Sood.

Unfortunately, Benglauru has only 11.9 per cent of its area reserved for roads, which is one of the prime reasons for traffic congestion in the city.

“Bengaluru ranks second in terms of vehicular population in the country, next only to Delhi, which has 70 lakh vehicles while the city has 35 lakh. This means, every second person here has a vehicle,” he points out.

Roads cover 18 per cent of Delhi and 10 per cent of Mumbai and Chennai. But these cities have adequate mass transportation facilities in place like the Metro Rail and suburban trains and additionally they have witnessed mostly vertical growth. “In contrast, the haphazard and uncontrolled growth of Bengaluru is proving a nightmare for traffic management,” Mr Sood regrets.

As the problem worsens with part of the roads being occupied by parked vehicles, it is very important to have parking lots in the city at various locations, especially in the Central Business District (CBD), according to him. In his view the on-going infrastructure projects of BBMP and the BDA and work on the Metro Rail have aggravated the problem. At least 30 projects like flyovers, grade separators and underpasses are underway in the city. The traffic police, like most of the city, is looking forward to the completion of the infrastructure projects over the next one-and-a-half years, which could ease traffic congestion on the roads.

 
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