Urban News

The Hindu 31.08.2009

Daily water supply in Kadapa

Special Correspondent

KADAPA: Drinking water is being supplied daily in Kadapa Municipal Corporation from Sunday onwards as the recent rainfall and inflow into Pennar river has eased the water scarcity, Kadapa Mayor P. Raveendranatha Reddy said on Sunday.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy took the initiative to release water into Pennar river and assured sanction of Rs. 50 lakh to drill bores and fix motors to them, he told newsmen here. Kadapa city was getting supply of 44.50 million litres per day (MLD) to cater to the needs of 3.65 lakh people as against the need of 51 MLD, he said.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy agreed in principle to sanction Rs. 2.50 crore to extend by seven kms. the pipeline from Pennar river near Ramannapalle to the Satellite City in Vallur mandal up to Kadapa city to supply 4.50 MLD and it would help fill the demand-supply gap, the Mayor stated. Round-the-clock water supply would be ensured when a storage reservoir in Kadapa to store Somasila backwaters was completed soon, he said.

The Hindu 31.08.2009

GHMC reconstitutes panel for multi-storied buildings

HYDERABAD: While the GHMC is busy clearing applications filed under Building Penalisation and Layout Regularisation Schemes, Commissioner and Special Officer S.P. Singh has quietly reconstituted the Hyderabad Multi-Storied Building Regulations (MSBR) Committee.

Orders issued in his capacity as also the Ex-officio Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Mr. Singh removed the sole outside expert in the committee i.e. existing chairman of the State chapter of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) as a MSBR member.

Henceforth, the high-powered committee which vets all building applications of above 15 metres high will have GHMC Chief Engineer, HMDA Chief Planning Officer, HMDA’s Director (Planning) or Chief Planning Officer and the Director of Town & Country Planning as members. GHMC’s Chief City Planner will continue to be the Convenor of the now four-member committee.

Incidentally, even last year when the government had re-constituted building committees, it thought it fit to retain IIA’s State Chapter chairman as the member. Mr. Singh has cited “circumstances” in revising the committee membership deleting the architect’s role now.

Sudden development

Official sources said that the sudden reconstitution was triggered following complaint against the current chairman, D.T. Vinod Kumar, that he had attended MSBR meetings from 2006 to 2008 even when he was not the chairman during that time.

An outside expert with architectural knowledge was incorporated into the multi-storied building committees of both erstwhile MCH and HUDA from 1981 onwards for scrutiny of the high rise plans submitted and give recommendations. “It’s sad news for the profession in particular and society in general. The then Director of Town & Country Planning, Venkataramana Reddy incorporated architects into the panel keeping in view the role of architecture in urban development. Otherwise, it will be mere file pushing by the officials concerned,” said a senior architect, a past member of the committee.

Official sources, however, maintain there was enough expertise in the government to deal with even complex technical issues what with the common building rules coming into force. In the same breath, it is also admitted that having an opinion outside the government perspective in scrutinising multi-storied buildings has its uses.