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GHMC leads in regulating street vendors

Monday, 12 June 2017 11:37 administrator

The Hindu 12.06.2017

GHMC leads in regulating street vendors

Livelihood question:File photo of street vendors at Koti.Nagara GopalNagara Gopal

Identity cards distributed to over 19,000 street vendors

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is leading in the country in implementing Street Vending Policy under the Livelihoods Regulation Act, 2014 announced by the Centre.

The Act was introduced to let small and petty traders carry on their business on footpaths and push carts without creating any hurdles for the traffic and the pedestrians and eke their living in the places earmarked for them.

Identity cards

The GHMC through its Urban Poverty Alleviation wing conducted a survey and identified 26,891 street vendors and gave identity cards so far to 19,369 vendors.

It also extended special training to 4,741 small traders to improve their financial discipline and organised 384 groups.

This effort by the Urban Community Development wing made the GHMC leading corporation in this aspect, according to a release.

Vending zones

The UCD also categorised 81 zones as prohibited, partial and free-vending zones so far and the process to earmark such vending zones in all areas across the city was under process through a survey, the release said.

The GHMC has been successful in implementing the Street Vending Policy with the coordination of traffic wing, revenue and labour departments and also local people’s representatives, the release added. Under the street vending policy, financial assistance would also be extended to the street vendors and improve their living standards.

Groups formed

Along with street vendors, common interest groups were also created for the protection of livelihood of street vendors as well as not to create any inconvenience to the citizens.

In every Circle level, Town Vending Committees would be constituted and these committees would have 20% government officers, 40% street vendors and 20% members of social organisations.

The areas prohibiting street vending were identified as red zone, areas earmarked for vending as green zone and the areas where street transactions were permitted in a limited way were referred to as special zones. The UCD has been issuing identity cards to street vendors carrying on their trade in these zones, the release added.

State Urban Local Bodies go online

Monday, 12 June 2017 11:29 administrator

The Hindu 12.06.2017

State Urban Local Bodies go online

Commissioner and Director Municipal Administration T. K. Sreedevi.Nagara GopalNAGARA GOPAL

Citizens can avail themselves all the 18 essential municipal functions through the portals

A significant development in the third anniversary of formation of Telangana State has been all the 72 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) going online and in a position to even process the complex building plans under the Development Permission Management System (DPMS) from their respective portals.

From among them, 54 of the urban bodies have even started offering services of all the 18 essential municipal functions like issuance of birth and death certificates, trade licences, tax payments, mutations, occupancy certificates, water connections and the likes.

“Earlier, except for building plan approvals, most of the services were available through the MeeSeva centres. Now, the citizen service centres opened in each municipality can handle these and we are also soon going to link up our payment gateway with the newly launched ‘T-Wallet’,” said Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration T. K. Sreedevi.

Computer professional

For handling online services, at least one or two trained computer professionals have been posted in each of the ULBs along with personnel taken on outsourced basis for operations.

Training for municipal staff of various wings too has been taken up to familiarise them with functioning through the web.

All these online municipal services are to be further integrated into a mobile app and not only will it be convenient to the citizens for any redressal of complaints, but also these can also be monitored real time from the regional municipal directors’ offices and the head office. A central monitoring unit has been established to track the online complaints and their redressal, the Commissioner explained. Going digital while helping in tracking and prioritising files can also ensure their speedy movement, improve accountability and make the decision making process transparent, she added.

e-office system

The e-office system too put into place earlier this year helps in processing files speedily, keep tab on the number of pending files and implementation status.

Citizens too are to get message alerts on their respective applications status.

While the CDMA has already signed pacts with the SBI and the HDFC Bank for payment gateways for tax collection and fees payment, among others it has now also roped in ICICI Bank into the ambit offering more payment options to the citizens.

Capacity building

Recently, the bank had conducted a day-long training workshop for the municipal staff on aspects like bankable projects in urban infrastructure, app for property mapping for development of land registry, dashboard demonstration, e-governance and rolling out the citizen services centres in all urban centres, among others.

Besides, the bank has also provided skills training to 300 unemployed youths at its academy for courses ranging from three to nine months over the last few months, Dr. Sreedevi added.

IMPROVED CITIZEN SERVICES

Earlier, except for the building plan approvals, most of the services were available through the MeeSeva centres

Urban Local Bodies are also soon going to link up their payment gateway with the newly launched ‘T-Wallet’

For handling online services, at least one or two trained computer professionals posted in each of the ULBs

Training for municipal staff of various wings taken up to familiarise them with functioning through the web

All the online municipal services to be integrated into a mobile app and monitored from the regional municipal directors’ offices

Ashok inaugurates garbage converter

Monday, 12 June 2017 11:23 administrator

The Hindu 12.06.2017

Ashok inaugurates garbage converter

Pilot project initiated at Ryhtu Bazaar

Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju here on Saturday inaugurated a wet garbage converter into organic fertilizer, switched on the electronic display board showing vegetable rates, and CC cameras at Rythu Bazar, near R & B Guest House. He said the garbage converter unit was the first of its kind established as a pilot project in the State.

Stating that the trash machine would help control flies, mosquitoes, and pig menace, Mr. Ashok said based on its performance the facility would be extended to other areas.

Joint Collector Srikesh B Lathkar said the machine would make 25kg of organic wet waste into powder within 20 minutes. After decomposing it for a week it would be used as an organic manure, Mr. Lathkar said.

B. Chinni Naidu, managing director of Pragathi, waste management service, said the wet garbage converter was set up under the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission .

At Ayyannapeta in the town, Mr. Ashok inaugurated RO plant and a solar pump set, which were established with grants from MPLADs and Municipality.

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