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CCP cannot fund Smart City mission: Mayor

Friday, 18 March 2016 11:36 administrator
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The Times of India    18.03.2016  

CCP cannot fund Smart City mission: Mayor

Panaji: Reiterating that the corporation of the city of Panaji was not in a position to contribute towards the Smart City Mission proposal or raise taxes to mobilize capital, mayor Surendra Furtado said he would seek the intervention of the defence minister Manohar Parrikar. Furtado said that a delegation of CCP officials would visit Delhi and try to impress upon the ministry of urban development to make an exception for Panaji.

According to the Smart City Mission fund-sharing formula CCP has to generate 20% of the funds, while 40% of the funds will be contributed by the state government and Union government each.

"The commissioner and I will go to Delhi. We will meet my contacts in Delhi. The defence minister must help and negotiate for Panaji," Furtado said while addressing mediapersons at the CCP office. "CCP is not in a position to fund this project."

Panaji is one of the 100 Smart cities selected under the Smart City Mission of Union ministry of urban development. Though it missed the first round, Goa's capital city features on the list of 23 cities, which have been invited to revise and fasttrack their Smart City proposals for submission before April 15.

Clarifying on the reasons why Panaji missed out on the first round, the ministry of urban development said that while Panaji's smart city proposal provides information on various service aspects, it failed to provide quantified service indicators and that issues or levels of service-related to transport for were not well defined.

"It is recommended that the linkage of such interventions with sustainability and economic development be explored and elaborated more strongly in the proposal," the ministry of urban development observed regarding the city's area based development plan. CCP has invited suggestions from locals and will hold a public deliberation on March 22 to finalize the draft proposal. "The consultants will then fine tune the proposals and by April 15, the final proposal will be submitted," commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues said.
 

Civic body encourages builders to take up slum devpt under SRA

Friday, 18 March 2016 11:32 administrator
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The Times of India      18.03.2016 

Civic body encourages builders to take up slum devpt under SRA

Aurangabad: Following the footsteps of the civic bodies in Pune and Mumbai, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has started encouraging builders to take up the city's identified slums for development.

In a meeting with the representatives of a builders' body on Thursday, mayor Trimbak Tupe asked them to submit area development proposals under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The general body recently passed a proposal of setting up an authority for development of various slums in the city in association with private players.

"We are also creating a conducive atmosphere for the scheme's implementation in Aurangabad. The civic body is looking forward to active participation from the local builders," Tupe said.

Accepting the proposal, S H Patil, president of city unit of Credai, said many builders are eager to adopt the scheme. "There is huge scope for development in the city as there are more than 50 declared slums. Most of them are strategically located where vertical development could bring a sea change," he said.

Under the scheme, the municipal authorities are looking at rehabilitation of slum dwellers in association with private developers and builders using land as a resource. The government has allowed increased floor space index (FSI) in the localities that would attract developers as well as builders.

 

In road-laying mode, civic body pushes safety out on the wayside

Friday, 18 March 2016 11:07 administrator
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The Times of India     18.03.2016 

In road-laying mode, civic body pushes safety out on the wayside

Chenni: Laying a smooth road, the city corporation seems to think, is enough. Most of the interior roads it has laid, or is in the process of laying, ahead of the election do not have the speed-breakers to sensure that they are safe.

The new roads, say experts, encourage motorists, particularly two-wheeler riders, to zip across at high speeds, putting other road-users at risk.

Arun Ramasamy should know. The 41-year-old was recently proceeding serenly on a glass-smooth road to Madipakkam, to visit a friend, when a biker smashed into his two-wheeler at an intersection.

"There was a blind turn ahead and the biker, without slowing down, rode straight into me," said Ramasamy, now confined home with a ligament tear and fractures on the right leg.

Earlier, many interior roads, including in Ram Nagar where Ramasamy was hit, had stony sirfaces that ensured vehicles did not move fast. "Now every intersection is a possible accident- zone," Ramasamy said.

Urban planners say simply black-topping roads is not enough. Corporation engineers need to be educated on the nuances of road engineering. Interior roads require several 'traffic calming' measures. "Some speed-breakers need to be introduced to slow down traffic," said former professor of urban engineering at Anna University K P Subramanian.

"Roads should have wider footpaths that, with speed-breakers, will ensure that motorists do not speed or are discouraged from doing so," Subramanian said.

"Corporation engineers need to move away from the school of thought that a road belongs only to motorists. Roads should be shared among pedestrians and cyclists as well," he added.

 
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