The Times of India        03.11.2014   

NMC yet to cough up Rs 7.55 crore as water charges

NASHIK: The civic body owes Rs 7.55 crore to the water resource department for usage of water for drinking purpose from Gangapur dam. The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has, since October 2011, not entered into a fresh agreement with the water resource department over the issue and is therefore also being charged 25% more to the total water charges applicable to it for its failure to do so.

While the NMC has an agreement of using only 3,688 million cubic feet (mcft) water from Gangapur dam, which is primarily an irrigation dam, it is drawing 4,200 mcft. The water drawn from the dam during the monsoon has not been considered.

The NMC has to pay Rs 151.75 crore for a fresh agreement, which is a one-time sum for non-irrigated use of the storage capacity of the dam as it affects the irrigation of 15,173 hectares of land permanently.

From October 2011 till March this year, the water resource department has been levying a penalty of 25% on NMC's water bill, even as it repeatedly keeps reminding the civic body to enter into a fresh agreement for using water for non-irrigation purpose.

The NMC officials said the corporation was unable to pay the bills since it was short of funds.

Besides, the NMC owes% Rs 7.55 crore to the water resources department as charges for water consumedfrom October 2011 till March this year. The civic body pumps in approximately 13 million litres of water per day at the rate of Rs 2.35 per ten thousand litres.

Close on the heels is the Nashik Thermal Power Station (NTPS, which has outstanding dues of Rs 5.64 crore, followed by the Niphad Cooperative sugar factory with pending bills of Rs 5.63 crore. Kopargaon Municipal Council also owes Rs 3.61 crore to the with the water resources department.

"The total outstanding dues with the various civic bodies, sugar factories and companies are about Rs 28.88 crore. The amount is huge and we have asked the agencies to clear them. We will soon issue notices to all of them for outstanding dues for the past three years," said M K Pokale, superintendent engineer, Command Area Development Authority (CADA), Nashik.

The issue of outstanding dues has been raised with the district collector as well as the administration. "We have raised the issue with the collector asking him to look into the case. The collectorate, in turn, has asked the agencies to settle the bills," the officer added."We will wait for six months after which we will decide upon the future course of action," Pokale said. 

 

The Times of India       03.11.2014 

Vadsar waste site yet to be scientifically shut

 

VADODARA: The ugly sight of the officially discontinued municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal site at Vadsar greets one along with stench despite Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) considering plans to close it scientifically. Over two years back, the VMC had considered developing the place as a garden or a similar recreational facility but precious little has been done.

The Vadsar site was in use since 1991 and its use was discontinued after remaining operational for nearly two decades. Even after it was closed, residents in the area and environmentalists complained about unauthorized dumping and environmental hazards that it presented. Environmentalists have time and again raised the issue of how the site was leading to ground as well as air pollution as garbage was burnt at the site.

In 2012, VMC had considered a scientific closure of the site by sealing its sides and top to ensure that water did not percolate in it. It was also proposed to put a layer of earth on the site and then develop a garden or a similar recreational facility there in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The scientific closure would have lead to the civic body getting a large tract of land for use in place of the dumping site that one sees today. But the project was abandoned at the preliminary stage itself and little was heard about it subsequently. A senior VMC official said that while some firms with expertise in the field did come forward, it came to light that the costs of the closure were too high. "There were some reservations regarding the PPP mode as it would have amounted to giving the land to the private partner for use," said the official. He added that the civic body was still considering closing the site using some economical means.