Funds allocated for giving bicycles to students
Thursday, 13 February 2014 09:59
administrator
The Times of India 13.02.2014 Funds allocated for giving bicycles to students
PUNE: After a long hiatus, the proposal to give bicycles to students of Pune Municipal Corporation-run secondary schools was approved at the standing committee on Tuesday.
The civic body had announced a scheme in early 2013 to provide free bicycles to students from class VII to X. It had also made a provision of Rs 1 crore for the same in the budget.
After the proposal is approved, students can expect to get the bicycles by March. However, students who receive these bicycles will not be able to avail of the free travel facility by PMPML buses.
The distributor selected by the civic body will provide the bicycles for Rs 3,520 each, alongwith tyres, tubes and chains bearing the ISI mark. Further maintenance of the bicycles will also be undertaken by the distributor.
The civic body runs 25 high schools in the city, with 11,090 students on the rolls. As many as 2,522 secondary school students in PMC-run schools have registered for the scheme. PMC education officials have completed the scrutiny of these students (1,311 boys and 1,211 girls), who will receive bicycles in the first phase of the project.
The urban community development department of the PMC has also asked for an additional 556 cycles, taking the total demand up to 3,078 cycles. The total expense have now reached Rs 1.08 crore, but as the budget allocation is Rs 1 crore, only 2,840 cycles will be procured.
According to the Comprehensive Transport Policy (CTP) of the PMC, about 37% people walk to their destinations and 18% use bicycles in the city everyday.
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PMC chief hints at banning plastic in Pune
Thursday, 13 February 2014 09:57
administrator
The Times of India 13.02.2014 PMC chief hints at banning plastic in Pune
PUNE: Newly-appointed PMC commissioner Vikas Deshmukh said on Wednesday that maximum utilisation of the existing garbage processing units and increasing manpower to deal with related problems will be high on his agenda. While speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, Deshmukh even hinted at banning plastic bags in the city.
"We have held meeting with villagers as well as the officials of the garbage processing plants. The directives have been given to processing units to increase manpower," Deshmukh said.
The new commissioner said the garbage processing at Uruli once had around 200 workers, but the number in the last few years has gone down to 25. The civic administration has asked the operators of these units to increase manpower in the next 48 hours, which will help in processing more garbage.
"Plastic bags create nuisance as far as processing of garbage is concerned. We will take steps to reduce its usage. Even reintroduction of ban on plastic bags can be considered. The civic administration will hold a round of talks with the elected members," Deshmukh said.
Pune generates nearly 1,600 metric tonne garbage every day. Waste disposal is an acute problem due to non-availability of sites in the city. At present, the city's garbage is sent to the processing plant at Phursungi-Uruli villages. A plant has also been set up at Ramtekdi. Civic officials say that of the total garbage generated in the city every day, around 15% is plastic.
Deshmukh said the land acquisition process for setting up a garbage depot will be speeded up. "A long-term solution is needed to solve the problem. Small waste processing plants are the need of the hour. The civic administration has identified five sites in parts of the city where such plants will be set up. Plots ranging from two to five acres will be selected for the purpose," he said.
Deshmukh, who took charge on Tuesday, had said that solid waste management would be the top priority of the administration during his tenure.
Build houses on plots or face cancellation of allotment
Thursday, 13 February 2014 09:44
administrator
The Times of India 13.02.2014 Build houses on plots or face cancellation of allotment
NOIDA: With the Noida Authority changing the building bylaws in its board meeting, landowners in the city will have to either construct on vacant plots within two years or sell them to someone else otherwise the property will be confiscated. Official sources said the move to amend the building bylaws is aimed at ridding Noida of encroached vacant plots. As per the amendment, owners will now have to build on 100% area of the allowed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of plots instead of 50% that was allowed till now.
Officials said this rule applies only to the residential category of plots and on new as well as old allotments. "Currently, allottees are required to have minimum 50% construction of the FAR after which they are entitled to a completion certificate for the building. However, we have received frequent complaints from residents and officials that Noida has many vacant plots with minimal allowed construction lying in shambles for decades. Some of these are reportedly being misused by residents for unauthorized use. They could also be housing criminals," said Rama Raman, chairman and CEO, Noida.
Raman said that many temporary constructions do not even have a caretaker creating a huge nuisance value in neighbourhoods. "For old allottees, we will serve a notice and ask them to complete the construction. A period of one year will be granted to them and if they fail to comply by the amended bylaws, lease deed will be cancelled and plots confiscated," Raman warned. A survey of the city will be conducted to identify such plots, officials added.
Officials said that till September 2011, property owners were allowed to seek completion certificates after constructing just 25% of the permitted FAR. In the system existing till now, allottees of residential plots in Noida were penalized if they did not build within the prescribed period. They were, however, allowed to get an extension of the construction period by paying a penalty. If they failed to complete construction even after that, the allotment was cancelled.
For now, the amended bylaws will be applicable only in Noida. Greater Noida Authority (GNIDA) had in June last year mulled over a similar change in its building bylaws. GNIDA's aim was to inhabit Greater Noida city, which has been in existence since January 1991 but is still below its targeted population by almost 25%. Discouraging speculation in land was another aspect why GNIDA had considered the amendment, official had said at the time.
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