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Civic budget to be tabled next week

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 11:58 administrator
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The Times of India             12.02.2014

Civic budget to be tabled next week

PUNE: The civic budget will be tabled before the elected members during the general body meeting next week.

The civic administration's budget was presented in second week of last month. The draft budget of Rs 3,608.02 crore for 2014-15 financial year has been sent to the standing committee, which is making changes in it. The standing committee had given all the rights to make the changes in the budget, to the committee chairman.

"The budget will now come up for the discussion before the general body on February 18 ," said a senior official of Pune municipal corporation, while speaking to reporters.

Heated discussions are expected on the budget as a group of elected members in PMC has been demanding equal distribution of funds among all the wards.

A group of corporators claimed that some wards have got less funds compared to the other wards. "A panel system is in place in the city. One panel has two wards namely A and B and the funds for both should be equal, they say. It is not the case in recently presented budget so the standing committee should do proper distribution of the funds," the group had stated.

The corporators said that development works in their wards may be hampered if funds are not provided for them. They demanded that all corporators should get equal amount of money to carry out the works.

Replying to the demands, the civic officials had said that the funds have been allotted as per demands of the corporators and specific projects that he or she has suggested in their ward.

 

Team of civic teachers civilians to assess old civic buildings

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 11:57 administrator
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The Times of India             12.02.2014

Team of civic teachers civilians to assess old civic buildings

VASHI: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has trained a team of 20, including civic teachers, doctors and engineers, to report on condition of the structures of 10 civic schools and two hospitals.

The team is expected to give its preliminary findings by first week of March. It will implement techniques taught during the two-day workshop on Rapid Visual Survey of buildings, conducted by the civic body.

The data will be compiled with the help of a standardized tool kit provided to the disaster management cell as an overview on the structural condition of these buildings. The cell will, then, take a call whether to rope in engineers to conduct structural audit or conduct repair works.

"The idea was to alert the common man about the conditions of their building. They should be capable of ascertaining if repair and maintenance work is needed to avert accidents. Currently, the survey is focusing on the condition of NMMC structures," said a civic official.

The workshop, conducted under the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and a Government of India-funded project on Climate Risk Management (CRM), was held on February 4 and 5.

The toolkit for the assessment is designed in two modules - surveying buildings less than 30 years old and retro maintenance to be undertaken on older constructions. "Simple questionnaire is provided and relevant weightage has also been provided, which eventually provides a detailed graph on the building's condition," the official added.

 

HUDA plans to hand over sanitation job to RWAs

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 11:53 administrator
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The Times of India             12.02.2014

HUDA plans to hand over sanitation job to RWAs

GURGAON: Following the TOI report on irregularities in some tenders for the multi-crore sanitation project in HUDA colonies, the authority is now planning to hand over the work to RWAs of respective sectors instead of giving the job to a private contractor.

Confirming the move, HUDA administrator P C Meena said, "I'm drafting a proposal to overhaul the entire system of sanitation in HUDA sectors. In a nutshell it will be given to RWAs willing to take over the responsibility."

Sanitation of colonies in HUDA sectors will be better managed if the RWAs take up the job, he added. For maintenance of parks HUDA already has the system of paying the RWAs who are doing a decent job.

As per the proposal, RWAs will be allowed to take up the work instead of contractors in the colonies. The authority officials are working out the eligibility details for RWAs to take up sanitation work.

"RWAs will work in a better way because sanitation affects them most. They can engage professionals or volunteers for the work and HUDA will pay them."

The biggest hurdle in allowing RWAs take up sanitation work is the finances. HUDA is yet to calculate the rates applicable for the system in which RWAs will be given the job.

"The rates will be decided in consultation with RWAs, size of the sector and block," said the official.

Residents have, meanwhile, hailed the authority plan to hand them over sanitation work.

Meenu Singh, president of Sector 3 and 6 RWAs, said: "If there is such a plan then RWAs will be willing to take over sanitation work. We are fed up with the private contractors." Involvement of RWAs will bring greater vigilance and work quality at the ground level. "We are already managing the parks and you can see their upkeep," she added.

The proposal will be sent to the headquarters within the next two weeks for approval, said HUDA officials. "Once the proposal is cleared, RWAs will be called for the meeting to prepare a roadmap for handing over the task," said the HUDA official.

 
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