Debt-ridden Jaipur Development Authority auctions land, nets a paltry Rs 13 crore
Tuesday, 04 February 2014 11:16
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The Times of India 04.02.2014 Debt-ridden Jaipur Development Authority auctions land, nets a paltry Rs 13 crore
JAIPUR: The cash strapped Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) managed to get a slight relief after it auctioned a plot at Manoharpura for Rs 13.41 crore on Monday. This may be a drop in the ocean for the troubled JDA, but it is certainly is a silver lining.
According to JDA officials, the plot (3,510 sq mt) was sold to at Rs 3820 per sq mt.
In a desperate attempt to earn more, the (JDA) will soon also be auctioning more land. Director (finance), Rakesh Sharma, said "We have drawn an action plan to earn more and are identifying prime slots. Other than this, we will also take on erring plot owners who have not yet deposited their lease money."
Sources in the department said, due to lackadaisical approach of JDA officials, things have come to this stage. "It was decided to generate Rs 150 crore from land that it auctioned but purchasers moved courts with certain grievances. Directions to identify the properties, from which revenue can be earned was presented, however, these moves failed to evoke results, except for a few deals."
It may be mentioned that the JDA, Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) and Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) are struggling to pay debt of nearly Rs 1,400 crore with little finances in their coffers. JDA took a loan to pay salaries of its employees last month. It has to pay a debt of Rs 400 crore while it has only Rs 14 crore in coffers.
Shikhar Agarwal to take over as new JDC today
IAS officer Shikhar Agarwal will be taking over as the new JDC. This was decided on Monday. He will assume office on Tuesday. Agarwal was on deputation in New Delhi and held the post of director general (employment and training), Ministry of Labour and Employment. Agarawal is a 1993 batch officer. Till Monday, the Urban Development and Housing principal secretary was holding additional charge of JDC. Before leaving for Delhi on deputation in 2009, he served as member, board of revenue, Ajmer. He was also the collector and district magistrate of Jalore and Hanumangarh. While the Jaipur Development Authority is reeling under financial crisis, it would be a challenge for Agarwal to give pace to the new projects.
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Kolhapur Municipal Corporation to hire hands for waste management
Tuesday, 04 February 2014 11:12
administrator
The Times of India 04.02.2014 Kolhapur Municipal Corporation to hire hands for waste management
KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC), which faces the herculean task of clearing the garbage piled up on city roads, will appoint 320 employees on contractual basis to handle the trash.
The decision has been taken after the civic administration failed to act on the complaints of residents regarding poor management of garbage collection and disposal. The contract will be reviewed every five years.
At present, about 176 tonnes of garbage is generated in the city limits, but the KMC lacks the manpower to collect it. The garbage is not separated into dry and wet at the source of garbage generation leading to difficulties in disposal.
KMC chief sanitation inspector Vijay Patil said, "Door-to-door garbage collection is not possible due to shortage of manpower. We will request for a proposal and float tenders to invite organizations that have expertise in garbage collection, segregation and transportation. The work should be done according to the Municipal Solid Waste Management and Handling Rule drafted by the Union ministry of environment and forests so that the city is clean and free of filth."
At present, there are 550 garbage bins in various parts of the city. The KMC is also equipped with 150 cycle rickshaws and 10 ghantagadis that carry garbage. "The KMC is managing garbage collection and disposal for the past three years ever since Zoom Fertilizers terminated the garbage processing unit at Kasba Bawda. The company used to collect and transport the garbage after processing it," added Patil.
Around 3.5 lakh tonnes of garbage has been piled up at the Kasba Bawda site for the past three years. The KMC will appoint
a Pune based company to convert the waste into electricity. According to the draft agreement of the waste to energy plant, the responsibility of collection, separation and transportation of the garbage lies with the civic administration and the company will not help in the work. The draft also mentions that the garbage flow to the plant should be uniform and not be interrupted by any means so that the plant starts functioning to its full capacity.
Patil further said, "The proposed waste to energy plant will concentrate on the generation of electricity. It is our responsibility to consistently provide them the segregated garbage so that the process of generation of electricity is not interrupted. Appointing 320 employees is an attempt to ensure that the plant functions fully and yields satisfactory results."
According to the proposals invited by the civic administration, KMC will pay the labourers as per every tonne of garbage collected.
"We are hoping that many organizations involved in garbage processing will show interest in the tenders as they will earn a significant amount of money. The district hosts many industries processing renewable waste and the contractual labourers will earn significantly from waste segregated from raw garbage. The work of segregation will be done efficiently," added Patil.
Meanwhile, the work of preparing a scientific sanitary landfill site at Takala area of the city has been awarded environmental clearance by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Though the contractor had been finalized, the work had not started as it was stuck for environmental approval. The work, which involves preparing the site in a scientific way so that leachate does not leak and pollute groundwater resources, will start by the end of this month. The KMC has allotted 2 hectares of land for the work, wherein inert material will be deposited. The site has the capacity to hold inert material from the garbage for five years.
25 new buses to roll out on Ludhiana roads in 15 days
Tuesday, 04 February 2014 11:09
administrator
The Times of India 04.02.2014 25 new buses to roll out on Ludhiana roads in 15 days
LUDHIANA: The Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) is all set to roll 25 new buses on the roads in the next 15 days. After the addition of this fleet of new buses, the total number of buses plying in the city would reach 100. Keeping in view the narrow roads and the large population dwelling in congested areas of the city, this fleet of 25 would include 10 mini buses, five AC and 10 non-AC buses.
Promising cheap transport and a pollution-free city to its residents, MC has planned to reach their target of rolling 200 buses in the city by the year-end. The routes for the new buses have also been fixed. The routes for the soon-to-be introduced buses include Bharat Nagar, Jagraon Bridge, railway station, CMC Chowk, Samrala Chowk, Civic Hospital road, Shingar Cinema, Vardhman Mill, Sector 39, Jamalpur Colony and Jamalpur Urban Estate.
"The introduction of the new buses is a provision for the new areas and to strengthen the already present 18 routes where the buses ply," said Baljit Singh, manager of City Bus Service. "We have already placed the orders for the next 25 buses that would reach the city in next 15 days," said MC commissioner Rahul Tewari.
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