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Corporation to get carbon credits for its energy initiative

Friday, 28 January 2011 05:20 administrator
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The Hindu          28.01.2011

Corporation to get carbon credits for its energy initiative

Karthik Madhavan

The Coimbatore Corporation is planning to acquire carbon credits for its energy conservation initiatives in street lights.

Once the initiatives start, the Corporation would talk to an energy consultant, who would not only assess the carbon credits earned but also help get the financial incentives attached thereto, said a source. For the first three or four years, the credits and the financial benefit would go to the agency the Corporation had identified for carrying out the energy conservation initiatives. Thereafter, the civic body would get to enjoy the same.

The source explained that the carbon credits would be calculated based on the power saved. For, every unit of power saved is treated as generated and the amount of carbon emitted in generating a unit of power is taken as the savings. The energy conservation initiatives are expected to begin by February. The private agency the Corporation has identified has been tasked with automatically switch on and off the lights at right time as per seasonal requirement. It will also dim lights during non-peak hours.

The agency will do so using a micro-controller-based energy saving equipment, which will be fixed at switching points. It will operate the equipment wirelessly using GSM technology.

Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra said the objective of the initiatives were to bring down the energy consumption by around 30 per cent and save money on power bill. At present the Corporation consumes 2.66 lakh units (kWh) and spends close to Rs. 8.77 lakh. It has 37,118 street lights spread over 72 wards. The agency has completed the preliminary survey and testing and the Corporation has also authenticated the same.

 

AP model makeover likely for Ambattur, Guindy

Thursday, 27 January 2011 11:25 administrator
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The New Indian Express       27.01.2011

AP model makeover likely for Ambattur, Guindy

First Published : 27 Jan 2011 03:16:22 AM IST
Last Updated : 27 Jan 2011 10:39:10 AM IST

CHENNAI: In a bid to provide a new lease of life to Ambattur and Guindy industrial estates, the state government is contemplating introducing the revenue model of industrial township system prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, sources said.

More than a decade since the Industrial Township Act  was passed, the government was struggling to thrash out an amicable solution for granting industrial township status to Guindy and Ambattur industrial estates following opposition from the Chennai Corporation and Ambattur Municipality.

However, the government is now studying the Andhra Pradesh model whereby 70 per cent of revenue goes to the municipality of industrial estates and 30 per cent to the corporations, sources at the department of industries and commerce said.

The delay in granting the industrial township status to the two estates has drawn flak from the industry who say that the infrastructure in the two estates is in a pathetic stage.

Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Fostering the Growth of medium and small Micro Enterprises’ on Tuesday, Commissioner of Industries and Commerce Harmandar Singh agreed there has been a delay and said that the government was studying the revenue sharing model between the local bodies. With both government and the industries stating that the Small Industries Development Corporation has limited mandate on the issue, a solution is still far off.

A M Kanahamurthy, chairman of the R V Centre for Entreprenuerial Development, told Express that the experimentation for conversion of industrial estates into industrial townships was supposed to have begun in Chennai. But, the city Corporation did not want to miss out on the property tax accrued from the Ambattur and Guindy industrial estates.

Kanahamurthy said that the situation in Guindy estate was worse but things changed with the coming up of an IT complex there and with the Central Government pumping in `18 crore for infrastructure.

Former civil servant and advisor to FICCI president, P Murari, during the workshop, said he was appalled to see the condition of Ambattur and Guindy estates and stressed the need for immediate resuscitation.

 

Corporation puts on hold boat ride in Velachery lake

Tuesday, 25 January 2011 04:54 administrator
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The Times of India         25.01.2011

Corporation puts on hold boat ride in Velachery lake

Julie Mariappan , TNN, Jan 25, 2011, 12.47am IST

CHENNAI: In an unexpected turn of events, the Chennai Corporation has decided to put on hold the proposal for boat rides and other tourist facilities on the Velachery lake, one of the few water bodies still alive in the city. The reason it has cited is the high level of contamination of the water.

"The water is totally contaminated and not conducive for boating. At present, stormwater drain works are in progress near the lake, which we hope will put an end to illegal discharge of sewage from residential areas. It could be dangerous for children to go on a boat ride on the contaminated waterbody," corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan told TOI.

The ambitious programme of the corporation was conceived three years ago. The local body had even engaged a consultant, shortlisted by experts from Anna University, Public Works Department and the agriculture department. The consultant gave a detailed plan in October last on how to beautify the lake. This included removal of encroachments in Gandhi Nagar and Ambedkar Nagar, fencing of the entire waterbody, provision of three decks for walking, viewing and fishing and a boating jetty. The consultant also suggested plantation of African grass, reed and bamboo along the middle deck and flowering plants and trees like bottlebrush, bougainvillea, royal palms and areca nut betel palms along the upper deck.

Poor upkeep of the lake has been a subject of discussion for years now, as locals vent their anger against government agencies. "It is sheer neglect on part of the government that has led to the degradation of the lake. It breached at six places a few years ago due to poor maintenance. Plenty of representations were made to the departments concerned to maintain the lake, but in vain," said A Ramasamy of Federation of Velachery Welfare Associations and a resident of Lakshmi Hayagriva Nagar.

Had the lake been properly maintained, it could have been a major source of drinking water. The rapid pace of real estate development in the last two decades resulted in the shrinking of the waterbody from 265 acres to 55 acres now. The government allocated 53 acres to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board and 34 acres to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board for housing development. The encroachers on Erikkarai Street in Gandhi Nagar, who don't have sewage connections, are contributing to the pollution of the lake, locals said.

There are about 2,000 families living in the southern bund. Even though some have toilets in the backyard, they conveniently direct the pipelines to the lake, causing extensive damage to the waterbody. The government's efforts to relocate the encroachers has not yielded satisfactory results. Corporation officials said they were trying to convince encroachers to get sewer connections by paying a nominal fee of Rs 100. "That is the least we can do," said a senior official. 

 
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