The Hindu 18.09.2009

Corporation forms panel to frame bylaws for Council functioning

Special Correspondent

Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

For development: Mayor R. Venkatachalam (left) and Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra (right) discuss a point at an all-party meeting in the city on Thursday. —

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation has formed a committee to frame bylaws for the smooth functioning of the elected Council.

The decision to form the committee was taken at an all-party meeting held on Thursday.

Mayor R. Venkatachalam, Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra, Deputy Mayor N. Karthik, senior officials of the Corporation, councillors heading zones and standing committees and leaders of political parties in the Council attended the meeting.

The 20-member committee consisted of these persons, Deputy Commissioner V. Shanta and the Floor Leader of the Congress and Leader of the Opposition in the Council.

Once the committee frames the bylaws, these would be placed in the Council for its approval.

The all-party meeting reached a consensus on approving the Corporation’s proposal to involve private parties in putting up shelters for passengers at bus stops.

This subject was brought up for discussion at the all-party meeting as a decision on this was not taken at the emergency meeting of the council earlier this week.

A section of the councillors had objected to the direct placing of the proposal in the Council without ratification by the Standing Committee on Town Planning.

The all-party meeting insisted that the bus shelters should be of good quality and located at places convenient and necessary for the passengers.

The meeting also decided that a proposal would be placed in the Council for installing streetlights with light emitting diodes on an expression of interest or a build-operate-transfer basis.

As the construction of a median was under progress on Avanashi Road, the Corporation would immediately take up the works to lay cables for the lights.

The Corporation planned to acquire14.4 acres at Ondipudur on the eastern border of the city to establish a sewage treatment plant. As the cost – Rs. 18.29 crore – was high, the civic body would negotiate with the owners to have it reduced.

A proposal to increase drinking water tariff as per the State Government’s guidelines was taken up for discussion at the meeting. But, for the second or third time, the party leaders wanted it to be deferred. This issue would be discussed at another all-party meeting.

Deccan Chronicle 17.09.2009

Global firm gives tips for civic body

Chennai, Sept. 17: If the ambitious proposals of Manila-based Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) for managing the city’s waterways and solid waste were to be implemented by the city corporation, it could shop for investments for infrastructure projects abroad to complete them in record time, and cash in on selling the mounds of garbage generated.

The corporation had approached CDIA in 2007 to have a re-look at the City Development Plan (CDP) 2006, a document to guide the development of Chennai Metropolitan Area, including parts of Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts, up to 2026, and suggest ways to bridge the gaps.

Apart from drafting a revised CDP, which will be open to public review for the first time, CDIA has come up with a pre-feasibility report after a year of ground research to suggest infrastructure projects to manage its rivers and solid waste, which it will soon submit to the government.

“While analysing the investment strategies for the city, we found that investment of 250 million dollars was required for infrastructure projects. Apart from the funds allocated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, (it does not cover water bodies), international financing institutions and greater public-private partnership is required,” explained Nadir Ehsan, senior municipal development specialist, CDIA.

In solid waste management, rather than the corporation losing money by paying private agencies, it could sell waste to them and earn royalty to fund other projects.

As one of the biggest hurdles for management of water bodies was the lack of a central authority to oversee implementation, the report suggests the setting up of an ‘apex body’, said Mr M. Dheenadhayalan, team leader of DHV consultancy firm that did the study.