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G.O. issued on fixing geographical limits of Vellore Corporation

Thursday, 01 April 2010 06:14 administrator
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The Hindu 01.04.2010

G.O. issued on fixing geographical limits of Vellore Corporation

Special Correspondent

Six municipalities, 8 town panchayats, 61 village panchayats to be added

VELLORE: Six municipalities (including three third-grade municipalities), eight town panchayats and 61 village panchayats will be annexed to the Vellore Corporation. This is as per the Tamil Nadu Government Order No.52 dated March 17, 2010 of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, fixing geographical limits of the Vellore Corporation.

The G.O. was placed at an ordinary meeting of the Corporation Council held under the presidentship of P. Karthikeyan, Mayor of Vellore, here on Wednesday.

The State government had issued the order based on the recommendation of the Director of Municipal Administration made in his letter dated January 3, 2010, and the report sent by Durai Chandrasekharan, Additional Director of Municipal Administration and Special Officer of the Vellore Corporation.

The letter of the DMA and the report of the Special Officer were based on a resolution adopted by the Vellore Corporation at a meeting on July 22, 2008, proposing the inclusion of local bodies in the vicinity of the Vellore Corporation to create an extended Corporation.

Following are the local bodies to be annexed to the Vellore Corporation as per the G.O.:

Municipalities - Arcot, Walajapet and Ranipet; third grade municipalities - Sathuvachari, Tharapadavedu and Melvisharam; town panchayats - Shenbakkam, Thorappadi, Allapuram, Pennathur, Kazhinjur, Gandhinagar, Katpadi and Tiruvalam; village panchayats - Palavansathu, Idayansathu, Adukkamparai, Thuthipattu, Viruppakshipuram, Ariyoor, Chitheri, Kuppam, Sirukanji, Sadupperi, Sembedu, Abdullapuram, Konavattam, Anpoondi, Melmonavur, Keezhmonavur, Karugambathur, Virudhambattu, Thandala Krishnapuram, Senur, Jaffrapet, Vanjur, Karasamangalam, Vandranthangal, Kangeyanallur, Mettukulam, Alamelumangapuram, Venkatapuram, Perumugai, Arapakkam, Eranthangal, Serkadu, Puthur, Arumbarudhi, Karnambut, Kandippedu, Sekkanur, Karigiri, Brammapuram, Lalapet, Seekkarajapuram, Narasingapuram, Kudayanallur, Kuppathamottur, Sembarayanallur, Arimuthumottur, Ammundi, Vannivedu, Ammanathangal, V.C. Mottur, Manthangal, Chettithangal, Vanapadi, Mukundarayapuram, Veppur, Navlock, Maniyambattu, Thengal, Nandhiyalam, Keezhminnal and Poottuthacku.

The government has also decided that the extended Vellore Corporation could be created by including the above local bodies after the expiry of the five-year term of representatives of the local bodies concerned in 2011. Connected works such as formation of new wards, division of zones, and reservation of wards for women, Adi Dravidars and tribals would be taken up during the current year and finalised after obtaining an order from the government.

Last Updated on Thursday, 01 April 2010 06:15
 

Thirst for development drains water bodies

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 11:48 administrator
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The New Indian Express 23.03.2010

Thirst for development drains water bodies

Gokul Chandrasekar


CHENNAI: Chennai city has lost close to 250 water bodies since 1909 and continues to lose its surface water, marshlands and groundwater due to its rapid and unplanned developmental activities.

A panel of water experts from various prestigious academic institutions and State water board who gathered at IIT-Madras to mark World Water Day on Monday, observed that developmental activities were posing a major threat to the city’s water bodies. These unplanned activities have made the city prone to inundation and affected the groundwater recharging systems.

Ramalingam, director, Institute for Remote Sensing, Anna University pointed out that the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Velachery ran right across the Pallikaranai swamp, hindering flow of water during heavy rains, thus causing inundation. The Velachery Main Road, Old Mahabalipuram Road and Thoraipakkam Road imposed severe restrictions on the movement of flood water, thus inundating the neighbouring areas.

“Previously the proposal was to have MRTS as an elevated system, but fixing pillars in the swampy land was impossible. The system in the current form has lead to complications,” Ramalingam said. He proposed that additional culverts be built along the course of MRTS to ease the condition.

Pollution of waterways and over-exploitation of groundwater resources have compounded the problems, said Sitharam Gurumurthi, Planning Commission member. He observed that 475 outlets of untreated sewage continue to pollute Cooum River even now when the State government has been trying to restore it. Metrowater till date has identified 57 of these outlets, which they hope to plug in a couple of years.

Sundaramurthy of the National Institute of Ocean Technology said that as the Chennai sewerage system was designed to dispose of its effluents in the water bodies, it was systemic problem. He also observed that the Centre’s sewage treatment manual framed in 1997 was outdated and the treatment standards have to be improved drastically.

Data provided by Institute for Remote Sensing showed that over 138 blocks of groundwater in the city was overexploited.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 11:50
 

Corporation to open building plan preparation cell

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 05:52 administrator
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The Hindu 23.03.2010

Corporation to open building plan preparation cell

Special Correspondent

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation will open a cell for preparing building plan, a task currently carried out by licensed engineers/building surveyors. Announcing this in its budget presented on Monday, the Corporation said this was to prevent the “harassment” of the common people and make the procedure hassle-free.

The Corporation's Town Planning Officer M. Soundararajan said in the new cell, people could have the plan prepared by a panel of engineers or surveyors by paying a fee fixed by the civic body. At present, the fee varied with the private agency or individual preparing the plan.

The official said there were complaints from applicants that the cost of a mandatory software for the submission of building plan was being imposed on them by those licensed to prepare the plans now.

While the software's cost of Rs. 5,000 was a one-time investment, it was collected from all applicants.

The cell would have a reception area where various types of building plan would be on display. The applicants could choose from these, according to their requirement, financial strength and the size of the house site. The models on display would serve as a broad guideline. Changes could be made according to the need of the applicant.

After the cell prepared the plan, it would be checked by the Town Planning Officer for any violation of building rules. Changes, if needed, would be carried out immediately. “The advantage in the cell is that the applicants will not have to waste time and incur extra costs on rectifying the plan,” Mr. Soundararajan said. This system functioned now in Gujarat, he said.

“The drawing of the plan will take only half-an-hour. But, the final approval will take four days to a week as the Corporation will have to check the status of the site of the proposed construction. We need to know whether the site belongs to the applicant or a Government agency,” he said.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 05:53
 
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