The Times of India 08.05.2013
LMC hikes kalyan mandap tariff
(LMC) for various functions. The executive committee of the LMC, on
Tuesday, brought into effect a significant hike in booking fee for the
centres amid mild objections from corporators. The hike, proposed much
higher, was restricted to anywhere between 20 to 40% depending on the
categories (AC/non AC) and location of the centre.
The committee also approved the hike in rent of LMC properties by linking it to the DM circle rate.
Chairman of the committee and mayor Dinesh Sharma said the rents have
remained largely unchanged for the past several years and had not
undergone any change. TOI was the first to report that the rented
properties of LMC may undergo changes. According to LMC sources,
properties were either lent out or mutated in others’ name. And this was
a cause of concern for municipal authorities. In many cases the
original allottee had sublet these properties. The move, not
surprisingly, gives a significant boost to revenues of the otherwise
cash-strapped corporation.
In another major decision, the
committee decided to ban road cutting for a period of two years. Sharma
said that the road cutting will be resorted to only when there was an
urgent need. Moreover, instead of a zonal officer or executive engineer
granting permission for road cutting, it will be municipal commissioner
or the additional municipal commissioner who will give permission. The
decision could give major relief to hundreds and thousands of residents
in the city from the indiscriminate digging up roads by civic agencies
for laying of sewer lines or telecom wires. At the same time, the
committee decided to set up teams of corporators in different zones to
inspect the areas for the prevailing civic problems and submit a report
on regular basis.
The committee also decided to put the issue
of installing water meters and the raise in water tariff before the
municipal house. The state government
had issued a government order making installation of water meters
mandatory in the city. This is one of the key recommendations of the
centre under its flagship scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Lucknow is one of the significant
beneficiaries of projects undertaken under the scheme. The water tariff
was also proposed to be increased from Rs 2 per 1,000 litres to Rs 6.
However, the proposal came under sharp criticism of the corporators who
demanded improvement in the water supply before any such changes are
made in the water tariff.
Ironically, the executive committee
saw a protest by members on the issue of e-tendering, the process
entails transparency in the tendering system. The incumbent municipal
commissioner, RK Singh had been seeking imposition of the system to
bring in the requisite transparency in the system through the
e-tendering process.
The committee also gave its nod to
renaming some of the city roads after renowned personalities. For
example, the road between Gwynne road and Chaar Batti crossing will now
be called Lacchu Maharaj road. Likewise, the road between PICUP and
Kathauta in Gomtinagar will be named after former Prime MinisterChandra Shekhar.
