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Municipal Finance

Nagpur Municipal Corporation budgets Rs 1 crore for gabion check dams

Thursday, 30 May 2013 11:47 administrator
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The Times of India               30.05.2013

Nagpur Municipal Corporation budgets Rs 1 crore for gabion check dams

NAGPUR: The Nag River rejuvenation project got a big boost in the budget presented by standing committee chairperson Avinash Thakre. The total cost of rejuvenation project is 126.30 crore and NMC's 30% share comes to about 38 crore. While 20 crore has been set aside in this budget, the remaining 18 crore will be sanctioned in the 2014-15 budget. Thakre also sanctioned 5 crore for works to reduce sewage discharge in the river.

The standing panel chief said a large number of nullahs carrying sewage were emptying into the river. To clean the water in these nullahs, gabion check dams will be built on them. Rs1 crore has been sanctioned for this.

Septic tanks have been constructed on nullahs that empty into Nag River. However, at many places these have developed cracks and the sewage was entering the nullahs, polluting Nag River. Another Rs1 crore has been sanctioned for repairing them.

NMC has decided to construct decentralized water treatment plants (DWATs) for every locality with over 5,000 population. These will treat sewage water through natural methods like biodigestion and the water will be used for gardens and construction work. As biodigestors are located below ground level, the DWAT land can be used for other purposes.

Environmentalist Sudhir Paliwal is, however, not impressed. "The money will be spent on laying pipelines to transport sewage to Bhandewadi so treated water can be sold. It should be used for setting up mini STPs. The aim should to treat sewage and release treated water into the river. Only then should NMC turn to pipelines," he stressed.

Kaustav Chatterjee of Green Vigil agreed, "We need to utilize money for small STPs of 1 to 5 MLD capacity along the river." 

 

NMC budget to focus on pending projects

Wednesday, 29 May 2013 12:17 administrator
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The Times of India                29.05.2013

NMC budget to focus on pending projects

NAGPUR: Standing committee chairman AvinashThakre will present Nagpur Municipal Corporation budget for 2013-2014, his first, on Wednesday at 11am. However, there are many projects promised by NMC in last year's budget that have remained non-starters.

Last year, then standing committee chairman Dayashankar Tiwari had presented a budget of Rs1,279 crore but its total revenue was only Rs870 crore. That meant there was no money for many projects including London street, flyovers in Manish Nagar and Somalwada and setting up of Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Centre on the lines of Science City in Kolkata that were announced with much fanfare.

Another department that was ignored last fiscal too is fire department. Since last three years NMC had been allotting money to procure turntable ladder to fight high-rise fires but for some reason has not succeeded. The ruling BJP even failed to ensure construction of 30 cement concrete roads, its pet project. So far, only four km road is complete. The delay has only increased trouble for motorists on these roads as they have developed potholes.

For instance, the stretch between Bajaj Nagar and Shankar Nagar square is in a pathetic condition with many potholes. Similarly, the patch near Dinshaw's factory in Gittikhadan area also needs urgent asphaltation.

Leader of opposition in NMC and senior Congress corporator Vikas Thakre said, "In 2011-12, most of the funds were utilized as elections were approaching. In 2012-13, BJP did nothing." He added that choked gutters, damaged street lights, overflowing drains, filthy streets, vegetable markets that look and stink like garbage dumps were everywhere.

Thakre also pointed out that the budget prepared by both municipal commissioner and standing committee chairman were exaggerated and impractical, added that if one goes through last five years' budget, the city has not witnessed any change as far as development is concerned. "They included many projects that are not possible in a city like Nagpur while money was spent on proposals that have no relevance to city's needs," he added.

However, sources said, BJP would now stress on completing pending projects on priority basis while keeping populist proposals for next year ahead of general election as it is expected that former BJP national president Nitin Gadkari will contest elections from Nagpur.

Only On Paper

High-tech schools: Virtual Learning Classes in NMC-run schools remain on paper

Turntable Ladder: Rs7 crore earmarked but not used

Streetlights: Rs90 crore earmarked but not utilized

New dump yards: Rs5 crore earmarked but no land found

Mosquito free city: Rs50 lakh kept for procuring fogging machine

 

Breather for contractors as MC pays long-pending bills

Wednesday, 29 May 2013 09:53 administrator
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The Indian Express                 29.05.2013

Breather for contractors as MC pays long-pending bills

The contractors hired by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for various projects in the city have finally got a breather as the civic body paid their long-pending bills running into crores recently.

The first instalment of Rs 100-crore loan sanctioned to MC around 10 days back by Canara Bank arrived and so did the smile on the face of contractors, who had threatened to stall work in various parts of the city due to non-payment.

Reportedly, the MC has cleared contractors' bills till November 2012 while the bills of the maintenance contractors for sewerage, tubewell and water supply have been cleared till March.

Confirming the development, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria told Ludhiana Newsline, "Although we have got the first instalment of around Rs 40 crore from Canara Bank, we have already paid Rs 80 crore to the contractors till now."

He added that the "bills of the maintenance wing have also been cleared till March 2013".

As per Gohalwaria, the MC has cleared the payment of the contractors till November 2012 and soon more payments will be cleared as they get another instalments of the loan.

Reportedly, while for Rs 100-crore loan till now MC has mortgaged buildings of Zone B and Zone D, some more sites are being shown to the bank for mortgaging purpose.

"We have shown some other sites to bank officials and as per their choice, the loan value and mutual understanding, some of them will be mortgaged for loan," added the mayor.

Sources said while the bank had given the first instalment to the MC, the documentation process of Zone D building was still not complete.

 
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