The Indian Express             10.12.2013

Urban designers to give aesthetic touch to city roads

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) standing committee has approved the civic administration's proposal seeking setting up of a panel of urban designers to give aesthetic touch to city roads. The designers would be paid at least Rs 9 lakh per km for the purpose.

"The civic body adopted the idea of appointing a panel of designers from other major cities of the country. The panel will be responsible for giving an aesthetic look to city roads which were being developed haphazardly until now. This is the first time that the civic body will be using the services of urban designers for the purpose," said Vishal Tambe, Chairperson, Standing Committee, PMC.

He said the civic body plans to take up the project on pilot basis on four city roads. Consultants would ensure technical norms are followed while developing the roads, he added.

"Beautification of roads has never been given importance in the past. The PMC decided to rope in urban designers after similar initiative were take up in Delhi and Ahmedabad," said Pramod Nirbhavane, Additional City Engineer.

The designers would have to carry out surveys on land use, traffic, pedestrians, informal sector, street parking and landscape before starting the project. They will identify specific location for planting saplings, setting up bus stops and installing benches for pedestrians. Designing of pavements, activity places, and parking spots would be taken up after a proper study of traffic on these roads.

Nirbhavane said islands on various junctions had to be removed to facilitate efficient traffic management. Now, the urban planners would come up with a solution and set up islands on junctions to give facelift to the city roads, he added.

The civic body will pay Rs 9 lakh per km for roads that are 30 meter wide or less and Rs 10 lakh per km for wider roads. It will also pay Rs 60 per sq m for junctions or intersections that would be developed by the designers.

The Hindu                09.12.2013

Plastic waste to be used for laying roads

Special Correspondent

Carry bags and other plastic refuse dumped in garbage bins in the city will bring in additional revenue to the local body shortly.

The State Public Works Department (PWD) has approached the Kochi Corporation for plastic granules to be used along with bitumen for laying a road in Palakkad. The local body has also received another request for plastic granules for building a road in West Kochi.

Large quantities of clean plastic refuse, including carry bags, collected from city flats, were earlier converted and stored as granules. The programme was implemented by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, Kochi unit. These granules could also be used for roadworks, said T.K. Ashraf, chairman of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.

Recently, the PWD had notified plastic granules as a construction material to be used along with bitumen for roadworks. Plastic granules, mixed with bitumen, were found effective in blacktopping roads. The Kochi Corporation had earlier tried the combination for the Goshree and Manappattyparambu roads. If demand picks up, it will help in reducing refuse and earn revenue to the local body, it is pointed out.

Each day, around 25 tonnes of plastic reach the dumping yards of the city. Over 200 tonnes of plastic waste is heaped at Brahmapuram and the corporation has been finding it difficult to handle the growing menace.

The civic body has been engaging in plastic management measures such as scientific capping of refuse at the plant site.

The local body had to face public ire recently when plastic refuse at the site caught fire. Of late, it has also been selling clean plastic collected at the plant for Rs.1.40 a kg.

Meanwhile, civic administrators are dusting up an earlier proposal to set up a plastic waste processing unit at Brahmapuram.

The local body had shelved the proposal as the government had proposed a new plant at Kochi capable of processing plastic as well as biodegradable waste. It may take some more time for the plant to materialise.