Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 27.06.2009

Delimitation of local bodies under consideration: Stalin

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: A proposal on delimitation of local bodies, rural and urban, is under consideration of the government, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin told the Assembly on Friday.

Initiating a debate on the demands for grants to Municipal Administration, Water Supply, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments, Mr. Stalin said Collectors had conducted public hearings pertaining to requests from various local bodies on upgrading, downgrading, bifurcating and amalgamating them. It had been clarified that the term of office of the present office-bearers would not, in anyway, be affected.

Noting that 172 panchayat unions now came under two or more Assembly constituencies, the Deputy Chief Minister said the government had taken up the reorganisation of panchayat union boundaries to ensure that an Assembly constituency comprised only full panchayat unions.

On implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), he said the average percentage of registration of beneficiaries in districts covered under the phase I and II (10 districts) had crossed 70; it was 45 per cent in 20 other districts covered under phase III. A sum of Rs.1,885 crore was spent on generating 2,400 lakh mandays of employment up to May 31.

Under Mahilar Thittam, a programme implemented in partnership with non-government organisations and community-based organisations affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women, credit linkage to self-help groups touched Rs.2,174.57 crore during 2008-2009 due to positive intervention of the government. In the coming years, the focus of Mahilar Thittam would be on increasing credit linkage to SHGs. A target of Rs.2,400 crore had been set for 2009-2010.

A detailed action plan had been drawn up to restructure, in three years, all panchayat-level federations (PLF), a common platform for SHGs to share their experiences. This year, 1,260 PLFs would be restructured.

The implementation of the Rs.717-crore World Bank-aided Vazhndhu Kattuvom project, aimed at empowering the poorest of the poor, had earned appreciation of the funding agency. A proposal, seeking Rs.950 crore, had been mooted by the government to expand the reach of the project, Mr. Stalin added.

Source : The Hindu Date : 27.06.2009

Solid waste management clusters on the anvil: Stalin

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The possibility of setting up solid waste management clusters for efficient management on the lines of the Venkatamangalam model is being explored, according to Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

[Under the Venkatamangalam model, a common compost plant and sanitary landfill facility has been established for the three municipalities of Alandur, Pallavapuram and Tambaram. Early this month, the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department issued an order, according permission to lease out 2,99,477 square metres of land in Venkatamangalam village in Kancheepuram district on an annual rent of Re.1 per sq metre for 20 years to the concessionaire.]

Initiating a debate on the demands for grants to Municipal Administration, Water Supply, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments, Mr. Stalin said agreements had been concluded with different private agencies for leasing out land to implement the solid waste management scheme on the basis of build, operate and transfer in Coimbatore and Madurai municipal corporations and Namakkal municipality.

As for the Urban Road Infrastructure Project, tenders were received on May 15 for the appointment of a consultant for design, supervision and management for developing the urban infrastructure in 12 urban local bodies.

Nagercoil, Pollachi, Sattur, Ariyalur and Mannargudi were among the urban local bodies where it was proposed to take up works on underground sewerage systems (UGSS) under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns this year. The total cost would come to Rs.503.94 crore. On the implementation of geographical information system in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi corporations and Rajapalayam and Gobichettipalayam municipalities, the Minister informed the House that the consultant had prepared the base map for Coimbatore.

Imageries for four other local bodies were awaited from the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. Data collection in the four urban local bodies (ULBs) was in progress. The consultant had also started preparing web-based GIS application for all the five ULBs.

The Centre had approved works of the UGSS in nine town panchayats, including Porur, Sembakkam and Chittlapakkam, at an estimated cost of about Rs.349 crore. Chennai Metrowater would implement the works this year.