Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 11.06.2009

Five-point agenda for JNNURM projects

Staff Correspondent

MYSORE: With Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan back as special officer of the Jawaharhal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), work on various projects under the mission is likely to be expedited.

He has outlined a five-point agenda to complete the work on various projects before the deadline of 2012.

Mr. Manivannan, who was relieved as special officer owing to the Lok Sabha elections, held a weekly meeting to review the progress of work on JNNURM projects here on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner told the officers in-charge of the projects that he would address them daily between 10 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. through videoconference from June 18 to keep himself updated on the day-to-day progress of work on the projects.

The officers are likely to get hi-tech electronic gadgets to update information faster to the special officer. Details on the progress of work on the projects would be uploaded to the JNNURM website for the benefit of the people.

Official sources said the five-point agenda included video-conference with officers, surprise visits to work sites, 24x7 responsibilities to the officers concerned, constitution of an internal JNNURM cell and accountability of officers.

At the meeting, Mr. Manivannan told the officers that he would conduct surprise visits to the work sites to cross check the information provided by them during daily videoconference.

The officers would be held accountable and those, who did not show progress in the work on the projects, would be told to give explanation. The internal cell of JNNURM to be constituted would monitor work on various projects and keep updating the data, the sources said.

The issue of slow progress of work on some projects figured in the meeting.

Source : The Hindu Date : 12.06.2009

Corporation promises to set up refuse derived fuel plant

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation has assured the Ombudsman for Local Self-government Institutions, M.R. Hariharan Nair, that it would set up a refuse derived fuel plant for the treatment of plastic and non-biodegradable waste at the site of the solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram shortly.

The deputy secretary of the corporation gave this assurance at a sitting held by the Ombudsman at the district panchayat hall near here on Thursday.

The equipment required for the plant had been readied at an Aurangabad-based firm and steps were afoot to install it at Brahmapuram, the deputy secretary said.

The Ombudsman was told that the tender process for tarring the approach road leading to the Brahmapuram plant would be completed on June 29.

Report sought

The work on the road will be completed at the earliest, a written report submitted by the deputy secretary on behalf of the corporation said. Mr. Nair asked the secretary to inform him of the progress of the work on July 9.

The Ombudsman also instructed the Pollution Control Board to inspect the leachate treatment plant, which was yet to become operational, and to submit a report.

Mr. Nair directed the corporation to pay the outstanding amount owed to the Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Corporation, which runs the Brahmapuram plant.

The corporation said the APTDC had agreed to remove the fertilizer being stored at the plant premises on its own as soon as the plant was handed over to the corporation. Out of the 41 cases considered, six were settled.