Think India Foundation

Confusing DC rules bring just two proposals in two months

Mumbai : The implementation of the new Development Control (DC) rules has brought the real estate development in the city to a grinding halt. TheBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received only two proposals in the last two months compared to 15 a day during peak time. The civic body has not cleared either of the proposals.

“Only two developers dared to submit their proposals in two months. The poor response will have a long cascading effect on the city’s development and real estate prices. The market moves on the calculation of demand and supply. If the supply dries up, prices will skyrocket once again,” an industry expert told DNA. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Girders put up as part of freeway project in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Engineers of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) installed ten 40-m long girders, each weighing 145 tonnes, at the site of the Trombay rail overbridge, a critical part of the Rs 847-crore Eastern Freeway Project.

"The idea is to finish the project and push forward work on the freeway, which is to be completed by the end of the year," said an MMRDA official. The Eastern Freeway Project will link P D'Mello Road to Ghatkopar. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Self-assessment of property on the cards in Mumbai

Mumbaikars may soon be able to evaluate their property tax liability and pay the same online, much in the way they file income tax returns. 

A proposal to introduce self-assessment is awaiting clearance from municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar. It can be implemented after the newly elected civic standing committee approves the BMC's pending proposal to impose a capital value-based system of computing property taxes. Replacing the annual rateable value system of calculation with the capital value method will be one of the first proposals to be taken up by the body when it meets in March. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

States to get half of Central scheme funds

Patna : States will now have greater flexibility with Centrally-sponsored schemes. The Union government has given its nod to a new plan that will facilitate transfer of 50 per cent of the scheme amount to the states.

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh says the Centre plans to spend more than Rs 88,000 crore this financial year on rural development. “This ought to boost development, but the inflexibility of Central government sponsored schemes are a major hurdle. We want to remove this,” he told reporters here. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Auto rickshaw crucial for sustainable transport: Study

NAIROBI: The auto rickshaw may be losing its way in the transport debate in India, but the ubiquitous three-wheeler is being discussed in global forums as a possible option for sustainable transport. 

While autos lose out to cars in the Indian consciousness, but when it comes to sustainable urbanisation and transport, they are being touted as a vital last-mile link of giant mass transportation system, something that needs to be encouraged. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

'Pune municipality's river navigation project not feasible'

PUNE: Noted water expert Madhav Chitale on Friday said that river navigation project planned by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Mula-Mutha is not feasible. "The rivers are in a pathetic condition and do not have the required water level for such a project. Even in the next 20 years, the project will not be possible," he said.

Addressing a news conference on problems of rivers in the state, as part of the Vasundhara International Film Festival, Chitale said looking at the state of the rivers the PMC should take the responsibility of restoring the water bodies and see that sewage is not released on the rivers. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

New Traffic rule, JnNURM buses and present roads

It was with the motive of easing traffic congestion in Imphal city that the state government came up with a new traffic rule on February 13th, thereby prohibiting entry of all vehicles in Paona and Thangal Bazaar. The state government also allotted 17 authorised parking lots in different parts of the city. 

Semi-low floor bus for ferrying passengers within the market areas in Imphal on February 23 2012 - Pix :: David M Mayum

The new traffic regulation, though, was put on a trial basis, did not go well with the public. Shopkeepers of Thangal and Paona Bazaar even went to the extent of shutting down their shops for a couple of days protesting against the new traffic regulation, on the ground that customers are reluctant to visit their shops and as a result their sale proceed decline considerably. Read more

Source : e-pao.net

Tamil Nadu loses battle in green court

Chennai : The green court for south India was opened in Chennai on Friday. On the first day, this National Green Tribunal (NGT), Chennai circuit court, heard six major cases and disposed two of them including the three-year-old Pallikaranai case.

Setting aside the environment clearance given by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to the Chennai Corporation to set up an integrated waste management plant in Pallikaranai marshland, the court said, “The state of Tamil Nadu has no jurisdiction to grant environment clearance of this nature. Guindy national Park is located within 10 kms from the Pallikaranai project site.” Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Over 2,000 weather stations to come up in Maharashtra

The 100-cr project expected to benefit farmers

MUMBAI : With the Maharashtra Government planning to set up 2,025 automatic weather stations (AWSs) across the State, farmers could benefit from the information obtained to decide on the cropping pattern and take preventive steps to protect the standing crop in case of weather changes.

The Rs 100-crore project will get a viability-gap funding from the Centre. The farmers could realise the advantage of the AWS from the kharif season of 2013. AWSs would be located in every revenue circle, comprising a cluster of 20-30 villages. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

US firm plans to light up rural homes through solar energy

Mangalore : Duron Solar has announced its plans to expand into rural markets by serving families which have no access or have partial access to electricity.

After having conducted pilot tests for over one and half year in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the Company has decided to set up service network in rural areas of Mangalore, Udupi, Shimoga, Dakshina Kannada, Uttar Kannada and Kodagu. The Company is now all set to spread its operations in five new States- Tamilnadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

India needs ‘intelligent' cars

Automobiles need technologies to address mobility problems on Indian roads.

Delhi is expected to grow more in the next three years than London in two decades.

India is listed as the sixth largest auto market globally, based on the sales for the year 2010 and 2011, with a projected growth of 7 per cent for the next year. Extracts reveal that by 2016, the size of the Indian automobile industry is expected to grow by 13 per cent, approaching the target of US$ 120-159 billion.

Presently, India is the second-largest two-wheeler and fourth-largest commercial vehicle market. Strategic alliances in the economies of developed countries have leveraged its success factors by raising demand and financial support. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Karnataka CM to hand out Rs 500 cr worth grants in Mysore

Chennai/ Mysore : Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda will visit Mysore on March 3 to handover Rs 500 crore worth entitlements to one lakh beneficiaries of the district. At a programme planned on the Maharaja’s College Grounds, the Chief Minister will inaugurate the day-long ‘fair’ on which the district officials are busy planning the details.

Besides distributing benefits under various schemes, the chief minister will also lay foundation stone for some projects. A big contingent of ministers and senior officials of the state are expected to take part in the fair, the arrangements for which were reviewed by district in-charge minister S A Ramadas at an official meeting on Tuesday. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

IT sector urged to participate in development activities

BANGALORE : ‘Reorient your CSR to create social infrastructure for the city'

Information technology companies and professionals were on Thursday urged to reorient their corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards creating social infrastructure for Bangalore.

Ravi Chandran, Ashwin Mahesh, V Naresh Narasimhan and Rd Ashwin Verma at the "GIREM :Destination Bangalore" conference to bring together committed minds to discuss and share views on future of Bangalore City , in Bangalore on Thursday. Photo: G.P.Sampath Kumar.

‘LARGE PRESENCE'

Participating in the ‘Destination Bangalore' summit organised by the Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM), V. Naresh Narasimhan, managing partner of Venkataramanan Associates, said IT professionals now account for nearly one million of city's population. Another three million people are directly or indirectly depending on them. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Wind to energise investments in Gadag

HUBLI: Money is blowing in the winds of Gadag. Read on to know how to catch it. The region - prone to natural calamities like drought and floods - is a suitable location for setting up wind mills.

In fact, according to the data available with Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL), roughly 19,347 mw power could be generated through renewable energy sources - and wind energy can contribute around 60 per cent of it. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Odisha: NRO urges Centre to establish Central Agriculture University at Kalahandi

Bhubaneswar: Non-resident Odia Digambara Patra urges Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar to set up Central Agriculture University at Kalahandi in Odisha. In a letter to Pawar, Patra said that, "the steps you have taken for the growth of agriculture in the nation are highly appreciated. Recent declaration of central Government to give special importance to agricultural growth of eastern part of the nation including Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand etc is also adorable."

"Agriculture contributes substantial portion to our economy and human resources. It is the prime source to the rural economy and is backbone of the nation. As the agriculture land area is decreasing due to urbanization and industries, to meet the food demand at the national and international level the stress on agricultural out put per hectare of agricultural land will increase with population." Read more

Source : orissadiary.com

KCCI supports beautiful Kochi

KOCHI: The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) authorities said that they are ready to take over the renovation and maintenance works of the E M S Memorial Town Hall. Announcing KCCI’s support for the city’s development, KCCI chairman K N Marsook said that a master plan catering to the needs of the coming years, is essential for the development.

“KCCI has always taken initiatives for the development of infrastructure and beautification of the city. KCCI is committed to facilitate the development of Kochi into a modern urban agglomeration at par with any other major city in the world,” he said. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Delhi govt to use DUSIB land for schools, hospitals

New Delhi : Construction of 9,780 low cost houses under JNNURM has also been approved: Dikshit

Grappling with the problem of paucity of land, Delhi government on Thursday decided to make use of land available with Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for its various projects. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

IBM to implement waste mgmt system in Kochi

Announced four projects that include formulation of new strategies for the handloom sector, innovative youth empowerment programs and promotion of the budding micro-enterprise sector

KOCHI, INDIA: As a part of the Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program, IBM on Thursday announced four projects for Kochi. The projects will be implemented in partnership with India@75, Local Economic Development Society (LEDS), Kara Ventures and Navabharath Foundation.

A team comprising of 12 IBM employees from nine different countries (France, Canada, Sweden, Brazil, USA, Australia, Slovakia, Germany and Spain) will work on these projects over a six month period with one month being spent on location, said a press release. Read more

Source : ciol.com

Share of N-power in India is set to rise

MANGALORE: The current share of nuclear power in India is about 3%. But it has received major fillip in recent years and is poised to grow steadily. The key to capacity building in nuclear power sector critically depends on development of reliable nuclear power stations and an integrated system encompassing the complete fuel cycle, waste management and fissile fuel breeding, according to Srikumar Banerjee, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC).

Delivering the convocation address at the 30th convocation of Mangalore University here on Thursday, he said India has already developed adequate core competence in all aspects of nuclear energy, and its roadmap for three-stage nuclear programme provides a blueprint for achieving sustainable energy security. The first stage utilises natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator in indigenously-developed pressurized heavy-water reactors.The second stage of the programme is based on fast breeder reactors (FBRs) which are fuelled by plutonium obtained by reprocessing of spent fuel of thermal reactors. The prototype FBR of 500MWe is currently under construction at Kalpakkam. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Plan for Biogas Plants at State Institutions in Chandigarh, India

Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana is to implement a Master Plan that will see the construction of a large number of food waste to biogas facilities.

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Rufous

According to a report in The Times of India, the plan calls for most of the city's hotels and a number of government buildings including college campuses, medical research centres and a hospital will generate their own energy through biogas plants. Read more

Source : waste-management-world.com

4 killer spots, 27 accident points identified in Panchkula

PANCHKULA: Police have identified 27 accident prone points and four killer spots where maximum number of fatalities have taken place in the past five years. The Chandimandir T-point, Majri Chowk, Ramgarh Chowk and Barwala point are the "black spots," according to a study conducted by the Panchkula police.

The police after studying the number of accidents in the past five years identified these four spots as the killer spots as according to the data, maximum number of fatalities took place here. Besides, the dividing road of sector 4 and 12, Panchkula has also been declared as a mishap-prone area. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Huda fines 50 for misusing water, collects Rs 10,000 fine

Gurgaon : Continuing with its practice to stop wastage of water, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) challaned offenders in various sectors on Thursday. People were also fined for causing damage to roads. The team of Huda officials issued challans to over 50 people in Sectors 4,7, 15, 40, 9, 10 and other places.  The department collected  Rs 10,000 as fine amount on Thursday. 

While the minimum amount charged from offenders is Rs 200, the fine can increase depending upon the amount of water misused by people and subsequent damage to roads etc. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Faridabad Metro caught in permission tangle

Faridabad : The 13.8-km Metro corridor from Badarpur to YMCA Crossing here seems to have run into rough weather. The construction work on the line, which started a few days ago, has been stopped as the Delhi Metro has reportedly not sought requisite permission from the National Highway Authority of India(NHAI).

NHAI officials said the Delhi Metro had been advised to seek the former’s permission as it had been carrying out boring exercise between Sarai Khwaja and YMCA Crossing on NHAI land for the past few days. “But they ignored this, forcing us to stop work,” said Sanjay Gupta, patrolling officer of NHAI, adding that “there are clear-cut instructions from our bosses that DMRC needed NHAI’s nod before starting construction on the line.” Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Cops wait for complaint to curb illegal parking at Galleria

Gurgaon : Facing criticism for not lodging an FIR against a contractor, who has been running a parking lot in Galleria Market illegally, the city police on Thursday put the ball in the court of developer under whose area the vacant land falls. Last week, the Sector 29 police station had refused to register a complaint filed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) against the contractor, Sanjay Dagar. Apart from Huda, residents of DLF City also complained before the police commissioner KK Sindhu. 

On Thursday, the police commissioner said the department cannot take action against the contractor until the land owner files a complaint. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Civic woes: Huda to set up 300 mobile toilets

Gurgaon : The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has struck a deal with a private agency to set up around 300 mobile toilets at various locations across the city. The Huda will provide water supply and maintenance for these toilets. The waste will be disposed off in the master drain. At Iffco Chowk, four such toilets have been set up on trial basis. 

“I was satisfied with the operation of the mobile toilets and the most important that the people in good number were seen using these toilets. So I think the 300 mobile toilets would help the city in eradicating this nuisance,” said the administrator, adding that he may allow the firm to install minimum 1000 such public toilets. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Metro Rail helps property prices shoot up in Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Metro Rail project has become the buzzword for the city’s realty sector, which has pinned all its hopes on this Rs 14,132-crore project to revive a stagnant market. Buyers are finding the project attractive owing to easy accessibility and the development that is expected to take place once the project commences operations within five years. Real estate developers have been prominently highlighting Metro Rail connectivity in their brochures and publicity material to attract buyers. They are luring customers by predicting that property prices will escalate in the areas surrounding Metro Rail stations in the next five years.

The real estate sector has seen poor demand since 2007 due to the global recession and later, from 2009, due to political turmoil in the wake of the statehood agitations. The commencement of the Metro Rail work along three corridors spread over 71 km has thus revived hopes of a real estate boom. Agents say the Metro has become a determining factor in the escalation of property prices in the city. Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Weaker sections to benefit as housing policy tightened in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Now, people from the low income group (LIG) and the economically weaker section ( EWS) in the state can dream big to stay in posh group housing schemes and townships as the UDH department has decided to strictly implement its housing policy.

According to urban housing and development ( UDH) officials, private builders have to reserve a portion of group housing projects for the economically weaker segments (EWS) and the low income group (LIG) segment as per the housing policy. So far, the builders and the developers used to produce affidavit that they will reserve area in this regard. However, till date it was never done. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rajasthan Amongst World's Best Locations for Solar Energy

"The conditions in Rajasthan are so favourable, that it will be amongst the most logical places in the world to implement photovoltaic solar power," says Edwin Koot, CEO of Solarplaza.

With India's highest solar radiation in western Rajasthan, half of India's solar power capacity in 2022 could come from this state, says Satya Kumar, managing director of Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Ltd. Read more

Source : evwind.es

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio calls for development of Kohima suburbs

KOHIMA: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio on Wednesday stressed on the need to expand the state capital Kohima and establish satellite townships and sub-urban areas on the outskirts of the city. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 11-km road from Viirie to Kohima constructed under MGNREGS, Rio urged the state's real estate owners to have a positive mindset and handover their lands to government for developmental works as it would ensure better and proper planning in the expansion of the state capital.

The CM also greeted the people on the occasion of Sekrenyi festival and congratulated the Kohima Village Council and Village Development Board (VDB), Kohima, for successfully completing the road, which was constructed at a cost of around Rs 1.5 crore. Lauding the land owners of Kohima Village for donating the land for developmental works, Rio hoped that the establishment of the road will ease the flow of vehicular traffic in Kohima and improve transport and communication in the area. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

JnNURM buses make debut in Imphal city

Imphal : After the blanket ban imposed on entry of all sort of motor-vehicles in Paona and Thangal Bazar areas of Khwairamband market purportedly to ease traffic congestion, transportation service of two semi-low floor buses provided under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission (JnNURM) through the restricted market areas has begun from today on a trial basis for one month.

Despite the reported 'public euphoria' over the new bus service, posers have been raised over the suitability of the newly launched 650 mm size semi-low floor buses on the present road condition of Imphal. Read more

Source : e-pao.net

JNNURM team in Ahmedabad city; Cong jumps onto inspection bus

AHMEDABAD: A four-member inspection team headed by the director and chairperson of JNNURM B P Sridevi is camping in the city to inspect high net-worth projects like the BRTS, roads and underground duct lines. The committee will also inspect the Bhadra fort for which an initial grant of Rs 32 crore was sanctioned recently.

The JNNURM committee initially had been intimated of complaints pertaining to poor quality works in the phase one and two of the BRTS project, which covers a stretch of 32 km. Senior Congress leaders had cried foul over road resurfacing projects being doled out to contractors instead of fresh roads for the BRTS. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

1.5L illegal structures to go legit in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat government has cleared a major proposal to regularize an estimated 1.5 lakh illegal structures in urban areas constructed on so-called new tenure lands, which the government distributed free of cost to the poorer sections of people, especially landless, during the land reforms days.

According to sources, people bought such lands in large numbers in Eastern Ahmedabad and urban areas of Vadodara and Bharuch districts, mainly in the former Gaekwad ruled areas to build structures without bothering to pay up premium to regularize their titles. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

85 fortified police stations to come up in Maoist-hit areas of Bihar

PATNA: The Union home ministry has okayed construction of 85 anti-Naxalite police stations in Bihar. This is the largest number of such police stations okayed by the Centre for any state.

Giving this information to TOI on Thursday, DG Ashok Kumar Gupta -- who is also CMD of Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation(BPBCC) - said the Union home ministry had okayed construction of 400 anti-Naxalite police stations (fortified police stations) in nine Maoist-affected states. "We had sought 100 such police stations. The Centre has given approval for 85. With this, Bihar has got approval for the largest number of such police stations," Gupta said. Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra are among the other states which would have the anti-Naxalite police stations. Funds for setting up these police stations have also been allotted by the Centre, Gupta added. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Only mass rapid transit solutions can provide India's urban commuters with efficient mobility

Billions of man-hours are lost with people 'stuck in traffic'. This fact is also echoed in government's national urban transport policy. The reasons are well known: exponential growth of motor vehicles with negligible increase in road space. To make things worse, unprecedented rate of urban population growth has been reported in the last census. So, travel within major urban networks such Mumbai and Delhi has become unpredictable.

Nobody will disagree that the best thing that happened to Delhi in recent years is the metro rail. Metro has altered the character of the city in many locales. In Mumbai, the electric train service is touted to be the lifeline catering to almost 80% of citizen trips. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Can’t single out DSC for e-way woes: Commuters

GURGAON: The National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI's) intention to terminate its agreement with the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway concessionaire, DSC Ltd, is likely to add a fillip to those who have been campaigning to remove the toll plazas altogether.

A good number of commuters, frustrated with the way lanes are managed despite repeated protests, are hopeful that the Delhi high court hearing of the NHAI-concessionaire case, scheduled for March 1, will be sympathetic to their problems. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MMRDA lottery to sell low-cost homes

Mumbai : The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the latest entrant to the mass-housing scene in the extended suburbs of Mumbai.  It will now sell houses under its rental-housing scheme through a lottery similar to Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority(Mhada). 

Mhada and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (Cidco) are the only two government agencies presently operating in the housing sector in the extended suburbs. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

By May, 6 new lanes at Suman Nagar junction in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)'s ambitious project to add six new lanes to the existing roadway at the Suman Nagar junction has entered a crucial phase. If all goes as planned, snarls will become a thing of past as early as May at this crucial six-lane junction, which is used by motorists for travelling from and towards Navi Mumbai as well as Thane.

The Suman Nagar junction is one of the busiest intersections on the Eastern Express Highway (EEH). Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Kharghar cops work from rented residential flat

Mumbai : Even as the crime rate rises in the hub of Navi Mumbai, policemen are jostling for space in an apartment that has no lock-up or room to store records, as the construction of their permanent office building lies in limbo

Space jam: Cops sit in a corner of the building's staircase and register complaints. They grumble that it is difficult for them to carry out their work in the space provided

The satellite city of Navi Mumbai has been growing at an exponential rate, and crime rates have gone up in proportion to the burgeoning population that comes hand in hand with development, especially in Kharghar. Read more

Source : mid-day.com

29 Mhada lottery applicants have been winning repeatedly: Report

Mumbai : A major housing scam of the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority’s (Mhada) 2011 lottery has brought other scams tumbling out of the closet. The enquiry committee, which probed into the 425 winners of 2011 lottery, has found out that 29 applicants have won the lottery more than once since 2006.

Nearly 425 winners of the Mhada housing lottery draw in May 2011 had submitted fake addresses, bank account numbers, and even cellphone numbers. Mhada officials had then instituted an enquiry and sent letters to the winners to appear for a hearing and make their submission. However, only 100 winners made their submission. Most admitted to having filled the forms through brokers. Names of 17 brokers have come before the committee. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Regularise bagair hukum land, government urged

BANGALORE : Demanding regularisation of land around the city used for bagair hukum cultivation, hundreds of farmers staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's Office here on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda's car passing in front of Towan Hall where Members of Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha ( KPRS) staging a protest demanding Cultivation of Rights to Bagarhukum farmers within 18 kilometers radius of Bangalore in Bangalore on 22nd February 2012. Photo : K . Bhagya Prakash .

“Around 20,000 farmers in Bangalore Urban and Rural districts have been cultivating land for more than 30 years, and yet the Government refuses to regularise their land,” said N. Venkatachalaiah, Bangalore District Unit president of Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha (KPRS), which organised the protest. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Mono rail project for Indore gets going

INDORE: Engineering Projects India Limited (EPIL) made a presentation before the Indore Municipal Corporation on Wednesday for a mono rail project in the city. The proposed mono rail may cost around Rs 140 crores per kilometer.

General manager of EPIL, S K Jain made an elaborate presentation before the senior officials of civic body. Following the presentation the Mayor Krishnamurari Moghe asked the company officials to carry out a survey of the city and present a report for further deliberation. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Proposed power tariff hike faces stiff opposition

INDORE: The 25% hike in power tariff sought by the MP Western Region Distribution Company was strongly opposed by the people at a hearing organised by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) on Wednesday.

People from different walks of life argued in unison that hike in power tariff would lead to power thefts. Projected loss by the company, for which tariff hike is proposed, can be mitigated by reducing the distribution losses, recovery of outstanding dues and controlling the establishment costs of the distribution company, they point out. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bangalore’s growth: Planning still in progress

Bangalore : Sprawling malls and multi-storey complexes continue to sprout at a frenetic pace in India’s technology capital.

However, increasing concern that Bangalore’s development is unplanned has prompted experts in various fields to gather in the city on Thursday to find ways to ensure the growth is solid and not fluid. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Govt mulls use of light rail system in Capital

New Delhi : Taking a step forward to strengthen the public transport in the Capital, the government is once again considering its earlier plan of building a light rail transit (LRT) system.

Building LRT corridors will bring Delhi at par with several world-class cities such as London, New York,Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur that have an integrated multi-modal transit system. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

On fast track: Rapid Metro project work enters last lap

Gurgaon : Come July and the trial run of India’s first 100% privately funded and operated light rail transit service, Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon (RMG), would begin, easing commuting woes of lakhs of residents. 

The work of laying steel tracks, which have already arrived at a stockyard in Gurgaon,would begin in the next few days.

The consignment of equipment, including the insulated third rail, has also arrived from Austria. The third rail is a method of providing electric power to a train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the railway track. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Trains on the Delhi Metro will run at 110kmph - that's 5kmph faster than the Airport Express

The Delhi Metro says trains on this line will run at 110 kmph, 5 kmph faster than the Airport Express carriages. 

The Delhi Metro has announced plans to connect Dwarka and Gurgaon on the new line

But it is to be seen if Metro lives up to its word, considering that trains on the Airport Express line have yet to hit their planned top speed of 120 kmph. Read more

Source : dailymail.co.uk

HUDA fails to possess its plot for 21 yrs, gets HC notice

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has failed to take the possession of plot in Faridabad that it had ‘resumed’ from a private party 21 years ago. The plot was earlier allotted to the private party in 1991.

Questioning ‘the magnanimity’, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday asked HUDA to explain why it had not taken back the possession of the plot. A division bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and A N Jindal gave HUDA two months to submit its report. The directions came after HC dismissed a petition filed by the private party, M/s Printers Engineers Company, terming it as “gross abuse of process of law.” Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Centre to adopt ‘true blue’ poor of Badals, not all

Chandigarh Food Security Bill: Punjab’s 66% population in, 34% out

With both the incumbent government and Opposition Congress promising to take the state’s populist blue card scheme of subsidised atta-dal to another level despite empty coffers, the upcoming Food Security Act may force a rethink.

While it will bring down Punjab’s subsidy burden by taking the tally of Centre’s poor up, it will benefit only those the ongoing economic census identifies as poor. So, many of the “undeserving” beneficiaries enjoying largesse of the Parkash Singh Badal government may have to depend on the new regime to adopt them as its own. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Green line gets thicker; biodiversity park in Aravali

Gurgaon : In an effort to preserve the natural beauty of the Aravali hills, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) is planning to develop a biodiversity park here on the pattern of an existing park in south Delhi ridge of the mountain range. 

“We want a park in Gurgaon similar to the one located in the Aravali ridge in south Delhi, where one can enjoy a complete thematic beauty of Aravali vegetation, animals and birds,” Huda administrator Praveen Kumar said. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

Huda makes a beginning, drain pain to end soon

Gurgaon : The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) seems to have finally woken up after repeated complaints from the residents about water stagnation in the drain of DLF City (Phase 4). The department has finally deployed labourers to cut out separate drains to make way for the stagnant water to move towards Huda’s Badshahpur master drain. 

“We want to connect this nullah directly with Badshahpur drain but it may take a month time as the distance between DLF Phase-4 and Golf Course is around two kilometre. At several places, the nullah is not shaped or might have disappeared,” said a Huda official. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com