Thursday 30 July 2015

Mangaluru tops in smart city evaluation with high marks

The city scored a record 96.88 marks in the evaluation process done by state mission director. leaving the other cities behind. there has been an overall development in Drainage, sanitation, Drinking water and waste disposals.

We need to set similar benchmarks for other cities to follow., it is not that the other cities are far behind There has been a lot of headway when it comes to town planning and development in all other cities in Karnataka. The New bill on TDR regulation amendment will only ensure that the progress of Urban development projects are not hindered.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/Will-Mangaluru-make-it-to-smart-city-list/articleshow/48266190.cms

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=340429

Wednesday 29 July 2015

City corporations to be brought under commissionerate

THE HINDU

MANGALURU, July 28, 2015

Minister for Urban Development Vinay Kumar Sorake said here on Monday that the government will constitute a commissionerate by bringing all city corporations in the State under it.

It will be headed by a commissioner and will help to speed up administration.

With this the city corporations do not need to send their proposals to the Directorate of Municipal Administration and then to the Secretary of the Urban Development Department for approval.

The commissioner of the commissionerate would be given powers to clear the proposals, he said.

In addition, the Minister said that all urban development authorities, such as the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, would be brought under a Commissioner.

The two senior appointments would be made within two months.

Referring to the smart city project of the Union government, he said that the Centre has asked the State to send the proposals of six city corporations as per the guidelines mentioned. It would be done accordingly.

To make Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) more attractive for land-losers, the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2015, enhanced the TDR from the present 1.5 times of the cost of the land lost to two times of the cost of the land lost. The Legislative Assembly has passed the Bill last week, he said.

The Minister said that rules for double TDR would be framed once the Legislative Council approved the same. Linking the double TDR to FAR (floor area ratio) would ensure that the property owner got four times compensation for the land that one gave up for any public work, he said.

For example, if a person gave up two cents of land for a project, he/she got TDR for the value of four cents of land.

The property owner could sell the TDR so earned to a builder who could increase FAR on the property where they intend to construct a building.

If a builder is licensed to construct five floors on a plot of land, using the TDR, the builder can henceforth put an additional floor on the same plot of land, the Minister said.

Sunday 12 July 2015

Ultimate aim is to make Kaup a taluk headquarters

KAUP (UDUPI DISTRICT), July 12, 2015

Sub-registrar’s office, sub-treasury will come up in Kaup, says Sorake

Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, handing over a cheque to a beneficiary in Kaup on Saturday.

Vinaykumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, said on Saturday that efforts were on to set up a sub-registrar’s office and a sub-treasury here. He was speaking after distributing facilities for beneficiaries of government schemes here.

Mr. Sorake said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had given the nod for setting up the sub-registrar’s office and the sub-treasury. Efforts would also be made to shift the Udupi South Block Education Office from Udupi to here. These steps were being taken so that people need not have to go to Udupi for their work.

It had been possible to get these facilities here as Kaup had been upgraded to a Town Municipal Council (TMC) with the merger of Kaup, Uliyargoli, Mallar and Padu gram panchayats. The Assistant Commissioner had been appointed as the administrator of the TMC. “Our ultimate aim is to make Kaup, a taluk headquarters,” he said.

A sum of Rs. 100 crore would be spent for development works in Kaup TMC, including the Rs. 32 crore already sanctioned for drinking water and sanitation facilities. Drinking water for the town would be supplied from Manipura village. All villages en route too would get drinking water. A solid waste management plant would also be set up here.

BPL cards

Mr. Sorake said that Udupi district was in the second spot in the distribution of below the poverty Line (BPL) cards in the State. In spite of this, 7,000 persons in the district were yet to receive their BPL cards. This figure also included applications for the renewal of BPL cards. “We want to provide BPL cards to all these families in the next three months,” he said.

Mr. Sorake said that sites had been given to 600 landless persons in Kaup Assembly Constituency. Though there was shortage of land in the constituency, efforts would be made to give sites to 700 more landless persons, he said. The objective of holding programmes such as the present one was to provide government facilities to the people at their door steps. Such programmes were being held in all gram panchayats in the constituency, Mr. Sorake said. He handed over a cheque for Rs. 1 lakh to Appi Karkera, wife of fisherman Ramesh Karkera, who drowned in the Arabian Sea recently.

World Population Day

Awareness needed to check population: Sorake

Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, said on Saturday that more awareness needed to be created to control population in society. He was speaking after inaugurating a World Population Day function organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and other organisations, here.

Mr. Sorake said that ever since the global population touched the 500-crore mark on July 11, 1987, World Population Day was being celebrated.

The population of India, which was a mere 36 crore in 1951 had increased to 121 crore in 2011. Every year, the country was adding 1.81 crore to its existing population. If the same trend continued, the country’s population would touch the 240 crore mark in the next 40 years.

The population of Karnataka was just 1.94 crore in 1951, but it had increased to 6.11 crore in 2011. Poverty, illiteracy, superstition, lack of information, child marriage, are some of the reasons for rapid increase in population, he said. Due to a slew of health programmes, such as Janani Suraksha Yojana, Madilu, Tayi Bhagya, there had been a decline in death rate.

The problems which could arise due to increase in population were shortage of food, water, clothing, land, housing and minerals. It led to deforestation, increase in poverty and unemployment, and reduction of resources for education and healthcare services.

It also led to increase in air, water and noise pollution and social inequality. Slum areas would increase in urban areas and put pressure on civic amenities.

The Hindu - July 12 2015