<p>Affidavit by Union Territory of Lakshadweep in OA No 606 of 2018 with respect to compliance of MSW Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental issues).</p> <p>The report is dated 07/11/2024. The
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) is ready for a possible dispute with the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and the Western Provincial Council as both institutions are opposed to the taking over of Colombo's sewerage system by the former. In a surprise move yesterday the CMC decided to oppose the handing over of the sewerage system to NWSDB which comes under the Ministry of Water Management. This was a sudden and surprising decision as the Council had passed a motion to hand over the sewerage system to the Water Board during the sessions on February 12. However a fresh proposal to revise the earlier decision was unanimously passed at the sessions yesterday. The motion which was presented yesterday was signed by several councillors including JVP Member, Hemantha Kumara, DUA Councillor, Roy Bogahawatte and F. M. Sharafdeen. Mr. Bogahawatte who moved the motion said the NWSDB Chairman had taken this decision on his own as the subject Minister has not made such a request. Meanwhile the main opposition UNP was to move a motion to oppose the NWSDB move to takeover the sewerage system at the Western Provincial Council sessions today. The motion was to be moved by the UNP Provincial Councillor, C. Y. P. Ram. Mr. Ram told Daily Mirror the takeover of the sewerage system by the NWSDB would pave the way to impose a sewerage levy from the city dwellers. He said this would be charged as a percentage of the total amount shown in the water bill. The party was to request the Western Province Chief Minister, Reginold Cooray to take steps to prevent this act taking into consideration the difficulties faced by the people due to the sky rocketing cost of living. Mr. Ram said some UPFA councillors have pledged their support and were expected to vote for it. He said he would discuss with the JVP too and was confident that the party would also support him. According to Mr. Ram the Attorney General had also stated the taking over of the sewerage system was illegal as there was no move to seek approval of Parliament which was compulsory for such a take over.
Mayor Sunil Sood on Thursday inspected the works being undertaken under Project Udai for setting the water supply and sewage system right in the city and instructed the accompanying officers to expedite the works apart from including area left uncovered in the project and giving water supply connections at Gandhi Nagar as soon as the laying of pipelines is completed. Project Udai officials also accompanied the Mayor. Under the ADB-sponsored Project Udai several works are being undertaken in the city for setting the water supply and sewage systems right. The Mayor inspected work of laying sewage line in Khanugaon and instructed that Riaz Manzil, Bagh-o-Bahar and other areas be covered under this scheme. In Gandhi Nagar, Sood inspected the ongoing work of 21-km long water supply pipeline. He instructed the officials to complete the formalities of providing tap connections to residents so that they can draw water from this pipeline as soon as it is completed. Sood also inspected the work of sewage line being laid at villages Damkhera and Maholi. Later, he also inspected the renovation of Idgah Hills filtration plant and instructed the officials to complete the work within deadline. Those who also accompanied the Mayor included ADB project manager Rajesh Bisariya, assistant engineer PK Raghuvanshi, CS Kanwalkar and other officers.
A state government survey says over 76 pc people had to grease the palms of municipal bodies to get basic amenities CHANDIGARH, February 21: It's not a finding the Punjab Government would like to flaunt. A survey sponsored by it has found out that 76.5 per cent of people pay bribes to officials in the various municipal bodies of the state to get their work done. The finding was an outcome of a study conducted by the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC) for the Department of Planning, Punjab Government. The study discovered that 76.5 per cent of the respondents had paid bribe on one occasion and most of them (82.3 per cent) had paid it to one person only. Interestingly, 94.1 per cent of the repondents admitted that the persons concerned had asked for money for redressal of their problems regarding basic amenities such as water, sewerage, streetlights and roads. Besides paying bribes, 37.1 per cent of the people also felt the need to approach an influential person to get their complaints redressed. Interestingly, almost half of the respondents were not in favour of paying bribes for any work at the MC level but were forced to do so. The only exception were people at Jalandhar and Nakodar where 80 per cent and 100 per cent of the respondents, respectively, did not mind greasing palms to get their work done at the municipal corporation. However, in many cases, bribe did not prove to be the ideal solution. Nearly 44.1 per cent of the respondents complained about harassment even after paying the bribe. Only 23.5 per cent felt that their work was done immediately after they paid the bribe, said the study. A large number (37.4 per cent) of respondents felt that middle-level officials were most corrupt, and only 8.1 per cent pointed a finger at the councillors. A majority of the complaints (45.2 per cent) were related to poor water supply followed by faulty streetlights, potholed roads (11.3 per cent) and choked sewerage (8.1 per cent). In Hoshiarpur, poor or polluted water supply accounted for half the complaints, while building construction made up for one-fourth of the grouses. In Moga and Amritsar, blockage of sewerage and poor water supply were the major grouses. In a damning indictment of the municipal bodies, the survey showed that 74.9 per cent of the people were dissatisfied with their grievance redressal system. The Jalandhar municipal body fared most poorly with only 2 per cent of the respondents saying that the civic body was prompt in dealing with grievances. The reasons for corruption, according to the study, ranged from poor work culture, faulty management, lack of proper planning, absence of transparency, to ad hoc allocation of resources. The people surveyed suggested transparency and involvement of the locals in grassroots initiatives would improve the delivery system. Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, DS Bains, however, blamed the old urban infrastructure for the corrupt system. "Urban infrastructure is nearing a collapse in the state for want of investment in the last decade and half. Some unscrupulous elements take advantage of people who want better services. The answer lies in massive investment to upgrade the urban services which we are doing this year.' Show 'em the money Of the 76.5 pc people who bribed Punjab civic body officials to get their work done:
As a five-member committee of the city government meets on Monday to finalize the ratio of the proposed tax on garbage collection, Karachiites are likely to be taxed ignorant of the fact that they ar
For parched Delhiites, the budget this time promises a more comfortable year, even if the summer months may not be its target.
At Right to be Heard Townhall show, Environmental minister Jayathi Natarajan said emergency action needs to be taken to clean up the Yamuna flowing near Delhi. <iframe width="540" height="400" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/juqrZUn07LI"
The world is becoming increasingly urbanised with majority of the population residing and working in cities. While increasing urbanisation and economic growth can provide significant benefits, they also
The world is becoming increasingly urbanised with majority of the population residing and working in cities. While increasing urbanisation and economic growth can provide significant benefits, they also
<p>From water to water - If there are humans, there will be excreta. If there is water use, there will be waste. Roughly 80 per cent of the water that reaches households in Indian cities flows out as waste.</p>
