Development

Speaking to reporters here, Subhash Dumbre, additional commissioner, PCMC, said the project to provide Wi-Fi service in the municipal limits is being implemented on a public-privatepartnership (PPP) basis.

The PCMC has an ambitious plan to provide Wi-Fi service in its entire limit. Initially, it had planned to provide this service along old Pune-Mumbai highway and at Balewadi, before the beginning of the Commonwealth Youth Games in October.

Dumbre said, "The civic body invited bids for Wi-Fi service in the entire township. We asked contractors about how much money they would invest and how much they would like the PCMC to contribute. The IL&FS consortium -- consisting of Software Technology Park of India, Fujitsu India and Lifestyle Network -- said they would pay PCMC part of the income earned from the project and bagged the contract."

The project would be functional for a period of 10 years. The civic body will receive a royalty of 2.5 per cent on income up to Rs 25 crore and 4 per cent on further income during the first to 10th year. The civic body will receive a fixed income of Rs 64 lakh in the second year, Rs 80 lakh in third, Rs 97 lakh in the fifth year, Rs 116 lakh in the sixth year, Rs 138 lakh in the seventh year, Rs 161 lakh in the eighth year, Rs 186 lakh in the ninth year and Rs 214 lakh in the tenth year.

Dumbre said, "The Wi-Fi service will be provided along the old Pune-Mumbai highway and four zonal offices in the first week of December. PCMC will provide space to the consortium, at schools and other civic properties, to install towers and radios. The civic body will also get rent for the same."

Squeals of scurrying rats are heard from the rooftop.

Just outside is an open, litter-strewn sewer, and there is sparse relief from its stench. However, the Mani family is inured to the wretchedness of Dharavi.

"I spent nearly my whole life in this slum," said Ms Mani, 62, who shares her dwelling of 60 sq ft with her widowed daughter, who is a housemaid, and four grandchildren.

"But I hope for a dignified existence for my children."

Dharavi is a labyrinth of a slum - Asia's largest - and home to more than a million people. More than 17,000 people are crammed into one acre. A majority of them are migrants, all scrambling for space in a sea of weathered iron shacks and mildewed tenements.

Now, after years of delay, the federal government is set to implement an ambitious project that will transform Dharavi from a grubby slum to multi-storeyed buildings. Shanties will be flattened, and Dharavi's 57,000 families will be moved into apartments - 300 sq ft in size - built by private real estate developers free of charge. In return, the developers can reap profits by using the space from the rased shanties for commercial projects.

Dharavi's makeover plan, said architect Mukesh Mehta, who drew the blueprint, is a rare effort to revitalise a slum. This project, he said, will help improve the abominable living conditions of the people here.

Cholera and other water-borne diseases are endemic in Dharavi. Sanitation facilities are scarce, with one toilet for every 1,500 people, according to the World Bank.
Drinking water is in short supply as families of 15 share one water tap.

Many of Mumbai's elite view Dharavi as an excrescence that must be purged if India's financial and entertainment capital is to be given the aesthetics of a world-class city. Local politicians have long dreamed of transforming Mumbai into "India's Shanghai". With Dharavi's makeover, people such as Mr Mehta believe that dream will eventually come true.

Gautam Chatterjee, the chief executive officer of the Dharavi Development Authority, hopes that the slum's makeover will ease its large population density.

After slum dwellers are resettled, developers will be permitted to develop only commercial space, such as malls, in the newly available land, and no residences.

"No residences and only commercial buildings will generate a mobile population that will not crowd the area," Mr Chatterjee said. "That will reduce the population density of Dharavi."

Mr Chatterjee said six per cent of the space in a rehabilitated building will be used as a multi-facility community space to promote small-scale business enterprises to boost the incomes of the slum dwellers.

Municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma said that representatives of slum-dwellers occupying the railway land met him on Wednesday and urged that the PCMC should rehabilitate them. "We would rehabilitate the eligible ones at Sector 22 or Nigdi," said Sharma. Speaking to TOI on Wednesday, Chandrakanta Sonkamble, chairperson of slum improvement, housing and social welfare committee, confirmed that those residing in slums on railway land in Dapodi have received notices on November 8 from the railways who have asked them to remove their houses within a fortnight. As per the notices, if the people fail to remove their encroachments then the railways will remove these encroachments, she said.

Blaming the PCMC administration for the plight of the slum-dwellers, Sonkamble said, "Former municipal commissioner Dilip Band had promised to rehabilitate the affected on the grazing land in Ravet, Dighi and Kiwale. They were promised a plot of 300 sq.ft each. One house measuring 225 sq.ft was to be constructed on each plot. But nothing has been done."

According to Sonkamble the rehabilitation was not conducted from 2001 to 2004. Earlier when the Railways sent notices to the slumdwellers to remove the encroachments, the civic administration had informed the railways that PCMC would be rehabilitating the slumdwellers. As a result the Railways deferred their anti-encroachment drive should be postponed.

Sonkamble alongwith Congress corporator Sunny Ovhal and Machhindra Tapkir, opposition leader, PCMC submitted a letter to municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma demanding that people affected by the railway notices should be rehabilitated at the earliest. They further said that the people cannot move out of their huts on railway land unless they are rehabilitated. Municipal commissioner Sharma informed the delegation that the slum dwellers can be rehabilitated in Sector 22 or in Nigdi. "But we want the slum dwellers of Dapodi to be rehabilitated in Dapodi itself. I informed him that there is a plot reserved for Economically Weaker Section(EWS) housing scheme in Dapodi and demanded that the slum dwellers be rehabilitated there. Sharma replied that he will inspect the plot and later rehabilitation will be conducted."

Meanwhile, Y K Singh, public relations officer (PRO), Central Railways, Pune division, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Additional divisional railway manager M.G. Dhamangaonkar has told TOI that the plan includes erection of a new terminal for locals, expansion of the existing platforms to accommodate 26-bogey trains, expansion of maintenance facilities and building of a subway connecting the new terminal to the existing one.

The plan has been chalked out keeping in mind the rising number of commuters and inter-city and long route trains, he said.

"Although the plan is still in its preliminary stage, the details of the same have been submitted to the headquarters. We are waiting for modifications or suggestions, if any. This will follow the preparation of the feasibility report and setting aside of budget for the execution of the plan," Dhamangaonkar said.

According to him, a separate terminal for suburban and inter-city trains are among the things in the expansion plan. "The space has been identified for the terminal, which is at the Mumbai end, near the RTO. It will have two platforms besides other facilities and an exit towards the RTO. The terminal will further be used for departure and arrival of inter-city trains if needed," he said.

"The number of suburban trains is expected to increase in the future. We are waiting for the availability of additional rakes for the Pune-Lonavla route. The matter is with the headquarters and approval is expected soon," the DRM said.

The rising appeal of Pune, a couple of hours drive away from India's financial capital Mumbai, is evident from its highest real estate prices and maximum population among the other upcoming cities, the chamber said citing its new study.

Currently, there are six metro cities in India - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad - and there is need of another such city, it said.

"There is a grave need for a seventh metro city in our country as the six metro cities are facing pressure of rising migrant population, crumbling infrastructure facility and manpower crunch and rising rental cost," it added.

The Assocham Eco Pulse study analysed four tier II cities - Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Chandigarh - and ranked them on eight parameters including facility of financial services, infrastructure, real estate cost and transportation facility, required in a metro city.

Pune occupied first position overall though it needs to improve on transportation, social infrastructure and financial services, the chamber added.

Gujarat's capital Ahmedabad was the second most potential metro city in providing good infrastructure and connectivity followed by Lucknow and Chandigarh.

On the employment parameter, Pune carved the maximum share of 32.74 per cent in the total jobs tracked by Assocham for the January-June period. Pune is followed by Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

For MP Suresh Kalmadi, the legacy of the Games will be the spruced-up Balewadi Stadium complex. "The sports city will become a tourist venue," he said. The Garden of Youth on the complex would be another memento, he said.

Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi sees it from another perspective: "The infrastructural improvements that will remain with the city include the completion of the railway underpass, the VIP Airport Road and the Baner, Sinhagad, Ganeshkhind and Nehru roads. Development of many of these roads had been held up because of land acquisition disputes and court stays. The CYG enabled us to reach a consensus and acquire all," he said.

He cited the actual cost of CYG work at Rs 434 crore instead of Rs 2,500 crore - which included projects not specific to the CYG. "The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) contributed 50 per cent of this amount," he said.

He mentions many projects undertaken by the PMC: two subways, beautification of the Pashan and Katraj lakes, a bio-diversity park at Baner, rehabilitation of four slums, better streetlights, street signs and furniture, 53 km of footpaths, 200 new civic buses and another 300 buses on hire, 200 km of storm water drains and reinstating of electrical wires under pavement blocks.

"All of these are fundamental changes. Of course many superficial things have also been done but they are also necessary to give the city a good look," he said.

The projects that couldn't be completed include the Alandi link road and a parking lot at Baner Road, he conceded.

Activist Vijay Kumbhar, president of the Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, feels the only legacy that will remain is that of the sports city. And it will not benefit the common man much. "The last-minute haste at which the infrastructure work was done casts doubt over its quality. It will not last. The city expected and deserved much more from the CYG," he said.

(Concluded)

GAMES AND GAINS

CYG 2008, PUNE

Baner subway: 7.26 cr

Wider Baner Road: 26.24 cr

Development, Sancheti Hospital to UoP circle: 37.74 cr

Pedestrian subway, Zilla Parishad: 5.45 cr

Pedestrain subway, railway station: 5.10 cr

Airport Road-Gunjan Talkies to

Wider stretch, VIP road-Airport to Ramwadi Octroi: 14.21 cr

Wider Nehru Road: 33.77 cr

Tata Guard Room: 30.41 cr

1982 ASIAD, DELHI

Pragati Maidan, Games village, hotels, flyovers and roads

2010 C'WEALTH GAMES, DELHI

50 projects worth $298 m. Flyovers, bypasses broader roads, larger Metro network, several sophisticated transport systems

Aside from shrubs and flowers on the dividers of the main roads leading up to the venue, the city's green spaces are getting a spruce up.

Sambhaji Park is one of the gardens getting spruced up

"Gardens including Saras baug, Sambhaji park, Kamla Nehru park and Bund Garden are being cleaned up. Paving and trenching is on in many gardens and a foundation is being laid for flower beds," Khaire said.

He pointed out that during the Games, international athletes and officials were likely to visit parks and gardens in the evenings.

"The idea is that they should be greeted with well kept and clean gardens. Work is on in full swing," Khaire said.

Khaire said that more than 40 km of road dividers are being beautified.

"Besides signages and boards, the dividers will be laid with plants. We are also ensuring that they are maintained," Khaire said.

In addition, the walls bordering Baner road are being painted with CYG signs and its mascot; the fly.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Manoj Patil explained the kind of system the traffic branch had in mind. "Right now, there are various ways that we use to control traffic. We either have fixed signal timings or an Area Traffic Control System (ATCS). We can also have a box arrangement at the chowk where one policeman can control the traffic, or we manage the traffic manually,'' Patil said.

During a traffic jam, motorists attempt any which way to extricate themselves and just make the problem worse, said Patil. "Policemen too cannot help much as the traffic signals run on a fixed schedule."

The remote system, on the other hand, allows the changing of phases (the time during which a light shows red, yellow or green), as per the decision of the policeman at the chowk. "The civic body will put a censor card in the signal, which will respond to the remote,'' Patil said. "Each remote-controlled signal will cost Rs 5,000.'' The signal will be incorporated into the ATCS.

At present, the traffic branch has identified 38 ATC signals on six roads and 30 new ATC signals are coming up on VIP road. "We have identified another 40 signals where we want the censors to be put,'' Patil added.

The traffic branch recently tested the remote system at Modern chowk, and this showed good results, Patil said. The traffic branch and the PMC also plan synchronisation of signals on 10 roads.

The roads are: Karve road, Jangli Maharaj road, Shivaji road (in two sections), Tilak road, Laxmi road (in two sections), Bajirao road, VIP road (in two sections), Fergusson college road, Senapati Bapat road and Aundh road.

The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) has also been asked to move 27 bus stops in the jurisdiction of Faraskhana, Deccan, Kothrud, Hadapsar, Swargate, Sahkarnagar and Chatushrungi. Patil said some of these bus-stops are near chowks. As a result, they create traffic snarls and are a danger to those who wish to commute by bus.

The 9 New Ones

• Pune: 4
  
• Mumbai: 1
  
• Raigad: 1
  
• Nashik: 1
  
• Satara: 1
  
• Ratnagiri: 1

• 139 no of SEZs in Maharashtra
  
• 1.55 lakh crore investment
  
• 45,000 hectares of land needed
  
• 74 lakh new jobs likely to be created

The official said that in view of the response by farmers in the Konkan region, it was high time the board of approval and entrepreneurs first examined the availability of land and only then cleared projects. "If we don't read the pulse of the farmers, our entire exercise will be futile," the official remarked.

On Tuesday, the official said, the board of approval cleared the Cavalcade Properties IT SEZ, Skyzone IT SEZ, D S Kulkarni multiproduct SEZ and Bharat Forge multiproduct SEZ (all in Pune district), Rameshwar Vaibhav SEZ (Raigad), Sun Infrastructure IT SEZ (Nashik), JSW port-based SEZ (Ratnagiri), MIDC engineering SEZ (Satara), and Essel Infrastructure multipurpose SEZ in Gorai (Mumbai).

The state has recommended that construction projects in rural areas -- located in a radius of 10 km from the existing municipal limits of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad -- will have to be built in accordance with the modified development control (DC) rules of the PMC and PCMC.

The urban development ministry has issued an official notification, dated August 28, 2008, inviting suggestions and objections from citizens in carrying out necessary modifications in the Pune Regional Plan (RP) so as to make it mandatory for builders and developers to follow the PMC and PCMC DC rules while carrying out constructions in these fringe areas.

KEY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

• The assistant director of town planning, Pune, will prepare a road network plan for the future population in the areas within 10 km distance from the PMC and the PCMC. Developers and land owners will have to incorporate this road network in their development proposal.
  
• The maximum permissible height of the buildings to be allowed will be 36 meters. A height of 45 meters will be allowed only for those buildings for which the government has sanctioned additional Floor Space Index (FSI).
  
• The permissible FSI for educational, medical institutions of charitable trusts, star hotels (above three star) may be allowed to be exceeded by 100 per cent, subject to the payment of a premium to be decided by the government.
  
• Parking areas will be free of FSI and multi-storied parking will be allowed.
  
• Stilt parking will be compulsory for all residential buildings.
  
• The builders and developers will have to set aside 15 per cent space as "amenity space" while developing a housing project on a land plot measuring between 0.4 hectares to 2 ha. This provision of amenity space will increased further to 20 per cent and 25 per cent if the plot is bigger than 2 ha and 4 ha respectively.
  
• The developer will have to keep 50 per cent of the area of the amenity space as a playground or garden parking.
  
• Lands under internal roads, open spaces and amenity spaces, shall be transferred in the name of the Pune collector at a nominal value of Rs 1. Also, no TDR will be granted for the internal roads, amenity and open spaces.

PCB vice president, Prasad Kedari of the Congress said, "The members are concentrating on their respective wards and going all-out to meet the requirements of residents across the cantonment zone. Development is our top priority and collective agenda," Kedari said during an interaction with media persons.

Elaborating on the various initiatives taken in the Ghorpadi region, Kavade said, "The focus is on education and providing jobs to unemployed youth. The PCB has recruited a few persons from ward seven. I have also asked industries in the area to give preference to those who are unemployed," Kavade said. Kavade stressed on the need to improve standards of education and infrastructure in the schools. "There is a proposal to convert the Swami Vivekanand School, which currently functions in Marathi medium, into an English medium school. A junior college also will be started in the Ghorpadi Village High School," he said.

Development projects worth Rs 1.5 crore have been planned for Ghorpadi region, he said.

Dadhich was addressing the inaugural session of a three-day workshop on `Source standards and software in libraries', which began at the Iucaa on Wednesday.

The meet focuses on promoting use of open source software in automation and modernisation of libraries. "Such software, which can be freely downloaded, provide a distinct cost advantage over costly commercial software packages, which are expensive for most institutions," said Nirupama Bawadekar, in-charge of Iucaa library, while speaking to TOI.

Representatives of nearly 20 institutions, including some non governmental organisations as well as private academic institutions, looking for apt library automation options are participating in the event.

The plan will initially be implemented in 40 of the 105 wards. As per the proposal, the commissioner will have the right to review the work from time to time and revise policies if necessary. Funds for the work will be transferred from the budgetary head of purchase of litter bins. The garbage collection will be done by ragpickers of the KKPKP.

About 500 ragpickers, with identity cards, will be appointed. Residents are required to segregate the garbage into dry waste (empty boxes, bottles, cartons etc which can be recycled) and wet waste (mostly kitchen waste) and keep them in separate bins. The garbage collected will be transported to 20 transfer stations.

The sites for the garbage transfer stations have already been identified. Here, the wet waste will be used for vermicomposting, while the dry waste will be sent for recycling or to the garbage depot. The PCMC has purchased three-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles for transporting the garbage to the stations. There are an estimated 1.17 lakh families in the 40 wards.

Depending on the success of the system, it will later be implemented in the remaining wards. The municipal corporation had planned to start the collection and disposal work from May 1. However, it was delayed due to various reasons.

Biometric bar-coded ration cards will become a reality in Pune from November, with a card being distributed to every household.

The device is like a smart card that stores information about the head of each family as well as his thumb impression. All fair price shops will be issued a card reader, in consultation with the respective tehsildars.

The person going to the fair price shop has to produce his card, which will be read by the card reader and his details shown. This will ensure that the correct quantity is issued to the person.

A contract was recently signed between Spanco Telesystems and Solutions (STS) and the Food and Civil Supplies Ministry for rolling out the biometric bar coded ration cards. Spanco will be undertaking the project for the entire State, with Pune and Mumbai being the priorities. In April, The Indian Express was the first to highlight the novel project.

According to officials, over 10 lakh laminated cards will be distributed in the city. "The biometric system is being introduced to keep a check on bogus ration cards, which are rampant across the State."

Spanco Telesystems Vice-President Ravi Bhatnagar said that data collection in the city has started and the company would be ready to issue the cards by November. "The district collectorate is helping us with the data and we should be right on schedule," he assured.

Pune will be the first city, followed by Mumbai, to have these biometric bar coded ration cards. Additional Collector Vasant Vaidya said that the laminated cards will ensure transparency and accountability in the Public Distribution System (PDS).

The company has a target of issuing 1.8 crore laminated ration cards in the State. Its Associate Vice-President Tushar Mohanty said that a site survey of Pune city is currently on and a functional requisite study, too, is being carried out.

A Global Positional System will help chart the route of civil supplies from the Food Corporation of India to the respective district godowns and the bar code will bring about accountability. The project, which will be under public-private partnership basis, will involve 475 officers of the Food and Civil Supplies Department while more than 1 lakh ration shops in the State will issue the cards to citizens.

Mohanty said that the huge effort is aimed at ensuring that the material reaches the target citizens without any pilferage -- with state-of-art technology helping in effective monitoring of goods movement. MIS reports will be generated and there will be forecasting for various months as an added feature.

"The scheme is designed to ensure that the right beneficiary gets the desired amount of foodgrains and other benefits."

Bhatnagar informed that the system will be implemented across the state in three years. "We are looking at covering approximately 10,6740 fair price shops, 354 supply offices, 33 district supply offices, five regional offices and 44 ration offices in the State."