July 22nd, 2010
Fund-starved Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (BWSSB) is now looking for means to implement projects. If the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill, 2010, passed during the recent assembly session gets the governor’s assent, then the water board will have the power to collect money from people to implement projects.
Section 89A of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill, 2010, states- For implementation of water supply and sanitation projects, the state government may issue directions to the board for making funding arrangements, to collect capital contribution from beneficiaries of the project or through any local authority, or to borrow loans from funding agencies or to borrow from the market as per requirements.
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for water supply and sewerage project in 110 villages is ready and awaiting government’s nod. “Once government approval is received, the finance department will decide on the funding. If they permit, BWSSB can collect a portion of money for the project from people, called beneficiary capital contribution (BCC),” officials said.
The recent amendment to the BWSSB Act 1964 (Karnataka Act 36 of 1964), passed in the assembly, gives legal sanction to the water board to collect some share of money from the beneficiaries. A senior BWSSB official said the rates would be similar to that of the beneficiary capital contribution framed on the lines of Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project (GBWASP). The amount would range between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for domestic consumers. No charges are levied for sites up to 30X40. For non-domestic consumers, the cost would increase by 10-20% as compared to domestic consumers.
“For GBWASP, we had to collect Rs 119 crore from public but we got Rs 330 crore. BWSSB repaid the mega city loan. Rs 100 crore more is expected to be collected from the public, once water is supplied to the newly-added areas,” the officials said. While implementing GBWASP in seven CMCs and one TMC, following public pressure, the BWSSB was forced to reduced the BCC amount.
“When BWSSB is not paying capital contribution to the irrigation department for drawing water from the sources, how can they levy a charge on the beneficiaries here?” questioned Capt Raja Rao, former secretary to the government of Karnataka, irrigation department. He added that the government exempts payment for drawing water for power projects. People availing of power supply only pay deposits and the water board can work in a similar manner. If the water board is charging consumers for capital contribution, they should pay their capital contribution for drawing water from sources to the irrigation department, from the date mentioned in the Bill.
Reference: TOI
Tags: Bangalore, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill 2010, bwssb bangalore, Shell out more
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July 21st, 2010
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) presently supplying water to about 125 wards of the BBMP will not sanction fresh water connections to multi-storeyed residential and commercial apartments within its limits till 2011 end.The reason they have come up with is severe water scarcity.
All applications seeking fresh water connections for multi-storeyed apartment complex after May 2010 will be kept pending.
In the absence of BWSSB supply, people occupying new flats and commercial complexes will have to depend on either private tanker supply or borewells or packaged water.The BWSSB has been pumping 860 million litre per day (MLD) of water every day from the river Cavery to Bangalore since 2002. Those who buy flats in the BWSSB limits will have to take care of their need for water said Minister in charge of Banaglore water supply Katta Subramanya Naidu.
Naidu said the problem will ease by the end of next year as the work on ongoing Cauvery IV stage, II phase project will be completed. By November 2011, the project will be completed, and Bangalore will get additional 500 MLD of water. From 2012, we will start sanctioning fresh connections.However, the BWSSB will continue to sanction new connections to single unit residential building in its limits.
The reason they have come up with is severe water scarcity.The total consumers of the BWSSB was 2.90 lakh in 2002. Today, it is 6.10 lakh. Hence, there is severe scarcity of water. The people occupying new flats and commercial complexes will have to depend on either private tanker supply, borewells, Rainwater Harvesting or packaged water.
Tags: Bangalore water supply, bwssb bangalore, Cauvery IV stage, consumers of the BWSSB, No fresh water connection, No water connection, No water for new apartment, severe water scarcity
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July 14th, 2010
According to realtors who have been exclusively marketing resale properties, the demand for resale apartments in and around city areas has been gaining momentum. Larger unit size, proximity to schools and hospitals and work areas are some of the criteria that tilt the balance in favor of resale apartments.At the same time prices for resale units in city areas have also gone up by 50 per cent in a span of two years.
The demand for resale units is high particularly in areas like Lavelle road, Richmond road and Cunningham road, says Rebekka Ninan of RNU Partnership. There are specific locations where resale market is quite active like Koramangala, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Malleshwaram and Ulsoor, according to property consultants.
The new units cost anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per sqft in CBD areas. The prices for resale units vary from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 per sqft depending on the age of the building, quality, specification and type of amenities available.
The demand is more for CBD areas as proximity to a range of facilities is what nudges them to opt for resale units. The demand for home loans for resale units has also picked up if the quantum of enquiries received by various housing finance institutions is any indication. At the same time not all companies provide home loans for resale units beyond 15 years.
Reference: commonfloor.com/stories
Tags: Bangalore, Demand for resale property, home loans for resale units, prices for resale units, property, property buying, Real Estate India, Resale apartment
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July 6th, 2010
The opposition sponsored bandh may have made a strong political point, but it has left businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10, 000 crore. The nationwide bandh left Bangalore city crippled, with businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10, 000 crore. Though 35 platoons of policemen were guarding the city to keep anti-social elements at bay, around 68 buses were damaged, resulting in a loss of Rs 5 lakh. Airport taxi service officials said only 20 percent of the taxis were plying from BIA to the City centre and back on Monday. Arriving passengers were seen waiting in queues that were as long as half a km at the taxi lounge.
IT companies were directly hit, as the BJP-run Karnataka government gave overt support to the bandh. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has pegged the loss to the corporate sector at Rs13, 000 crore, while the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) puts it at a more conservative Rs3,000 crore.
“Around 55% of Karnataka’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) is contributed by services and manufacturing. Across the state, industries were shut. It’s difficult to quantify the loss, but it is quite significant. As we are on the road to recovery, meeting daily production targets is important. IT, ITeS and textiles were badly hit. But the silver lining it that companies have not reported any law and order problem,” said Sajan Poovayya, Chairman, Karnataka State Council of FICCI
Shreesh Babu, secretary, Bangalore Traders’ Association also reported that 40 shops on MG Road incurred loss of Rs 50 lakh. Traders in Chickpet incurred loss of Rs 40 to Rs 50 crore. And KSRTC earns revenue of Rs 5 crore every day; since most of the buses were taken off the roads early they’ve incurred huge losses. Ajay Motwani, vice-president, Commercial Street Shopkeepers’ Association said 250 shopkeepers on Commercial Street suffered Rs 10-crore losses.
However Bangaloreans seemed to have enjoyed the extended vacation, according to a poll conducted by social network SMS GupShup. The poll was conducted across all regions and nearly 60.53% agreed that bandh was a good idea.
In spite of the protests from BJP government and Opposition parties, Pranab Mukherjee told reporters that there was no question of fuel price hike rollback. The Left parties have also threatened to intensify their protests against the fuel price hike inside and outside parliament if the government did not roll back the hike in fuel prices.
Source: TOI
Tags: bandh, bharat bandh, BJP government, business loss, increasing prices, it firms, loss due to nationwide bandh, nationwide bandh, Opposition parties, opposition sponsored bandh, protest, protests against the fuel price hike, shutdown, upa
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July 2nd, 2010
Purvankara Projects, on Thursday, announced the launch of — Purva Skywood, a luxury apartment project. Puravankara Group launched our new project with world class amenities like Sports Facility, Gymnasium, Jogging Track, Swimming Pool, Party Hall, Jogging Track etc.These high rise apartment will have state of art health club, swimming pool, club area and play area having different types of games for residents.
Director Ashish Purvankara said the Rs 350 crore project is spread across an area of 12.75 acre with built up area of more than 1.2 million sq ft.Purva Skywood is a community of 730 apartments and will be developed in two phases.Purva Skywood, a luxury apartment project will locate on Haralur Road, in HSR layout, south-east Bangalore.
The apartments will range from 1,263 sq ft to 2,340 sq ft, which will be a combination of two, three and four bedroom apartments. The basic price will be around Rs 2,990 per sq ft, he added.Purva Skywood is the high rise luxury apartments will be spread over 13 acres of land.The whole area is developed with ample green space making it an eco friendly zone.
Reference: Deccan Herald
Tags: Bangalore, Puravankara announces new project, Puravankara Group, Purva Skywood, Purva Skywood Bangalore, Purvankara Projects, south india real estate
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June 30th, 2010
Water pilferage by people who tap into the main supply lines has turned out to be a major headache for the BWSSB. According to a rough estimate, the city has a shortage of 300 MLD (million liters per day) of water. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (BWSSB) crackdown 5,000 illegal water connections in the city between June 1 and 15 has brought to light. The board, however, said it has no clue about the total number of pilferers in the city. According to source, nearly 34 per cent of water supplied to Bangalore goes unaccounted for because of this water theft.
After a hot summer that brought Bangalore to its knees, the BWSSB will begin a pilot project in 11 wards of the city to supply water 24/7. Currently, the board supplies water to Bangalore on alternate days, which is also erratic.The board said the new project will not increase the demand for water. “When you supply water 24/7, you save a lot of water, because people stop throwing the water stored in buckets and refilling them once they get fresh water,” said Ramamurthy. Despite this drive, the board still has no clue about the total number of illegal connections in the city. “The idea is to regularize the illegal connections so that we can manage the available water better,” said Ramamurthy.
Tags: 5000 illegal water connections in the city, Bangalore, Bangalore water supply, bwssb, bwssb bangalore, bwssb drive against illegal connection, illegal connections in the city, illegal water connections, Water pilferage by people
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June 25th, 2010
Bringing relief to Bangalore’s property owners, BBMP had extended the last date for payment of property tax - in full and for the first half year - without interest to June 30. Any payment made after this period will attract a penalty of two percent per month till the payment is made. Those who had not paid the first installment can pay it along with second installment. However, a penalty will be calculated at two percent per month, till the date of payment of the first installment.
The second block period begins in October. The last date to pay the second installment (without penalty) is November 29. Those who fail to pay the second installment will be charged a penalty at two percent from December 1 till the date of payment.
Property owners can pay the 2010-11 half-yearly tax without fine up to June 30. Tax may be paid at all the BangaloreOne centres and at BBMP help centres.
Extended Deadline:
- June 30, 2010: Last Date for payment of property tax in full or for the first half year without interest.
- November 29, 2010: Last Date for payment of property tax the second half year (without penalty)
Tags: Bangalore, bbmp bangalore, BBMP property tax, property, property tax, Property Tax Deadline
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June 21st, 2010
Once the ambitious ‘Space City’ materializes, space would be just 100Km from Bangalore. The Space City focuses on boosting real estate, hotels and hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors. It will have UFOs, galaxy-shaped shuttle station, a virtual museum and star hotels. The project, which is expected to provide employment to 20,000 people, has been planned to be pollution-free. Once a person enters the city, he will have to travel around either by monorail or electric cars.
How about a honeymoon in space? The honeymooner space luxury would be available in various categories, three star to six star hotels. All this would be a reality once the ambitious ‘Space City’ materializes. The journey for the Space City began on Saturday, with the state government’s high-level clearance committee on investments, headed by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, giving its in-principle approval.
The project promoter is Marib Infrastructure India Private Limited, a joint venture of Abu Dhabi and Malaysian firms. Sheik Sultan Bin Mohd Bin Khalid Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family and one of the main promoters of Marib Group, is expected to arrive in Bangalore by next month-end for project consultations with the state government.
The ambitious ‘Space City’ to come up on a sprawling 1,600 acres at a whopping Rs 18,500 crore investment at Bagepalli in Chickballapur district, it will be the first of its kind in the country. The project, which is expected to provide employment to 20,000 people, has been planned to be pollution-free. The project combines unique, futuristic themed and varied project components. It will have science and technology park, exhibition centres, malls and media-linked events. Besides, the project will fill the space for the real estate needs.
It will be a state-of-the-art multi-functional educational, entertainment project focusing on science, technology, innovation, art, design, ecology and entertainment among others. Land acquisition and water would be the two challenges for the project. However, as it is a dry area, land wouldn’t be a problem. The government has suggested to the project promoter to go in for rainwater harvesting, zero discharge and utilization of treated water.
Source: Times of India
Tags: ambitious ‘Space City’, Bangalore, Bangalore News, high-level clearance committee, high-level clearance committee on investments, honeymoon in space, News, pollution-free, real estate, Real Estate India, Space City, trend in real estate
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June 16th, 2010
To tackle water theft, BWSSB formed flying squad and amended BWSSB Act. For the first time since 1964, the BWSSB Act equips the board to punish even abettors.The amended BWSSB Act has new sections 108A and 108B. This allows the board to book violators. Those found guilty will be punished with three-year jail or with penalty. Section 108 empowers the board to penalize any employee of the board or a licensed plumber who abets a person in water theft. Officials who abet the crime will face a three-year jail.
According to BWSSB Act “Water theft is defined as whoever dishonestly obtains water supply through illegal connection or uses tampered meter in any manner resulting in non-recording or wrong recording of consumption of water or damages or destroys water meter/apparatus so as to prevent accurate metering of water consumed, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years or with fine; or both.”
With 34% of Bangalore’s water going unaccounted due to rampant water theft and illegal water connections, the BWSSB has decided to come down heavily on violators. “To bring in stringent measures to curb meter tampering and water theft, sections 108A and 108B have been inserted in the Act. This allows the board to book violators. Those found guilty will be punished with three-year jail or with penalty,” Said BWSSB chairman PB Ramamurthy. The BWSSB Act empowers the board to penalize any employee of the board or a licensed plumber who abets a person in water theft.
The flying squads have already identified 10 cases. “They are gathering evidence and soon we will file a case against violators in the court. Besides, 5,400 connections have been disconnected in 10 days in the drive against unauthorized connections,” said BWSSB chairman. “The flying squads comprise assistant engineers, junior engineers and water inspectors. The squads will gather evidence against those involved in water theft. They will prepare documents, file the case and gather evidence like photographs and videos,” Ramamurthy said.
Governor H R Bhardwaj approved The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage and Certain other laws (Amendment) Bill 2009 on April 14, 2010 and the government issued a gazette notification on April 16. Flying squads have been formed to tackle water theft. “The revenue enforcement cell has already started work. Once we get a case of water theft, we will have to file it before the magistrate court,” officials said.
Tags: Bangalore, Bangalore water theft, BWSSB Act, bwssb bangalore, flying squads, illegal water connection, penalize any employee who abets water theft, Water Theft, Water theft is defined, What is water theft
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June 15th, 2010
From January this year, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has undertaken cleaning up of manholes which get flooded during rain.The BWSSB has announced its contingency plans for the monsoon season. Many manholes that pose a threat to vehicle users have been repaired. In a release, it has said that it has undertaken cleaning up of manholes from January this year by identifying those that get flooded during rain. As many as 7,300 manholes have been cleaned so far and repaired manholes that pose a threat to commuters.
The release states that the board has 76 jetting machines to clean underground drains.The water board has started four control rooms in four locations of the city which will function 24 hours.The BWSSB has also stationed its engineers at Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) control rooms during the night following a directive of BWSSB Chairman P.B. Ramamurthy.
For any rain-related complaints,consumer can contact:
C.J.F-Malleswaram: 22945240, Hosahalli: 22946186,
Jayanagar: 22945150 and Indiranagar (HAL 2nd Stage): 22945163
Tags: Bangalore, bbmp bangalore, bwssb bangalore, cleaning up of manholes, consumer, contingency plan for the monsoon, helplines, plan to tackle monsoon
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