Archive for the ‘Bangalore’ Category
Wednesday, 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
Posted in Bangalore, News | No Comments »
Friday, April 16th, 2010
Entire Bangalore will see dry taps till Saturday afternoon, says the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). By Wednesday evening, the water supply from the Cauvery IV stage I phase was completely affected as a portion of the canal in Handihalla Syphon breached and a major repair work had to be taken up. By evening, the breach had further extended to almost 20 feet. Even the temporary relief measures did not last long. By evening, all valves had to be closed at the Shivanekat and the canal had to be dried up for the MEG task force to repair it.
Major parts of West, East and some parts of South and South-East Bangalore did not get their usual water stock on Thursday. The main areas being Indiranagar, HAL 1st and 2nd stage, K R Puram, Rajajinagar, J P Nagar, Bapujinagar, Domlur, Johnson Market, Nandini layout and Magadi Road.
“The I phase of Cauvery IV stage has already been stopped. All the other phases__I, II and III __will also be stopped by 2 am on Friday. So, there will be no water to most parts of Bangalore till Saturday,” a senior BWSSB official explained.
Source: Times of India
Tags: Bangalore water supply and sewerage board, breach and a major repair, bwssb bangalore, Cauvery IV stage I phase, dry taps, dry taps till saturday, HAL 1st and 2nd stage, Indiranagar, K R Puram, no water, Rajajinagar
Posted in Bangalore, News | No Comments »
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Now that rainwater harvesting has become mandatory in Bangalore, this is the time to dig recharge wells. The law states that the depths should be a minimum of 10 feet. In most parts of the city, a depth of 20 feet to 30 feet is recommended.
All individual households, apartments, layouts, industries and institutions can construct recharge wells and should appropriately include it as part of the design itself. In many cases the groundwater levels increase almost immediately after a rainfall year and this water is available for supplementary and appropriate use. In many cases borewells too are benefited as the shallow aquifer eventually recharges the secondary porosity from where borewells draw water.
A typical recharge well is one meter in diameter. It is then lined with pre-cast concrete rings with perforations to allow water to slip out from the sides. These rings are then gradually lowered into the well to line it from the bottom all the way to the ground level and above. A solid cover of steel or pre-cast concrete rings is placed on the top for security and safety purpose. This is very important.
The capacity of such a recharge well of one meter diameter and six meters depth is about 5,000 liters. Normal procedures for well maintenance, such as regular cleaning and disinfection annually, are recommended. Removal of silt regularly helps in greater recharge. By integrating rainwater harvesting with groundwater recharge each citizen can contribute to the cause by using water judiciously and ensure its continued availability for future.
Source: The Hindu
Tags: Bangalore, dig recharge well, rain water harvesting mandatory for new building, rainwater harvesting, recharge wells, save water
Posted in Bangalore, News | 1 Comment »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
State bank of India one of leading banks in India will organize a three-day ‘SBI Loan Utsav’. The SBI loan utsav 2010 starts on Friday 19,2010 on 4 pm at its local head office campus on St Mark’s Road.
While announcing that the bank will offer spot loans at an interest rate of 8 per cent, it said that customers can visit the stalls from 11 am to 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Over 40 top builders/developers of Bangalore and major auto dealers are participating. On Friday, it is open between 4 pm and 7 pm.
The builders will showcase more than 25,000 apartments in SBI loan utsav 2010. SBI is partnering with SBI Card, SBI Life and SBI Mutual Fund in organizing the Utsav. SBI loan utsav is organized at its local head office campus on St Mark’s Road in association with The Times of India.
Customers can visit the stalls on three days to choose from over 25,000 apartments. Major auto dealers will present the latest offerings from their stable.They can also select their favorite cars from a wide range available at the exposition.
Tags: apartments, Bangalore, Bangalore Property, car loan, home loan, Loan, SBI, SBI Home Loan, sbi loan utsav, sbi loan utsav 2010, spot loan, st marks road bangalore
Posted in Bangalore, News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The BBMP is planning to restart collecting betterment charges, which was stopped five years ago. To bail out the BBMP from the financial crunch, the government planned to bring the Sakrama scheme, which was turned down by Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj. Now the BBMP has recommended the collection of development fees from those who live in illegal layouts and want development activities in their areas.
There are around five lakh properties in the City which are illegal and have not paid betterment charges. The BBMP started working on this idea a few months ago and formed a committee led by the Palike’s zonal commissioners, chief engineers, finance and revenue officials.
According to the Palike sources, the BBMP has proposed to charge Rs 1.2 lakh for a 2,400 square feet site, Rs 60,000 for a 1,200 square feet site and Rs 30,000 for the 600 square feet site.
Source: Deccan Herald
Tags: akrama sakrama bangalore, Bangalore, Bangalore East, bbmp, bbmp bangalore, bbmp property, betterment charges, illegal layouts, property
Posted in Bangalore, News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) appears to have opened a new window of employment to plumbers, who are in huge demand.There are approximately 60,000 houses which need to implement the system in Bangalore by May 2010, and 8,000 of them have already implemented it, according to BWSSB.
Each project can cost from Rs 4,000 to about Rs 40,000, which includes the material and labour cost. BWSSB is also trying to get the 12.5% VAT exempted from materials required for rainwater harvesting.The mandatory clause will be applicable for all new structures on a sital area measuring 1,200 sqft (30×40) and above, in the case of existing structures, it will be applicable for those built on a sital area of 2,400 sqft (40×60) and above.
When the order was issued, there were hardly any plumbers to do the skilled job, now there are around 400 plumbers trained by BWSSB, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technologies (KSCST) and IISc, and are available to implement the system wherever required. NGOs like Samvada are also training youth. “Around 10 youth trained by Samvada are busy meeting the demands of several calls. Their charges are site-specific and they specialize in rooftop rainwater harvesting for houses, hospitals, factories or any commercial establishments”-said program associate, Samvada, Satish K S.
The training process for rainwater harvesting will continue for the next three years. From April, another 500 will be trained and certified. Anyone can take up this training, and no formal qualification is required. As of now, BWSSB’s registered plumbers are being trained.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has proposed relaxation of Value Added Tax (VAT) for filters intended to motivate the public to opt for RWH before the May 27 deadline. To motivate plumbers to carry out Rain Water Harvesting (RWH), BWSSB has announced cash incentives if they attain specific targets.
Source: Times of India
Tags: Apartment, Apartment India, Bangalore, bbmp, bwssb, bwssb bangalore, Housing India, indian real estate, property, rainwater harvesting, rainwater harvesting for apartment, Real Estate India, RWH a new window of employment
Posted in Bangalore, News | 4 Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Residents of Pride apartments, Bangalore planted saplings on the way to their apartment and within their compound. On January 9th, Pride Apartments Owners Association in collaboration with Trees for free, a non-profit that takes up tree planting initiatives, sponsored by Yahoo and the Rotary club of Koramangala planted 59 saplings on the way to their apartment and within their compound.Each plant is adopted by a child of the apartment complex.
Pride Apartments is situated at Bilekhalahalli, opposite to State Bank of Mysore, Bannerghatta road.Each plant is adopted by a child of the apartment complex.Honge, Jacaranda, Akash Malige and Pride of India are some of the saplings planted.
Janet Yegneswaran, the founder and president of Trees for free, says they have planted almost 17,000 trees all over Bangalore. Minu Mehra, joint secretary of Pride Apartments Owners Association, said “this will make them aware about the value of trees in our environment”. L Ramesh, a candidate for the upcoming BBMP council election was also present for the event. He said, “I request other apartments’ associations to follow the same for a greener environment”.
Reference:
bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1708-tree-planting-at-bilekhalahalli
Tags: Bannerghatta road bangalore, bilekhalahalli bangalore, planting saplings, pride apartment owners association, pride apartments, pride apartments bangalore, rotary club of Koramangala, tree for tree
Posted in Bangalore, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
with the Governor, H.R.Bhardwaj, suggesting a thorough discussion on the issue on the floor of the Legislature, the hopes and aspirations of a large number of Bangaloreans to utilize the Akrama-Sakrama scheme and thus legalize their dwelling unit continues to remain a distant dream.
The much-touted scheme of the ruling BJP aimed at pleasing Bangaloreans has thus hit a roadblock right away with the Opposition parties keen on a full-fledged discussion on the subject which is likely only in the budget session of the State Legislature in March. Sources in the two main Opposition parties in the two Houses of the Karnataka Legislature, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), told The Hindu that they are happy with the decision of the Governor to refrain from promulgating an ordinance.
“In 2004, the Governor T N Chaturvedi returned the ordinance with this message and then the government took three years to rectify and following objections the law was passed. It was also challenged in the Karnataka High Court which had stayed it. So how do you expect me to bypass both the legislature and judiciary?” asked Governor, H.R.Bhardwaj.
“It is an important subject which involves the lives of several lakhs of people. There has to be a full-fledged discussion on the Karnataka Town Planning (amendment) Bill.”
The two main Opposition parties in the two Houses were not per se against the Akrama-Sakrama scheme but were keen on a detailed discussion. It should be ensured that the scheme is only for the benefit of the common people and not for safeguard the interests of the real estate developers or commercial builders who have indulged in gross violations of building bye-laws.
The number of unauthorized constructions in the State has swelled with every passing year and what was four lakh when the regularization scheme was first proposed in 2004 has now touched nearly 13 lakh of which 10 lakh is in Bangalore alone.
Given the nature of the reply given by the Governor to the proposal of the State Cabinet to promulgate an ordinance, the regularization scheme is expected to be implemented well after the elections to the council of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike scheduled to be gone through on February 21. People will, however, have a year’s time to apply for regularization from the date of commencement of the process, although the cut-off date for regularisation has been fixed — December 3, 2009 — the date on which the State Cabinet approved the scheme.
Link to Refer:
The Hindu
Tags: akrama, akrama sakrama bangalore, Akrama-Sakrama scheme, Apartment, Apartment India, Bangalore, Bangalore East, bbmp, bbmp akrama sakrama scheme, bbmp bangalore, indian real estate, property, Property Registration, Real Estate India, sakrama
Posted in Bangalore | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Real estate major Sunil Mantri Group, has identified Bangalore as a strategic target for expansion with the launch of an integrated residential community project christened as Mantri Premero, in close proximity to major IT companies, the Electronic City, and ITPB. The total net worth of the project, would be Rs. 250 crore.
Speaking on the launch, Sunil Mantri, Chairman, Sunil Mantri Group commented, “Bangalore, being one of the most prominent landmarks on the world map, inspired us to develop good quality homes and spaces that are on par with world-class standards. Now, with Mantri Premero, Bangalore will have exclusive lifestyle homes with the blend of affordable amenities that integrate nature with every day dwelling”. Complete News here.
Tags: Bangalore, launch of new project, Mantri, Mantri Premero, New Project
Posted in Apartment Buying, Bangalore, Builder, Housing India, New Project, News | 5 Comments »
Monday, December 28th, 2009
In a move aimed at ensuring that every Indian family has an LPG connection, the Centre has amended the Gas Control Order under which a household can have only one LPG connection. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (regulation of supply and distribution) Amendment order 2009 has banned multiple LPG connections in a single household. For instance, if a husband and wife have two connections in their names, then one has to be surrendered. This means two connections per family is not allowed. However, this rule does not apply to one connection having two cylinders.
On their part, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum have evolved consumer data to detect multiple connections and stop supplies forthwith till they are surrendered. According to Bhushan Narang, president, Bangalore Petroleum Dealers’ Association, the primary objective of the new rule is to ensure that BPL (below poverty line) families are also supplied with LPG connections.
“There are many cases where domestic LPG connections are misused and commercialized too. The target is to make it kerosene-free country once all families have LPG connections.There are thousands waiting in each city for LPG connection. On the other hand, many households have more than one LPG line, blocking new connections,’’ official sources said.
- Supplies would resume only after multiple connections are surrendered THE RULE BOOK
- You have option of converting double LPG connection into double bottle connection (DBC), i.e., one connection having two cylinders.
- LPG connection will be issued only in the name of any adult member of the household by a government oil company under public distribution system
- Customers having more than one LPG connection in their homes must Surrender it before the supply stops.
Tags: amendment of Gas Control Order, Bangalore, lpg connection bangalore, only one LPG connection per household, surrender LPG connection
Posted in Bangalore | 8 Comments »
