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indianexpress: Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday said that whatever land the State government will free after the scrapping of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA) last month, would be used for providing affordable houses for the lower and middle classes in the State. “In Pune, 538 hectare released after the scrapping of ULCRA, except reserved land, would be used for slum rehabilitation,” he said.

The 538 hectares comprise the land against which cases were pending and was in the “deemed possession of the government.” Now, according to the Chief Minister, this land, except for the reserved land, can be used for slum rehabilitation.

The State Government is also set to push ahead the proposed ring road around Pune. “We are contemplating to give an additional TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) or FSI (Floor Space Index) for the development of the ring road and will soon take a decision on that,” Deshmukh said.

The Chief Minister was in the city for the bhoomipujan ceremony of the slum rehabilitation project in Kasewadi that will see 448 houses of 350 sq ft each being given to slum-dwellers, whose shanties were gutted by a fire in March 2005. These houses are being provided under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).

He appealed to the local governing bodies and the police to see to it that no new slums appear in the city.

Deshmukh said, “The State-owned land acquired after the repeal of ULCRA would be used for residential purposes. However, for privately owned land, released after the ULCRA repeal, we are going to make alterations in the policy. On such land, the developers should construct houses of 40, 60 and 80 sq metres each, which will make available housing at low rates for lower and middle classes. If they do so, we can provide them extra FSI and for that we will make changes in the government regulations. This way, lower rungs of the society will be able to get housing at affordable rates.”

indianexpress: THE challenge for the recently set up Indian Motor Insurance Pool (IMIP) is to find suitable manpower, said chief operating officer TVS Prasad.
 
Speaking at the inauguration of the seminar on Motor Insurance (Underwriting and Claims) held at the National Insurance Academy (NIA) at Balewadi on Friday, he said that the recruiting process for the IMIP would begin in a week’s time. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) created the IMIP to take up motor third party claims of all insurance companies this year. Each third party claim is made with a lag of on nine months on an average. That nine-month lag is nearing to an end by December, said Prasad in his speech, which would mean that IMIP would have to brace itself for third party claims.

“Within the first year of operation of the IMIP, we expect 550 legal officers to be positioned all over the country to handle around 2.5 lakh cases. There are about 20,000 cases each month,” he said.

Prasad said that the pool would ensure that each divisional office does not turn into another government office overburdened with claims. “In government offices, you have two officers handling 5,000 claims. One legal officer with us will not handle more than 400-500 claims and will thus be able to devote more time to them,” said Prasad.

Speaking about the challenges facing the industry, Prasad said that about 25 per cent of the vehicular population is uninsured despite the Motor Vehicle Act making it mandatory for all owners to insure their vehicles. Fraud levels with respect to No Claim Bonus (NCB) — when insurance companies give a discount in the premium when you renew your policy if you haven’t filed a claim previously — are also high, as clients tend to falsify the vehicle’s previous claim status.

indianexpress: The ‘ready reckoner’ for property prices prepared by the town planning department and Inspectorate General for Registrations (IGR) came up for discussion at the meeting of the committee that looks into the reckoner, on Thursday. The members of the committee — that included officials of the town planning department and the IGR and MLAs and MLCs — suggested that property prices fixed for slum areas as well as under-developed areas should be reconsidered.

Members who attended the meeting chaired by the district collector Prabhakar Deshmukh said that the standard rise in property rates for slum areas and under developed areas should only be 10 per cent. Efforts are being made to look into all the suggestions and objections before the “property card” is released on January 1.

According to a senior officer who attended the meeting, the suggestions will be considered before the final rate card is released. “There was major disagreement over the rates for the peth areas as well as slums and gaothan areas. The MLCs attending the meeting pointed out that the rates had to be reconsidered,’’ he said. However, they were all of the opinion that for developing areas and areas near townships as well as plush areas the rate card readied by the department could be applicable.

indianexpress: The trend of IT companies reaching out to students from non-science backgrounds, such as arts and commerce received a leg up on Friday with city institute BVU Amplify Department of IT and Management hosting representatives from the IT industry and educational institutions across the country at the Katraj campus of the Bharati Vidyapeeth University.

Fifteen colleges from across the country met with industry leaders from companies including Microsoft India, Deutsche Telekom and HSBC GTL. Industry reps put forth views and expectations of graduating students and in what areas their skills can be enhanced to best serve the industry’s requirements.

indianexpress: Call centre cars continue to steal lives in the city. Early on Saturday morning, around 4.30 am, a speeding cab, suspected to have been used for pick-up and drop of call centre employees, knocked down a motorcycle, causing the death of a youngster on the Mahadji Shinde Road in Wanavdi. The deceased was identified Anil Bhandas Kolphuke (23) of Latur.

Police have blamed the cab driver for the mishap, saying he was driving on the wrong side. The police suspect that some IT or BPO company in Magarpatta must have hired the cab. The cab driver is still to be apprehended.

Kolphuke was driving a motorcycle belonging to his friend, along with two pillion riders, towards Lulla Nagar when he had a head-on collision with the cab in front of EME station workshop in Wanavdi. Kolphuke died on the spot, while the Bharat Mane (23) and Vishal Chandrakant Gandhale (21) of Phule Nagar, Bhosari were severely injured.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S N Bhoomkar said the drive against call centre cabs was on. “We have asked all the police stations to keep a tab on the rash driving of call centre cars. But unfortunately the cab drivers are not taking the issue seriously”, he added.

Meanwhile, former deputy mayor Nilesh Magar, who also provides cab service to the BPO and IT firms in Magarpatta city, blamed rigorous working hours of the drivers for the mishaps.

indianexpress: Puneities seem to have got some respite from the winter chill. Night temperatures are no longer low even as the day temperatures are on the rise, not giving the ubiquitous “winter” feel. On Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded a maximum of 32.4 degrees and minimum of 19.1 degrees celsius. That’s NINE degrees above normal.
 
Dr A B Mazumdar, deputy director general of IMD, Pune says the minimum temperature recorded on Wednesday was 11.6 degrees and has steadily increased over the week — 16.7 degrees on Thursday, 19.8 degrees on Friday and 19.1 degrees on Saturday. With the onset of winter last month, temperatures dropped to 8.1 degrees, which have thereafter fluctuated around the normal mean of 11 degrees.

The weather officials, however, say this sudden rise is not unusual temperatures get affected whenever a system develops. “This is normally seen especially during winters,” Mazumdar says.

Mazumdar attributes it to the heavy moisture content in the air, which does not lead to night cooling. The trough formation on the west coast and cyclonic circulation which affected the Arabian Sea has brought in a lot of moisture content and even rain in some parts of the southern states. According to weather officers, there has been rain in Tamil Nadu and Goa. In addition, the easterly and south-easterly winds have only brought more moisture content.

Puneites though will not have to wait for too long for things to cool down. The next two days will see the winter chills back in time for Christmas and New Year celebrations

indianexpress: The Khadki Cantonment Board is gearing up to bid farewell to its current president Brig V K Bhatt, who has been promoted and transferred to Lucknow. Brig Sanjeev Talwar will take over as the new president of the Board.

Brig Bhatt, who had assumed the post of KCB president on March 26 last year, in the course of his tenure, had approved the proposal for developing a PMT bus stop and the construction of a three-storey commercial complex measuring 38,300 sq ft estimated to be around Rs 10 crore.

The complex is expected to yield a lease rent revenue of Rs 1 lakh per month after construction.

Brig Bhatt who presided over his last KCB general body meeting on Tuesday also approved two new plans of around 18 crore each.

While the proposal to re-vamp the Khadki central market into a commercial complex is slated to procure Rs 40 crore within a period of 20 years, the second proposal regarding the development of a commercial sports complex, inclusive of an Astro Turf hockey ground cites an anticipated income of Rs 74 crore in 15 years.

Bhatt had also privatised the Shri Ram Mangal Karyalaya and Sai Prasad Mangal Karyalaya, which were earlier maintained by the Board but have now been handed over to a contractor for a period of three years.

TOI : PUNE:Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday declared that 100 acres of the 538hectares acquired by the state government under the Urban Land Ceiling andRegulation Act(ULCRA) in the city, will be used for slum rehabilitationprojects.Deshmukh was speakingat the ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony of the city’s first slum rehabilitationproject, to be implemented as per the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) rules,at Kasewadi. The project was conceived after nearly 450 huts were destroyed inKasewadi in a fire in March2005.”It should be ensuredthat only slum housing projects are implemented on the 100 acres,” said Deshmukhin response to an appeal made by city MP Suresh Kalmadi. Kalmadi had suggestedthat the state make land acquired under the ULC Act available for slum housingprojects.In case of land whichwas declared surplus under the ULC Act but was not acquired by the stategovernment, Deshmukh said that the owners of these plots would be allowed toexecute SRA schemes on their plots under certain conditions.Though the conditions were still tobe finalised, the state is considering making it mandatory for private owners toprovide tenements ranging from 40 sq m to 80 sq m. “Also, these need to beprovided at an affordable rate,” Deshmukhsaid.Speaking on the risingnumber of slums in Pune, Deshmukh observed that steps should now be taken tomake Pune a slum-freecity.”The civic authoritiesand police will have to ensure that there is no increase in the number of slumsin the city. The city has reached its limit. Now it should ensure that there isno growth of slums or elsewe will be at a stage where we will have developedprojects to rehabilitate slum-dwellers, but at the same time have more slums,”Deshmukh warned.He added thatland has also been reserved to rehabilitate slum-dwellers living next to railwaylines in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Twelve slum projects in different cities ofMaharashtra with 1.06 lakh homes have been approved under the urban communityprojects, he said.However,Deshmukh did not make any clear statement about the size of the tenements underSRA…More

TOI : PUNE:Member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi has written a letter to chief ministerVilasrao Deshmukh urging him to ensure additional funds required by PuneMunicipal Corporation (PMC) for implementing the bus rapid transit (BRT)projects in the city.Kalmadisaid that Rs 807 crore were approved for the projects under Jawaharlal NehruNational Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), but the cost of the project was revisedto Rs 1,391 crores since the PMC undertook detailed engineeringstudies.”An additional Rs 584crore is required for shifting utilities so that the roads will not requiredigging in the future for adding more BRT corridors,” Kalmadi stated in theletter.He has asked for anearly clearance to the funds, considering the forthcoming Commonwealth YouthGames (CYG)….More

TOI : Girlsets self afire to get a ‘feeling ofburn’PUNE: In a shockingincident, a 12-year-old girl set herself afire just to experience how it feelslike burning!According toSwargate police, Puja Bhimrao Sangolgi, who is studying in Std VI, sprinkledherself with kerosene before lighting the fire at her home in Tamboli gulli atGultekdi on Friday evening. Alert neighbours doused the fire and rushed her tothe hospital where she is being treated for 90 per centburns.Puja’s father is anautorickshaw driver and mother works as a housemaid. Both of them were absentwhen the incident took place. Before losing consciousness, she told the policethat she wanted to experience the ‘feel’ of being burnt….More