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TOI : PUNE: The common man will soon be able to get information from civic bodies pertaining to contracts and other things such as building permissions and issuing of various licences without having to undergo the trouble of filing an Right To Information (RTI) Act application.

The Public Disclosure Act (PDA), which will make this possible, will be implemented in all the municipal bodies of the state within a month.

Implementation of PDA is mandatory for seeking funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). According to the JNNURM norms, that states should ensure meaningful association, engagement of municipal bodies in planning the functions of self local governing bodies.

“The Act was promulgated at the Nagpur session of the state assembly in December. Now, the legislature will complete further process and within a month, all urban local governing bodies will be asked to implement the PDA,” Urban Development (UD) principal secretary T C Benjamin told TOI on Sunday.

Benjamin said the central government has fixed the deadline of March 31, 2008 for implementation of Act.

Once PDA is implemented, apart from the municipal bodies, government departments and public-owned companies will have to disclose annual performance statements, duties and functions. The PDA will ensure that urban local bodies prepare medium-term fiscal plan and release quarterly performance information to all the stakeholders.

“One of the major benefits of the PDA is fixing accountability of municipal officials. The officials will be answerable to public about the expenditure and all other dealings regarding JNNURM funds,” said civic activist Vijay Kumbhar…More

TOI : PUNE: The crime branch on Saturday raided two shops in Pimpri Camp and seized pirated compact discs (CDs), video CDs and MP3s worth over Rs 20 lakh, and arrested two people.

Acting on a tip, a team led by inspector G V Nikam additional commissioner Rajender Singh, deputy commissioner Sunil Phulari and assistant commissioner Netaji Shinde raided Rohit Music and Kailash Deep Mobile.

The police recovered 1,648 digital video discs (DVDs), 1,020 VCDs and 880 MP3 worth Rs 4,75,600 from Rohit Music run by Kamlesh Mohanlal Aswani of Pimpri.

From Kailash Deep Mobile run by Sunder Kisandas Khatvani of Pimpri, the police recovered 5,730 VCDs, 3,450 DVDs, 3,900 MP3s and 75 video games worth Rs 15,47,950. Aswani (44) and Khatvani (39) were arrested under different sections of the Copy Rights Act. The Pimpri court on Sunday sent the accused to police custody till Monday.

Meanwhile, the police sealed Sound Music and its godown at Pimpri Camp after its owner locked the premises and fled fearing police action…More

TOI : PUNE: One of the largest and unique flower show, organised by the agri-horticultural society of western India, will roll out the red carpet for flower lovers in the city from January 25 to 27.

The show, to be held at the empress botanical gardens, will be inaugurated by commissioner of police Jayant Umranikar at 12.30 pm on Jan 25. It will host various flower-related activities aimed at the artistically and aesthetically inclined.

Besides showcasing flower arrangements and landscaped gardens, a variety of competitions related to roses, potted plants, vegetables, bonsai will also be held during the festival. “The emphasis is to encourage and attract garden-loving citizens, and help them enjoy nature to the fullest,” said Suman Kirloskar, chairperson, flower show committee.

The western India floriculture association will also display exotic and exquisite export-quality flowers as part of a special section at the festival. The Ikebana Group and Mehek foundation will display flower decorations and Japanese flower arrangements.

A drawing competition for children under the age of eight years and for the age group of eight to 15 years will be held here. A flower arrangement competition for the same age group will be held on January 27 between 10.30 am to 11.30 am.

An exhibition of photographs of the lotus flower by Prakash Joglekar titled ‘Padmini’ and a film show on global warming are some of the other attractions. The film will be screened between 1 pm to 8 pm on Jan 25, 9 am to 8 pm on Jan 26 and 27…More

TOI : PUNE: Civic activists have urged citizens to check the record of adulterated food materials with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to avoid consumption of adulterated food items.

In a press release here, right to information (RTI) activists said that the municipal corporation is not in position to announce the list of adulterated brands because of legal compulsions. So the companies continue to sell adulterated material.

“It is necessary that the common people approach the PMC and seek the information to avoid use of adulterated material,” said RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar.

“Under the Right to Information Act clause 4 (1), citizens can approach the civic authorities and demand records of adulterated material. It is mandatory on the municipal corporations to maintain the record,” Kumbhar said.

The press release said that, after checking the records with the PMC, it was found that in the last five years the PMC food inspectors have registered just 204 cases regarding adulteration of food material. However, many of these cases are pending and sale of adulterated material like oil, milk and salt continues…More

TOI : PUNE: Opposing the state government’s move to abolish octroi, experts have warned that the municipal bodies will be severely affected by the decision and services provided to citizens would suffer.

Former Pune municipal commissioner P S Palande, sociologist Sharadchandra Gokhale, besides economist N B Sapre shared their views on the possible effects of octroi abolition at a ceremony to release Sapre’s book titled ‘Octroi’ on Sunday.

Palande said that the government should not give up under pressure from those having vested interests in doing away with octroi.

“Survival of municipal corporations like the PMC depends on octroi as it is a major source of income. If octroi is abolished the entire system will collapse,” said Palande. He alleged that some groups were lobbying to get rid of the tax which will ultimately benefit them but harm the civic bodies. “It would be suicidal to abolish octroi. Even if the state government decides to provide alternate source of income to local governing bodies, it is fact that no such alternative is available,” said Palande.

He admitted that the general perception about octroi department is not good. “Corruption prevails at some octroi posts. Also the department is always associated with some or the other kind of harassment. But it is always possible to bring greater transparency and improve functioning,” he added. He criticised the political establishments for their unwillingness to put things in place.

Sharadchandra Gokhale said that sovereignty of the local governing bodies like municipal corporations and zilla parishads should be protected. “Municipal corporations provide best forum for the common people to take up their issues directly with the local corporators. They cannot access the member of state legislative or a member of parliament with such ease,” he remarked.

N B Sapre said that octroi contributes 51 per cent of the total revenue of…More