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TOI : PUNE: The state forest department has launched several steps to curb plastic bags and water bottles littering the historic Sinhagad fort premises and to improve the fort area. From Friday onwards, the department will charge a deposit of Rs 50 from visitors for the plastic bottles they carry, and ask them to declare the contents of their bags.

Moreover, four-wheelers coming to the fort will be charged Rs 50, while two-wheelers will have to pay Rs 20. Entry to the fort will be allowed only from sunrise to sunset.

The deposit collected on plastic bottles will be returned after the visiproduce the empty bottles after coming down from the fort.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, conservator of forests, Pune, Ashok Khadse said the amount collected by way of
different charges will be used for improvement of the fort area.

“It is estimated that about Rs 1 crore would be collected per year. This money will be exclusively used for improvement works.” According to Khadse, the two major works are water conservation projects and a tree plantation drive. The Sinhagad area development programme is being implemented jointly by the forest department and the Pune Municipal Corporation.

All the villages would be actively involved in the programme, Khadse said. “There will be more employment opportunities for villagers because we plan to appoint fire guards and local tourist guides. The fire guards will be involved in controlling forest fires. The tourist guides will be trained so that they can act as official guides.”

The water conservation work will also benefit the villagers as they face water scarcity between January
and May. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: The school board of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has assured to release funds within a week to ease drinking water woes in 49 civic schools.

Last year, a report submitted by the school board had revealed that 49 primary schools did not have adequate drinking water facilities. It was stated that some schools did have drinking water tanks of adequate capacity. However, these never got filled due to inadequate supply. On the other hand, water tanks in some schools were not even adequate to cater to the number of students.

Speaking to TOI, Hari Bharati, administrative officer of the school board, said, “The report was prepared last year and submitted to the then mayor Vaishali Ghodekar. It revealed that civic schools lacked a number of basic facilities. For example, doors and windows were missing in many of the municipal schools. The report had also mentioned the inadequate drinking water facility.”

Bharati said, “On an average, each school gets Rs 7,500 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which the school authorities have been asked to use for minor works and to increase availability of water. The PCMC primary education department will release these funds within a week.”

When his attention was drawn to the fact that Rs 7,500 were not adequate, Bharati said, “In many cases, two municipal schools operate from a single building. Funds can be pooled in such cases.” Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Often accused of rash driving and rude behaviour, the city bus drivers will now undergo a four-day motivational programme that includes Art of Living classes, lectures on scientific driving, diet control, pollution hazards and steps to save fuel.

The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has taken the initiative to improve the drivers’ public image and help them face stress situations in a better manner.

A similar initiative was undertaken in 2006 which was scrapped after a year when there was a change of guard. However with the drivers reaping benefits from the programme and diesel prices soaring sky-high, the PMPML authorities now plan to restart the course.

“We now plan to start the classes for the drivers once again as it will help them combat everyday stress,” PMPML joint Managing Director Aziz Karche said.

Batches will be conducted for four drivers from each of the 10 PMPML depots for four days and a test will be conducted at the start and end of the programme.

Speaking to TOI, PMPML spokesperson D.A. Pardeshi said that the tests are conducted to help drivers assess themselves
as to how the programme has an effect on them.

“For example, their driving methods are often faulty in the sense that higher amount of diesel is used, but once they attend the lectures, they are in a better position to understand where they are going wrong and what they should do for improved fuel efficiency,” Pardeshi said.

Gajanan Gaikwad, a senior driver of the PMPML, who has a record of driving without accidents in 30 years of his
service, has undergone the programme earlier.

“I underwent a ten-day training from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) and for one year I was appointed to co-ordinate and organise the workshops for other drivers to encourage them…More

TOI : PUNE: The Mumbai office of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked ‘unknown’ employees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and Karad Co-operative Urban Bank (Raviwar Peth branch) and three employees of the Pune City Community Development Centre (PCCDC) located at Bal Bhavan, Ganj Peth, for their alleged involvement in siphoning off lakhs of rupees allocated for Union government run-Janashree Insurance Scheme, meant for persons living below poverty line (BPL).

Four CBI teams arrived from Mumbai in private vehicles on Thursday and conducted searches at the residences of the PCCDC employees and at Bal Bhavan with the help of Pune police till evening.

The PCCDC employees booked by the CBI include secretary Sabira Shaikh of Kashewadi, accountant Varsha Sondhe of Parvati and Sudam Patole of Bibvewadi.

The CBI claims to have recovered incriminating documents pertaining to the scheme from their possession. The searches were conducted under CBI superintendent of police Pravin Salunkhe.

Vaishali Shinde, in-charge of the PCCDC office at Bal Bhavan on Thursday, said they were extending all possible help to the CBI. Print EMail DiscussNew B…More

TOI : PUNE: Spurred by the B.K. Chaturvedi committee’s suggestion to the central government to levy a ‘Metro Extra’ tax of Rs 2 per litre on diesel in large cities including Pune, as the fuel was being used in expensive cars, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will push for a proposal to levy a special tax to curb the number of vehicles on city roads.

Today, there is one vehicle for every two persons in the city with the overall number of vehicles crossing the 21,38,000-mark.

“Last year the civic body had raised the matter of levying vehicle tax to control the number of vehicles in the city.
However, the matter remained pending. But now the civic body has decided to take up the matter with the state government and push for the proposal,” said municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi.

The civic body seeks to discourage the use of personal vehicles by levying the tax. A vehicle tax was being levied in the city in the 1980s but the state government decided to abolish it. The government then decided to offer an annual grant of Rs 6 crore to the municipal corporation as a substitute.

However, the civic administration is arguing with the state that by imposing the vehicle tax, it could get an additional annual revenue of Rs 50-70 crore which could be used for development works and it will also discourage
people from plying vehicles on city roads.

The civic body has however not finalised the module for the tax. It is looking at the possibility of collecting the tax through the RTO as it was done earlier, or levying a ’street tax’ that would be collected along with the property tax.

The street tax could be collected from those property owners who also own a vehicle. The civic body is also considering the possibility of…More