Prepare to pay if you litter or spit!
Chennai Corporation has framed solid waste management bylaws under Section 349 of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act of 1919 to collect fines ranging from ₹100 to ₹25,000 for littering. The bylaws apply to domestic, institutional, commercial and any other non-residential solid waste generators, as well as individuals who dump solid waste in stormwater drains, underground sewage systems and waterbodies in the city.
For example, any resident who dumps garbage on the street will have to pay a fine of ₹1,000 to the Chennai Corporation. Those who burn solid waste in public spaces will also be penalised. Owners of non-residential buildings who litter public spaces will pay a fine of ₹2,000. But traders will have to pay just ₹1000 for littering public spaces.
Persons who spit in public spaces will have to pay a fine of ₹100. Street vendors who fail to use garbage containers will have to pay a fine of ₹100.
Source: The Hindu
Commercial high rise buildings to get water meters soon
Commercial high-rise buildings (G+4 buildings) in the city will soon be fixed with water meters and charged on the basis of amounts of water they consume. The Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewerage Board is all set to fix metres in more than 12,500 buildings.
According to a senior official in the CMSSB, the board received tender applications for this `9.5-crore project, which have been proposed as part of the Smart City Mission. Officials claimed that the move to install metres would stop wastage of water as each litre consumed will reflect in the monthly bill.
Source: New Indian Express
Chennai Metro begins land acquisition for Phase 2
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has started issuing notices to residents to begin acquisition of land required to build the ambitious 107.55 km under Phase-2. A CMRL official said they have started issuing notices to owners of properties located in Madhavaram, Sembium, Perumbur and Otteri, where corridor 3 and 5 is planned.
Corridor 3 will link Madhavaram Milk Colony with Siruseri Sipcot, passing through major localities such as Perambur, Chetpet, Royapettah, Mandaveli, Adyar,Thiruvanmiyur and OMR.
Corridor 5 will link Madhavaram with Sholinganallur via Kolathur, Villivakkam, Maduravoyal, Valsarvakkam, Adambakkam and Perumbakkam.
Officials said land to be acquired for construction would be largely government owned, as the process to take over is faster and costs less than private property.
Source: Times of India
TN Government faces one protest after another
People of TN have been waking up to news of protests almost every day, and this time it is the Chennai- Salem Expressway that has been in the news.
A mega expressway in Tamil Nadu, a part of union highways minister Nitin Gadkari’s pet project Bharatmala Pariyojana, has become the newest site for public protests in the state. Farmers, activists claim Rs 11,000-crore expressway will destroy forests and displace nearly 40,000 families.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswamy, who belongs to Salem, seems determined to go ahead with the project. Earlier this month, he said in the state assembly that the project passes through just 9.9 km of forest land and does not pose any major environmental risk.
The Bharatmala Project is aimed at improving connectivity between states and far-flung areas by creating economic corridors. The project in Tamil Nadu will be an access-controlled 277.3 km highway stretching from Chennai to Salem, passing through major towns such as Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. The feasibility report claims that the travel time from Chennai to Salem can be reduced by three hours. It says transportation costs can be reduced by 15 to 20 per cent with the express highway.
Source: The Print