Plea to regulate parking charges at malls
The State Information Commission(SIC) has directed Chennai Corporation to look at parking charges at malls. The directive was issued following a plea filed by a social activist.
Earlier in November 2017, the activist, Kalyanasundaram sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Public Information Officer of the Chennai Corporation and wanted to know the laws under which management of malls collect parking charges. He also sought information on facilities provided to motorists parking their vehicles at the malls.
GCC had replied that this information did not come under the purview of the RTI Act, further to which the plea has been filed with the SIC.
Source: The Hindu
150 ‘She Toilets’ soon in Chennai with the help of Nirbhaya funds
The Greater Chennai Corporation has floated tenders to construct 150 ‘SHE’ toilets under the Nirbhaya Scheme. The SHE toilets are part of an umbrella project by the Tamil Nadu government under Nirbhaya funds to promote safety of women in public places. Some of the locations where these toilets are to come up are near Central, Egmore Railway Stations and Parry’s bus stand.
Meanwhile, to ensure the safety and security of the women, the Chennai police have introduced a dedicated Whatsapp number 75300 01100, to report crime against women. The police have also requested the public to share a list of public places which they feel is insecure for women.
Source: The New Indian Express | The Times of India
Street vendors to get vending certificates soon
Chennai Corporation will start issuing vending certificates to street vendors who have been issued biometric identity cards. It has so far issued 23,154 ID cards to trade in specific trade vending zones, in attempts to regulate public spaces in the city. The certificate will be akin to a trade license that is issued to a commercial establishment. The certificate will be valid for a period of five years and has to be renewed once in three years.
Source: The Times of India
Also read: Chennai seeks space for dissent amid restrictions on anti-CAA protests
City’s reservoirs at half the capacity
Though northeast monsoon rains helped bring in inflows since October-end, the four reservoirs in the city have only 47% of their capacity. But Chennai Metrowater has planned to maintain water supply at the current level of 650 MLD till the onset of summer. Metrowater operates 5,600 tanker trips compared to 11,500 trips during October. Officials have said the crisis has eased in the city and the groundwater table has gone up in the past two months.
Meanwhile, there is talk of construction of a 300-km pipeline extending up to the Srisailam dam that would help to bring Krishna waters to Chennai much faster and with less wastage than in the present arrangement. Currently, Andhra Pradesh provides its share of 12000 tmcft of water (under the Telugu Ganga project) to Chennai via an open canal from the Kandaleru reservoir to Chennai’s reservoirs. The proposed pipeline would help reduce the water wastage that takes place due to transportation through the open canal.
Source: The Hindu | The New Indian Express
Encroachments removed on Velachery bypass road
Officials of the State Highways Department demolished several concrete structures on the footpath and removed name boards and hawker vehicles on the Velachery bypass road, with the assistance of the city police. Over the years a number of shops had encroached the footpath meant for pedestrians, and officials at the Highway Department say that the demolition drive is part of the effort to reclaim the footpath from encroachers.
Source: The Hindu
[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]