Civic

2% land transport cess on property tax BBMP has decided to levy a 2% land transport cess on property tax from April 1. The cess was approved by BBMP administrator Gaurav Gupta and the Urban Development Department. The proposal had been approved by the previous BBMP Council in 2018. BBMP hopes to rake in up to Rs 80 crore annually from the cess. However, the BBMP cannot utilise the Urban Land Transport cess internally but must transfer it to the DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport) once in three months for the upkeep of pedestrian paths, bicycle tracks and other…

There are nearly 750 TASMAC outlets in Chennai district. As the sale of liquor is entirely controlled by the state, these outlets are the only vendors of alcohol for everyone across the city. A sizable portion of revenue of the state government comes from the sales made by these outlets. Even during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the limited number of shops that were opened raked in revenues in crores each day. Despite protests in various parts of the city and across the state, the state government has not kept its promise of closing down many TASMAC outlets. With…

One UK returnee tests positive for new strain One of the returnees from the UK to Chennai has tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus. State Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan stated that the patient was quarantined soon after the arrival and isolated after the results of genomic analysis. The mutation, which is believed to have originated in thr UK, has higher transmissibility. As a measure of caution, non-essential flights to and from the UK have been banned until January 8th to contain the spread of the new strain. Source: The Hindu 15 grade separators to come up in…

Ambattur sees a flurry of activity in its neighbourhoods every day, as the suburb is still expanding. It was one of the zones to be brought under the Chennai Corporation as recently as in 2011. As part of the development of the suburb, several roads and streets are widened in the area from time to time.  If there is one major pain point despite all the efforts to ensure civic amenities, it is the location of electricity poles, distribution pillars and transformers across Ambattur. The placement of these utilities routinely defy a lot of rules and cause much inconvenience.  Electric…

2020 ஆம் ஆண்டு பெரும்பாலும் பலர் வீட்டினுள்ளே கடந்து விட்ட நிலையில், பொது இடங்களின் பயன்பாடு இந்த வருடம் அவ்வளவாக இல்லை என்றே கூறலாம். அரசும் கோவிட்-19 தொற்றை கட்டுப்படுத்துவதில் தன் முழு கவனத்தையும் செலுத்தியது. இதனிடையே, நிலைமை சற்றே சீராக தொடங்கியதும், சென்னை நகரில் பல திட்டங்கள் மீண்டும் உயிர் பெற்றன அல்லது கவனம் பெற்றன. இதில் குறிப்பிட்ட சிலவற்றை இங்கே தொகுத்துள்ளோம். அனைவருக்குமான மெகா தெருக்கள் அகலமான நடைபாதைகள், பிராகசமான தெரு விளக்குகள், சைக்கிளுக்கென தனி பாதை, நியமிக்கப்பட்ட பார்க்கிங் வசதி என நகரின் முக்கிய இடங்களில் 426 கி.மீ தூரம் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட தெருக்களை, ஸ்மார்ட் சிட்டி திட்டத்தின் கீழ் மெகா தெருக்கள் ஆக உருவாக்க சென்னை மாநகராட்சி முடிவு செய்தது. இந்த திட்டம் செயல் வடிவம் அடைய நீண்ட காலம் ஆகும் என்பதை கருத்தில் கொண்டு, அண்ணாநகர், வேளாச்சேரி, மைலாபூர், அடையாறு, நுங்கம்பாக்கம், தண்டையார்பேட்டை என தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்ட…

Back to school Schools reopened on Friday for Class 10 and II PU students after a gap of nearly 10 months. As many struggled to meet all the Standard Operating Procedures for sanitisation, they would be opening only on Monday. Basavaraj Gurikar, vice-president, All India Teachers’ Federation, was quoted as saying that the State government had not provided any funds for sanitisation. Ahead of the opening, the President of Karnataka State High School Association, H K Manjunath, was expecting only 70% attendance. This, he had said, was owing to the positive attitude of the parents whose children study in aided…

We have come to the end of probably the most tumultuous year in the collective history of our cities, a year that has changed almost everything as we knew it once. In healthcare, education and markets, in formal and informal spheres of work, in our festivities as well as the humdrum existence of regular life, COVID has left an impression that cannot be obliterated ever. Much as we want this pandemic to end, neither can we completely erase its impact, nor should we forget the lessons that this period holds for the future. As we look forward to new beginnings,…

User fee for garbage reversed The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) reversed its announcement of the levy of user fee for garbage collection. The fee was to come into effect from January 1, 2021. The move was reversed following opposition from many quarters in view of the pandemic. The civic body had stated that the residents would have to pay a user fee for garbage collection as mandated by the Solid Waste Management (2019) Act.  Charges for residential buildings having a built-up area of up to 500 sq. ft was Rs 10, from 501 to 1,200 sq. ft was Rs 25,…

COVID-19: New strain alert in India, states prepare After the news of the new COVID-19 strain spreading in the UK, the Government of India (GoI) has issued a new set of guidelines and protocol for tracing, testing and treating the patients infected with the virus. As per initial reports, however, several states are facing difficulty in tracing the UK returnees. Few travelers from the UK went missing and are untraceable in Uttar Pradesh. Some isolated incidents were also reported from Delhi. In the meantime, eleven UK returnees were reported positive in Goa. Positive cases were also found in Nagpur, Telangana,…

Infant seeks traffic-ban in Cubbon Park A five-month-old infant has petitioned the High Court seeking a ban on vehicular traffic in Cubbon Park. A division bench ordered notices to the state government and other respondents following the plea. Kian Medhi Kumar, represented by his father, M R Rakesh Prabal Kumar, cited a drastic reduction in air pollution during the lockdown, enforced between March 24 and May 20. The petition said that there was a reduction of suspended particulate matter and carbon monoxide level inside Cubbon Park during that period. The petition also cited a study by the Indian Instituteof Science's…