Road minister calls for faster land acquisition
May 17, 2013
Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi said there is a need to streamline the land acquisition process in order to fast-track road projects by NHAI and state agencies. The Minister said this while reviewing the status of land acquisition for National Highways Development Project and also other road construction programmes.
Source-http://constructionsphere.com
Labour shortage for India Inc projects
May 17, 2013
For many Indian chief executive officers (CEOs) planning to start new units, the only problems aren’t land acquisition, environment clearances and fund raising. Getting labour at plant sites is fast becoming extremely difficult, as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)
is creating a labour shortage, they say. Take the Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement, planning to spend Rs 12,000 crore in expanding its capacity. “We are facing an acute shortage of labour, which is impacting our expansion,” says Adesh Gupta, chief financial officer of Grasim, the holding company of UltraTech. “As we go forward, we have decided to use a lot of machines in our plants to replace labour.”
NREGS, launched by the central government in 2005, offers 100 days of guaranteed work in a year to each rural household. The scheme is a hit among unskilled workers, as they needn’t migrate to other areas in search of work. Apart from NREGS, the other government welfare schemes have also resulted in more rural incomes, encouraging labour to stay at home.(HOW THE GOVT SPENDS IN RURAL INDIA)
“There is a growing shortage of labour,” said Rahul Mehta, who has 30-odd years of experience in the apparel business and is president of the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India, with nearly 2,000 manufacturer members and 15,000 members which are retailers. “The surplus labour situation that India was known for is fast-changing with schemes such as NREGS. Also, our outdated labour laws result in problems in employing contract labour.”
This shortage comes at a time when corporate India plans to restart work on new projects and expansion, after a prolonged slowdown. Many big companies – Reliance Industries, Steel Authority of India and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation – plan to spend hundreds of crores to expand capacity. With interest rates cooling, oil prices falling and European and American markets recovering, many companies feel this is the right time to start work on raising capacity to prepare for the upturn expected in the second half of the current financial year. However, say analysts, with labour shortages getting worse, many which plan new units, such as Maruti or Honda, will expedite schemes to mechanise their plants on the lines of US and European companies.
Apart from NREGS, the Union and state governments are running several programmes in rural India to address critical issues on education, health and sanitation. Apart from NREGS, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and spending on the National Rural Health Mission add to rural incomes, as they expand jobs for teachers and support services. A little more than half of welfare spending is on education and of this, about a fifth is on teacher salaries. In 2011-12, about 4.2 million teachers were hired by the government to support its programmes. Spending by state and central governments on education have risen quite sharply after FY06. Despite a minor slowdown in FY12, government spending now totals Rs 2.7 lakh crore, almost six times the expenditure on job generation programmes.
“All these programmes have resulted in labour staying at home (villages) and not working in harsh working conditions,” says a CEO of an infrastructure company. While total spending on other programmes like rural electrification is not as large as on welfare schemes, its impact on productivity has been dramatic. Analysts believe this, combined with the jump in telecom penetration, is the prime reason for the jump in rural wages in recent years. And, this expenditure is to pick up in coming years. “All this is good news for the country but for Indian companies, this (labour) is an unexpected problem in hand and the only way forward is to spend heavily on machines to replace them,” says a CEO.
Source- http://constructionsphere.com
Six Laning of expressway to be over in two years
May 17, 2013
Written by Parvati Sharma
The journey between Ahmedabad and Vadodara is all set to become more comfortable as the project of six laning of the highway joining the two cities is expected to be over in the next two years. The work on the Rs 3,300 crore project has already
started and the financial closure is expected to be over soon. Sources said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is expediting the project as once completed, this will result in the entire Ahmedabad-Mumbai stretch being six-lane. “In fact, the four-lane expressway and the six-lane highway will be a bonanza for the travelers between the two cities. The people will have ten lanes connection at their disposal,” said an official. The project is to be executed under design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis in BOT (Toll) mode of delivery. “The road is expected to give an annual income of Rs 300 crores just from the toll,” said a source.
Another ambitious NHAI project nearing completion is the road connecting Ahmedabad with Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The work on Gujarat end is almost over and that on the other side is also being executed swiftly. “Once over, the journey from Ahmedabad to Indore will not take more than seven hours,” the source said. The source further said that the four laning of the road between Jetpur in Rajkot and Somnath in Junagadh is also nearing completion. This would mean that the entire stretch between Ahmedabad and Somnath would be four-lane. “There is a small issue pertaining to land acquisition on Junagadh by-pass which will be resolved soon,” the source added.
Cleaner stations soon, thanks to high ridership
May 17, 2013
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi : Increasing ridership has prompted the Delhi Metro to go for improved maintenance and housekeeping at its stations. On Sunday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced that it would be introducing new equipment for cleaning its entire network of stations. The official added that hi-tech machines and formal training would be provided to housekeeping staff of Delhi Metro to ensure that tidiness on the premises matches international standards.
WORLD-CLASS: A shot of Udyog Bhawan Metro station
Delhi Metro has a reputation for being one of the few public spaces in the city that is kept clean despite a substantial ridership of over 21 lakh commuters every day. Commuters can now expect even better, as new machines and special training for staff is being planned. The Delhi Metro spokesman said that DMRC would introduce new equipment for cleaning its premises, and supervisors and cleaning teams deputed at stations and maintenance depots will receive training by the British Institute of Cleaning Sciences at Gurgaon (National Capital Region). “In order to maintain world class cleanliness standards at Metro stations and surroundings, we have decided to re-work its cleaning and housekeeping practices by using advanced and hi-tech machines and we are conducting specialized training programme for our staff,” the spokesman said.
Electrically-operated
scrubber drier, backpack vacuum cleaners, disposal of waste in bio-degradable garbage disposal bags in a hygienic manner, and the use of eco-friendly cleaning chemicals and reagents are all part of the new cleaning regimen. Currently, Metro deploys around 3,500 housekeeping personnel at its 137 stations, working three shifts of eight hours each.
“On an average, 20-25 persons are deployed per station to keep the stations clean. The overall cleaning and housekeeping activities cost around Rs 5 crore per month,” the Delhi Metro official added.
Source-http://epaper.timesofindia.com
Police moot plan to de-congest Kashmere Gate
May 16, 2013
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times New Delhi
The problem of congestion on the Ring Road between Hanuman Setu and Kashmere Gate ISBT may soon become a thing of the past.
The Delhi Traffic Police have come up with a comprehensive plan to decongest the stretch near the inter-state bus terminus and sent it to the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (planning and engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) for approval.
The plan proposes certain changes in road geometry on both the carriageways on the stretch that will help decongest the bottlenecks.
The bottlenecks are created due to narrowing down of the carriageway between Hanuman Setu and ISBT, angle of the tail of the Shahadra flyover loop, the location of entry point of ISBT and the location of the subway outside the gate of Nigambodh Ghat.
The width of the carriageway on Hanuman Setu — 22 meters gets reduced to 14 meters — after you get down from the flyover. Besides, the curvature of the tail of Shahadra flyover loop, that causes merger of traffic on the main road, also affects movement of traffic near ISBT.
The location of entry gate of ISBT also creates a bottleneck. The traffic police have proposed straightening of the central verge on the carriageway leading from Salimgarh Fort to ISBT by-pass and shifting the location of the right arm of the subway towards Nigam Bodh Ghat.
He said shifting the tail of the Shadadra flyover loop towards the ISBT complex and relocation of entry point of ISBT on Boulevard Road would improve traffic situation.
Source-http://www.hindustantimes.com
Should tollway have “website of shame” for scofflaws?
May 15, 2013
(Lawmakers are considering setting up a “website of shame” to post the names of people who owe more than $1,000 in fines to the Illinois Tollway.)
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House Friday rejected by one vote a plan to set up a “website of shame” to display the names of scofflaws owing more than $1,000 in tollway fines.
After the vote, state Rep. Kathleen Willis, an Addison Democrat, said she had intended to vote for it but accidentally didn’t.
Its sponsor, state Rep. Lou Lang, could try again as early as next week.
The proposal would require the Illinois Tollway to contact people who owed fines nine different times before posting their names on the website.The point, Lang said, is to try to collect the millions of dollars in delinquent tolls owed by drivers.
“This is just an additional tool to embarrass people,” the Skokie Democrat said.
Some Republicans showed concern some drivers might be unfairly named, for instance if others using their cars and racking up fines or a scofflaw was in the process of trying to pay the debt.
“I would not want to see the wrong people posted on the web,” said state Rep. Mike Fortner, a West Chicago Republican.
State Rep. Ron Sandack, a Downers Grove Republican, called Lang’s plan a “website of shame” and voted against it. The plan has already been approved by the Illinois Senate, so the House’s approval would send it to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk.
It’s not an entirely new idea in Illinois. The state has a website, www.deadbeatsillinois.com, that displays the names and photos of some people who are behind on child support payments.
Source-http://www.dailyherald.com
Govt tells auto drivers to install GPS, again
May 15, 2013
HT Correspondent,
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
A fortnight after increasing autorickshaw and taxi fares by 25%, the Delhi government on Tuesday asked auto-rickshaw drivers to install global positioning system (GPS) devices in their vehicles at the earliest.
Delhi transport minister Ramakant Goswami said that the officials of his department have been asked to take strict action against the autorickshaw drivers who fleece commuters.
The minister also directed them to ensure installation of GPS devices in all autorickshaws so that their movements can be tracked.
Installation of GPS devices was made mandatory when the government had revised autorickshaw fare in June 2010.
HSRP plates
The transport department has also made it mandatory for the vendor, which was given contract for installation of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP), to intimate vehicle owners about the date of installation of secured plates in writing by putting a stamp on the fee receipt.
The decision came as the transport department had received lot of complaints about inordinate delay in delivery of HSRP to the vehicle owners.
Source-http://www.hindustantimes.com
PPP projects still out of hawk vision
May 14, 2013
By SPS Pannu in New Delhi
THE government has been dragging its feet over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s ( CAG) proposal to bring public- private partnerships ( PPPs) under the ambit of the DPC Act, which gives the top auditor unfettered access to audit the finances of such projects.
According to sources, the proposal was first moved by CAG Vinod Rai in 2009.But despite repeated reminders, the finance ministry has not taken action.
Rai, who hangs up his boots on May 22 after an eventful career, will not have the satisfaction of realising one of his key objectives. According to sources, the embarrassment that the United Progressive Alliance government had to face after the CAG’s audit teams blew the lid off mega scams in the telecom sector, the allocation of coal blocks and the Commonwealth Games may be responsible for the go- slow attitude on the issue.
Sources disclose that for the record, the government has maintained that the states are also being consulted on the issue and response is still awaited from some of them.
The government had itself referred the privatisation of the Delhi Airport under the PPP mode to the CAG, which discovered that private operator GMR had managed to get hold a huge tract of prime land in the Capital for commercial use with an insignificant investment. CAG’s report had also exposed that GMR had not being paying the Airports Authority of India the full share of revenue that it had committed itself in the contract.
Similarly, the audit of the eastern offshore KG Basin gas fields operated by Reliance Industries Ltd had revealed major irregularities in contracts given out by the private company. This had inflated the cost of development of the gas fields and adversely impacted the government’s share of the revenue.
A senior officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service said, “ This ground experience clearly shows that there is a need to audit PPP projects in order to ensure transparency in the running these ventures.” Interestingly, the Prime Minister while addressing the Accountants General Conference as far back as 2008 had himself stated, “ Public private partnership projects are becoming increasingly common in key infrastructure sectors of transport, power, urban infrastructure, tourism and Railways. Audit needs new skills to evaluate these complex arrangements.” A senior official said that in order to meet this objective, a new set of guidelines for audit of PPP projects which at once reflects the best practices world over and yet is rooted in our experience of auditing government operations over the years has already been drawn up by the CAG. “ However, the government needs to amend the DPC Act so that PPP projects are formally brought under its ambit,” he added.
Rai had in his note to the government stated that PPPs, while bringing in private capital and experience, also involve transfer of valuable public assets as well as foregoing future revenue in the form of concessions. To ensure that such arrangements always enjoy high credibility in the public eye, due diligence, transparency, objectivity and probity of the entire decision making process are all paramount if these arrangements are to succeed and continue for future projects.
The rationale of the exercise is that the role of public auditors becomes critical in assessing whether such arrangements are truly in public interest and are also fair and balanced in sharing of risks as well as rewards.
PROPOSAL ON THE BACKBURNER
CAG Vinod Rai had proposed to bring PPP projects under the ambit of the DPC Act in 2009
The Act gives the top auditor unfettered access to audit the finances of such schemes
The government needs to amend the DPC Act so that PPP projects are formally brought under its ambit
Rai had said PPPs bring in private capital and experience but also involve transfer of valuable public assets as well as foregoing future revenue as concessions
The rationale of the exercise is that the role of public auditors becomes critical in assessing whether such arrangements are truly in public interest
Source-http://epaper.mailtoday.in
Corporators lash out against parking mafia
May 14, 2013
Hindustan Times (Delhi)
HT Correspondent/ ht [email protected]
NORTH DELHI- Matter comes up in house meeting on Monday; members say parking mafia running amok at Gandhi Maidan and Parade Ground parking lots
Parking in north Delhi came under the corporation’s scanner on Monday as both the House and Opposition members lashed out against allegations of parking mafia overcharging commuters.
HT FILE PHOTO
Corporators raised the issue with Mayor Azad Singh in the House meeting on Monday, saying the parking mafia is running amok at various sites such as Gandhi Maidan and Parade Ground parking lots.
“When the monthly parking rate is R600, they are charging R800. This is how they are looting residents of north Delhi. When the corporation has not changed the parking fee, how can contractors overcharge,” leader of the Opposition in north corporation, Mukesh Goel, said.
When contacted, Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said the contractor at Parade Ground parking has been charging R30 per entry as against R10 approved by the civic body.
“From Friday, the lot is charging R30 for surface parking. If anyone raises their voice, they are threatened and ordered not to park at the lot. They are also issuing parking slips of MCD with Jama Masjid printed as site of parking and not Parade Ground,” Bhargava said.
Municipal commissioner PK Gupta said showcause notices will be sent to parking contractors against whom the complaints have been filed. “Firsttime offenders will have to pay 25 per cent of their licence fee as fine, which will become 50 per cent the second time, 75 per cent the third time and 100 per cent the fourth time. If a contractor is found overcharging the fifth time, his licence will be cancelled,” Gupta said.
Leader of the House Mahinder Nagpal said these unscrupulous individuals needed to be dealt with stern action.
“We didn’t raise the parking charges thinking about the people. However, some people are doing exactly that. I had called three days back and asked the officials about this after a complaint came to me. The parking mafia won’t be tolerated,” Nagpal said.
Metro stations: New frisking booths for women
May 14, 2013
14th May,2013. Hindustan Times (Delhi)
Faizan Haider
NEW DELHI: Amid complaints of privacy by women commuters in Delhi Metro, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has finalised new frisking booths, which will be placed at Metro stations across the National Capital Region (NCR). CISF, which is responsible for the security of Metro stations, has suggested structural changes in the existing frisking booths to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). DMRC will be procuring these booths after the tendering process.
RAJESH KUMAR/HT PHOTO
We have been receiving complaints from women passengers for quite some time. One of the issues they had was people watching them when they were getting frisked. At many stations, there are temporary frisking booths and we have asked the DMRC to replace them,” said a senior CISF official, requesting anonymity.
“At a few stations there is not much space but we are working it out. Now every Metro station will have a booth of similar design unlike the current plan where they have separate booths for separate stations,” he added. Another issue, which was also raised by women commuters, was about their baggage getting stolen while they were being frisked. This too has been addressed.
The booths will have a gap at a place from where women can see their bags getting scanned. “Once the booths are installed, we will change the location of the baggage scanner. The space will be at the eye level and either at the right or left side wall of the booth. We hope women passengers will not have any other issues once the new booths are installed,” the CISF official added.
According to CISF, 50 per cent of Metro stations have this problem where frisking and screening of women passengers and their baggage are done at separate points. Over 20 lakh commuters travel by the Delhi Metro every day and 40 per cent of them are women..
Featured Insights
- Gurugram: Hero Honda chowk to not choke anymore as Delhi-Jaipur flyover set to open soon
- Future of extensive Smart City projects uncertain
- Financiers express interest for Mumbai-Nagpur super expressway
- Indian start-ups to double by 2020: Nasscom
- SBI inks pact with IIT-Kharagpur for fintech innovation
- Supreme Court refuses to stay Allahabad HC order of making DND fly-way toll-free
- An analysis by CRISIL on the pace of road construction
- Mumbai University gives way for better connectivity at BKC
- Debit card scare: A lesson for banks and their customers
- What is a Smart City ?
The ITW Team
 Sachin Bhatia Chief Editor |
Leisure
E-Z Pass Only
Improved Car Seat Belt 40% Less Accidents
NHAI's First ETC(Electronic Toll Collection) PLAZA
- ETC based on Microwave Technology(CEN 278) implemented at Delhi - Gurgaon Super Connectivity
Technology by: -Kapsch Metro JV.
News Categories
- NHAI (184)
- Highway (63)
- BOT (71)
- Projects (61)
- Default (204)
- Road (43)
- About (175)
- Infrastructure (26)
- Tolling (5)
- Investment and Finance (102)
- Expressway (40)
- Construction (15)
- Smart City (87)
- NHDP (33)
- ITS (21)
- Delhi (32)
- Safety (14)
- Toll Plaza (12)
- Toll Management System (2)
- Metro Rail (42)