Toll collection on Mumbai-Pune e-way extended for over 4 years
September 22, 2014
Toll collection on the 95-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway will continue for 4 years, 3 months and 22 days beyond the original concession period, which ends in August 2019, with the state agency in charge having given a new contract to IRB Infrastructure for additional construction and toll collection.
IRB Infrastructure is the incumbent toll collection agency for the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The company had purchased toll collection rights with an upfront payment of Rs 918 crore in 2004 and has a 15-year concession period valid till August 8, 2019.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has now given a new contract to the company for additional works to expand capacity on the old Mumbai-Pune highway, and in return collect toll on the expressway on paying Rs 1,000 crore in installments to the corporation.
Six companies had bid for this contract. However, the MSRDC decided to pick IRB Infrastructure as the most preferred bidder as the company had quoted the lowest concession period of 8 years 8 months and 2 days, including the construction period. The concession period will commence on March 31, 2015.
“The construction works and payment of upfront premium installments to MSRDC have to be completed as prescribed in the bid till August 10, 2019. The toll collection for the project will commence from August 10, 2019, resulting into an effective tolling period of 4 years 3 months and 22 days,” IRB Infrastructure said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company stated that the estimated project cost is approximately Rs 1,687 crore, including Rs 1,000 crore as upfront premium payable to MSRDC in four annual installments starting from March 31, 2015.
The capacity addition works on the old Mumbai-Pune highway consist of road widening from two to four lanes near Dehu Road, maintaining 12 km of service roads, constructing three three-lane flyovers, a rail over-bridge, and the widening of existing 8-lane toll booths to 12 lanes.
– Source:indianexpress
Sistema JSFC plans to develop Narendra Modi’s Smart City project
September 20, 2014
Sistema JSFC, the Russian oil to telecom conglomerate with $34 billion of annual revenue, plans to approach the Indian government with a proposal to develop smart cities on the lines of projects it has implemented back at home.
Sistema’s global leadership team will shortly make presentations to the Prime Minister’s Office and urban development ministry on the smart cities it has developed in Moscow and other Russian cities such as Rostov, Ufa, Kazan, Smolensk and Novosibirsk, a top company official told ET.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to discuss the topic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visits New Delhi in December for the Indo-Russian summit, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The Russian government owns 17.3 per cent of Sistema’s Indian arm, telecom operator Sistema Shyam Teleservices, which is likely to be involved in the plans.
Source:Economic Times
Super cyber intelligence body soon, announces IT Minister
September 15, 2014
It will analyse Internet traffic data, real-time threat assessment
India will soon get an overarching body for cyber intelligence and security, IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Saturday.
The concept note for the Rs. 800-crore project has been sent to various Ministries for inputs. “Once we receive their comments, we will make a note for the Cabinet’s consideration,” Mr. Prasad said.
A year in the works, the National Cyber Security and Coordination Centre (NCSC) will analyse Internet traffic data scanned and integrated from various gateway routers at a centralised location. It will facilitate real-time assessment of cyber-security threats and generate actionable reports for various agencies.
As a multi-agency body under the Department of Electronics and IT, the NCSC will include the National Security Council Secretariat, the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), the three armed forces and the Department of Telecommunications.
It is expected to subsume the work done by CERT-In as well as issue alerts in the event of a cyber-attack.
Digital IndiaMr. Prasad also mentioned a “game-changer” move to connect 2.5 lakh panchayats to the national optic fibre network over the next three years at a cost of Rs. 21,100 crore. As many as 50,000 panchayats will be linked this year, he said.
Mr. Prasad said the Union government had set up a dedicated cell to process 2.5 lakh “concrete proposals” received under the “MyGov” initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in late July. The initiative aims to enable citizen contribution in governance and invites opinions and views on important issues.
Source:The Hindu
New Motor Vehicles Act: BJP on feedback collection drive
September 15, 2014
Around 1.38 lakh people are killed in road accidents every year, the total social cost of which is estimated atRs.100,000 crore. Several provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, especially those pertaining to penalties for violations, have not been found to be effective in checking road accidents. The last time the Act was amended was in 2001.
The amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act seeks to address critical gaps in traffic violation and stricter rules in the next session of Parliament.
In order to get a feedback from the public on the rules suggested for including in the Act, the city unit of BJP and members of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) conducted a public programme at R.K. Beach on Sunday morning.
Several morning walkers filled up the opinion form to give their views on the proposed amendments.
Some of these amendments include eligibility of licence of two-wheelers based on cc of vehicle and age of person. For instance, license to drive a 120 cc to 180 cc vehicle can be given only after the age of 22 years. All licences should have a bar coded magnetic strip and if anyone violates the road rules more than five times, his driving licence should be suspended for six months and if he continues to violate after that, then the driving licence should be cancelled.
“So far we have gathered over 200 feedback forms. This will be a ward-level activity and the exercise will conclude on September 17 on the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The city unit will compile all the suggestions and send it to the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on that day,” said Dr. Suresh Somayajula, a member of BJYM.
The Union Transport Minister had stated that the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill is being prepared in sync with practises in six advanced nations — – the US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany and Britain and will be introduced in the next session of Parliament.
This is a ward-level activity and the exercise will conclude on September 17
Source:The Hindu
States seek financial help to develop Smart Cities
September 15, 2014
Unanimously welcoming the Smart City initiative of the Centre, states have demanded technical help to prepare project reports and higher financial assistance to execute the scheme.
Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu today reviewed the suggestions and views from states and Union Territories expressed at the national conclave held yesterday and directed officials to examine the suggestions in detail.
He has also asked the concerned officials to prepare a proposal for discussion at an inter-ministerial meeting where Ministers of Finance and Defence, Highways and Surface Transport, Railways, Power, Environment and Forests are likely to attend.
Reiterating the importance of smart leadership in developing smart cities, Naidu said he would write to all the Chief Ministers on the need for proper decision making to enhance revenues of urban local bodies and improving urban governance.
States have made ten broad suggestions for developing Smart Cities including seeking flexibility in implementation, capacity building, higher central assistance in view of the resource constraints of urban local bodies and expeditious clearances by the Centre, said a senior Urban Development official.
Higher level of Viability Gap Funding with respect to solid waste management and water supply projects, capital expenditure to be borne by central government since private operators can only manage the operations and maintenance with utility charges and Special Purpose Vehicles to be created for executing the projects are some of the suggestions made by states at the conclave.
Some states referred to the difficulties associated with adoption of Public-Private Partnership model with respect to some urban projects in view of the complexities involved and levying of user charges.
Source:Economic Times
Arunachal Pradesh seeks three smart cities in the state
September 15, 2014
ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh has requested the Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu to set up three smart cities in the state.
The request was made by the state Urban Development Minister Pema Khandu at the National Conference of All Ministers and Secretaries of Urban Development at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi yesterday.
Stating that the density of population in the state was lowest in the country with just 17 persons per sq km, Pema appealed to the union minister not to deprive the state from the scheme merely on the ground of low population, a press release said here.
The union minister took note of the matter raised by Pema and assured him to take it up with the Prime Minister at the earliest, the release said.
The conference was convened by the Union Urban Development Ministry to discuss in detail the draft concept note of establishment of 100 smart cities in the country.
Intelligent driving solutions feature in new Motor Bill
September 15, 2014
NEW DELHI: Intelligent speed adaptation, driver alert control and eye drowsiness detectors are some of the features proposed in new Motor Bill that seeks to prevent at least 2 lakh road accident deaths in next five years through hefty penalties and jail-terms.
The Narendra Modi government has unveiled an ambitious ‘vision’ for reducing road fatalities by 20 per cent annually as part of the draft Road Transport & Safety Bill 2014, concerned over an alarming 1.38 lakh road accident deaths, the highest in the globe.
Motor Vehicles regulation provides for “technologies such as intelligent speed adaptation, driver alert control, eye drowsiness detectors, distance closure rate detection and green box monitoring,” as per the draft unveiled yesterday.
Driver drowsiness detection is a car safety device which prevents accidents when the driver is getting drowsy.
The Bill is aimed at bringing down fatalities in road accidents by two lakh in the first five years in a scenario where India reports around 5 lakh road accidents annually.
The Bill provides for simplified single-window automated driving licence systems including unified biometric systems to avoid licence duplication.
Among various measures to ensure road safety, the draft provides for wearing of belt by driver and passenger.
“A person is guilty of an offence if such person does not wear a seat belt, as a driver or passenger, when driving or riding in a motor vehicle on a road,” it said.
Also, the draft makes it mandatory for bus and other passengers to wear seat belts.
In case of children below 8 years it says, “except as provided by regulations, a parent or guardian of the child, or in the absence of such parent or guardian, the driver of the motor vehicle must not without reasonable excuse allow a child below the age of eight years to occupy the front seat of a motor vehicle when the vehicle is in motion.”
The Bill provides for up to Rs 5,000 penalty for violation of provisions related to wearing seat belts while in case of head gears it is Rs 2,500.
Seeking to come down heavily on traffic offenders, it proposes penalty of up to Rs 3 lakh along with a minimum 7-year imprisonment for death of a child in certain circumstances, besides huge fines for driving violations.
It also proposes a fine of Rs 5 lakh per vehicle as well as imprisonment for faulty manufacturing design, besides cancellation of licences for rash and negligent driving.
The Bill, unveiled by Road Transport and Highways Ministry for seeking suggestion from stakeholders, proposes penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh or imprisonment for six months which may extend to one year or both in case of using vehicle in unsafe conditions
First offence for drunk driving will attract “Rs 25,000 fine, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or with both, and a six-month license suspension.”
“Second offence within three years will result in Rs 50,000 penalty or imprisonment for up to one year or both and a one year licence suspension.
“Any subsequent offence shall result in the cancellation of the licence, and impounding of the vehicle which may extend for 30 days,” draft Road Transport & Safety Bill 2014 said.
If school bus drivers are caught driving drunk, Rs 50,000 fine will be imposed with imprisonment for three years while “immediate cancellation” of licence will take place in case of drivers in the age-group of 18 to 25 years involved in such incidences.
Causing death of a child in certain circumstances will result in “Rs 3 lakh fine, and imprisonment for a term not less than 7 years” while violating traffic signal three times will result in Rs 15,000 fine, licence cancellation for a month and a compulsory refresher training, it said.
It also provides for graded point system for imposing fines.
The ministry has sought comments from public and stakeholders on the Bill and will thereafter finalise it for presentation to Parliament and passage during the ensuing winter session.
Commenting on the Bill, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said: “Providing safe, efficient, cost effective and faster transport across the country is our mission…Our new Bill gives emphasis on E-governance to bring in transparency in the transport sector. Our new ‘golden hour’ policy will provide immediate relief to accident victims and will help save lakhs of lives.
The Golden Hour policy provides for treatment to road accident victims within one hour.
Other features include unified vehicle registration system, single National Road Transport & Multinational Coordination Authority and Goods Transport and National Freight Policy.
It encompasses provisions for safety of vehicles, including implementation of safety equipment of motor vehicles.
The Bill has been drafted in sync with the best practises of six advanced nations – US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany and the UK.
It aims to ensure electronic detection and centralised offences information to identify repeat-offenders.
The Bill proposes constitution of Highway Traffic Regulation and Protection Force constituted and maintained by the state governments, for the purpose of effective policing and enforcement of traffic regulations on highways.
The Bill proposes a Motor Accident Fund for the purpose of providing compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the territory of India.
Several provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, especially those related to penalties for violations, have not been found to be effective in checking road accidents. The Act was last amended in 2001.
Source:The Economic Times
Two of the Smart cities for country’s capital
September 12, 2014
Delhi could get two of the smart cities — a brand new one in the city’s outskirts to be developed by the Delhi Development Authority and a second in New Delhi Municipal Council area.
This has been proposed in the first blueprint of Modi government’s ambitious project to develop 100 smart cities across India. Drafted by the urban development (UD) ministry, the concept note proposes to include 44 cities with a population between 1 to 4 million under the scheme.
As first reported by HT on August 27, the UD ministry’s concept note has estimated an annual investment of Rs. 35,000 crore for developing the 100 smart cities.
However, the note stops short of elaborating on how the funds would be generated. The note, which was put online for public discussion, has knocked off parts from an earlier draft which proposed a host of measures for raising funds from the public.
It says that a large part of the financing for smart cities will have to come from private sector and mentions broadly mentions imposing of user charges for utilities and a betterment levy for “enhancing the resource pool” without specifying how much fund would be generated from these measures.
Some of the basic criteria proposed for selecting cities includes cities which have an approved Master Plan, which can commit to provide free right of way for laying optic fibre networks among others.
The note says that a smart city would have facilities ranging from uninterrupted power and water supply, online delivery of all public services, and an effective public transport system among others.
Source:Hindustan Times
5 key elements of PM Narendra Modi’s 100 smart cities
September 11, 2014
PM Narendra ModiThe Centre has prepared a blueprint to define the key elements of the 100 smart cities it plans to establish across the nation. The cities were one of the main promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year
Govt sets ball rolling for smart city project in Ujjain
September 10, 2014
The Union government will soon start the process for construction of a ‘smart city’ near Ujjain which will be developed under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) plans to invite bids for developing trunk infrastructure for the smart city at Vikram Udyogpuri near Ujjain by October, an industry department official told HT.
The DMICDC will invite international competitive bidding for developing trunk infrastructure including water supply, sewerage treatment and roadways among others. The government will provide funds for the trunk infrastructure through DMIC Trust.
The state government has proposed to develop 444 hectare land for residential, commercial, public and semi-public buildings besides educational institutes and industrial training institutes (ITIs). “The first phase project cost has been estimated at Rs. 808.60 crore and it will be completed by 2019,” the official said.
The Vikram Udyogpuri township will consist of automotive and auto components, IT and engineering services industries and educational institutions.
In January this year, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the development of trunk infrastructure for Vikram Udyogpuri which falls in Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow investment region of the DMIC project. According to official estimates, the industrial township at Vikram Udyogpuri is expected to attract private sector investments of around Rs. 13,000 crore.
A special purpose vehicle has already been floated for the project, which will invite private developers to develop, operate and maintain real estate projects and commercial development on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis and operation and maintenance of selected trunk infrastructure. The SPV comprises the subsidiaries of the Madhya Pradesh government and DMIC Trust.
A smart city must have three of the five infrastructure requirements – energy management, water management, transport and traffic, safety and security and solid waste management. At the same time, it must have three of the five application domains – healthcare, education, inclusion, participative governance and community services.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will lend funds for the project.
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