Hubli's IT dream

Hubli's IT dream
M L Kapur - TIMES NEWS NETWORK

17 Dec, 2006 0008hrs IST

HUBLI: The city's dream to be on the IT map of the country as Tier-II investment destination has turned sour. First, it was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) that declined the offer of land and now Quest has backed out.

Bangalore-based Quest, an engineering services IT company, has surrendered 25 acres of land recommended to it by the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation at Rayapur between the twin cities.

It waited for nearly five months for the government's approval, but when the delay started proving detrimental to the company's expansion plans, Quest withdrew its request last week.

Industry sources said Quest was planning to set up an IT-related engineering services design centre in Hubli with a potential to employ 800 engineers. HDMC had recommended the allotment of land in July, but the government nod did not materialise.

The HDMC had, in fact, recommended allotment of 25 acres of land each to TCS and Quest, but TCS declined the offer, saying its requirement was for at least 50 acres and that too in an IT-specific Special Economic Zone.

HDMC had subsequently recommended the same land for other small IT/ITeS players. Quest was also annoyed with the government's refusal to back its application for ITspecific SEZ approval for the HDMC land at Rayapur.

HDMC had adopted a resolution to set apart the said land for IT/ITeS companies at its council's meeting soon after the Hubli IT Investors' Meet held in May. Later, the proposed law university also staked claim for the same land.

Meanwhile, sources said Quest has since obtained an IT engineering products SEZ approval for its 300-acre site in Belgaum. The design centre proposed for Hubli is also likely to be shifted to its Belgaum SEZ. Thus, the hype and hoopla generated by the IT investors' meet has come to naught. What really went against Hubli was the government's ambivalence on the HDMC's recommendation for land allotment to IT/ITeS companies.

The government could not take a final decision even in five months as two local ministers were working at cross purposes. While district incharge minister Jagdish Shettar backed the IT/ITeS proposal, primary education minister wanted the land to be allotted to the proposed law university.

So Hubli's loss may actually be Belgaum's gain. But the only silver lining is that the neglected north Karnataka region will finally carve a niche for itself on the IT map of the state with the Quest SEZ expected to become operational in the near future.

Water supply will not be privatised: Commissioner

Water supply will not be privatised: Commissioner
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

Project to become functional by February end in Hubli
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# Water tariff to be arrived at after getting the opinion of the residents
# Eighty per cent of the work under the project has been completed, says Manivannan
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DHARWAD: P. Manivannan, Commissioner, Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, has categorically stated that there is no move to privatise water supply through the World Bank funded 24x7 drinking water supply pilot project being implemented in the twin cities.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday, the municipal commissioner clarified that the French company, which is executing the work of laying new pipelines for the project, had been hired only for sharing the technical expertise and would be only looking after the maintenance of the water supply system.

The existing pipeline is not strong enough to sustain the pressure required for supplying water round the clock. Therefore a new technology is being used for laying quality pipeline, and the foreign company is hired for the same work, he said.

The residents need not have to pay more for the water they get.

Based on the amount of water they use, they have to pay the tariff and there is no question of charging them more, he said. The water tariff would be arrived at only after getting the opinion of the residents. For the purpose a meeting would be convened on January 6, he added.

Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) are implementing the pilot project with the association of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

Slum dwellers and families falling under low-income group will continue to get free water supply through public taps. Ashraya houses will get free water supply, he explained.

Mr. Manivannan said already eighty per cent of the work under the project had been completed. The pilot project would become functional by the end of February in Hubli and by March 31 in Dharwad, he said.

However the commissioner admitted that there were lapses on part of the KUIDFC officials and Rural and Urban Development Association (RUDA) that has been entrusted with the work of educating the residents of the wards .

No fire safety measures in many high-rise buildings

No fire safety measures in many high-rise buildings
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

Parking space provided in the cellar has been utilised for shops in many buildings
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# Fire safety measures in theatres are of the required standards
# No steps taken by the authorities concerned despite being told
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HUBLI: More than 25 multi-storeyed buildings in the twin cities, including commercial and residential buildings, do not have fire safety measures, B.K. Hampagol, Chief Fire Officer, North Karnataka Region, has said.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, he said although this had been brought to the notice of the authorities concerned, no steps had been taken.

According to the norms issued by the Union Government, it is mandatory for high-rise buildings to install fire safety equipment and take up construction in such a way as to reduce casualty in case of fire mishap. However many of the high-rise buildings, including hospitals, do not have the facility, he said.

In most of these buildings the parking space provided in the cellar has been utilised for shops, which consequently has increased the risk, he said.

Based on the norms issued by the Union Government, the Hubli-Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) had issued an order making it mandatory for the developers, construction companies or owner of the high rise buildings to get No Objection Certificate from the Directorate of Fire Services, Bangalore, before applying for the Completion Certificate. It had also clarified that unless the high-rise buildings have NOC from the directorate regarding fire safety measures, it should not be issued Completion Certificate, he said.

The copies of the order issued about a year ago had been sent to the Town Planning Department of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation. However, there has been no action from the corporation, he said.

He said since the installing the fire safety system itself is going to be a costly affair, most of the owners of the high-rise buildings see it as an expenditure rather than a safety measure.

He said the fire safety measures in the theatres of the twin cities were of the required standards.

The statement of the Chief Fire Officers gains significance, as the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation has begun the process of initiating action against commercial buildings having no completion certificate.

Airport land acquisition may take 6-8 months

Airport land acquisition may take 6-8 months
M L Kapur - TIMES NEWS NETWORK

11 Dec, 2006 2310hrs IST

HUBLI: The process of acquiring 650 acres of additional land for expansion of the Hubli airport to an international facility will take at least six to eight months after a notification for the same is issued by the government.

Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) will be the agency for land acquisition. Work on upgrading the airport will start only after the land is handed over to Airports Authority of India (AAI) and hence, cannot be expected to be ready before January 2008.

During a preliminary survey of the area identified in the AAI master plan for the expansion project last week, district revenue officials found that a total of 155 houses will have to be demolished in colonies in the vicinity of the existing airport.

Deputy commissioner M S Shrikar, who recently held a meeting with owners of the affected houses, said there may be slight variation in the exact number of houses to be acquired after a detailed survey on the basis of the notification.

He said the owners were now reconciled to the fact that acquisition of their houses was unavoidable. Their main concerns were the compensation package offered to them and the time frame for the acquisition process.

Shrikar told them not to be influenced by middlemen promising them exclusion of their houses or giving any false hopes about higher compensation. He said it would be based on "just and fair evaluation of their properties,which would take six to eight months after the notification."

He said if they agreed to "consent award" with the KIADB, they can hope to get better compensation compared to the one under the Land Acquisition Act, and the time taken to complete the process will also be relatively less.

Another demand of the affected people was allotment of alternate sites. The deputy commissioner clarified that there was no such provision under the acquisition process.However, he promised to study what was done in case of Mangalore airport.

Nonetheless, Shrikar said he will make a note of their demand in his report to the government,which he hoped to submit soon to enable the government to take a final decision. At present, the airport can take only up to 50-seater aircraft.

Earlier, the government was pushing to upgrade it as national airport capable of taking Airbus A-320 aircraft. But, at a meeting held in Bangalore last month, it was felt that it will be a problem to acquire additional land if the government later wants to upgrade it as an international airport.