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.

Seven-day notice issued to commercial buildings

Seven-day notice issued to commercial buildings
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

They do not possess completion certificate and building permission
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# HDMC will evict the occupants and seal the buildings
# List of buildings announced in October and given ultimatum
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HUBLI: In continuance of its drive against commercial buildings of more than 2,000 square feet, in the twin cities, that don't possess completion certificate and are built without taking building permission, the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation has issued a seven-day notice to the owners that it would not allow such buildings to be occupied.

The notice/order issued by HDMC Commissioner P. Manivannan, which was released to the media on Thursday said, "all the persons connected with those buildings in any manner, which are constructed without obtaining building permission as required by section 300 of KMC Act and in violation of approved building plan and occupied either partially or fully, without the completion certificate issued by the HDMC under section 310 of the Act, are hereby informed that the said buildings are in violation of the KMC Act and hence the HDMC has to take such action of not permitting occupation of the said buildings".

The Commissioner has appealed to the owners of such buildings to approach the concerned officers of the Corporation by making a written statement of objections, within seven days of the publication of the notification, i.e. before December 16.

He has warned that if the owners of such buildings fail to file objections within seven days, the HDMC will evict the occupants and seal the buildings.

It may be recalled that the HDMC had announced a list of commercial buildings above 2,000 square feet without a completion certificate and building permission in October and given four-week ultimatum to the owners to take requisite steps.

Number of buildings

M.S. Srikar, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad and administrator for HDMC, had on the occasion, informed that there were 407 commercial buildings (of 2,000 square feet and above).

Of these 241 had been constructed after getting building permission, but were occupied without obtaining completion certificate. And 166 buildings had neither the building permission nor the completion certificate.

`No need to panic over water tariff'

`No need to panic over water tariff'
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

Corporation will take the final decision
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# French company entrusted with duty of maintaining pipeline
# There is no move to privatise water supply, says project director
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HUBLI: I.M. Prabhakar, deputy project director, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, has appealed to the residents of the twin cities not to panic over increase in water tariff in areas where the drinking water project is being implemented.

Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Prabhakar said that ultimately the urban local body and not the French company Companie Generale Desaux, would fix the water tariff under the project. The French company has been entrusted with the work of laying the pipeline. He said the French company will only be looking after the maintenance of the pipeline and will have no role to play even in bill collection.

The water supply project is being implemented in Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga as a pilot project. There is no move to privatise water supply, he said. Although the funding for the project is by World Bank, the urban local body has to fix the water tariff, he added.

Mr. Prabhakar said a committee of the Commissioners of the urban local bodies, where the project is being implemented, had been formed. The Commissioner of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation will be the chairman for the committee. It will take the final decision on fixing the water tariff.

In fact the committee will comprise of representatives of the residents, who would be the beneficiaries of the project. They too would be part of the process, he said.

Regarding the opposition of residents in Dharwad towards the project, he said apart from apprehensions among the general public regarding the water tariff, those from the economically weaker sections of the society have fear that they would be deprived of the facility of getting water from public taps.

There are few others who have been getting water supply for years through illegal water supply connections, which will not be possible under the project. Along with them are few vested interests. All these have led to the further confusion among the public, he said.

Mr. Prabhakar said that since the non-governmental agency Rural and Urban Development Association, hired to educate the people has failed to discharge its responsibility properly a notice had been issued to it.

He said steps were being taken to clarify the doubts among the general public.

Residents oppose irrigation project

Residents oppose irrigation project
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

They want the project to be scrapped
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# Lack of proper information cited as the main reason
# Authorities have started taking corrective measures
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HUBLI: The pilot water supply project being implemented in Hubli-Dharwad has run into trouble following opposition from a section of residents in Dharwad.

Although those opposing the project have raised several issues, the main reason for the opposition seems to be inadequate information supplied to the people on the project.

Consequently the two recent consultation meetings, which the Hubli-Dharawad Municipal Corporation had organised with regard to the project concluded in confusion.

Although the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) has appointed a non-governmental organisation for the purpose of creating awareness about the organisation, it seems the things have not been put before the residents in a proper manner.

Lack of proper information, apprehensions about hike in water tariff, non-availability of water to the economically weaker sections of the society under the project and privatisation of water supply are some of the issues faced.

Some residents want the project to be scrapped. Even the ward committee set up for educating people seemed to have made little impact on the residents of those wards in Dharwad, which have been selected for the project.

Corrective measures

After two meetings with residents of Dharwad authorities concerned have started taking corrective measures.

When contacted I.M. Prabhakar, deputy project director, regional office of KUIDFC, informed that corrective measures were being taken to clear the misconceptions among residents. He also informed that Rural and Urban Development Association of Dharwad, which has been employed for creating awareness about the project had not worked according to the guidelines issued to it and had deviated from the area of focus, which it had to concentrate while educating the people.

However Mr. Shellikeri, advisor to KUIDFC on the project, maintained that the NGO had done good work and justified their way of functioning. Meanwhile the deputy project director has issued notice to the NGO expressing displeasure over its nature of functioning stating that Corporation would be forced to discontinue their services, if it failed to mend its ways.

The Commissioner, Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation is likely to convene another meeting of the residents of those wards in Dharwad that would be covered under the project, to clear their apprehensions.