Thursday, December 28, 2023

writingonblog uncensored: Kilambakkam bus terminus likely to open on Dec 30;...

writingonblog uncensored: Kilambakkam bus terminus likely to open on Dec 30;...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: The Rs 393.74 crore Kilambakkam Bus terminus for south bound buses, which is likely to be inaugurated on December 3...

Kilambakkam bus terminus likely to open on Dec 30; Private omni buses favoured at the cost of SETC buses; Completion Certificate not issued


C Shivakumar @ Chennai:

The Rs 393.74 crore Kilambakkam Bus terminus for south bound buses, which is likely to be inaugurated on December 30, would accomodate omni buses at the cost of State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses. The reason being the private bus stand for Omni buses in Varadarajapuram is yet to be completed.

According to a SETC official, a total of 102 buses, which cater to the all section of passengers may not find the parking space as the government is favouring the omni bus owners. SETC has already raised the issue by wiriting a letter to Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority member secretary Anshul Mishra but he has yet to take a decision.

At present SETC is operating 358 services from CMBT to various places of the state via National Highway 46. Out of these services, 202 vehicles are south bound. and being operated beyond Madurai. However, CMDA has allotted only 100 parking bays. Now the big question is where will 102 buses will be accomodated, rued an official.

This is not the lone issue. he bus terminus is already facing legal scrutiny as Madras High Court is hearing a case filed by social activist Vaishnavi Jayakumar that the bus terminus is not in compliance with the Harmonized Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India, 2021. This means that the bus terminus is not disabled friendly. Already the first hearing was held and the Court has adjourbed the hearing to January 24, 2024.

"Our only request for completion before inauguration - a common level boarding platform for high floor buses has been ignored. The other non-transport related retrofits can happen with a fixed timeline, but the BRT style boarding platform can only happen before operations commence. Instead inauguration is being advanced to happen during Madras High Court's vacation and before the scheduled hearing on January 24," said Vaishnavi.

"This could have all been completed if CMDA had just acted as soon as the access visit report was submitted in September. Three months have been wasted for no good reason. As far back as July 2021, CMDA Member secretary was met by the December 3 Movement team, and the Kilambakkam superintendent engineer assured it would be 'disabled friendly.' Leaving aside Harmonised Guidelines compliance, Tamil Nadu's own Combined Building and Development Rules have been flouted in the section for transport terminals!" says Vaishnavi

"The Madras High Court was clear that the access audit report should be shared for the sector's final feedback. Yet CMDA is delaying sharing the report on flimsy grounds. An empanelled agency's access audit report is public information and should be shared freely and openly. These delays are hostile tactics being deployed by Government against citizens whose rights to freedom of movement are being trampled upon." said Vaishnavi Jayakumar.

It is learnt that the haste with which the bus terminus is being opened also puts to question the connectivity to the new bus terminus. The new bus terminus lacks Chennai Metro connectivity as well as suburban rail connectivity and would be accessible only through MTC buses. SETC has suggested that both TNSTC and SETC utilise the Kilambakkam bus terminus as an additional bus stand to terminate some services. Once Kilambakkam is well connected through Chennai Metro and the suburban train network, then more buses from Koyambedu can be shifted. The other major issue is whether the bus terminus has got completion certificate. It is not clear as the website of CMDA has no mention about it

Thursday, November 9, 2023

writingonblog uncensored: PMG reviews delays over Rs 900 crore IOC terminal

writingonblog uncensored: PMG reviews delays over Rs 900 crore IOC terminal: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: The delay over Rs 900 crore Indian Oil Corporation Corporation terminal at Vallur along with four other pending proj...

PMG reviews delays over Rs 900 crore IOC terminal


C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
The delay over Rs 900 crore Indian Oil Corporation Corporation terminal at Vallur along with four other pending projects of the state has been reviewed by Project Monitoring Group (PMG) chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary.

PMG is an institutional mechanism that is tasked with facilitating issue resolution in projects that are facing delays or awaiting regulatory clearances with state and Central Ministries.

If a company faces any bottlenecks in obtaining approvals from the Central or State Governments, it can upload the project and the issues accompanying it onto the PMG portal after creating an account and login credentials. After verification, PMG will take up the issues with the concerned authorities and facilitate expedited resolution.

The Grassroot terminal was to be constructed in Vallur by resitement of terminals at Korukkupet and Tondiarpet as these terminals were in congested areas. Initially the project was expected to be completed within 36 months from the date of administrative approval. However, the project is facing hurdles in change of land use for 13.134 acres by Housing department and approval of imported earth required for filling under the project.

The petroleum terminal is being constructed in an area of 100 acres near Kamarajar Port, which would supply petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel by road to Chennai and the adjoining districts and through pipeline to Trichy, Salem, Madurai and Asanur. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
purchased in 2000, a total of 102 acres of land at Vallur near Ennore based on single valid offer against a public tender. The land had been changed in the revenue records in the name of the Company to the extent of 71.73 acre only.

The construction of terminal at Vallur thus, could not be initiated over land issue and IOC tried to enter into out of court settlement with landowners in the year 2020.  However, now the work is going on and is on the advanced stage. Though the work was to be completed in 2023, it is likely that dedaline could be shifted to next year. Sources said that IOC is awaiting the clearance from Housing department over the change of land use for 13.134 acres so that work could be started in that piece of land..

Aong other pending projects reviewed include Rs 200 croreTindivanam- Nagari (180 km) Broad Guage line, The delay is over acquisition of 127.84 hectares of private land 106 hectares of government land in Ranipet, Villupuram, Tiruvanamalai and Thiruvallur. The other is Maniyachi - Nagercoil (102 Km) doubling project , which is of high strategic importance as it will cater to high demand of passenger traffic on this route as well as anticipated freight traffic due to large scale ports development in southern coastal Tamil Nadu.

The issue pertains to land acquisition of government and private projects. The other projects include delay in implementation of Cuddalore-Salem(191km) and MM of Chinnasalem-Kallakurichi New Line and the 86-km Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari project which is delayed over acquisition of land.

A modern gymnasium project for people living in Athipattu tenements after 10 years


C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
The project affected people living in 2012 tenements built by Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board for more than 10 years will now have access to a modern gymnasium soon after the Housing and Urban Development Board gave its concurrence to a proposal on Monday.

This comes following the budget speech by the Finance minister this year in which it was promised to develop sports cum recreation centres st Kannagi Nagar, Prumbakkam, Navalur and Athipattu.

The state made the announcement to improve the quality of living in the resettlement habitations constructed by Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. These include sports cum recreation centres which will contain sports facilities, modern gymnasium, multi-perpose community hall to conduct vocational training and a library.

It is learnt that he managing director of TNUHDB hss sent a detailed proposal worth Rs 20 lakh based on the Public Works department schedule of Rates 2023-24. TNUHDB has constructed 2012 tenements at athipattu under rajiv Awas Yojana and Housing for all and alloted to the project affected families of Integrated Cooum River Eco Restoration Project, Adyar River Restoration Project, and to the urban slum or poor families. The scheme has been developed as a Integrated township with public distribution shop, community hall, convenient shops and parks.

The project will be implemented from the funds available with Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority as part of overall development of Chennai metropolitan Area. as TNUHDB does not have resources to execute the project and its capital programmes are implemented out of government grants.

The required equipment will be arranged through non governmental organisations, Greater Chennai Corporation and the Constituency Development funds.

writingonblog uncensored: TN looking at alternatives to ACs to cut down on p...

writingonblog uncensored: TN looking at alternatives to ACs to cut down on p...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: The rising power consumption during the summer and the sudden rise in temperature is forcing the state  to look at...

TN looking at alternatives to ACs to cut down on power consumption


C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
The rising power consumption during the summer and the sudden rise in temperature is forcing the state  to look at alternative solutions like district cooling, a centralised source which could provide cooling to entire building through pipelines.

State Planning Commission is preparing a feasibility report on district cooling in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme.  It is learnt that a road map for district cooling solutions in the state is being prepared along with the Industries department and Department of Environment and Energy.

This could mean that flats and homes in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, which has electricity meter and water meter, could soon have cooling meters where in the tariffs will have a fixed demand charge.

The working principle of a district cooling system is a centralized chilling plant which produces chilled water. The chilled water is transferred to various buildings or facilities through an underground network of insulated pipes. A control system regulates the temperature of the chilled water produced by the chilling plant and monitors the flow rate of the water through the distribution network.

By adopting a district cooling system, multiple buildings or facilities can share the cost of a centralized chilling plant, resulting in significant energy and cost savings, says Sudheer Perla,  Country Head, Tabreed India, on the integration of district cooling in Chennai’s climate action plan.

Interestingly, Tabreed has been a long term partner with UNEP for the last eight years in India, is vying to partner with the state in offering district cooling services. "The initial investment is high for setting up the district cooling system, which includes the underground pipeline network similar to city gas distribution," says Perla. The focus currently is to use the technology for the industrial parks, which Sipcot is setting up, he adds.

Though the penetration of air conditioners in India is around 9%, it is expected to grow to 30% in next 10 years. Currently, Chennai, one of India's largest and most populous cities, consumes almost 13,000 GW per hour of electricity, which is 14 per cent of the total power generated and purchased by Tangedco. The growth in air conditioners would put enormous stress on the energy requirements and technology like District Cooling offers nearly 40 to 50% savings for the air conditioning load, says Perla.

Perla says that the masterplans of the cities should now include district cooling to cut down on power consumption as cooling  is also linked to human health and productivity.