CPM yet to pay rent for using Martyrs' Square: Kerala Road Fund Board

Jisha Surya
January 31, 2014

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the high court on Tuesday disposed of a petition against the CPM's 212-day strike at Martyrs' Square citing that the strike was not illegal, and that the party paid the deposit of Rs 10,000 and rent of Rs 5,000 per day as per norms, the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB), which maintains Martyrs' Square, has come out saying that the party has not paid the board a single paisa.

The petition filed by Indian Lawyers Congress leader Shihabudeen Kariyath had sought the removal of temporary sheds that the party had erected for the strike.

The KRFB, which has developed and is maintaining the Martyrs' Square, has fixed a deposit of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 per day to rent out the place. KRFB officials said that the CPM has not paid any money for using the space for strike that ended on the 212th day on Tuesday.

The CPM owes Rs 10,70,000 to KRFB. However, in a recent meeting between KRFB officials and CPM leaders, the party requested the board to waive the rent amount. "Our next executive committee will discuss this issue," said a KRFB official.

Eight years on, roads under Crip get ready for touch-up

Jisha Surya
January 30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nearly eight years after roads in the city were developed under the City Roads Improvement Project (Crip), it has been decided to give them a facelift. The Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Limited (TRDCL), concessionaire of Crip, has decided to carry out maintenance of the 14.256 km of road developed during the first phase of Crip in 2006.

TRDCL will submit a request in this regard to the Kerala Road Fund Board within a week. The works are expected to begin by the end of February. According to TRDCL, a technical team of IL&FS (the parent company of TRDCL) conducted a test on roads in the city last week and identified stretches which need maintenance.

"The team reported that most of the roads are in good condition. They wanted maintenance in areas that had been dug for utility works of the water authority and KSEB. Though we have done patch work at these areas, it has to be rectified so potholes won't develop soon. Besides, some portions have become smooth due to wear and tear. In such areas, there is a possibility of skidding. So we have decided to do micro-surfacing along the entire stretch," said TRDCL vice-president Anil Kumar Pandala.

In micro-surfacing, a mix of bitumen, additive and stone dust will be coated at a thickness of 2-6 mm over the road. The coat will be painted using an imported truck-mounted machine. The entire 14.256 km and some stretches in the 15 km developed during the second phase will be micro-surfaced.

"Utility works have led to the deterioration of some portions of roads developed in the second phase, which had been completed in 2009. Such areas will be repaired and will be micro-surfaced," he said.

The portions which need repair will be scraped off at a thickness of 4 cm. Semi-dense bituminous concrete and asphalt mix will be used to form a 4-5 cm thick layer over which another layer of micro-surfacing coating will be applied.

Pandala said the advantages of micro-surfacing are that it will not create a level difference on the road, will provide enough grip, prevent seepage and ensure life of at least five years.

TRDCL is planning to bring the requisite machinery from Gujarat, where it is currently being used for another work. "It is expected to take about 10 days to bring the machinery here. Meanwhile, we have to obtain the consent of KRFB. We expect to begin work by February 20-25," Pandala said.

TRDCL has estimated the cost of the work to be Rs 5-6 crore. Traffic will not be heavily affected as it plans to do the work mostly during night.

Pettah ROB, a tale of inordinate delays

Jisha Surya, January 29

Thiruvananthapuram: The commissioning of Pettah-Anayara rail overbridge (ROB) will lead to discussions on the inordinate delay in the widening of Pettah ROB, which was part of the city roads improvement project. While railway and Roads and Bridges Development Corporation Kerala Limited (RBDCK) took around two years to complete the 407 metre-long Pettah-Anayara ROB, Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) is yet to do preliminary works for the widening of Pettah ROB, a major traffic bottleneck along the airport-MLA hostel stretch.

The joint project of railway and RBDCK, the Rs 16-crore ROB is expected to ease traffic to Palayam, Chackai, medical college areas. The stretch above the railway lines was constructed by railway and the remaining stretch by RBDCK. The portion above the railway line has a 1.5-metre footpath on either side with steps for pedestrians. A railway spokesperson said the total project cost was shared equally by RBDCK and railway. Chief minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the Pettah-Anayara ROB at 10.30 am on Friday.

For the past several years, KRFB and railway had discussed the design of Pettah ROB. Several modifications were suggested by the railway and a revised design has been submitted by KRFB. However, railway is yet to approve to the revised design. Moreover, several preliminary works are yet to be done on the site.

KRFB general manager K Sudharshanan Pillai said around 12 cents of land has to be acquired for the widening works at Pettah. “We have got administrative sanction to acquire land. Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) is responsible for that. Also we have to shift a Kerala Water Authority (KWA) pipeline from the site before starting the work. KWA said that they are unable to shift the pipeline since it involves the removal of the entire pipeline till Chackai. We are discussing this matter now,” he said.

Dist purchase panel to have no role in land acquisition

Jisha Surya, January 24

Thiruvananthapuram: The district-level purchase committee (DLPC) meeting, convened by the district collector in October last year, to fix the price of land required for the widening of Mukkola-Karode national highway stretch has turned out to be a farce. A high-level meeting, convened by chief secretary E K Bharat Bhushan, on Wednesday decided to continue the land acquisition process by following the guidelines set by the National Highway (NH) Act, where a special deputy collector can determine the fair value of property. If land owners have any complaints, they can approach the district collector, who is the arbitrator.

Though an official decision is yet to be announced, the chief secretary told TOI that DLPC or state-level empowered committee (SLEC) will have no role in land acquisition proceedings. The chief secretary is the chairman of SLEC. “I am not in a position to say whether DLPC is valid or not. I am not even aware whether a DLPC met or not. Everything will be done as per the National Highway Act. If people are not satisfied with the fair value, they can approach collector,” he said.

Meanwhile, district collector K N Satheesh and special deputy collector J Jayachandran refused to admit that the decision on land acquisition was made at the meeting. Satheesh had even denied that a meeting was held to discuss the issue.

Land owners in the area are a dejected lot after they received a letter from the special deputy collector on Friday stating that the decision of DLPC will be forwarded to SLEC. “we received a letter dated January 17 that stated that the final decision will be taken by the SLEC. We feel entire process has been sabotaged,” said president of NH Bypass action council V Sudhakaran.

But, a senior official of NHAI was surprised by the turn of events. “After gazette notification is issued for land acquisition as per NH Act, the deputy collector can fix the fair value by considering a recent land registration in the area as base value. However, most people show lesser rate during registration so that they do not have to pay a huge amount as stamp duty. But they will demand higher amount as the fair value,” he said, adding that the process would be smooth if a DLPC can help people negotiate a fair value.

In October, DLPC had fixed the value of prime land in Kottukal, Kanjiramkulam, Thirupuram areas at Rs 5.25 lakh/cent. However, it couldn’t fix the value for Kottukal and Karode since the meeting was called off after people took out a protest demanding a hike in the value of property.

KWA’s bottled water project to take off soon

Jisha Surya, January 29

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala water authority (KWA) has initiated steps to set up a bottling plant at Aruvikkara for production of bottled drinking water. Though KWA is yet to get administrative sanction from the state government, it is going ahead with the approval of KWA board.

The project, the foundation stone for which was laid in 2010, was almost shelved when the state government gave a go-ahead to Kerala irrigation infrastructure development corporation Ltd. (KIIDC) to set up a bottled water plant near Malankara dam in Thodupuzha. However, the KWA project got a fresh lease of life when the government announced that both KWA and KIIDC will be given charge to set up bottled water plants in five locations in the state, including Thiruvananthapuram.

KWA MD Ashok Kumar Singh said that the revised estimate of the project is Rs 10 crore. He said there is no major change in the project conceptualised in 2010. As per the initial project, the plant will have a capacity of 7,500 litres per hour. The plant will use reverse osmosis technology with UV and ozone sterilization to produce quality packaged drinking water.

KWA superintending engineer Krishna Kumar said that the tender will be opened on February 2. “No decision has been made on marketing and pricing. First we will set up plant at KWA’s land in Aruvikkara. Further details will be decided later,” he said.

Meanwhile, the responsibility of marketing has been taken away from the contractor. In a government order issued recently, water resources department has said that bottling water plants will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode soon and eventually in all municipalities. The GO said that the project aims to end the monopoly of private packaged drinking water plants. The bottled water produced by KWA and KIIDC will be available in reasonable price.

KSTP eyes third bidder to take up MC Road project

Jisha Surya

Thiruvananthapuram: The widening works of the Chengannur-Ettumanoor stretch of the MC Road would be further delayed with the second highest bidder, Essar-Sacyr, failing to submit the deposit amount within the January 20 deadline.

Earlier, the World Bank, which funds the project, had cited qualification shortfall to veto the PWD’s decision to award the contract to Chennai-based NAPC.

The Chengannur-Ettumanoor road widening has been included in the second phase of the Kerala State Transport Project (STPC) was to begin in December 2013.

A senior KSTP official, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the tender awarded to Essar was cancelled after the failed to pay deposit amount of Rs 24 crore. The KSTP extended its first deadline to January 20 after Essar sought more time to pay the amount, which would come to around 10% of the total project cost of Rs 242.65 crore.

“We are now planning to submit a proposal to World Bank, requesting it to consider the third highest bidder, Sreedhanya Constructions,” the official said.

However, the World Bank has been favouring awarding more time to Essar to remit the amount. Moreover, awarding the contract to the third bidder would lead to a loss of around Rs 28 crore.

Earlier, the World Bank had criticized KSTP’s process of selecting contractors for the widening of Chengannoor-Ettumanoor-Muvattupuzha. It expressed dissatisfaction after PWD selected NAPC for both Chengannoor-Ettumanoor and the Rs 166.75 crore Ettumanoor-Muvattupuzha roads.

The bank had then cited qualification shortfall to oppose NAPC. After several rounds of discussions, PWD accepted the World Bank’s directive and awarded contract for Chenganoor-Ettumanoor to Essar and Ettumanoor-Muvattupuzha road to NAPC.

The widening of the two stretches on MC Road would ensure a smooth ride from the state capital to Muvattupuzha.

Essar had also won one another road widening work in KSTP phase II. It has been working on widening the Thalassery-Valavupara road.

Revised bid for road improvement project gets good response

Jisha Surya
January 20, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly two years after formation of Road Infrastructure Company Kerala Limited (Rick), a special purpose vehicle to implement the state roads improvement project (SRIP), which envisages improvement of 1,204 km roads in the state is showing signs of revival. Following a poor response to its tender inviting concessionaire for rehabilitation package of SRIP, the Rick revised some of its clauses. Now, as many as seven companies have expressed interest in the rehabilitation project, which involves improvement of 551 km roads.

The rehabilitation package involves development of the existing roads without any land acquisition. Twenty-eight roads in north, central and southern regions are included in the rehabilitation package.

When rick floated first tender, only public sector firm Kerala State Construction Corporation expressed interest in the project. Following the poor response, PWD took responses from private firms and decided to call a new tender.

Meeting of board of directors held in January 6 decided to lower the net worth criteria from 25% to 20% of the total project cost. It also divided the project to various packages. In the second tender, the project was split into six packages.

“After revising the clauses, we got good response for the tender. As many as seven companies expressed interest in the project. The companies will be subjected to scrutiny. We have to work out the schedule of rates. Then the company which quote the highest rate will be selected,” said Rick M D T Baburaj.

Rick also has an upgradation package which involves upgradation of 653 km roads. The upgradation package will require land acquisition and is expected to cost Rs 3,792 crore, including Rs 1,000 crore for land acquisition. While state will bear with land acquisition expenses, Rick has to find Rs 2,792 crore from external funding agencies. The rehabilitation package will cost Rs 890 crore.

Survey bats for better public transport system

Jisha Surya
January 19, 2014

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Only three per cent of road users are fully satisfied with their driving experience on the existing roads in the state. This was revealed in the road user perception survey conducted ahead of the launch of Kerala State Transport Project (second phase).

A vast majority of people opined that they are ready to use public transport if KSRTC buses and services were extended and upgraded.

According to the survey conducted by Sherwood Technocrats and Consultant Private Limited as part of the project, 98% pedestrians, 97% two-wheelers, 96% passengers and 98% drivers, including vehicle owners, are ready to switch to KSRTC buses if they offer better service.

Only four per cent of male drivers and two per cent of female drivers have expressed full satisfaction in driving through the roads. Sixty-five per cent urban drivers and 50% rural drivers are not satisfied with their driving experience on existing roads.

The Word Bank-funded Rs 2,403-crore KSTP II includes upgradation of 363 km of roads to international standards. The survey was conducted among 4,300 users of these roads, of which 50% were pedestrians, 25% two-wheeler riders and rest other vehicle users.

Only six per cent male and three per cent female passengers termed their travelling experience as 'pleasant'. While 36% of urban passengers expressed satisfaction while travelling, 60% urban passengers termed it as unpleasant.

Police have something to cheer about in the survey report. Sixty per cent urban population and 55% rural population opined that there was immediate response from police at the time of accidents.

On the cause of accidents, 93% two-wheeler riders blamed it mostly on overtaking, while 98% pedestrians held speeding responsible for mishaps. Also, 87% blamed it on rash driving, while 95% laid the blame on drunken driving.

Majority (66%) of walkers said they are not happy with existing pedestrian facilities on roads. Pedestrians demanded clean and quality footpath, proper lighting, crossing facilities, signals and road marking to ensure their safety.

Cyber freedom initiatives keep memories of Aaron Swartz alive

Jisha Surya / TNN
January 13, 2014


Thiruvananthapuram: While Anonymous hacked a website belonging to MIT to mark the death anniversary of internet activist Aaron Swartz, cyber activists in the state remembered him by organizing Hacknight in support of cyber freedom which the young technologist championed for during his lifetime.

Twenty-six-year-old Swartz had killed himself on January 11 last year while fighting charges by US government that he had hacked an online archive of academic papers. He had allegedly logged into MIT’s network to gain access to the JSTOR database.

Mozilla Kerala and Swatantra Malayalam Computing (SMC) celebrated his life and mourned his death by organizing Hacknight, which witnessed active participation by over 60 developers of various web projects from 8.30pm on Saturday to Sunday morning. It also saw creation of a petition platform wepeople.in.

“We created a petition platform wepeople.in drawing inspiration from Swartz’s similar initiative Demand Progress. The existing petition platforms in the country are corporate-funded where privacy is compromised. Also, as they accept all kinds of petitions, the purpose of campaign is often diluted. This will be a people-powered campaign platform,” said Anivar Aravind of SMC.

Demand Progress, founded by Swartz, is known for its campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The developers also translated Swartz’s open access manifesto into Malayalam, which is nearing completion.

Technogeeks – a Facebook community of technology enthusiasts – too organized an online candlelight vigil, where over 230 people lit the virtual candle. The campaign, which began on Saturday, is continuing with more and more people joining it in support of cyber freedom.

“Each candle will remain lit for 48 hours, though its gets smaller as time passes. Now over 230 people have lit the candles,” said Deepu S Nath, a member of Technogeeks.

One of the major works of Swartz was liberating the public-funded Library of Congress catalogue to make a major bibliography repository on internet.

The cyber activists used Saturday night for creating user interface for Grandham.org, a Malayalam bibliography database. SMC member Harikesh K B introduced the projects in the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel of SMC, where all cyber activists joined by 8.30pm.

Privatization of water supply dropped

Jisha Surya
January 10,2014

Thiruvananthapuram: Unable to overcome public opposition, the state government has finally decided to drop the proposal to set up a CIAL-model Kerala Drinking Water Supply Company.

Putting an end to the speculations against privatizing drinking water supply and limiting the role of Kerala Water Authority (KWA), the water resources department has cancelled the government order (GO) issued last year to set up the company.

Confirming the decision, water resources minister P J Joseph said the proposal was dropped keeping in view the public demand. “Water supply projects will remain in public sector. The privatization move has been dropped because of the public opposition,” he said.

Kerala had witnessed huge protests, especially from the opposition, when the state government gave administrative sanction to set up a water supply company in December 2012. When the protests escalated, the government revised the order in March last year to clarify that there was no move to privatize drinking water supply. The order clarified that the company would supply tanker water to colonies and commercial establishments and would distribute packaged drinking water at reasonable rates. However, even the revised order could not soften the protests.

The GO dated December 31, 2013, states that the government feels that there are objections and apprehensions about the company from different quarters and there have been requests to cancel the GO granting permission to set up CIAL-model company.

P J Joseph, however, said the KWA and Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (KIIDCO) can proceed to set up bottled water plants. The GO directing the KWA and KIIDCO to set up bottled drinking water projects in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode has also been issued. The bottled water projects will come up in these five places in the first phase, while the water resources department is planning to introduce similar projects in every municipality eventually.

“This is absolutely necessary to ensure that safe bottled drinking water is available to the general public at reasonable rate, especially in a scenario wherein multinational companies control a significant part of the market share despite charging prices much above the cost of production,” the order stated.

The major allegation was against the clause which enables individuals to own 51% share of the proposed water supply company. The state government and the KWA could hold 26% and 23% stake in the new company respectively. Though the government clarified that KWA would enhance its role in supplying piped drinking water, speculations were rife that the proposed company would minimize the role of KWA.

Jica project limping, officials eye completion by Dec

Jisha Surya

Thiruvananthapuram: The pipe laying works of Japan International Corporation Agency(Jica)-assisted water supply project, which has crossed the March-2013 deadline, is progressing at a snail pace. Only a small portion of the work was completed last year. Though non-availability of workers and poor planning has affected the progress of work, Jica officials are hopeful of completing the project by this year end.

Jica had to lay 400km pipeline in the city as part of the project. After completing around 265km, the contractor who won the bid dropped the project citing various hurdles. After the project got revived again in 2012, only less than 15% of the remaining work was completed, officials said.

Jica usually finds it difficult to get sanction for road cutting and only the period from November to April are considered favourable for pipe laying works. However, the work is lagging even during this period.

“The main projects to lay fresh pipelines are all over. Work to replace old pipelines is pending. We are progressing with pipeline works in various places. Pipe has been laid on Kumarapuram-Kannammoola stretch. We have to clean the pipeline before commissioning. Similar pipe laying works are progressing at Attukal and Vazhutacaud,” he said.

Laying of pipeline in from Kesavadasapuram-Ulloor stretch and Powerhouse Road-SP Fort-Airport are some major works remaining. “Since work of Thakarapparambu flyover is progressing, we can begin the works only after its completion. Also, it requires some land acquisition,” a Jica official said.

Jica officials said that some major works such as laying of distribution pipe in areas such as Vattiyoorkavu, Kudappanakkunnu and Paudikonam has been completed.

The fund from Jica will be available only till March 2015. “Our major projects have been completed. So there won’t be any dearth of fund. In pipe laying, major funds are for purchasing of pipes and land acquisition. Such works are almost over. So, there won’t be any crisis after March, 2015. Also, we expect the project to be completed by December,” the official added.

Appellate tribunal yet to materialise

Jisha Surya
January 9, 2014


Thiruvananthapuram: The Food Safety officials, who collected samples for statutory sampling during food safety raids, are in a Catch 22 situation. They have no clear idea on dealing with cases which are not grievous in nature. While the officials can move court for serious offenses such as adulteration that are injurious to health, minor offenses such as sale of substandard products or misbranding require adjudication. However, the government is yet to notify appointment of adjudicating officers. It has also failed to set up Food Safety Appellate Tribunal to hear appeal against the ruling of adjudicating officer.

Though government has designated charge of adjudicating officer to 21 RDOs in the state, it is yet to notify the decision. The department has conducted a preliminary training for the officials. “Even if the adjudicating officers are notified, absence of Appellate Tribunal is an injustice. Under FSSA act, vendors can be fined for Rs 1 lakh for offenses such as sale of substandard products or misbranding. Settling cases without giving a chance for appeal will be fair,” said an official.

Several cases of minor offenses are pending with various Food Safety departments and officials are waiting for the notification of adjudicating officers.

An Assembly panel study led by Majeri MLA M Ummer last year has stressed the need for setting up an appellate tribunal, special court and public prosecutor to deal with food safety cases. Ummer told TOI that he was planning to apply for a discussion in the Assembly on the report. “There has been a lot of progress in the department after we submitted the report. Food Safety officials were appointed in all constituencies. The department is waiting for central assistance to begin works to upgrade labs,” he said

Ill-equipped analytical labs hamper detection & testing

Jisha Surya
January 9, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram: When the office of the commissioner of food safety was formed in 2011 to implement Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, the prevention of food adulteration wing and government analytical labs under director of health service were handed over to the department. More than two years after its formation, the department lacks facilities to ensure food safety as ill-equipped government analytical laboratories hamper detection and sample testing. None of the three government analytical labs under the department has National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories’ accreditation.

The department has government analytical laboratories in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. It has a district food testing lab in Pathanamthitta. Food safety joint commissioner K Anil Kumar said that department is in the process of upgrading labs to secure NABL accreditation. “We are getting funds in various stages and upgradation is a time consuming process. Almost all government laboratories in the country are in the process of upgrading themselves to get accreditation,” he said.

While Anil Kumar denied sending samples to private laboratories for analysis, a food safety official, on condition of anonymity, said that government analytical labs are ill equipped to identify a number of new adulterations. “For detailed analysis of adulteration in items such as milk and fish, the department had approached private accredited labs,” he said. The department has notified five accredited private laboratories in Kochi for analytical purposes.

Anil Kumar said the absence of accredited labs will not do any harm as vendors can approach private labs for analysis. “As per Food Safety and Standards Act, four samples of a product will be taken for analysis. Of these, one will be sent to analytical lab and rest will be kept with the food safety officer. If the vendor wants, he can demand the sample to be sent to a private accredited laboratory,” Kumar said.

Officials of analytical labs, on condition of anonymity, said that more than shortage of latest equipment, manpower shortages affected them severely. “The results of foods samples collected for statutory sampling has to be made available in 14 days. However due to the staff shortage, we are not in a position to deliver results in 40 days,” an official said, adding that food safety department has to collect products for statutory sampling periodically, but it happens rarely due to staff shortage. The department is yet to publish the results of statutory sampling it conducted before Onam.

The official also said that they are waiting for central assistance so that they can upgrade equipment. “We are unable to identify certain heavy metals and pesticides, let alone its permissible level,” an official said.

Water authority seeks Rs 100cr financial aid from state govt

Jisha Surya
January 8

ThiruvananthapuramReeling under financial crisis, the Kerala water authority (KWA) has sought a monetary aid of Rs 100 crore from the state government.

In a letter to the additional chief secretary of water resources department, KWA managing director Ashok Kumar Singh sought Rs 50 crore for giving pension arrears and another Rs 50 crore to be paid to contractors who undertook KWA 's maintenance works.

The water authority has to pay Rs 64 crore to various contractors. "As the payment is pending, contractors are showing reluctance to take up new works. This will gravely affect the water supply projects in the coming days," the letter said.

KWA had received Rs 198.65 crore as non-plan grant in the financial year 2013-14. However, around Rs 40 crore had to be paid to the KSEB towards pending electricity charges. After meeting other expenses, the water authority now has only Rs 20.24 crore remaining for the next four months.

While the revenue generated by the KWA from water tariff is Rs 23.50 crore, monthly electricity charges comes upto Rs 20 crore. It requires Rs 37 crore to pay salaries, pensions and to run office. Maintenance costs for various water supply projects, instalments of loans etc also comes to a considerable amount due to which it is forced to use a major portion of the non-plan grant for running the department. Pension arrear is another major concern. Rs 50 crore is pending since 2009.

The KWA's proposal for a 100 % hike in water tariff was recently shelved by the state government. Earlier in June last year, it had submitted a proposal to allot Rs 75 crore as financial assistance. However, the government has not allotted the fund.

Meanwhile, the KWA pensioner's organization has decided to stage a dharna in front of the Jalabhavan on Thursday, demanding immediate disbursal of pension arrears pending since 2009. Former water resources minister N K Premachandran will inaugurate the protest.

Water authority’s proposal for tariff hike deferred

Jisha Surya
January 7, 2014


Thiruvananthapuram: It is not certain if it is the Arvind Kejriwal effect or the upcoming Lok Sabha polls that has prompted the state government to shelve a proposal from Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for tariff hike.

The additional chief secretary (water resources department) has informed KWA that the proposal to revise the tariff has been deferred.

The KWA board had, in July, decided to discuss the proposal. However, it had to drop the plan following the intervention of water resources minister P J Joseph. Later, in October, KWA submitted the proposal with the support of the minister. However, now the state government has made a volte-face and deferred the proposal.

Though Joseph confirmed that the proposal has been deferred, he refused to divulge the reason.

“The proposal has been postponed for the time being. Nothing has been finalized regarding the sanctioning of further fund for the public utility,” he said.

When asked whether the policies of the AAP government in Delhi had anything to do with the decision, the minister said the decision was taken much before the Delhi polls.

Meanwhile, KWA managing director Ashok Kumar Singh said that the financial condition of KWA was better than that of KSRTC and KSEB.

“No project has been affected so far. We are paying salaries on time. However, we cannot continue like this for long. The government must either increase the tariff or allocate fund,” he said.

KWA earns Rs 23.50 crore as water tariff every month, while the expenses to run its office is Rs 37 crore. It has to earmark additional Rs 20 crore per month for paying electricity charges. Currently, KWA is not in a position even to pay its monthly electricity charges.

KWA had proposed 100% tariff hike. As per the proposal, a domestic consumer whose consumption level is between 0-5 kilo litre, who currently pays Rs 4 per kilolitre, will have to pay Rs 8 per kilo litre. The minimum charge for non-domestic category will be Rs 500 per month. KWA had last revised the tariff in 2008, which was after a gap of 10 years.

Opponents pooh-pooh UID frenzy

Jisha Surya
January 5, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram: Governor Nikhil Kumar’s speech before the Kerala Assembly on Friday, in which he informed that 98% of the population has taken Aadhaar card, has sparked a protest. It has snowballed into ‘#ibelongtothe2percent’ campaign across social networking sites where people are engaged in heated discussion on Aadhaar, which was not properly discussed in the Parliament.

Many of them believe that Aadhaar will violate a citizen’s right to privacy and will allow corporates to access to personal information. They also believe that the ‘98%’ figure quoted by the governor was highly overrated. V K Adarsh, a banker and supporter of #ibelongtothe2percent movement said Aadhaar was not mandatory and making it compulsory for LPG subsidy is a violation of citizen rights. “First, let them pass it in Parliament and make it foolproof. Several cases of data leak have already been reported,” he said.

He also added that Aadhaar will violate the privacy of citizens, a right that is ensured in a free democracy. “With Aadhaar, government will act as a watchdog. For example, with the introduction of CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited), your entire credit history can be accessed. Similarly, Aadhaar will become a primary access point for different information regarding a person. For example, a health insurance company can access your vital information such as health history,” he said.

Journalist Sebin Jacob Abraham, another follower of #ibelongtothe2percent, said Aadhaar is an initiative launched for corporates by corporates. “First they linked Aadhaar to Census so that people would participate. Then it was linked to LPG subsidy. State is making a blanket threat to pressurize people and forcing them to take Aadhaar,” he said, adding that data like biometric IDs can be tampered with and later used as vital evidences against citizens.

IT consultant Anivar Aravind admitted that he has no plans to take Aadhaar but refused to belong to the 2% as he believes the ‘98%’figure was overrated. “I don’t think that only 2% are left. Moreover, there are cases of duplication,” he said, adding that a number of cases are pending against Aadhaar in various courts in the country.

“The project was launched without conducting a feasibility study. No proper project was launched to check its accuracy. Data collection progressed only in Kerala because we have better internet connectivity. That will not be the story in other parts of the country,” he said, adding that government is trying to widen its national surveillance instead of protecting the privacy of citizens.

Protestors believe that corporate connection to the project raises chance of data getting shared for corporate interest. They also fear misuse of metadata to target citizens.

December deadline for Crip

Jisha Surya
January 2, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram: The second edition of Capital region development programme (CRDP) will be launched soon. However, its first edition – the City roads improvement project (Crip)– is yet to touch the finishing line. The second and third phases of the works are stuck on various hurdles. The Kerala road fund board (KRFB) has given an extension to the concessionaire till December for the completion of the project.

Though some of hurdles were cleared last year, KRFB has not handed over some of the stretches to concessionaire Thiruvananthapuram road development company Ltd.(TRDCL). The major deadlocks resolved last year was the completion of shifting of cemetery in Pattoor and consensus on felling of trees on Vanchiyoor-Uppidamoodu road. The portion of cemeteries belonging to St Joseph’s Metropolitan Church, Palayam, and St Thomas Marthoma Church at Pattoor were shifted last month. However, TRDCL could begin work only after constructing a retaining wall on the stretch. “We have agreed to pay the church if it constructs the retaining wall. Currently work is progressing to shift mud from the site,” a senior KRFB official said.

Both environmentalists and TRDCL agreed to widen the Vanchiyoor-Uppidamoodu road with minimum felling of trees. Agreement was reached in February to cut only 18 trees for road widening. Nearly after a year, work is yet to take off. KRFB said that Kerala water authority has to shift a sewage line from the area. However, KRFB has no idea when will the work begin.

KWA is again playing villain the widening of Pettah railway overbridge, according to KRFB. “KWA’s main pipeline has to be shifted from ROB for works. However, KWA is adamant that they have to shift pipe from Pettah to Chackai and KRFB has to give that amount. We are in discussions with KWA and hope that they will agree to shift 400-metre pipe in ROB instead of the entire pipeline,” said a KRFB official. The KRFB is also waiting for the approval of the railways for the design of ROB.

Widening of LMS-Attakulangara was stuck just after Overbridge due to delay in rehabilitation of traders on Pazhavangadi-East Fort stretch. Trida has conducted several rounds of talks to handover the land belonging to Govt Central School Attakulanagara. Trida is planning to construct a shopping complex at the place to rehabilitate traders who face displacement for road widening and construction of Thakarapparambu flyover.

Sell or buy ideas through Idea Peedika soon

Jisha Surya / TNN

Thiruvananthapuram: In the age of startups, the idea is king. Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI), a joint initiative of Technopark and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is planning a number of interesting initiatives to support young entrepreneurs.

Idea Peedika, one such programme planned by T-TBI, is a platform where ideas can be uploaded and bought.

K C Chandrasekharan Nair, Technopark CFO and secretary & registrar, T-TBI, says Idea Peedika is envisaged as a basket of ideas where people can submit their ideas free of cost. Idea Peedika will also be a platform for entrepreneurs to search for ideas. They can buy ideas from the contributor by paying for transfer of technology. T-TBI will charge a nominal registration fee for companies interested in buying the ideas, he says.

The ideas will appear on the website in a brief format. “To know more about the idea, they will have to pay charge. The website will be launched soon,” he says.

“So many people approach us with ideas. When all these ideas come together, it will be of great help to startups. The programme has been given a typical Kerala name Peedika (shop). Idea Peedika will be written in blue and green letters just like the word Technopark. Blue and green stand for infinity and nature respectively,” he says.

Speaking at Thiruvananthapuram chapter meeting of Kerala Startups, Nair said T-TBI was on an expansion mode. “After incubation, we will enter into business acceleration through TBI accelerator,” he said.

In business acceleration the focus will be on growth of company in a global market. “There will be more facilities like labs, venues for media debates, etc.,” he said.

Nair says more than 2,000 young entrepreneurs are waiting to get incubated in T-TBI. However, no space is available for them for the next 18 months. “T-TBI will soon get a building exclusively for incubation in Technopark,” he says.

As many as 74 companies have been incubated under T-TBI now. T-TBI not only provides expert services, mentorships and infrastructures but also takes startups to road shows, fairs and exhibitions organized across the globe. It also helps young entrepreneurs to set up offices anywhere in Asia Pacific region.

Devamani commission’s proposal for intermediate booster station ignored

Jisha Surya
January 1, 2014

Thiruvananthapuram: Frequent bursts in pre-stressed concrete (PSC) pipe from Aruvikkara to Peroorkada have been disrupting water supply to capital city for over a decade. Supply shutdown for restoration works during bursts normally affects major areas in the city, including Medical College and Regional Cancer Centre. Had the Kerala water authority (KWA) considered the proposal of Devamani commission, which probed frequent pipe bursts in Kummi in 1997, the situation could have been averted.

The Devamani commission in 1997 had recommended an intermediate booster station at Vazhayila to ensure undisrupted supply of water in case of a shutdown. The commission proposed a ground level reservoir with inlet from three main pipelines from Aruvikkara such as the 1931-laid 33 inch cast iron pipe, 1972-laid 48 inch cast iron pipe and 1995-laid PSC pipe. It proposed that the booster can receive water from any main and feed any main. The effect will be that instead of shutting down one out of the three mains, it will involve shut down of one out of six mains. The commission also asked KWA to work out preliminary engineering proposals and cost.

The Devamani commission was formed to probe a series of pipe bursts in Kummi in 1997 and collapse of shutter of Aruvikkara dam in 1996. In addition to finding the reason for bursts, the commission was also asked to report short-term and long-term measures to be taken to prevent such breakdowns in future. The commission proposed setting up of intermediate booster at Vazhayila as a long-term measure to ensure undisrupted water supply. It proposed Vazhayila as a technically feasible site.

However, KWA chief engineer Jacob Chacko said that there was no need for an intermediate booster station now as the KWA’s project to replace old pipeline will be completed soon. “Pipe burst is reported in the PSC pipeline as it is 15 years old. Now that KWA will replace the line with mild steel pipes within two months, there is no need for a booster station,” he said.

KWA technical member T C Subran said that inclusion of an intermediate booster station involves huge maintenance cost. “If we include an intermediate booster station in between, a lot of money has to be spent for electricity and buying pumps and related equipment and maintaining them,” he said.

Meanwhile, another official of KWA said that suggestions of Devamani commission were never discussed in the department.