CHECKOUT - PUSHPA GIRIMAJI
Consumers are often victims of poor quality water supplied by civic authorities. Besides water borne diseases, in many districts of the country, consumers suffer the debilitating effects of high levels of toxic heavy metals and even pesticides and other chemicals in water. Now two recent orders of the apex consumer court have opened the doors of the consumer court to petitions from citizens on the poor quality of water. Both the orders give directions to the municipal bodies to ensure the safety of water supplied to citizens.

With the effects of global warming already being felt worldwide, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has jumped on the bandwagon to save the environment and to earn a few carbon credits while they are at it.

The civic body now plans to replace the bulbs on street lamps to light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. These new bulbs not only help conserve power but are also eco-friendly.
In a letter to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), BMC explained the benefits of the LED bulbs as compared to the sodium vapour ones being used now.

Pandurang Mhaske

Municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak shot down Shiv Sena executive chief Uddhav Thackeray's appeal to cut the water connection in highrises and construction sites in the city.

In view of the water cut in the city, Thackeray had recently appealed to the state government asking them to cut the water connection in highrises as well as the construction sites. This came in response to minister Ajit Pawar's demand that the water supply for agricultural purposes should be stopped.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi launched "Van Mahotsav-2008' with the Leader of the MCD House Subhash Arya planting a sapling at a sanitary landfill site at Hastsal in West Delhi on Sunday.

The total area of landfill is about 16 acre and while the civic body has developed a park on two acres at the site, the remaining land would be developed into a children park and herbal garden in a phased manner.

The Chairman Garden Committee, Ved Prakash Gupta, was also present on the occasion along with several local residents.

Three months into the academic year, students in some of the Capital's government and MCD schools are still waiting for textbooks. Since 2007, the government has been providing free textbooks to all students from Classes I to VIII in Government, MCD, Delhi Cantonment Board and New Delhi Municipal Council schools. Prior to this move, free textbooks were only available for girls, and boys from the SC/ST category, in Classes VI to VIII under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme.

MCD chief warns junior officials of strict disciplinary action if they fail The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has ordered disciplinary action against negligent junior officials, who fail to act on complaints of potholes on roads within 24 hours of getting them. The move comes in the wake of potholes becoming a major concern following numerous complaints and criticism, and a standing committee meeting today. MCD chief K S Mehra specified that Junior Engineers in each ward will attend to complaints filed by residents within 24 hours.

Fall in day and night temperatures due to early onset of the monsoon and critically high mosquito breeding indices being recorded in several areas across the Capital have once again given rise to fears of a dengue outbreak looming large over Delhi. In the light of this development, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Tuesday said it is initiating a series of measures to prevent vector-borne diseases.

High breeding index

Recently, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) proposed a "green drive" to increase the forest cover of the city in the wake of the Commonwealth Games.

The "Green Action Plan" would see the MCD undertake massive plantation of saplings, transplantation of trees, and the establishment and development of parks around the city. This move has brought cheer to Delhiites, who long for fresh air outside their homes.

All new building plans in the Capital will now be cleared only if they have rainwater harvesting systems installed. Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Jal Board to make installation of rainwater harvesting systems mandatory

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has been in power for almost 10 years, has been credited with taking Delhi from a doom city to a boom city. But her detractors say she has made the city a huge construction site, as it gears up for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. How do you see your two tenures?