The city may breathe easier ~ and look prettier ~ if the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's decision to remove billboards from in front of parks and water-bodies comes into effect. The decision has been taken to keep the city's greenery free from "visual pollution". The civic body's advertisement department will not renew leases or allot new slots for billboards in front of parks or water-bodies.

Like all previous years this year too the Bhopal Municipal Corporation failed to remove the garbage dumps and the rubble piled up on the footpaths and roadsides and desilt and clean the rainwater drains before the onset of the monsoons. Predictably, the unexpectedly heavy early monsoon showers have thrown the city out of gear. Once again the hapless citizens find themselves wading through ankle-deep/ knee-deep waters on the flooded streets and roads. It is a state of deluge in the low-lying areas.

In the inner roads of delhi, even a Delhiite, living in the city for years, is likely to flounder. An exact address in the city is hardly of any use in the absence of basic signages to guide one through the maze of streets.

The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) will launch a health insurance scheme for 29,000 BPL families living in the civic area. Two thousand residents of the category will benefit in the first phase. "The insurance will be of Rs 30,000 for which the SMC will pay a yearly premium of Rs 148 and the beneficiary Rs 100,' mayor Bikash Ghosh said. Ghosh also announced free vocational training and a monthly stipend for former sportspersons and artistes from poor families

KOLKATA : The Kolkata Municipal Corporation's (KMC) dream to turn the city green seems to have gone sour. For the initial interest shown by the civic body in the project has waned as it is unable to fix a date to flag off this year's plantation drive. Previously, KMC on the occasion of World Environment Day, 5 June, would start their plantation drive under the name of Kolkata Sabujayan (Green Kolkata). "No specific date has yet been fixed for starting the plantation drive. However, some erratic campaigns are being undertaken,' a civic official, said.

Indiscriminate dumping of garbage within the town was forcibly prevented by the college lecturers, environmentalists and residents in a Durgapur locality this morning. Several garbage trucks were stranded as a result. Angry locals also assaulted the chairman of the respective borough committee when he allegedly tried to ignore the agitators. The civic body has decided to stop dumping waste in the disputed zone temporarily. The solid waste management plant of the civic body, however, is yet to be prepared although eight months have already passed.

Pune, June 26 The Environment Status Report (ESR) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will have a different feel to it this year, literally. For the first time the civic body is set to produce the annual report on recycled paper. The idea behind the initiative, the first of its kind in the state, is to send across the message that it practices what it preaches, on environment friendliness and tree conservation.

With the High Court getting tough on local bodies to maintain proper collection and disposal of garbage, several panchayats in Tiswadi taluka have begun the process of identifying disposal sites. According to reports, several panchayats in the taluka have started identifying the disposal sites to avoid fine of Rs 1,000 per day, which the High Court directed the government officials to impose on the local bodies.

The suspected outbreak of enteric in ward 129 of Behala has highlighted the lack of financial control over tax-payers money. For mayor, Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, today alleged local councillors have spent almost Rs 2 crore, allocated specifically for building a new canal in the area, on other purposes. Last Saturday, a meeting of civic officials held in the office of borough 13 and 14 had revealed the irregularity.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi is facing another cattle-related problem. The staff which have been rounding up cows belonging to religious institutions along the Yamuna belt, are facing the ire of priests who want their cattle back. While the civic agency