‘New SOPs, higher spending limit set to empower ULBs'
Lucknow: In a significant step to strengthen the financial and administrative autonomy of urban local bodies (ULBs), the urban development department has increased the spending limits.
By revising the standard operating procedure after a gap of four years, the department has made provisions to provide additional flexibility and authority to nagar palikas (city councils) and nagar panchayats (town councils).
"Increasing their spending limit, the govt has given the authority to nagar panchayats to undertake works up to Rs 1 crore while nagar palikas can take up works up to Rs 2 crore. Their spending limit was capped at Rs 40 lakh so far," an official said.
To uphold the integrity of urban development projects, the revised SOP mandates a shared accountability framework. In cases of substandard construction or measurement discrepancies, 50% of the financial recovery will be made from the contractor and the remaining 50% from the engineers and administrative officers concerned.
The recovery process will be overseen by the district magistrate and, if required, recovery would be done from the erring contractors and companies by attaching their properties as per the revenue recovery code and laws.
The newly introduced SOP also paves way to acclerate the pace of development with the help of latest technology and tools. Sharing an example, a senior officer from the department said that a method that encourages recycling of old debris and bitumen for road construction would be followed.
Urban bodies have been instructed to maintain ward-wise road directories, complete documentation, and conduct GIS mapping of infrastructure for long-term monitoring and project execution.
Principal secretary, urban development, Amrit Abhijat said that the SOP and reforms notified recently would not only enhance the financial independence of local bodies but also improve the quality, transparency, and effectiveness of urban governance.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
26 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Stock Radar: Supreme Industries stock down by about 30%! Breakout from rounding bottom formation suggests bulls are catching up
Supreme Industries Ltd, part of the capital goods space, recorded a breakout from a rounding bottom formation on the daily charts and a breakout from the upper band of a Broadening Falling Wedge traders with a high-risk profile can look to buy the stock for a target of Rs 4,980-5,535 in the next few weeks, suggest stock hit a high of Rs 6,320 on July 4, 2024, but it failed to hold the momentum. It closed at Rs
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Lawyer sues sub-registrar's office over faulty encumbrance certificate, wins Rs 10,000 compensation
Bengaluru: A simple request for an encumbrance certificate (EC) turned into a legal victory for advocate Praveen Kumar K — besides exposing a case of bureaucratic negligence — after the sub-registrar's office in Peenya issued a faulty document. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It all began when 34-year-old Praveen, from Vijayanagar, applied online for an EC relating to a property in Kurubarahalli, JC Nagar, on Dec 3, 2023. He sought details of all transactions between Oct 1, 2010, and Dec 3, 2023, and paid Rs 170 via UPI for the certificate, which was issued on Dec 7, 2023. To Kumar's surprise, the EC returned "no transactions found," which was a glaring error. The property in question had been purchased through a registered sale deed dated Oct 11, 2010. The document was properly recorded but was omitted from the EC, making the certificate not just inaccurate but professionally damaging. Kumar issued a legal opinion based on the faulty EC, and the omission risked affecting his credibility and legal standing. Kumar immediately approached the sub-registrar's office requesting rectification. When he received no response, he sent a legal notice on Jan 24, 2024. A second notice was issued on March 14, 2024, which he also escalated to multiple officials, including the revenue minister and commissioner of stamps. Finally, he sent a statutory notice under Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) on July 20, 2024. Despite repeated attempts to seek redressal, Kumar received no reply or corrective action from the sub-registrar. Fed up, he filed a consumer complaint before the Bengaluru Urban II additional district consumer disputes redressal commission on March 21, 2024, for deficiency in service. The sub-registrar's office didn't appear for the hearing and failed to file any response, leading to an ex-parte proceeding. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Kumar submitted 12 documents in support of his case, including the EC, sale deed, legal notices, postal acknowledgements, and the CPC notice. After going through all the documents, the commission observed that the sub-registrar's silence throughout the process was an implicit admission of guilt. The commission also observed that EC is a crucial document used to verify the ownership status and financial encumbrances (like loans, mortgages, or pending litigation) on a property. A defective EC can mislead stakeholders and prejudice their rights. It may result in litigation, delays in transactions, and even losses to parties who rely on the certificate's accuracy for legal or financial decisions. Referring to a 2007 national commission ruling, the consumer forum observed: "Issuance of such wrong EC may mislead the authorities concerned and may create unnecessary litigation in respect of the subject property. Hence, such negligence can't be considered as trivial." On April 28, 2025, the consumer commission ordered the sub-registrar's office to refund the fee paid by the petitioner for obtaining the EC, aside from paying him Rs 10,000 for mental distress, loss of professional reputation, and to cover litigation costs.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Tamil Nadu emerging as key contributor in manufacturing drones for the armed forces, and other electronic defence systems
The Union govt referred to Operation Sindoor, India's retaliatory strike to the Pahalgam terror attack, as a milestone in the nation's journey towards technological self-reliance in military operations — in drone warfare, layered air defence, and electronic warfare. The operation significantly boosted demand for drones manufactured by indigenous companies. Projections peg the size of the Indian drone market to hit $11 billion by 2030, accounting for 12.2% of the global drone market. The ban on imported drones and the launch of the PLI scheme for drones and drone components, notified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Sept 30, 2021, with a total incentive of Rs 120 crore spread over three Financial Years (FYs), are laying the groundwork for India making huge strides in the drone ecosystem. Tamil Nadu is emerging as a key contributor in manufacturing drones for the armed forces, as well as building broader electronic defence systems, including UAV jammers and sophisticated payload delivery systems. The state has notable companies, both startups and veterans, such as Dhaksha, Garuda Aerospace, Zuppa Geo Navigation, ePlane company, Big Bang Boom, Data Patterns, all of which are building strategic UAVs and related technologies. Many of these firms, which had quietly developed defence-grade technologies over the years, are now seeing a surge in interest and keeping them busy with product demonstrations on field in crucial areas. Sai Pattabiram, founder and managing director of Zuppa, which is making small drones and autopilots, says they received 5X increase in order enquiries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. "The way drones were predominantly considered as a tool for surveillance has now changed," he said. Zuppa works closely with the ministry of defence and army units to develop systems suitable for the specific terrains and mission conditions. Garuda Aerospace, traditionally known for agricultural drones, is focussing on defence applications in recent months. "We are developing eight different drone platforms and collaborating with global players such as Lockheed Martin and Thales," said Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and CEO. "We have participated in emergency procurement rounds and held about 40 field demonstrations. Our focus now is to design based on ground-level operational needs and co-develop with defence forces. " Tamil Nadu is not the only drone manufacturing hub in India. The drone ecosystem is spread in peninsular India, spanning Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra, which benefit from the presence of public sector giants like HAL and DRDO. However, Tamil Nadu is attempting to close the gap. Since 2022, the state has ramped up its policy and infrastructure support for the sector. Wing Commander P Madhusoodhanan, vice president of Aerospace and Defence at TIDCO, and CEO of TN UAV corporation, said, "The drone industry is at an inflection point. With military procurement expanding, we expect greater scale and sustainability." The ministry of defence is setting up four UAV testing and certification facilities near Sriperumbudur, expected to be operational by year-end. He said that these centres are focused on unmanned systems, electronic warfare and electro-optics, among the few of their kind in India and will reduce the testing cost in the state and spearhead development. TN companies' role extends beyond making drones. Dr Shivaraman Ramaswamy, CTO of Big Bang Boom Solutions, which has artificial intelligence and EW capabilities, said demand for its anti-drone systems is rising. He further said the state has a suitable environment for manufacturing defence systems, with the advantage of using electronics manufacturing service and fabrication from engineering firms. The presence of one of the country's two defence corridors, expertise in auto, aerospace and electronics manufacturing, vibrant research by educational institutions such as MIT, IIT-M, huge capacity for training drone pilots and training the trainers puts TN in a sweet spot in defence drones. Yet, challenges persist. The lack of indigenous supply chains remains a concern. Executives TOI spoke to said the union govt should hold more consultation with the companies doing actual work and urged the state govt to facilitate consultation. Many press the need for handholding by armed forces in designing and developing the technologies as more important than subsidies.
