Latest news with #DepartmentofMunicipalAdministrationandUrbanDevelopment
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
ULBs urged to take care of sewer workers
Vijayawada: The Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA & UD) has issued orders to the Urban Local Bodies to implement the rules related to The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR Act, 2013). S Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, MA &UD, on Friday stated that Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, deals with the provisions of hazardous cleaning, insanitary latrine and manual scavengers, identification of Insanitary Latrines, providing sanitary latrines, identification of manual scavengers and their rehabilitation. He said the Supreme Court issued directions on implementation of PEMSR Act, 2013, in its judgment dated October 20, 2023. He said the Andhra Pradesh High Court emphasised the timely payment of compensation and provision of full rehabilitation measures, including employment to the spouse, education to the children, and appropriate skill training to the kin of the deceased sewer workers. In the event of a sewer or septic tank death, the kin must get compensation as per the orders. Suresh Kumar has issued orders to the municipal commissioners to safeguard the safety and welfare of the workers and gave guidelines that are to be followed. All cleaning operations shall be fully mechanised forthwith. He asked officials to ensure that no person is engaged in such activities, and that all cleaning operations is done using appropriate mechanical means and safety equipment & manual entry into sewers or septic tanks shall be strictly prohibited under all circumstances. In exceptional cases where manual intervention is unavoidable, prior approval must be obtained from the concerned Commissioner of the ULB and all prescribed safety equipment must be provided in accordance with the PEMSR Act, 2013. In the event of a sewer or septic tank death, irrespective of whether the deceased was employed directly, indirectly, or through a contractor, an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 30,00,000 shall be mandatorily paid to the next of kin by the concerned agency. It has to be ensured that FIRs are promptly registered against any individual, agency, or contractor under Sections 5, 6, 7, and 8 of PEMSR Act, 2013 in all reported or identified instances of manual scavenging. Ensure provision of full rehabilitation of the deceased worker's family, including: Employment to one eligible family member. Free Education to the children and skill development training and livelihood support. Set up a dedicated helpline or mechanism for reporting violations and grievances related to manual scavenging, ensuring its prompt redressal. Suresh Kumar issued instructions to the commissioners of the Urban Local Bodies to create awareness among municipal staff, contractors, and the public on the legal prohibitions and penalties associated with manual scavenging and the rights and rehabilitation measures available to the affected persons. He further instructed to provide training to municipal staff on safe sanitation practices and the legal obligations under the Act and Court directions.
Hans India
4 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
AP needs digitally empowered urban governance: Principal Secy
Vijayawada: S Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, on Tuesday pointed out that Andhra Pradesh was witnessing rapid urban expansion, with nearly 40- 45 per cent of its population now living in urban areas. This demographic transformation calls for a paradigm shift - from traditional administrative models to agile, digitally empowered urban governance, said Suresh Kumar. He was the chief guest at the State-level workshop conducted at the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada on Tuesday. The State government in collaboration with the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), Government of India, organised a State-level orientation workshop on 'Capacity Building for ULB Officials' under the Mission Karmayogi framework. The event marks the beginning of a transformative capacity-building journey for urban administration in the State. The workshop brought together Municipal Commissioners of 123 ULBs and key State urban departments, including MEPMA, Public Health and Municipal Engineering, and Town and Country Planning. The sessions focused on bridging skills gaps, integrating digital learning and fostering a culture of continuous professional development. Suresh Kumar said 'Under the Mission Karmayogi' framework, the State is initiating comprehensive gap assessments to evaluate existing capacities within ULBs and identify key functional, domain and behavioral competencies required at various roles. Based on these findings, minimum annual training hours will be prescribed for municipal officials. Further, training will not be limited to technical domains. The State is promoting holistic development, with certificate courses offered in areas such as leadership, communication, ethics, digital literacy and even personality development - ensuring that public servants are equipped not just with professional skills, but with the confidence and emotional intelligence needed to engage meaningfully with citizens. He informed that to encourage active participation, a framework for non-monetary incentives linked to training milestones is under consideration. These may include certificates of recognition, preference in transfers / internal postings, visibility in performance appraisals and access to advanced learning programmes. The intent is to create a culture where learning is rewarded and professional growth is seen as integral to public service. A key highlight of the workshop was the demonstration of the iGOT Karmayogi platform, the digital hub of Mission Karmayogi. With over 8 lakh government officials already onboard nationwide, the platform offers role-based, modular learning content tailored for ULB functionaries. Courses range from municipal finance and e-governance to urban resilience, inclusive planning and citizen engagement. The workshop saw participation from several senior dignitaries from the Government of India and domain experts, including: Dr Alka Mittal, Member (Admin.), Capacity Building Commission, V Lalithalakshmi, Secretary, CBC and CEO, Karmayogi Bharat, Shubham Katyayan, Programme Manager – ULBs, CBC, Soumi Banerjee, General Manager, iGOTKarmayogi Bharat and others. They shared insights on the role of continuous learning in transforming governance and the strategic utility of role-based skilling.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
TUFIDC scouting for agency to help finance ₹1,500 crore civic works in urban bodies
Five consultancy firms have attended the pre-bid meeting of the Telangana Urban Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation (TUFIDC) to select an agency to provide 'transaction advisory services for bankable projects' in urban areas in Telangana. The institute under the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development is looking for an agency that can help source funds to the tune of up to ₹1,500 crore at a low rate of interest for funding basic civic infrastructure works in the 130 municipalities outside the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The civic amenities Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration T.K. Sreedevi informed that the government wants to make use of the funds, mostly likely to be sourced from local development banks or multilateral agencies, for taking up key civic amenities like sewerage network, internal and connecting roads, drinking water supply, waste management system, streetlights and so on. 'We have seen big ticket real estate projects grounded even before the local municipal authorities were ready with the necessary civic infrastructure with basic amenities. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is keen to change this and make the newbie urban and semi-urban local bodies ready for future urban growth,' she explained. Development of bankable projects is crucial to bridge the growing infrastructure financing gap with sustainable growth. But the traditional funding sources like budget allocations are not sufficient. Hence the lookout for alternate funding method, it was pointed out. The department is looking for a specialised agency with five years experience in handling two urban development infrastructure projects like water supply, sewerage, lake or water body redevelopment or conservation, solid waste management and others, worth at least ₹100 crore. Tasks of the selected agency The selected agency will have to look at bankable projects covering financial modelling, evaluate identified projects, help in selection of a developer, provide project management and monitoring support. The term of contract will be for three years with the method of evaluation being a four stage process. Bid to be opened on June 16 Through the agency, the government also intends to tap the funds from the ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) announced by the Centre in the budget for taking up civic infrastructure works in the municipal areas. The fund has 25% grant, 50% is to be sourced through a public private partnership (PPP) mode/ bank loans and 25 % from the local municipal authority or State government, making it ripe for seeking monies which hitherto was mostly from loans, pointed out Ms. Sreedevi. The final bids for selecting the agency will be opened on June 16.
