Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

MCH plays green card against truant ad agencies

By V.N. Harinath

HYDERABAD July 4. With the enforcement of the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Tree Act on July 1, the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad has taken a serious view of the unauthorised cutting of trees in Secunderabad area by some advertising agencies to clear the path for an unhindered view of their hoardings put up on private houses.

At least 10 trees -- six in Begumpet and two each in Bansilalpet and Kavadiguda -- have been cut in the recent past, forcing the MCH to depute its chief horticulturist, Vittal, to inspect the spots. Some of the trees have been found to be five to seven years old.

The corporation identified the four agencies responsible for the unauthorised violation of the Act and intends to take action against them, a senior officer told The Hindu on Thursday.

According to the officer, the civic body suspects that there may have been similar violations by other agencies. "We have asked horticulture staff to undertake inspections as the matter is serious," the officer noted. He appealed to the agencies not to resort to such acts, particularly in view of the avowed policy of the State Government to green the city.

Row over hoardings

Meanwhile, the MCH has taken cognisance of the unauthorised display of hoardings in Bhagwantpura area, near the airport, within the municipal limits, after the Airport Authority of India wrote to the Additional Commissioner, MCH, Secunderabad.

The letter said that some of the hoardings which collapsed during the high velocity gales could have posed a threat to the safety of aircraft, passengers and visitors. It objected to the hoardings saying that they had been erected without AAI permission. Following the gale and thunderstorm on June 16 many of the hoardings got dislodged and their supporting rods were bent.

Had the wind been westerly the hoardings would have fallen on oil tankers within the airport area leading to a serious accident. The letter warned that the AAI would take action if the unauthorised hoardings were not removed immediately.

R.V. Chandravadan, Additional Commissioner, told The Hindu that the MCH would examine such hoardings and withdraw permission to them if they were found to be unsafe.

Contractors' work terminated

Our Staff Reporter writes: In another development, services of two night cleaning work contractors in Circles III and V have been terminated by the Additional Commissioner on the grounds that it was `poor' and `unsatisfactory.'

According to a press release, a surprise inspection of two stretches of roads in the circles showed that the cleaning was unsatisfactory while garbage collection points were not cleaned. The services of S. Padmanabha Reddy and B. Vijender Reddy were terminated and two other agencies from the reserve list, run by Pochi Reddy and K. Gnaneswar, were allotted the work.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• CM wants land acquisition completed by July 12
• Woman found killed
• Clearance of passport applications
• Steps to avoid way bills misuse
• Don't lose hope, Peace panel tells PW
• MCH plays green card against truant ad agencies

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu