At its recent meeting on July 2, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee approved 60 development proposals amounting to Rs 1.44 billion. The meeting also led to several key decisions impacting infrastructure, environment, and municipal services.

Among the approved projects were the construction of a new fire station and staff quarters on Pardi Road in Ward No. 17, estimated at Rs 210.55 billion. The G+7 structure will cover 1,700 sq. metres and house 46 two-room and 4 three-room staff units. SM Seldiya secured the contract with a bid 6.70 per cent below the estimated cost.

The committee sanctioned multiple infrastructure projects, including a 3.9 km road from Smart City to Kataria Chowk on Kalavad Road Part-4 at Rs 440.79 million, awarded to Classic Network. Additional road projects include a 60,500 sq metre road from Amul Circle to the National Highway and from Ramvan’s Garud Gate to the municipal boundary in Ward No. 15 at Rs 140.70 million, and another from Parasana Chowk to Kankot village in Ward No. 11 for Rs 80.58 million, both awarded to Shreeji Devcon India.

The committee denied an extension request for the existing contractor managing the Gandhivel cleaning project due to unsatisfactory performance over the last two years. Instead, a fresh tender process has been initiated.

An environmental initiative was also approved, involving the planting of trees named after every newborn in Rajkot. Geotagging updates will be provided to parents every three months. Manav Seva Trust has been assigned the contract to plant and maintain 40,000 trees at a cost of Rs 3,000 per tree, totalling Rs 120 million.

Reforms in the fire department were cleared, including the creation of new posts such as Deputy Officer, revision of qualification criteria, and updates to recruitment rules aimed at strengthening fire safety and emergency response capabilities.

The committee finalised rental and deposit rates for the Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Art Gallery at the Racecourse Complex. Rates vary by gallery type and day, with Gallery-A priced between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000, Gallery-B between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000, and Gallery-C between Rs 5,000 and Rs 12,000. Maintenance and administrative charges were also fixed.

To address drainage issues near the AVPTI College railway bridge in Ward No. 7, a stormwater pipeline connecting to the Astron drain has been approved at Rs 15.51 lakh. The project will be executed by Vinayak Enterprise, even though the bridge has not yet been officially handed over by the railways.

Lastly, the committee approved a proposal from the Enforcement Directorate seeking action against former Town Planning Officer Sagathia. The matter has been forwarded to the General Board for further consideration.

Out of the 63 proposals reviewed, two related to Eklini were deferred for further study.

News source: Bhaskar English