PUBLIC EYE - Kunte only babu to be shunted to insignificant posts after BMC stint: Times of India

Senior bureaucrat Sit aram Kunte, 1985 batch IAS officer, has become the only out going BMC commissioner to have been sidelined.After completing his three years at BMC, Kunte was sent to the environment department and in less than a month, to the finance department. At present, Kunte heads the most insignificant expenditure branch. In the corridors of power, it is believed that unwanted bureaucrats are posted to the expenditure branch.Acursory glance at the assignments given to Kunte's predecessors leads one to the conclusion that most got plum postings after the BMC tenure. Kunte's predecessor, Subodh Kumar, a favourite of the then CM Prithviraj Chavan, was given a three-month extension after retirement, a rare case in bureaucracy . Kumar's predecessor Swadheen Kshatriya, despite his unceremonious exit, was appointed to the revenue department and later became chief secretary. Former commissioner Jairaj Phatak had taken up an assignment with the rural electrification corporation, a government of India undertaking. Another former civic chief, Johny Joseph, was appointed chief secretary and after retirement, upa-lokayukta. Now Joseph heads a high-level panel on environment impact assessment. Karun Srivastava, after a prolonged stint in the home department and MMRDA, retired as civic commissioner after completing tenure.

Being snubbed

For senior BJP leader and housing minister Prakash Mehta, humiliation, ill treatment and insult have become a routine affair, so as such, he was not surprised when security guards at the BMC headquar ters asked him for identity proof during a visit.A week ago, Mehta, accompanied by BJP legislator Raj Purohit and his personal security officer, reached the BMC, but the security staff did not recognize him and insisted on seeing his identity card.Though Mehta stayed calm, there was a commotion as BJP workers lodged a protest. Peace was restored only after additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh rushed to the entry gate and tendered an apology to the cabinet member. But this was not the first time that Mehta had faced such a situation. After being sworn in as a cabinet member and taking charge of the housing and labour portfolio, Mehta was expecting a customary briefing by senior bureaucrats of two departments. While labour department officials submitted a comprehensive note to Mehta, no one turned up from Mhada, the agency responsible for implementing the state's affordable housing plan. Mehta was further stunned when he was not invited for Mhada's board meeting. He got another shock when a Mhada bureaucrat, who had recently been shifted to Mantralaya, refused to recognize the cabinet member's authority . Mehta felt that only time could be the answer to situations and hence did not react or complain to the chief minister . But he lost his cool when the housing secretary's office gave him false information. Mehta was told that the housing secretary was with the chief secretary , whereas that day , the chief secretary was in New Delhi. When brought to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's notice, he quietly shifted the bureaucrat to another department.

A logical end

In October 2002, a visit to the peon quarters at the Raj Bhavan had taken the then governor Mohammed Fazal by shock. The building was dilapidated and shabby without any ventilation. Fazal had immediately summoned the then chief minister, chief secretary and bureaucrats of the public works and public health departments. He had brought to their notice that while he was living in a palatial bungalow overlooking the Arabian Sea, his staff was living in inhumane conditions.Fazal had given instructions to the then chief minister to reconstruct all the quarters, particularly those of the Class III and IV staff, and that too in a time-bound period. After Fazal's term expired in 2004, Raj Bhavan employees assumed that the project would be forgotten. However, Fazal's successor and former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna too pursued the proposal, followed by S C Jamir and K Sankaranarayanan. When C Vidyasagar Rao took over last year, he reviewed the pending works and found that the Raj Bhavan quarters project had reached the final stage but needed a push. He immediately stepped in and asked the PWD to expedite the project.Rao and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis handed over the keys to the employees on May 26, when Narendra Modi completed one year in office.

Builder can't demand payment when construction is delayed: Times of India

Dilshad Gill, who wanted to pur chase a house, came across an ad vertisement by Emaar MGF Land. While the project was still under construction, some persons who had originally booked flats were no longer interested and these were being offered for sale by the builder.

Jagmohan was one such customer, who had booked a house for Rs 51,42,750, and paid Rs 43,78,962 to the builder. Jagmohan later wanted to sell the house. An agreement was executed under which Dilshad was to reimburse Jagmohan the amount paid by him, and Jagmohan would surrender his right in her favour.

Dilshad paid Jagmohan as per the agreement, and was accepted by the builder as the owner. Subsequently , Dilshal paid the builder directly. She also asked the builder to execute an agreement for the sale of the flat, but the builder avoided it.

After some time, the builder asked Dilshad to pay the final instalment of about Rs 3 lakh, payable at the time of possession. An upset Dilshad sent a written representation to the builder asking him to execute an agreement in her favour, but the letter was ignored.

Instead, the builder sent a letter on August 16, 2013, demanding extra payment by arbitrarily enhancing the sale price to Rs 60,83,543. A additional demand of Rs 1,02,2550 was also made towards interest-free maintenance deposit. The builder agreed to execute an agreement at the revised rate.

Dilshad filed a complaint before the Chandigarh State Commission. She relied on the agreement between the builder and Jagmohan, where it had been decided that possession of the flat would be given with 36 months, with the builder being eligible to a grace period of three more months.

The builder contested the complaint, saying the super built-up area can be determined only after final completion of construction. Hence, the price of the house and its area are tentative and subject to change.Since Dilshad had not cleared the dues, the formalities of transfer could not be completed.

The state commission held the builder guilty of deficiency in service. It directed the builder to deduct 10% of the amount paid and refund the balance of Rs 39,41,066 along with 9% interest, and costs of Rs 20,000 . Aggrieved, the builder appealed to the National Commission.

The commission observed that Dilshad had stepped into the shoes of the original buyer.Payment was linked to the progress of construction, and demanding the amount in advance was not permissible. By its order of May 27, 2015 delivered by the bench of Justice VB Gupta and Suresh Chandra, the national commission concluded that there was no merit in the builder's appeal and dismissed it with punitive costs of Rs 1 lakh payable to Legal Aid within six weeks. If delayed, the builder would have to pay the amount with 9% interest.

Impact: A builder cannot demand advance instalments when the construction does not progress at the same pace. Also, a flat purchaser cannot be penalized with any forfeiture or deduction when cancellation is due to the builder's fault in delaying the project.

(The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt. of India's National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His email is jehangir .gai.articles@hotmail.com)

Will rate states on ease of doing biz: Times of India

New Delhi

`States Keen On Make In India Drive'

There might be misgivings on the Modi government's `Make in India' pitch in certain quarters but the enterprise shown by states is “the biggest and happiest outcome“ of the scheme, commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.

States are putting their best foot forward, focussing on their best products, to participate in the `Make in India' scheme. For example, Sikkim has chosen organic products while Himachal Pradesh has decided on environment (products and activities related to it).

Sitharaman told TOI, “The big surprise is the way each state has fashioned itself, innovatively , even the small ones... so you understand the states have also started figuring out and focussing on sectors.“

States have to identify in which sectors they will participate in the `Make in India' process for maximum growth and employment generation.In fact, inspired by the “healthy competitiveness“ shown by states, the Centre has started “ranking“ them on the basis of “ease of business“ and the states are trying to beat each other at it, she said. Given the political differences that often play a role in Centre-state relations, won't the ranking generate acrimony among the states?

Sitharaman said her experience was quite “contrary“ to the political picture one gets to see in Parliament over issues and legislations.

It seems states, including those ruled by opposition parties, have been keen competitors, given that the state stands to gain and the chief minister gets the credit for benefits it reaps.

The commerce minister talked of a “positive engagement with states“ which has worked. “Competitive federalism, a term Arunji (Jaitley) frequently uses... is at work,“ Sitharaman said.

Asked what was the one big achievement at the end of the year, Sitharaman said, “The biggest milestone is to have got all the states on board and talking with them without a discordant note.“

All states agreed to discuss the issue and came on board on matters that had to do with each of them. There are 18-related ministries at the Centre, which have been working in coordination with the commerce ministry and the states, to prepare an action plan of 98 actionable points, the minister said. The action plan has to be presented to finance minister Arun Jaitley by June 30. In what has come as a pleasant surprise to the minister, “things are moving at the right pace to meet the June 30 deadline“.

BLACK MONEY - Now, Switzerland to reveal dormant acs:Times of India

Zuriche. AGENCIES-



Having started making public the names of Indians and other foreign nationals with Swiss bank accounts that are under scanner, Switzerland will now publish a list of accounts that have remained unclaimed for 60 years.

The list would be published later this year by the Swiss Banking Ombudsman and would include unclaimed as sets held by foreigners in their bank accounts in Switzerland, while giving their lawful beneficiaries an opportunity to submit a claim.

These accounts have remained unclaimed since 1955.Speculation is rife there may be accounts belonging to some erstwhile kings, members of ruling families of the erstwhile princely states and other wealthy individuals from In dia, who could have opened Swiss bank accounts but did not transfer the ownership to their children or other persons.However, Swiss authorities and banks are yet to make public any details about nationality of such account holders.

Without giving any specific figures or details, senior officials at some Swiss banks confirmed there are quite a few ac counts of Indian nationals and they could be made public along with the full list towards the end of 2015. Some such accounts include those where ownership has been under dispute as multiple beneficiaries from India, including those claiming to be descendants of erstwhile kings, put forth their claims but could not provide supporting evidence. AGENCIES





AAP in fresh row over plot lease conversions: Economic Times

Babu: Minister Pressuring Me To Change Terms

The AAP government is caught in yet another controversy opening up fresh ground for mudslinging.A letter has surfaced where senior IAS officer Shakuntala D Gamlin has complained to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung accusing industries minister Satyendra Jain of “continuously pressuring“ her to bring a proposal for conversion of industrial plots from leasehold to freehold.
The officer, whose appointment earlier as the acting chief secretary had triggered a turf war between CM Arvind Kejriwal and Jung, has stated that rules do now allow for such conversion without prior clearances from the L-G.
Gamlin has put on record that Jain expressed his “annoyance“ over her reservations to prepare a cabinet note. In her letter, the officer, who is principal secretary (industries), has stated, “The industries minister had been continuously pressuring me to submit a note for the council of ministers proposing conversion of industrial plots from leasehold to freehold even after facts pertaining to legal ramifications of the case that the matter was not within the competence of Delhi government had been brought to his notice.“
Jain has denied pressuring Gamlin but admitted to have sought a proposal on conversion of industrial plots to freehold for a scheme pertaining to allotments made over two decades ago. “If asking for a proposal and its status in weekly review meetings is putting pressure, then I have nothing to say . If Gamlin had reservations she should have written to me. Why would she choose to write to the L-G? If there was a mandatory clearance required from the L-G, why wouldn't I seek it? I have no problem taking the matter to the L-G,“ Jain told TOI.
The minister denied being apprised of clearances where L-G's approval was required. “Due to oversight or otherwise, some conversion of industrial plots had been ordered in Delhi without the involvement of land owning agency (DDA) and the matter is said to be under scrutiny of the vigilance department,“ Gamlin has pointed in the letter. The IAS officer also said that as per rules the Delhi government can only be involved in the administration of land through the L-G. . “The Union home ministry in 1961 had enunciated a policy for acquisition, development and lease administration of lands in Delhi for various purposes,“ Gamlin wrote in her letter. This `Nazul land' is held in the President's name with the L-G being given powers to administer it. “The home ministry had not identified Delhi government as one of the developers of this land. DDA framed rules for development and disposal of Nazul lands in 1981, which are in operation,“ the letter adds.
Reacting to claims that the government was trying to help corporates by proposing a freehold plan for industrial plots, Jain said, “This plan pertains to small plots allotted two decades ago in areas like Bawana, to relocate small industries. The demand for freehold is long pending and was part of our poll promise.This is politicization of an issue aimed at ending the exploitation of owners of small industries.“
Centre wants corrupt IAS officers:
Bhushan Patna: Expelled AAP leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday accused the Modi-led NDA government of trying to appoint “corrupt“ people in anticorruption bodies and “saffronize“ academic institutions during the first year of its term. “The shortlist made to appoint Central Vigilance Commissioner revealed that the top most name was of a corrupt I-T officer, “ Bhushan said.

Green Ministry Finally Zeroes In on a Definition of `Forests: Economic Times

New Delhi:





IN A FOUR-PAGE AFFIDAVIT that the govt plans to submit to the SC, all recorded forests in the country will be included in the first category while the second comprises the entire community forest belt in North East states where no survey has been done

The environment ministry may have given scores of forest clearances over the years but it has decided on a definition for `forest' only now, that too after being prodded by courts.The ministry has drawn two broad categories of Indian forests and included naturally grown forest species on private land, officials said.

In a four-page affidavit that the government plans to submit to the S next month, all recorded forests in the country will be included in the first category while the second comprises the entire community forest belt in the Northeastern states where no survey has ever been done. Recorded forest area refers to all protected areas, reserved forests and all other areas recorded as forest in revenue records or other state Act or local law. The definition will be key to determining which projects will need clearance from the environment ministry. It is an issue that is also being closely tracked by activists to assess whether the ministry's definition has diluted any aspect that could prove detrimental to environment.

Ministry officials cited earlier however said that definition or its interpretation will not in any way reduce India's nearly 22 %forest cover recorded as per the State of the Forest Report 2013.

The key elements of the definition of forest are as follows: ·Whatever has been referred to as `forest' as per land records will continue to be so. All references to a forest in vernacular languages such as `van, bani, jungle, jhaa di' and so on will be read as forest.A list of all forest and equivalent erms in local languages has been sought from states by the environment ministry. All protected areas, reserved forest areas and any other land classified as orests either in English or the vernacular will remain to be categorised as forests.

·The community-owned forests of the North East, though not surveyed, will be covered under the new definition of forests.

·All private land where forest species are grown naturally such as in places like Mussoorie will continue to be seen as forests. So the owner of such private forest land will only be able to start any developmental or construction activity in the area after due procedure under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 has been followed and all due permissions taken.

·All private land where non forest species such as poplar, eucalyptus and rubber plants are grown will not be categorised as forest land.

·All areas recorded as forest when Forest Conservation Act, 1980 came into effect will continue to be categorised as forest.

·All forest land will continue to be categorised so irrespective of the quality of vegetation, which means even degraded forest area that may have been encroached upon by human habitation will continue to be seen as a forest.

As per the ministry , its proposed definition will essentially elaborate upon the definition given by the SC and will not dilute that interpretation in any way . SC had said in its 1996 judgement in Godavarman Thirumalpad vs Union of India case that the word `forest' must be understood according to its dictionary meaning.

States Get More Funds, but Allocate Less to Social Sector: Economic Times

Bengaluru:





Centre's move to cut allocation to certain rural-centric schemes while placing more funds with the states seems to have put farm, fish, milk & allied sectors in a spot of bother

As the Centre devolves more fiscal freedom to the states, they seem to be cutting allocations to social sectors, especially agriculture and allied areas in response, according to the initial findings of a study. The Narendra Modi administration wants to empower states further as part of a push toward cooperative federalism.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley's February budget cut allocations to the states by more than half in 15 central agricultural schemes such as the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture and irrigation and watershed management programmes. Jaitley said this wouldn't leave the schemes without money because the states would chip in from the additional funds they receive as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission -42% from the divisible pool of central taxes instead of 32%.

A quick look at this year's state budgets, however, doesn't bear out this assumption. Most states, including BJP-led Madhya Pradesh and Congress-led Karnataka, have slashed allocations to farm and related sectors. Amid agrarian distress due to bad weather and last year's patchy monsoon, this could throw the food, fish, milk and allied sectors into greater crisis.

Researchers at Delhi-based think tank, the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), compared this year's state budget estimates with those of the previous one and found that fund ing for agriculture, poultry, dairy, forestry, plantation, fisheries, crop insurance and farm education has been cut. ET was given a preview of the study, which is still in progress.

Karnataka reduced this by ` . 1,960 crore, Madhya Pradesh by ` . 1,396 crore, Bihar by ` . 274 crore and Andhra by `. 208 crore, it said. A few states that showed a marginal increase in outlay had already announced these before the Centre said it would be cutting its own spending.

“One reality is that a 10 percentage point increase (in the transfer of taxes) is not as substantial as the Centre makes it out to be,“ said CBGA senior researcher Nilachala Acharya.

The states will get an extra ` . 63,941 crore as their increased share of taxes, money that needs to be shared out among programmes on agriculture, education, housing, water sanitation and health. Also, the central grant to states in the budget only covers capital expenditure, which means states now have to bear revenue expenditure such as salaries that are the bulk of the cost of development programmes. The s Centre has cut its grant to the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, for instance, to ` . 4,500 crore from ` . 9,864 crore last year. That scheme is targeted at boosting agri cultural productivity . The total allocation for the scheme has dropped to . 2,958 crore from ` ` . 7,889 crore. The states have not filled the gap as the Centre expected them to. The biggest agricultural states such as Punjab, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka -although facing an acute drop in productivity -have substantially reduced their investment in the programme.

In FY14, the latest year for the RBI-computed information on state budgets, they spent 40.5% of the total budget on the social sector.Since the union budget has shrunk its social sector outlay to 1.68% of GDP this year (excluding the food subsidy) from 1.92% in FY14, states will now have to step up to keep these schemes running.

The move toward effectively transferring key social sector programmes along with an increase in their autonomy over budgetary resources can work only if state gov ernments have adequate overall spending capacity.

State budget spending for crucial development programmes may not increase enough to keep outlays at the previous year's level, said CBGA executive director Subrata Das. That's “primarily because of the stagnant tax-GDP ra tio of the Centre and the fact that only 42% of the divisible pool of central taxes would be shared with the states.“

It’s home sweet home for Mhada lottery winners: Hindustan Times

Mumbai, June 1 -- It was a dream come true for the families who won the 1,063 low- cost flats constructed by the state housing board on Sunday.

While the winners rejoiced at being able to buy a house in the city, the ones who were not as lucky, said they were not giving up hope.

The Mhada put up houses for sale in areas such as Mulund, Sion, Mankhurd, Malad and Goregaon. And the cost ranged from Rs18.14 lakh to Rs46.61 lakh, which the housing body said is at least 40 % cheaper than what private builders charge.

Yogesh Raibole, 35, won a house in Mulund. He was sitting at home, watching a webcast of the lottery at Bandra's Rangsharda Hall. "I rushed to Bandra to check whether it was true," said Raibole.

6,202 Mhada houses on sale in 2016: Hindustan Times

After Sunday's lottery f or 1, 063 houses, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has announced the sale of a huge cluster of lowcost houses.

A total of 6,202 affordable houses - the highest till date - will be put on the block in 2016.

While 4,702 houses will be at Bolinj in Vasai, 1,500 will be at Powai, Mulund and Goregaon.

SS Zende, chief executive officer of Mhada, said that the housing body is making all efforts to increase the supply of houses to cater to the huge demand of affordable houses.

"We will undertake the housing project at Bolinj, where there is a huge tract of land. One and 2 BHK (bedroom-hall-kitchen) flats will be built in several phases," said Zende.

Plans to give Dadar beach a makeover finally in place: Hindustan Times

A promenade, a walkway and jogging track, tetrapods and palm trees could be among the many things that will soon adorn Dadar Chowpatty. The BMC and the state maritime board are ready with a design for the makeover of the waterfront — on the lines of Marine Drive, Worli sea face and Carter Road. MUMBAI: The beach along the sea at Dadar chowpatty is set to get a makeover. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) along with the state maritime board has readied a design for a promenade, a walkway and a jogging track, among other amenities at the beach.

As part of the beautification plan, the beach will also have tetrapods placed at the promenade and palm trees planted in the vicinity.

The waterfront makeover will be on the lines of Marine Drive in Churchgate, Worli Seaface and Carter Road in Bandra. The two-km stretch from Chaityabhoomi to Mahim will have a cycling track, fancy street art furniture and dedicated space for the senior citizens and children.

“The maritime board has already put up tetrapods at the location. Work on the other amenities will begin soon. The design for the makeover is currently being finalised,” said Pallavi Darade, additional municipal commissioner (city).

Residents have for long been demanding that the authorities beautify the beach. However, the beautification project was delayed by multiple authorities for nearly four years.

The civic body has now agreed to take up the job. “There is an urgent need to beautify the beach considering soil erosion and flooding issues in the locality on high-tide days. Local citizen groups have been complaining that the beach is disappearing owing to soil erosion. This situation can prove hazardous for buildings in the vicinity,” said a senior civic official.

A plan is also being worked out on how to manage huge crowds during festivals such as Ganesh visarjan and Chhat Puja, civic officials said.

Ashok Rawat, president, G-north Citizens Forum, said, “We have put forward our suggestions and problems faced several times. But the authorities had never addressed them. The tetrapods too have been haphazardly laid. There is a clear lack of co-ordination between the agencies, as multiple authorities such as the maritime board, the BMC and the collector’s office involved in the process are pointing fingers at each other.”

MNS cor porator Sandip Deshpande said, “A meeting with residents was recently held to discuss the beautification project. The Dadar chowpatty makeover will change the look of the area and will attract more crowds than before. The chowpatty had lost visitors owing to poor facilities and maintenance.”