ACP DHOBLE TRANSFERRED AGAIN: Assistant Commissioner of Police Vasant Dhoble is transferred again in four months……the reason…..he tries to implement the law as it is…..Because he tries to uphold the dignity of the constitution…..
He was shunted from Social service branch because he tried to enforce law and regulate the working of late night pubs and lounges so they operate as per law……He cleared the tight scrutiny of Bombay High Court and there was not a single instance of officer doing anything in breach of law……Being transferred to Vakola Division in September 2012 he tried to do again for what he is “paid” for…..implement the law as it is….having my personal office in this Vakola division I had personal experience of the impact of the working of this officer…..the roads were broader, since the encroachment were not allowed…. There was a regular vigil and thus encroachers were not ready to put up their ghettos again….if you see the vile parle east area opposite the station, the road has all of a sudden become broader and beautiful….the unauthorized chaas walas, vegetable and fruit vendors, paaanwalas, etc all have disappeared or are doing their work from the building area and away from the road…. The shops were getting closed on time and there was relaxation for peace loving and law abiding citizens….
He tried to implement the same in santacruz and out of fear of law one encroacher died (the medical reason is brain hemorrhage)…How on planet EARTH CAN YOU BLAME THE OFFICER FOR HIS DEATH….What really happened?? The officer and his team were leading the eviction of unauthorized hawkers and unlike other eviction drive this was not known to the hawkers in advance… Thus when the team arrived, the unauthorized hawkers began to run and it was during this course this hawker died of brain hemorrhage….Full sympathy for the death of the hawker and am really saddened by the same…..However, to punish the officer for the natural death of a person is not only arbitrary but it amounts to victimization…..
….Two transfers in five months when a term of three years is prescribed is certainly a transfer of punitive nature and can not be granted without due notice and enquiry….The contention of the Hon’ble Chief minister that the probe of death of the Hawker by CID has to be impartial and thus the officer was transferred to non executive post is without any merit…..How does the CM shaeb explain this when CID is entirely independent from an officer posted in Vakola division…If this argument is taken then officer should be suspended and why transferred. Further, if this yardstick is taken then 1/3rd of CM saheb’s Council of Ministers should be shunted out as there are enquiry against them under various charges including corruption while in government…..Day in day out we complain sitting in our bedroom that police is not doing their job….but when a police officer does his job we want him to do as per out convenience….…
CONCLUSIONS:
Fools were the people who paid lakhs or rather crores for their stalls….fools are the ones who pay their taxes for better and broader roads……we should construct our houses on public places …we should carry our business from public spaces by constructing our offices on the public land….after all we are the public… we can gather in hundreds and we can compel our MLA and Our MP and finally the CM saheb to remove the officer…
Does the officer deserve this??? Yes of course…. he is going by the rule book… “how can he do that”…he is non corrupt “how can he be”…There is not a single instance of Corruption against ACP Dhoble in spite of him being in police of years……. “how can he be allowed” ….Look at the “wrongs” he has done in the past….He raided Amar Juice centre (JVPD) which is operating on public land and beyond the hours and above the gutter…..wait for some time the things will become “normal and regular”…. there will be congestion ..There will be encroachment …….there will be complaints….there will be corruption and there will be no “anti encroachment drive” and there will be no ACP Dhoble …..Jai Hind
Mera Bharat Mahan….Sau me se Ninayave Beimaan…….
The Tribals of India
Lawrence King, a reader at department of sociology at the UK’s Cambridge University in a research, funded by UK Economic and Social Research Council, criticized the Government of India for continuing with the Sedition Laws introduced by the British in 1870. The Report further states that The tribals of India suffered first at the hands of the British Raj and more recently through exploitation by the Indian Ruling elites and Big Business. The Report then delves deep into the health issues and submits that the health of one group, i.e. Scheduled Tribes (broadly speaking indigenous people), is significantly worse than that of any other—including Scheduled Castes (untouchables). In 2005—06, the under-5 mortality rate was 74·3 per 1000 for the general population, 88·1 per 1000 for untouchables, and 95·7 per 1000 for tribal people; Similarly the proportions of undernourished children were 42·5%, 47·9%, and 54·5%, respectively for the said set of people for the said period. Further, for the same period the proportions of women with anaemia was 55·3%, 58·3%, and 68·5%, respectively for General, S.C’s and S.T’s.
OLD DCR RULES Salient Features
- The Development Control Regulations (DCR) for Greater Mumbai, 1991, apply as a regulatory compulsion on building activities and development work in areas under the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay.
- The Regulation came into force on March 25, 1991 which replaced the DC Rules for Greater Bombay framed under Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.
- The regulation states that every person who wishes to carry out development or re-development of a building or alter any building or part of a building is to give a notice to the Commissioner, along with plans and statements. Construction is to be carried out in conformity to the regulations.
- Under the DCR, the Metropolitan Commissioner has been the final authority for interpretation of its provisions and his decision would be final. The Metropolitan Commissioner could use his discretion to condone provisions of these Regulations except the provisions related to FSI.
- FSI in Mumbai: for residential buildings is 1.33 from South Mumbai till Mahim in the West and Sion in the centre. North of that it is 1.0.
- For educational, healthcare and hospitality projects, FSI is 1.33 plus 300% extra, which is 1.33 x 4 = 5.32.
- The following are not counted in FSI calculations:
• Basements
• Stilt Parking
• Staircases
• Lifts and lift lobby (lobby area to an extent equal to lift area, additional lobby areas are counted)
• Pump rooms, utility areas, security cabins
• Shafts
• Society Office upto 12 m2 if there are less than 20 apartments, and 20 m2 if more
• Gymnasium upto 2% of FSI area
• One Servants’ toilet per floor upto 2.2 m2 with access from lift lobby
• Refuge Areas and terraces
Normally, 15% of the plot must be reserved as a recreation area. If the plot area is greater than 2,500m2, then this 15% is also subtracted from the total FSI of the plot. Note that this explanation pre-dates the concept of “Fungible FSI”. See below for an explanation of fungible FSI.
What is FSI?
FSI or floor space index is the upper limit to the built space you may construct on a given plot. It is the ratio of allowed built-up area to the plot area. For example, on a 10,000 ft2 plot which has an FSI of 2, you may construct a maximum of 20,000 ft2 of area, and no more. FSI can also be called FAR or floor area ratio. Certain types of spaces, such as basements, parking areas, and utility rooms, are exempt from FSI, which means that they do not need to be counted in the FSI calculations. As of 2015, this system is used to govern buildings in CRZ areas within Mumbai.
What is Fungible FSI?
- The word fungible – from the latin root fungiblis – describes something that acts as a replacement for something else. The municipal corporation of Mumbai introduced this system to curb misuse of existing building regulations by developers. Developers would build space over and above the allowable FSI by the means of some grey areas in the building regulations. These grey areas centered around things that were free of FSI, or not counted in FSI calculations, such as flower beds, services shafts, and balconies. In the fungible FSI system, the allowable FSI on a plot is increased by 35%, with a maximum cap on the total construction area, with no exemptions. This serves to reduce ‘overbuilding’ on plots by developers. The fungible FSI seeks to act as a replacement for or a legalisation of the misuse of regulations, but with a clear mathematical limit that should not be exceeded. As of 2015, fungible FSI is applicable to all plots in Mumbai with the exception of those that fall under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) limits.
- TDR: can be an additional 1 on FSI in normal areas, not in CRZ areas. Areas given to road setbacks and recreational grounds (15% of the plot area) should be deducted from the TDR. Therefore, if there are no setbacks, the TDR will be 0.85.
- Height of Building: depends on location and proximity to airport. Height of a room should not be less than 4.2m.
- Setbacks / Open Spaces: Required around building: Ht/3 for living spaces (bedrooms, living rooms) and Ht/5 for dead walls and toilets. This can be overcome by paying a premium to the BMC. However the CFO will demand a clear 6mx6m for fire engine movement.
- Min Size of Rooms: as follows:Min Area Min Width Habitable Rooms 9.5 m2 2.4m Toilets 2.2m2 Toilets (separate) 1.1 m2 (WC) 1.5 m2 (area of bath) Kitchens (1 BHK Flats) 5.5 m2 1.8m Kitchens (2 BHK Flats) 7.5 m2 2.1m.
- Balconies: upto 10% of the FSI area per floor allowed free of FSI. Flower beds upto 1.2m in width allowed all around the building. If a flower bed is placed in front of a balcony, then its width should not exceed 0.6m.
- Refuge Areas: one every 24m in height, area not less than 4% of the occupied space existing till the next refuge area.
- Staircases: not less than two if the floor plate is more than 500m2 or the height more than 24m. Each should be 1.5m wide, enclosed by a 230mm brick wall, ventilated to the outside, and accessed via a fire door. Higher buildings will require 2m stairs.
- Shafts: min dimension of 0.6m.
- Service Floors: should have a minimum clear height of 1.5m.
- 11. Parking:In residential buildings, for tenements upto 70 m2 in area, 1 car per tenement, 2 for bigger flats (except in A Ward, where 4 are required). After this, add 10% for visitors. (50% of spaces can may be 4.5 x 2.3m, the rest not less than 5.5 x 2.5m).In educational buildings, it is one car per every 35m2 of carpet area of the administrative offices and public services spaces only.
- In residential buildings, for tenements upto 70 m2 in area, 1 car per tenement, 2 for bigger flats (except in A Ward, where 4 are required). After this, add 10% for visitors. (50% of spaces can may be 4.5 x 2.3m, the rest not less than 5.5 x 2.5m).
- In educational buildings, it is one car per every 35m2 of carpet area of the administrative offices and public services spaces only.
NEW DCR RULES
In January 2012, the Government of Maharashtra announced further amendments to the Development Control Rules (DCR) for Mumbai with the primary motive of bringing in transparency and reducing arbitrary and discretionary decision-making. The new rules would mean pricing based on maximum available FSI, eliminating the ambiguity that was largely prevalent earlier with respect to disproportionate saleable area.
What changes have been made?
• Under the new DCR, areas for balcony, flower-beds, terraces, voids, niches would be counted in the FSI. These were not earlier considered in FSI calculations.
• To compensate for this loss in FSI, the government has allowed compensatory fungible FSI of up to 35% for residential developments and 20% for industrial and commercial developments. This can be used for bigger habitat area or flowerbeds, voids etc.
• Fungible FSI will be available at 60%, 80% and 100% of the ready reckoner rates for residential, industrial and commercial developments respectively.
• Under the new norms developers will have an option of 25% more parking over the DCR limit without premium and without being counted in FSI, which would bring some much needed relief to developers and end-users alike.
• These rules would bring in transparency and curb corruption as they limit discretionary powers of authorities and provide a level playing field for all developers. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) expects to earn upto Rs.1,000 crores a year, which would be used in infrastructure developments in Mumbai.
Do the new rules apply to all buildings?
The new DCR rules do not apply to cessed, non-cessed old buildings, Mhada layouts, chawls and slums undergoing redevelopment. This would mean waiver of premium for buildings meant for rehabilitation. The compensatory floor space index (FSI) for the saleable component of these structures will, however, be governed by the new rules.Benefits of New DCR Rules Tenants, Housing Society members and Slum Dwellers can now demand more space from Builders redeveloping properties. Amended Development Control Rules approved by the State Government in last January, 2012 grant 35% compensatory Floor Space Index (FSI) free to the rehab component of the redevelopment project. But it is not known if the Builder or flat owner will have to pay for the additional space.
Among the beneficiaries could be tenants living in the over 16,000 old and dilapidated cessed buildings in the island city. Tenants are currently entitled to 300 – 700 square feet houses free when their buildings are redeveloped. But if the flat is larger than 700 sq ft. Builders provide an equivalent area to the tenant in the redeveloped property.
The compensatory FSI for the rehab portion is “Free of Premium”, but it is upto the Builder to provide the extra area to the tenant or flat owner. The 35% extra FSI will be on the built up area of the existing flat.
Will this bring down costs for home buyers? Theoretically, the following results should be achieved as a result of these changes:
- With the new rules, Mumbai will witness increase in net FSI at 1.79 in the island city and 2.7 in the suburbs, which should ideally bring down costs. The earlier practices where market prices reflected disproportionate saleable area had resulted in an increase in cost.
- The given FSI cap would bring cost rationalisation as developers would need to invest in quality design, maximising revenue by offering maximum value to end-users. However, in reality since no additional concessions are being given to commercial developments, the premium for additional FSI would increase developer costs and reduce profit margins by upto 10-30%, if the incremental costs are not passed on to the buyers. The government has also issued a directive for 20% of apartments in all big projects to be distributed at construction cost to economically weaker sections.
- In the immediate term developers may not resort to a price increase but be happy to cut down on the margins, as if they increase prices this would further aggravate the situation of already stagnated sales given interest rates are at peak levels.
Dedicated to comrade Govind pansare:-
India has the second largest road system in the world with a road length of about 3.3 million kms. There is, however, a high disparity in construction quality and road conditions nationwide. To reduce the congestion and improve road quality, the central and state governments have focused on road development projects in the recent years. Public private partnerships have also been leveraged through the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) framework. The primary revenue generation for these BOT projects is through tolls. Due to difficulties and costs of toll collections, the government has also initiated annuity based BOT projects, wherein revenue streams would be provided to the BOT operator, either based on traffic volumes, or as a pre-determined amount.
Toll tax is collected to recover the total capital outlay which includes the cost of construction, repairs, maintenance, expenses on toll operation and interest on the outlay. The new facility thus constructed should provide reduced travel time and increased level of service. This tax is collected for a reasonable period of time after which the facility is surrendered to the public. Of late, toll tax is being levied on parking of vehicles in the urban centres in a move to decongest the streets and reduce the pollution levels. This concept is known as Congestion Pricing. Toll is not a tax, it is a fee. It is charged on the people who use the road. This ensures that only those people who use the road have to pay for it. Road tax is used for developing roads like city roads, and civic infrastructure. The purpose in tolling roads is so that we can have sustainable infrastructure to boost our economy using private capital, thus freeing up taxpayers money for other purposes such as health and sanitation, education, law and order, etc.
The private entity is free to charge citizens for using the infrastructure – till they have squeezed enough from it. This part is a bit controversial as some times the transfer to public maintenance does not take place in a proper way. For instance in certain places the toll rates are still being collected even after the contract period is over. This is a double edged sword. Government of India based infrastructure maintenance is not exactly known for efficiency and infrastructure is not built in time. Essentially this is a free get away card and the government is happy to do this. Citizens on the other hand have to pay hefty amounts to use the infrastructure whereas public model does not aim to make a profit.
Issues Faced currently leading to resentment to pay Toll Taxes:-
1. Toll taxes have no fixed time limit attached to it. There are toll booths in the country which are still charging the tax-payers after 20 years of construction.
2. Toll taxes are a double whammy as while we go through the highway as well as when we return we are charged with the same amount of tax; irrespective of the duration of visit.
3. There is no mechanism to ensure the quality of roads even after paying huge amount of money as toll tax.
4. Toll tax amounts to double taxation as the citizens already pay certain taxes to the government for infrastructure purpose.
5. The companies make toll taxes as an instrument to earn as much profit as possible which is not reasonable.
The fact that toll taxes have lost their purpose and become a tool to excavate money from the tax-payers is, to a great extent, true. The total absence of transparency in the toll collection system has time and again aroused suspicion and anger among commuters. In fact, people from across the country are still puzzled as to why toll charges on highways or expressways are increased all the time, especially when there is not much information available on the increase in number of vehicles using the road. There is hardly any authentic information on how much toll is collected annually by the private agency at each booth. Hence the current system of Toll Tax was criticised by many people in India.
Despite several promises by state politicians to close toll booths, the ‘business’ continues to not only rob travellers but is also ‘automatically’ increasing the period for toll collection. Every now and then political parties indulge in violent protests against toll charges, allegedly more for political one-upmanship than sort out the issue that is burdening commuters.
Veteran Left leader Govind Pansare had started Anti Toll Tax Campaign. Pansare’s frank views on historical facts and social norms were revolutionary and irked many who didn’t approve of his anti superstition and secular ideology. Govind and his wife, Uma, were shot at in Kolhapur on Monday, 16th February, 2015 when they had been out for a walk. This is third such incident in Maharashtra after RTI activist Satish Shetty and rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar were shot dead in Pune. Popularly known as Comrade Pansare or Pansare Kaka, he was one of those leaders who spearheaded the anti-toll movement in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra. He was vocal against communalism. A highly-respected politician, he was on the Central Committee of CPI. He had also taken part in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. Pansare was against capitalist and communal forces and the reason behind the murderous attack on the veteran leader is not yet known.
The similarities between the attack on Dr Narendra Dabholkar and now, Pansare, are a little too many. Both are noted social activists who have believed in secular thoughts and were proponents of the anti superstition movement. Both have dedicated their lives to fighting against injustice in society. Both were in the firing line of certain sections of society who resented their views on secularism and social justice. And both were attacked in a similar fashion by attackers shooting out at them in the early hours of the morning. And both had been receiving threats from people who opposed their views. In both these cases, the attempt was to silence the ideology they stood for.
The attack on Pansare saw widespread protests across Maharashtra with people pouring into the streets to demand immediate action against the assailants. Black flag protests in Aurangabad, rural parts of Solapur and Nashik and even Mumbai shows the following Pansare enjoyed among the weaker sections of society. The chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, announced the formation of ten police teams to probe the matter but the assurance held little value for the people of Maharashtra who have seen Dabholkar’s killers not being caught till date. Pansare’s supporters and colleagues believe that criminals have been emboldened by the police’s inability to nab the accused in the Dabholkar case. It’s been 18 months since Dabholkar was shot dead in the middle of Pune and the killers have not been brought to book as yet. As protests pick up across the state, all eyes are on the new government to see if the police force under the new regime will be able to ensure action against the attackers.
Around a fortnight ago, it is said, Govind Pansare, got a threat letter from an unidentified person. The sender was someone who didn’t agree with the senior activist’s views. But that was a regular feature for the social activist who fought for justice for the underprivileged and marginalised and espoused secular values all his life. The danger that these random letters posed was seen only on 16th February’s morning when Pansare and his wife Uma were shot at by assailants on a bike when the couple were out for a morning walk. Let’s agree to disagree and not silence the disagreement with bullet. A society devoid of opposition is a society devoid of reason.
FDI IN RAILWAY SECTOR
Reserve Bank of India vide notification dated 8th December 2014, has permitted 100% FDI in railway Infrastructure sector under automatic route subject to conditions. Accordingly, it has been decided to permit FDI in the following activities of the Railway Transport sector:“Construction, operation and maintenance of the following:
- Suburban corridor projects through PPP,
- High speed train projects,
- Dedicated freight lines,
- Rolling stock including train sets,
- and locomotives/coaches manufacturing and maintenance facilities,
- Railway Electrification,
- Signaling systems,
- Freight terminals,
- Passenger terminals,
- Infrastructure in industrial park pertaining to railway line/sidings including electrified railway lines and connectivities to main railway line and
- Mass Rapid Transport Systems.
Further, FDI beyond 49% of the equity of the investee company in sensitive areas from security point of view will be brought before the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for consideration on a case to case basis.”
SEBI regulations 2014 comes in to force from today: SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 (“RA Regulations”) were notified in September 2014 and have come into effect from 1st December 2014. These regulations have been introduced to root out any foul play by the research entities analysts or individuals arising out of any conflict of interests.
As per these norms, no person shall act as research analyst or research entity or hold itself out as research analyst unless he has obtained a certificate of registration from SEBI under these regulations unless an exemption specifically applies. Proxy advisory firms, which do not provide buy and sell recommendations, are also required to register with the regulator.
This regulation not only requires registration of qualified individuals, but also prescribes the code of conduct of research analysts and entities. Strict requirements have been put in place for the minimum educational qualifications of the research analysts as well as the minimum capital adequacy requirement. The research analyst also needs to ensure that they obtain a NISM certification for research analysts as specified by the Board or other certification recognized by the Board from time to time.
Besides personal trading under these norms shall be monitored and has to be recorded as per the provisions and wherever required needs formal approval process. The research entity shall not pay any bonus, salary or compensation to the research analysts that are based on merchant banking, investment banking or brokerage service transactions.
Any person who makes public appearance or makes a recommendation or offers an opinion concerning securities or public offers through public media has to disclose his name, registration status and details of financial interest in the subject company and he shall comply with the provisions of the regulations. The regulations also provide for penal actions that SEBI can take against erring research analysts. Such actions would include cancellation of registration, debarment, or penalties similar to any other market intermediary.
However, registered Investment Advisers, Credit Rating Agencies, Portfolio Managers, Asset Management Companies, fund managers of Alternative Investment Funds or Venture Capital Funds would not be required to be registered under these regulations.
With regard to foreign entities, SEBI has decided that they have to enter into an arrangement with registered research analysts.
NEW INSIDERS TRADING NORMS:
The SEBI has recently replaced almost two decade old SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992 with a new regulation in place of existing regulation.
The new regulations put in place and strengthen the legal and enforcement framework, align Indian regime with international practices, provide clarity with respect to the definitions and concepts, and facilitate legitimate business transactions. The details are available on the website of SEBI.NEW LISTING REGULATIONS:
On 19th November 2014, SEBI has come out SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2014, with comprehensive listing regulations to consolidate listing obligations and disclosure requirements for listed entities across all the below mentioned securities at one place. This would also facilitate better compliance and investor protection.
This Regulation would consolidate and streamline the provisions of existing listing agreements thereby ensuring better enforceability.
AMENDMENT IN DELISTING NORMS:
The following changes have been made to SEBI (Delisting of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009:
1. The delisting shall be considered successful only when
a. the shareholding of the acquirer together with the shares tendered by public shareholders reaches 90% of the total share capital of the company and
b. if atleast 25% of the number of public shareholders, holding shares in dematerialised mode as on the date of the Board meeting which approves the delisting proposal, tender in the reverse book building process.
2. The offer price determined through Reverse Book Building shall be the price at which the shareholding of the promoter, after including the shareholding of the public shareholders who have tendered their shares, reaches the threshold limit of 90%.
