Mhada to hold 1 more lottery around Diwali Over 1,200 Win Homes In Friday’s Draw

Mumbai: In a first, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is planning to hold a second round of lottery for 2,450 under-construction flats around Diwali this year. The flats, which would be completed early next year, would be located in Virar, said Mhada vicechairman Satish Gavai. 

    Till now, Mhada has held only one lottery in a year. 
    The government is encouraging Mhada to hold the second round of lottery in view of the 2014 general election, sources told TOI. 
    "Another 3,000 flats, most of which are located in Virar, will be put up for sale in 2014. I am not sure, but I don't think the election code of conduct will affect the lottery scheduled to be held on May 31, 2014,'' said Gavai. "Mhada has already made plans to provide 8,000-10,000 affordable homes to citizens on 60-70 hectares of land acquired over the past few years,'' Gavai added. 
    On Friday, the dreams of over 1,000 citizens came true as they won flats in the lottery held by Mhada. Of the 1,244 flats put up for sale, homebuyers won 1,204. 
    "All my life, I have lived in a slum. But I didn't want a similar life for my daughter. Now that I have won a flat, my worries are over,'' said Narayan Mudlidar, who works as a driver in a private firm. Mudlidar, who had applied for aMhada flat for the first time this year, won a 269 sq ft flat in Magathane for Rs 11 lakh. 
    "It seems I have been given my dues for my service to the nation. This flat will give me security in my old age," said exserviceman Pramod Sawant (62), who wona 305 sq ft flat in Powai for Rs 49 lakh. 
    Mhada received 1,500 applications for a single 1 BHK flat (437 sq ft) priced at Rs 30 lakh at Pratiksha Nagar in the middleincome group. This is the maximum number of applications received for a single flat so far. The flat was one of the most affordable given that Mhada's MIG homes in Kandivli cost around Rs 53 lakh. Next in demand were 62 flats in the economically weaker category in Borivli. Over 14,000 applications were received for these. THE WORLD IS FLATFIGURING IT OUT 
    Total no. of flats | 1,244 (572 highincome group, 354 middle-income group, 96 low-income group and 222 economically weaker section ) 
    Total no. of valid applications received | 87,647 or an average of 70 applications per flat 
    Flats won in lottery | 1,204 
    Flats kept aside for various categories | 40 (24 for the CM's discretionary quota and 16 for defence personnel, central government staffers as well as retired and sitting public representatives) WINNERSPEAK 
    Getting my own flat 
    after 21 years seems like a gift for serving the nation Kiran Nikam | RETD INDIAN AIR FORCE PERSONNEL 
Won a 740 sq ft carpet area flat in Gorai for 66 lakh 
    As I am retiring in a few 
    years, the flat cost seems to be high. My daughter recently got a job, so I believe I will be able to afford it D N Jagdale | JOINT CHIEF OFFICER, MUMBAI BOARD, MHADA 
MOST WANTED Mhada received 1,500 applications for one flat at Pratiksha Nagar, Sion, in the middle-income group. This is the maximum no. of applicationsMhada has received for one flat till date NETAS' STOREY 
    15 people, including 9 politicians, won flats for lack of competition in the category they had applied 
    Six of the 9 politicians won the most expensive set of flats (477 sq ft) at Tunga in Powai for 75.22 lakh each 
    The winners include MLAs Dadarao Keche (BJP) and Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (Shiv Sena), Sena MP Bhausaheb Wakchaure and former Congress MLA Kisanrao Khopade OFFICER ON BOARD 
Joint chief officer of Mhada's Mumbai board D N Jagdale won a 476 sq ft carpet area flat at Tunga Village in Powai for 75 lakh. Jagdale had applied for aMhada flat three-four times earlier, but won the lottery only this time

Govt simplifies e-filing of RTI pleas, allows web-based payment

New Delhi: Filing RTI applications will now become easier with the government extending e-filing of petitions to more departments and enabling people to pay through web-based payment gateway. After launching the facility for department of personnel and training (DoPT) recently, this will be extended to nearly half a dozen departments including road transport and highways ministry on June 3. 

    DoPT has already launched a portal, rtionline.gov.in, to file RTI applications/first appeals online along with payment gateway. Payment can be made through internet banking of SBI and its associate banks and debit/credit cards of Master/Visa. Through this portal, RTI applications/first appeals can be filed for the main ministries/departments of central government located in the national capital. 
    After filing their applications, citizens can track the status and will also get online reply from the ministries/departments. However, the website mentions that such applications should not be filed for other public authorities under central/state governments through this portal. This includes the entire Delhi government. According to sources, DoPT officials told the highway ministry on Thursday that the number of RTI applications has increased manifold since the facility was started. While RTI activist Subhash Agrawal welcomed the initiative, he said the service will have practical limitations because of public authorities being in large numbers apart from government departments and ministries. "System should be formulated whereby there may be sub-options for undertakings after main options of departments and ministries controlling these undertakings," he said.

Ambiguity in CRZ order exposes coastline to development threat

 The Union government has exposed the country's shores to rampant development by leaving ambiguous the definitions of the coastline's features. The fallout of this uncertainty has been confusion among states and renewed construction bids near shores.
   The Centre's 2011 Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, which defines the scope of coastal conservation, stipulates different treatment for the country's bays and seafront. At seafronts, it prohibits construction at least up to 500 metres from the high tide line. At bays, it extends protection landward up to 100 metres or for the bay's width-—whichever is less.
   All importantly, the 2011 notification does not define the lesser-protected bays.
   In a letter to the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) earlier this year, the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) sought the definition of what constitutes a bay. The issue is critical, say experts, since geomorphologically large parts of the coast of Maharashtra, Goa and north Karnataka are bays. The country's eastern coast, of course, sits by a bay—the Bay of Bengal. The 2011 notification reduces the effective protection on all these areas to a mere 100 metres, said officials.
   The Maharashtra coastal authority believes the notification leaves the state particularly badly placed since "most of the state's coastal area is either on bays or creeks". Valsa Nair-Singh, secretary (environment), said the central environment ministry has so far not clarified the issue of bays in response to the state's letter.
   Officials said the 1991 CRZ notification stipulated 500m CRZ area both for bays and seafront. Going by this specification, Maharashtra's Coastal Zone Management Plan was approved by the central environment ministry in 2000. But the 2011 notification disrupted the arrangement.
   The urgency to define a bay occurred after the Bombay high court directed MCZMA to take a decision on the M N Koli CHS slum rehabilitation project at Mahim Bay. The scheme was submitted in 1984-85 and approved in 1990 as per the Development Control Regulations of 1967. Construction started immediately thereafter. But once the 1991 CRZ notification came into force, the proposal got stalled, first because the land got tagged CRZ-I and then CRZ-II.
   As per the 2000 coastal zone management plan, in front of the slum plot is Mahim Bay and on one side the creek. The distance of the slum plot from the bay as well as the creek is more than 200 metres, said government officials, citing Google Maps and the coastal zone plan.
   After the 2011 CRZ notification was issued, the slum plot's developer filed a petition claiming the water body at Mahim is a bay and not the sea. He asked that a 100m CRZ line be demarcated as per the new notification. Further, he argued that since the plot falls beyond the 100m line, it is out of the CRZ purview.
   Officials said a bay is indistinguishable from seafront in most areas. "The distinction was not of much relevance earlier since the CRZ distance for seafront as well as recesses, such as bay, estuaries, creeks, was 500 metres," said an official.
   G D Chiplunkar, an expert on CRZ, said it is imperative for the central environment ministry to clearly define seafront and bay. The difference in protections for the two, he said, is based on the difference in threats to them from tidal and wave energy.
   "CRZ of 500 metres should be prescribed for open sea, where waves and tide can inundate larger areas; this is why more buffer is required. At creeks and inland waters, the wave effects are less since these areas are not exposed directly to the sea; thus 100m buffers are sufficient," he explained.
   However, at Mahim Chowpatty, as also for the Bay of Bengal, the 500m buffer zone should apply since they face the sea, said Chiplunkar.

SEA OF TROUBLES


The state has asked the Centre to clarify on the distinction between seafront and bay. The ambiguity on this in a CRZ notification has led to the imperilment of large parts of the coast of Maharashtra, Goa and north Karnataka as well as the country's eastern coast SAVING THE COASTS | THE COUNTRY'S BAYS AND SEAFRONTS ARE NO LONGER GIVEN THE SAME LEVEL OF PROTECTION GENERAL DESCRIPTION

BAY |

Loosely defined as a body of water partly enclosed by land. Generally, a bay has calmer waters than the surrounding sea and is a good place for ships to take shelter. When large and deep enough, bays become natural harbours In the 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, CRZ areas were classified as CRZ-I (ecologically sensitive), CRZII (built-up area), CRZ-III (rural area) and CRZ-IV (water area)
The '91 notification stipulated 500m CRZ area for bays and seafront
The 2011 CRZ notification retained the same classification as the 1991 announcement, but added class CRZIV, which includes water areas up to the territorial waters and tidalinfluenced water bodies
   A separate draft Island Protection Zone Notification was issued for protection of the islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
   The 2011 notification prohibits construction at seafront at least up to 500m from the high tide line. At bays, it extends protection landward up till 100m or for the bay's width—whichever is less

BAY OF BENGAL

The 2011 CRZ notification puts under cloud of development the country's eastern coastline, which sits along the Bay of Bengal:
   The largest bay in the world, it forms the north-eastern part of the Indian Ocean
   Roughly triangular in shape and occupying an area of 2.17 million sq km, it is bordered by India and Sri Lanka to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the east
   A number of large rivers—Ganga and its distributaries such as Padma and Hooghly, the Brahmaputra and its distributaries such as Jamuna and Meghna—and other rivers such as Irrawaddy, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri flow into the bay
   Among important ports along it are Chennai, Tuticorin, Paradip, Kolkata and Yangon

POPULAR PLACES ALONG BAY OF BENGAL    

INDIA | Marina Beach (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) | Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) | Puri (Odisha) | Digha (East Midnapore district, West Bengal) | Suryalanka (Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) | Chandipur (Baleswar district, Odisha) | Mandarmani (East Midnapore district, West Bengal) | Bakkhali (South 24 Parganas, West Bengal) SRI LANKA | Arugam
   BANGLADESH | Cox's Bazar | Kuakata | St Martin's Island MYANMAR | Ngapali

BAYS WORLDWIDE


PHANG NGA BAY
In the Andaman Sea close to the Thai island of Phuket, it has beautiful caves, aquatic grottoes and limestone islands, some of which are 984ft high BAY OF FUNDY | On the Atlantic coast of Canada, it is famous for high tidal range. Because of its unique shape, the difference in water level between high and low tides can be as much as 52ft
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
Located on the Californian coast, it has many islands, including Alcatraz which served as a prison until 1963. The area around it is the American West's secondlargest urban area PARADISE BAY | One of Antarctica's most visited areas, it is one of only two places where cruise ships can stop on the continent. The bay is surrounded by ice cliffs and glaciated mountains
VICTORIA HARBOUR | Among the world's deepest container ports and a major tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its strategic location was instrumental in the city's establishment

PROTECTION OF COASTS


AUSTRALIA | A national framework looks at land and marine-based sources of pollution as well as climate change SOUTH AFRICA | The Integrated Coastal Management Act provides procedures for demarcating and adjusting the boundaries of coastal protection zone, coastal access land and entry onto such land
UNITED STATES | The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration works with federal, state and local partners to address a variety of coastal issues SRI LANKA | Its coastal zone plan involves communities. A permit system manages development within 300m coastal zone CALIFORNIA | Coastal policies are achieved through local programmes that have to be completed by the 15 counties and 61 cities in the coastal zone

Times View: Clear the air at the earliest    

The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification is meant to protect India's vast coastline and ensure sustainable development along it. It was introduced to prevent mindless destruction. But an ambiguous notification can only cause more ecological damage. The MoEF, while issuing the notification, had asked various implementing agencies to bring any doubts or confusion to its notice. It is binding on the MoEF to clear the air at the earliest rather than leave room for interpretations and misuse.

Namaste, India: Li After 27 Years

 

Chinese premier Li Keqiang made a resounding case for greater partnership between India and China, and, for the first time for any major leader from across the Himalayas, obliquely referred to India's burgeoning ties with the US, suggesting, without naming names, that it was a case of picking a distant relative over a neighbour.
"A country may choose its friends, but not its neighbours. As an ancient proverb says, a distant relative may not be as useful as a near neighbour. With a long border and extensive common interests, China and India should not seek cooperation from afar, while neglecting the partner close by," Li said.
He was addressing a gathering of businessmen at an event organised by the Indian Council for World Affairs and the industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. This was his first public event since arriving in India on Sunday.
He said his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were "candid, frank and fruitful", adding that the two sides did not shy away from discussing the border question and had agreed to push forward negotiation. The two countries had the "wisdom" to find a solution to the border question, he said. "A few clouds in the sky cannot shut out brilliant sun rays of our friendship," he said.
Li said he was confident that the persistent trade imbalance could be overcome and that a balanced trade relationship alone was sustainable. "I am confident that we have the ability to mitigate the trade imbalance between our two counties and China never has any intention to seek trade surplus." He said he will work on improving market access for Indian firms and that negotiations on a regional free-trade agreement will be pursued.
Li struck the right opening note by saying 'Namaste', and then adding that he hadn't had an opportunity to use the word in 27 years. He fondly recalled his visit to India as part of a youth delegation in 1986. "Twenty seven years ago I visited India and I was deeply impressed by India's vast territory, timehonoured civilisation as well as hardworking and talented people."
His frankness and easy body language that Indian diplomats had found remarkable was on display for everyone. He said Indian songs, movies and yoga were popular in China the way Chinese food and Kung Fu were popular here. "The most important outcomes of these meetings we had were that we have expanded our strategic mutual trust and reached a number of new positive outcomes," Li said. He illustrated the combined power of the two countries with an example: "If every one of our combined 2.5 billion population would buy a new mobile phone, it would blow up the order lists of IT manufacturers and operators in the world."

Li with Kotnis Family

MUMBAI Li Keqiang paid tributes to the memory of a young Indian doctor who treated wounded and plague-stricken Chinese soldiers on battlefront. Li took a break from his schedule to meet the family members of Dwarkanath Kotnis.

'US, Don't be Jealous'

BEIJING As Li made a "successful" visit to India, a state-run daily took a dig at US saying Washington should not feel "jealous" over close Sino-Indian ties. 'People's Daily' also said India would not harm its ties with China to further US' interests

A Billion Betrayed For Lakhs

 Sreesanth & Two Raj Royal Teammates Arrested By Delhi Police In Mumbai Dead Of Wed Night For Taking Money From Bookies To Spot-Fix In 3 Matches, Including Against MI Hours Earlier

Players Nailed By Audio, Video Proof; No Clean Chit To Other Teams, Games

New Delhi: The dark and ugly face of Indian cricket exposed itself on Thursday when Delhi police unravelled a shocking and disgraceful spot-fixing scandal in the IPL involving three Rajasthan Royals players, including India international S Sreesanth. The three were caught striking deals—ranging from Rs 40 to Rs 60 lakh—with bookies for conceding a pre-determined number of runs in an over.
   Armed with what appears to be incontrovertible evidence, police sleuths moved in to arrest the three cricketers—Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan—in Mumbai in the early hours when they were still in bed. As many as 11 bookies have been nabbed, including those with fanciful code names like Jupiter and Manoj Metro. One bookie arrested in Ahmedabad, Amit Singh, is a cricketer who played for Rajasthan Royals last season.
   The mastermind of the spot-fixing racket, Sunil Ramchandani, is said to be in Dubai, raising suspicion of it being linked to a betting cartel controlled from Dubai by Tiger Memon, the most trusted aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar said more arrests were expected, and there were reports late at night of two more arrests in Mumbai.
   But overshadowing the story of the crooked book-makers was the shame that has engulfed Indian cricket. Sreesanth, the talented but temperamental seamer, was seen by millions of cricket lovers as Team India's lucky mascot, having helped the team claim two World Cup titles — T20 in 2007 and ODI in 2011. But on Thursday, India discovered his seamier side.
   Sreesanth and his two teammates were among 14 people arrested from Mumbai and Delhi, after special cell cops got confirmation of the racket when they found Chavan had bowled an over exactly as discussed with bookies earlier in the day.
   Police said spot fixing had taken place during three Raj Royals matches this season—on May 5, 9 and 15— against Pune Warriors, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan Royals' owners, BCCI and ICC pledged full cooperation with the investigations.

NOT BROKE, BUT THEY STILL FIXED IT


THREE IN A ROYAL SPOT

S Sreesanth | 30 |

Pacer from Kerala. Featured in T20 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals that India won

Ajit Chandila | 29 |

Off-break bowler from Faridabad, Haryana

Ankeet Chavan | 27 |

Left-arm spinner from Mumbai
Of these Raj Royal players, Sreesanth fetched 2.2 crore in the auction in IPL 2012. Others signed as domestic players and got 20 lakh each

BOOKIES BOOKED

11 bookies arrested, including Jiju Janardhan alias Biju, a friend of Sreesanth, who acted as a conduit for him. Also Amit Singh, who played for RR last year and is still in the extended team. Another bookie, Chandresh Patel, codenamed Jupiter. From Delhi, Deepak Kumar, Rakesh alias Rocky were arrested

WHAT'S SPOT FIXING

Spot fixing is fixing in advance the result of a certain ball or over, or performance of an individual player. Player gets huge sums for doing what he's told. Bookies use advance info to rig bets. Matchfixing is fixing the outcome of a game. It's more difficult as it involves more players

CODES OF PLAYERS AND BOOKIES

No unusual gesture. A player would rotate watch, wear a towel, lift the T-shirt or tuck it in, take out the locket or put it in. Code for money: samaan. Payoffs range from 40-60 lakh

HOT LEADS

Delhi police were tracking some underworld leads since March. In early April, officers stumbled upon intercepts of a person from Mumbai underworld, now in Dubai, talking of spot fixing. By end of April, involvement of players came to notice. On Wed night, Sreesanth picked up from Carter Rd, Chavan from Trident, Chandila from InterCon

ARE FOREIGN PLAYERS INVOLVED?

Delhi police chief Neeraj Kumar says no. Speculation about other players rife

WHAT ABOUT TEAM OWNERS?

No evidence has been found

BALL BY BALL



MAY 5 |

Rajasthan v Pune, Jaipur What's fixed: Chandila would concede 14 or more runs in his 2nd over. Chandila gives away three easy fours and bowls a wide The code: Chandila would lift his shirt and look skywards Amount: 20 lakh in advance & 20 lakh later Slip-up: Chandila concedes runs but forgets to give signal. Deal is off and he has to refund money

MAY 9 |

Rajasthan v Punjab, Mohali What's fixed: Sreesanth would concede 13 runs or more in his 2nd over. He concedes 13, even though loose deliveries go unpunished The code: Sreesanth would tuck a towel in the front of his trousers. Before bowling the 2nd over, he asks for towel, warms up and stretches to give time for bookies to take bets Amount: 40 lakh

MAY 15 |

Mumbai vs Rajasthan, Mumbai What's fixed: Chavan's 2nd over to cost 13 or more runs. Chandila (not playing this match) acts as middleman between Chavan and bookies. Chavan goes for 15 runs. Rajasthan lose match by 14 runs The code: Chavan would move his wrist band Amount: 60 lakh. Chandila wants a cut; asks bookies not to pay Chavan directly

Tiger Memon controlling ops?


   The disclosure that Sreesanth, two of his Rajasthan Royal teammates and 11 bookies had been held for spot fixing sent shockwaves across the cricketing world, drawing a torrent of quips and comments on social media.
   Sources told TOI that Friday's match between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and RR was also under the scanner. While Neeraj Kumar, in a press conference, ruled out the involvement of any other cricketer, team management person or owner in the racket, sources told this paper that several groups of bookies were operating in all cities and as per their information, other players too had taken money from bookies but did not exactly carry out their bidding.
   Delhi police traced a call in mid-March this year made from aDubai number, while tracking a gangster, where they heard people talk about signs to be used in the cricket ground. Neeraj Kumar called this a "chance intercept". The information was developed and it was learnt that the underworld was using bookies in IPL to make crores of rupees and some players were conniving with them.
   "We had information about bookies from Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and other states involved in this spot fixing, who were working on directions of the underworld," said S N Srivastava, special commissioner (special cell). After the intercept, a team of Inspector Badrish Dutt, who was later found dead along with his live-in partner Geeta Sharma in Gurgaon last week, and Inspector Kailash Bisht started intercepting calls of some bookies. In all, sources say some 40 phones including those of these three cricketers and others, were put under surveillance from the beginning of this IPL, that is, April 3.
   Senior police brass monitored the highly secret investigations on a daily basis, so that players and bookies were arrested with maximum evidence in hand. Delhi police teams watched all suspicious matches from the stadium and at its office, recording every over bowled by the players under investigation.
   Special cell teams were in Mumbai on Wednesday night, watching the match between Mumbai and Rajasthan to establish whether Ankeet Chavan would give away more than 14 runs — as discussed by bookies in phone conversations intercepted by the phones. Police got their confirmation when Ankeet gave away 15 runs in his second over. Special cell officers then called up the police brass in Delhi, seeking directions to arrest the suspects. After initial formalities, Sreesanth was arrested from Carter Road on Thursday morning at 5am, Chandila from outside Intercontinental Mumbai, when he was returning to team hotel Trident after meeting bookies, and Ankeet Chavan, who was sleeping in his room at Trident around 7.30am. Both the hotels are on Marine Drive and close to Wankhede Stadium.
   The players, now suspended by the BCCI, have been brought to Delhi and charged under section 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. Section 420 invites a maximum punishment of seven years. Officials say they are also likely to be booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which could land them in jail without bail and their confessions before a DCP level officer will be admissible in court. Police are also looking for more bookies based in Delhi and Mumbai.
   Police said Sreesanth, Chandila and Ankeet had bowled fixed overs for payments of Rs 60 lakh, Rs 40 lakh and Rs 40 lakh, respectively. But in the May 9 match against Kings XI, Chandila forgot to signal to the bookies that he was about to 'fix' the over, due to which bookies were not happy and demanded that he returned the advance of Rs 20 lakh, said officials. Sreesanth, Chandila, Chavan and 11 bookies were produced in the court of CMM Lokesh Kumar in Saket on Thursday evening and were remanded to five days custody with the special cell.
   "As a lover of cricket myself, I am announcing with anger and sadness that three players of Rajasthan Royals and 11 bookies have been arrested in a spot fixing scandal," Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar said in his press conference.
   Sources said the main link between the bookie group in India and the underworld in Dubai was Ashwini Agarwal, a wellknown name in betting circles. He has been arrested.
   Other main arrested bookies have been identified as Chandresh Patel of Andheri West (Mumbai), who was dealing with Sreesanth through another arrested bookie Jiju Janardhan alias Biju; Amit Singh from Ahmedabad (who had played for Rajasthan Royal till the last season and was dealing with Chandila); Manan (dealing with Ankeet). These four were held from Intercontinental hotel in Mumbai.
   From Delhi, police have picked up Deepak Kumar, Rakesh alias Rocky and others.
   Neeraj Kumar gave explosive details of the modus operandi followed by bookies and the cricketers, giving audio-visual proof of three IPL matches which were manipulated.
   Officials say the bookies gave the players specific approval codes which were used to signify a compromised over during the matches. Kumar said, "It was information that we had that the Mumbai underworld was indulging in match-fixing or spot fixing and contacting a number of bookies and some players are mixed up," he said. Kumar said the mastermind of the racket was 'sitting abroad' .
   Sources say Tiger Memon was controlling the operation from Dubai and the bookies arrested were just the small fish. "They don't know much about the bigger bookie in India who was in touch with Memon," said asource.

Can't say if it's not happening in other teams or in other matches …there will be more arrests of bookies —NEERAJ KUMAR | DELHI POLICE CHIEF

State clears the decks for 5,000 Mhada colonies’ redevelopment

Mumbai: The state government has finally revised development norms and cleared the decks for the redevelopment of 5,000-odd societies in Mhada colonies.
   Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan-led urban development department has issued a notification in this regard.
   Raising stakes for redevelopment, the new norms offer bigger areas for tenants while linking the developers' incentives and Mhada's share in the redevelopment to the plot's market value.
   The floor space index (FSI) for redevelopment of such societies has been raised from 2.5 to 3, and to encourage societies to come together for planned development, the government has linked incentives for tenants to the size of the plot. While tenants in an individual society will get up to 35% additional area on redevelopment, the area incentive offered will increase by another 15%-45% if they participate in an integrated redevelopment scheme involving a bigger plot-size.
   The state has offered 15% more area to tenants, if they participate in a scheme on a plot area ranging from 4,000 sqm to two hectares. This would go up to 25% for development on two-five hectares, 35% on five to 10 hectares, and 45% on 10 hectares, and above.
   Of the 104 Mhada colonies in Mumbai, 56 are on larger plots. A senior state official said the idea was to encourage cluster redevelopment in such plots for better infrastructure and planning. An additional 10% area will be offered to tenants if they opt for a development or a joint venture agreement with Mhada.
   But there is a catch. To rein in fraudulent practices used by builders, Chavan has imposed a cap of 861 sq ft as the maximum rehabilitation area that can be offered to tenants, excluding the balcony area.
   The developer's incentive and Mhada's share in the surplus built-up area has been linked to market rates to make projects in lesser development pockets more viable. Accordingly, the incentive FSI offered to developers will range from 40%- 70% taking into account the ready reckoner (RR) and construction rates. The incentive component will be lower in the prime area.
   The society's share in the remaining surplus area after the rehabilitation and incentive components will range from 30%-45% depending on the RR and construction rates, while Mhada will retain the remaining built-up area.
   The state said about 60% of the built-up area in such projects will be reserved for houses for the middle and low income groups.

THE NEW REVAMP PLAN


FSI hiked from 2.5 to 3 60% built-up area for affordable houses for low and middle income groups Existing tenants to get a minimum of 405 sqft and a maximum of 900 sqft, inclusive of fungible FSI components Bigger area for tenants if they club development plans with other societies
Tenants opting for Mhada as developer to get more area
Incentive FSI for builders and Mhada's share in the redevelopment linked to Ready Reckoner (RR) and construction rates
No premium on fungible FSI for rehabilitation component
Infrastructure charge at 7% of RR to be payable on extra FSI, excluding fungible component

Industrial growth slows to 20-year low of 1% in 2012-13

 

New Delhi: Industrial growth slowed to a 20-year low of 1% in 2012-13, raising fresh worries about the health of the crucial sector despite a 2.5% rise in March on the back of signs of a
feeble revival in manufacturing and electricity sectors.
   But the looming political uncertainty in the run-up to the general elections in 2014 could impact the strength of the tentative recovery and hurt growth which is estimated to have slowed to a 10-year low of 5% in 2012-13. The government expects growth in the current fiscal year (2013-14) to revive on the back of the reform steps announced since September and expects it to be close to 6%. But experts say continued policy logjam may upset plans.
   The persistent slowdown in the industrial sector has hurt the government's plan to raise the share of manufacturing in the country's economy, and will deal a blow to the efforts to create millions of jobs.

Industry seeks urgent reforms


New Delhi: Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday showed industrial output rose 2.5% in March compared to a decline of 2.8% in the same month a year ago. For the full year, industrial growth slowed to a paltry 1%, compared to a 2.9% expansion the year before, highlighting the heightened stress in the sector. Industrial output had plunged to 0.6% and the manufacturing sector fell 0.8% when India faced an economic crisis.
   "History seems to be repeating itself. IIP (index of industrial production) data released today reveals that Indian industry's performance in 2012-13 is its worst showing in the past 20 years," ratings agency Crisil said in a note. "The current situation is reminiscent of the 1991-92 crisis when industrial output grew by a mere 0.6% whereas manufacturing output contracted by 0.8%," it added.
   While policymakers were confident of growth bouncing back, economists and India Inc called for urgent policy reforms to remove the bottlenecks to growth in the industrial sector. India Inc also called for further moderation in interest rates to boost economic activity.
   "This is exactly the trend we are hoping. If it (the trend) continues, inflation comes down and growth begins to pick up, I am quite confident that growth in the current fiscal will cross the 6% mark," economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters.
   The CSO revised the February data to 0.5% from the previously reported 0.6%.
   The industrial sector has been hit hard by stubborn inflation, high interest rates, policy logjam, delay in implementation of projects and the global economic slowdown. High input costs and shortage of power have also hurt the sector.
   Crisil said a mild rise in consumption would aid recovery in the industrial sector, and called for early resolution of issues besetting the mining sector, saying it could provide some respite not only to the mining industry but also other industries such as power generation. The capital goods sector, a key indicator of industrial activity, rose 6.9% in March compared with a 20.1% decline in the year ago month. This was the second consecutive expansion in the capital goods sector which had witnessed sharp volatility in the previous months. Economists said the easing of monetary policy and clearances of pending projects should help in a modest recovery in the sector.
   "We maintain our view of a shallow recovery to 5.7% in 2013-14 versus 5% in 2012-13. This factors in the RBI easing rates by a further 50 basis points, a pick-up in consumption as 2013-14 is a pre-election year and lower rates (that) could help consumer durables; a marginal uptick in investments, which rests on continued government efforts — both policy change and execution," said Rohini Malkani, economist at Citigroup India.Indian industry stepped up calls for faster reforms and clearances to boost growth. "Looking at the financial year 2012-13 data, it is evident that the growth in manufacturing is constrained by shortage of power and subdued growth of core sectors of the economy. Electricity growth has decelerated to just half of what it was in 2011-12, which is a cause for concern," Ficci president Naina Lal Kidwai said.

State clears the decks for 5,000 Mhada colonies’ redevelopment

 

Mumbai: The state government has finally revised development norms and cleared the decks for the redevelopment of 5,000-odd societies in Mhada colonies.
   Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan-led urban development department has issued a notification in this regard.
   Raising stakes for redevelopment, the new norms offer bigger areas for tenants while linking the developers' incentives and Mhada's share in the redevelopment to the plot's market value.
   The floor space index (FSI) for redevelopment of such societies has been raised from 2.5 to 3, and to encourage societies to come together for planned development, the government has linked incentives for tenants to the size of the plot. While tenants in an individual society will get up to 35% additional area on redevelopment, the area incentive offered will increase by another 15%-45% if they participate in an integrated redevelopment scheme involving a bigger plot-size.
   The state has offered 15% more area to tenants, if they participate in a scheme on a plot area ranging from 4,000 sqm to two hectares. This would go up to 25% for development on two-five hectares, 35% on five to 10 hectares, and 45% on 10 hectares, and above.
   Of the 104 Mhada colonies in Mumbai, 56 are on larger plots. A senior state official said the idea was to encourage cluster redevelopment in such plots for better infrastructure and planning. An additional 10% area will be offered to tenants if they opt for a development or a joint venture agreement with Mhada.
   But there is a catch. To rein in fraudulent practices used by builders, Chavan has imposed a cap of 861 sq ft as the maximum rehabilitation area that can be offered to tenants, excluding the balcony area.
   The developer's incentive and Mhada's share in the surplus built-up area has been linked to market rates to make projects in lesser development pockets more viable. Accordingly, the incentive FSI offered to developers will range from 40%- 70% taking into account the ready reckoner (RR) and construction rates. The incentive component will be lower in the prime area.
   The society's share in the remaining surplus area after the rehabilitation and incentive components will range from 30%-45% depending on the RR and construction rates, while Mhada will retain the remaining built-up area.
   The state said about 60% of the built-up area in such projects will be reserved for houses for the middle and low income groups.

THE NEW REVAMP PLAN


FSI hiked from 2.5 to 3 60% built-up area for affordable houses for low and middle income groups Existing tenants to get a minimum of 405 sqft and a maximum of 900 sqft, inclusive of fungible FSI components Bigger area for tenants if they club development plans with other societies
Tenants opting for Mhada as developer to get more area
Incentive FSI for builders and Mhada's share in the redevelopment linked to Ready Reckoner (RR) and construction rates
No premium on fungible FSI for rehabilitation component
Infrastructure charge at 7% of RR to be payable on extra FSI, excluding fungible component

New heritage rules to improve conservation by rewarding owners

  The owners of heritage properties will now be able to enjoy the fruits of redevelopment without messing around with the history and architecture of their buildings.
   In a shift from regulation to rewards, the new Heritage Regulation Policy proposes to allow the owners of such properties to not only sell the extra FSI available to them as Transfer Development Rights (TDR), but also sell it at market rates.
   The move could boost the preservation of over 900 heritage structures in the city.
   The earlier policy only provided some petty tax benefits to owners of heritage properties and allowed only plain vanilla transfer of extra FSI – that is 1000 sq ft of extra of FSI in Colaba would earn the owner 1000 sq ft of FSI in, say, Dahisar. This obviously was not very attractive because1000sqftofFSIinColabadoes nothavethesamevalueas1000sqftof FSI in Dahisar.
   According to civic rules, no TDR canbeusedintheislandcity.So,allthe additional FSI available to the owners of heritage properties must be utilized in the suburbs.
   The new policy changes this by linking the sale of extra FSI to its worth asperthegovernment'sready-reckoner rates. Simply put, if the owner of a heritage building in Colaba has 1000 sq ft of extra FSI, which he cannot utilize because he is not allowed to redevelop the building, he will get TDR rights worth the ready-reckoner value of the additional FSI he holds.
   The ready reckoner rate in Colaba is Rs 19,000 per sq ft, which makes the value of 1000 sq ft of TDR Rs 1.9 crore. The owner can thus use FSI worth Rs 1.9croreinDahisar.ThereadyreckonerrateinDahisarisroughlyRs8000per sq ft. This means, the owner will get an FSI of nearly 2,300 sq ft in Dahisar.
   The owner would then have a choiceofeitherusingthisFSIinaproperty he may develop in the suburbs, or simply sell to it to a builder.
   The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee, whose brainchild the new policy is, had recently written to the state government's Urban Development department, making it clear that unless an incentive-based policy was brought in, it would be difficult to save Mumbai's heritage.
   The new policy also makes provisionforrepairsandmaintenancesince owners of heritage buildings find it difficult to maintain old, doddering heritage structures. Many of the buildingsareownedbylandlordswhohardly have funds to undertake routine repairs. If an owner spends Rs 10 lakh on repairing his heritage building, then TDR worth Rs 10 lakh would be available to him for use in any building or project in the suburbs.
   However, all such repairs will have to be carried out as per the sanctions of the MHCC. A heritage committee member, who did not wish to be identified, said the new policy will make sure that the owners of heritage properties do not suffer any loss. "The TDR incentive offered today is not enough as the loss of development opportunity is not adequately compensated. Once it is linked to the ready-reckoner rates, the owner will have an incentive to maintain his building," he said.
   Pointing out that preservation of heritageisacollectiveresponsibilityof the city, the policy says: "It is strongly felt that heritage conservation is not getting due consideration from the owners of heritage properties because of the reliance on a regulatory mechanism rather than incentivization."

India to give up Chumar post for China pullout? But Govt Says No Concessions Offered To PLA

New Delhi: Although the Centre on Monday maintained that no concessions were offered to the Chinese to end the east Ladakh face-off, India appears to have agreed to the removal of bunkers built by the Army in Chumar, close to the Line of Actual Control, to facilitate an agreement.      Sources in the security establishment familiar with the negotiations and the local topography told TOI that the 21-day confrontation on Ladakh's desolate Depsang plains ended only after the Army agreed to demolish the bunkers that are close to what India considers its current border. The bunkers are also part of the proactive measures objected to by the Chinese.  How Delhi played hardball with Beijing      India had to play diplomatic hardball to get China to withdraw its troops. In Beijing, Indian ambassador S Jaishankar impressed on the Chinese that not only was Delhi ready to cancel the tour of foreign minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing, it was also willing to cancel the visit of the Chinese PM Li Keqiang to India. The initiative to take a harder stand was led by defence minister A K Antony, while foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai worked with the army chief to ensure that China understood that India was ready to act tough.  MHA-Army turf war over ITBP control      The standoff with China has triggered a turf war between the Union home and defence ministries over the control of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. P 10 Chumar bunkers helped keep an eye on Chinese activity  New Delhi:The Chinese reportedly agreed to restore the pre-April 15 status along the LAC only after the Indian Army said it would pull down the "permanent" structures in Chumar that allow Indian troops to keep an eye on the Karakoram highway.      It has been claimed that India has also adopted "intrusive" tactics to counter aggressive Chinese patrolling, and temporarily rolling back some measures is not a large sacrifice. It was also claimed that these bunkers were made only as "retaliation" to the Chinese intrusion. The vacation of the strategically-located bunkers or "observation posts"—that help keep an eye on troop movements on the Chinese side—could end India's drill of daily border patrols to the "disputed" area, highly-placed sources said.      Indian troops were patrolling the motorable stretch from the regular Chumar post to the bunkers and manning them through the day. The Chinese troops, who surprised India by setting up tented posts some 19km into what India perceives as its side of the LAC, first flagged concerns over the bunkers in Chumar at the second flag meeting on April 21. Since then, this strategic observation post has emerged as abone of contention. China was uncomfortable with Indians being able to peep at the movement on the highway. The Chinese, in fact, had frequently tried to "immobilize" the surveillance cameras positioned at the Chumar post by cutting the wires. — Bharti Jain

CBI contradicts law minister & A-G, tells SC they altered status reports PMO, Coal Min Also Asked For Changes: Sinha

New Delhi: Contrary to claims by law minister Ashwani Kumar and attorney general G E Vahanvati, CBI director Ranjit Sinha's affidavit on Monday said "changes" had been made at their instance in the Coalgate investigation status reports submitted in March to the Supreme Court.      In his nine-page affidavit before the apex court, Sinha said while a "majority" of the changes had been  made in consultation with, among others, Ashwani Kumar, "a few changes were also done on the suggestion of the attorney general and officials of PMO and ministry of coal".      The affidavit showed that these changes were the outcome of three meetings that CBI officials had with the government side on March 6, two days before the agency was due to submit its status reports on the scam that had taken place on the watch of PM Manmohan Singh, who held the coal portfolio at that time. Reconstructing the drama involved in the drafting of the status reports, Sinha said the first meeting at 12.30pm on March 6 was in Kumar's office and the second within hours was in Vahanvati's residential office. The last meeting took place the same evening in the CBI office to finalize the changes with the help of the joint secretary in the PMO, Shatrughna Singh, and joint secretary in the coal ministry, A K Bhalla, both from the very departments allegedly involved in the scam.      Sinha admitted that at least four "significant changes" that had been made in the status reports, two of them at the instance of the law minister and the other two at the instance of the officials of the PMO and the coal ministry. Two of the four changes reportedly related to the "deletion" of what it called "tentative findings".  BUT CENTRAL THEME UNCHANGED: AGENCY WHAT WERE THE CHANGES? 1 Tentative finding about there being no system for awarding coal blocks was deleted at behest of PMO and coal ministry 2 Tentative finding about there being no broadsheet/chart prepared by screening committee on coal blocks deleted by law minister 3 Sentence about the scope of inquiry with respect to legality of allocation deleted at instance of law minister  However, CBI maintained the 'central theme of status report' wasn't changed. Claims no names of suspect or accused removed  WHO MADE THE CHANGES?  Law minister Ashwani Kumar, A-G G E Vahanvati, PMO JS Shatrughna Singh, coal ministry JS A K Bhalla. But it's difficult to say who made what changes, says CBI  WHAT DOES IT MEAN?  CBI has contradicted the stand taken by law minister Ashwani Kumar and A-G Vahanvati that they had not suggested any changes in affidavit  WHO ATTENDED WHICH MEETING?  There were 3 meetings on March 6 1 Draft status report discussed with CBI director by law minister Kumar at 12.30pm 2 Meeting in afternoon with A-G & ASG with CBI Jt director O P Galhotra & DIG Ravikant 3 In evening, meeting in Galhotra's office with PMO JS Shatrughna Singh & coal ministry JS A K Bhalla No minutes of any meeting  CBI BOSS'S APOLOGY  Unconditional apology for 'inadvertent omission or commission'. Says nothing in CBI manual to guide if status reports in ongoing probe in sub-judice matter can be shared with others. Says ASG Raval said on his own that the status report was not shared with anyone WHAT NEXT?  Oppn baying for blood of law  minister, A-G. Govt maintains no breach of propriety. Much will depend on SC's reaction on May 8 to affidavit. Karnataka poll result will also come that day. If it's good for Cong, govt may get respite Congress tries to push food bill through in LS T he Congress on Monday unsuccessfully tried to force the food security bill in the Lok Sabha, a desperate move in the wake of negative publicity and nonfunctioning Parliament. The discussion, initiated amid the demand of the BJP, Left and others for Ashwani Kumar and P K Bansal's resignation, caught opposition leader Sushma Swaraj off guard. P 7 CBI: No names of accused removed from Coalgate report  New Delhi: CBI chief Ranjit Sinha has claimed that changes were made in the Coalgate probe reports. While one finding that was allegedly changed was about the absence of a system regarding allocation of specific points, the other was non-preparation of charts by the screening committee. "Since both these changes pertained to the tentative findings of the CBI which would be arrived at with further clarity on more enquiries, the same were  acceptable," Sinha claimed.      The finding about the screening committee's failure to prepare charts or broad sheets for the allocation of coal blocks had been deleted at the law minister's instance, said the affidavit. Another change admitted to have been on Kumar's suggestion was "the deletion of a sentence about scope of enquiry with respect to legality of allocation while the amendments in law were in progress". In spite of admitting to such "significant changes", the CBI director said they had "neither altered the central theme of the report, nor shifted the focus of enquiries or investigations in any manner". He added that "no names of suspects or accused were removed from the status reports and also that no suspect or accused were let off in the process". Vahanvati and Kumar For steps to dowload free Alive app, see P 16

India Inc bets big on African growth safari FDI From Country Touches $15Bn Annually

Mumbai: When Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal rejigged his Africa plan with the acquisition of Warid Telecom's Uganda unit last week, India Inc's biggies were already steaming into the continent with a new aggression. Indian billionaires are spending big bucks to tap the "next demand" from Africa's reforming economies with more than a billion people. 

    The Tatas, Vedanta chief Anil Agarwal, Adi Godrej and Naveen Jindal have lined up greenfield investments in Africa, which is witnessing an increase in economic diversity with a young population. India's annual FDI in Africa touched $15 billion as some of its largest conglomerates splashed less on overseas M&As and turned to the world's second largest continent with 6-7% growth despite regional inconsistencies. 
    This year, Tata unveiled a $1.7-billion greenfield investment to boost automobile and hospitality businesses in Africa. Vedanta will invest $2 billion in mining and other resources after regulatory and environmental challenges delayed expansion in India. Domestic FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products already has a Rs 1,000-crore revenue from Africa, and sees it growing "at least in mid-teens". Jindal Steel & Power wants to build large power plants, while scouting for resources. 
    "The larger Indian corporates have been de-risking themselves from their uncertain home environment for some time. Africa has been a particular focus, in view of its faster economic growth and the presence of large communities of Indians. The region is, as a result, regarded as part of India's 'near abroad' by corporate India," says Barclays India Investment Banking MD Frank Hancock. Barclays is developing an India-Africa corridor, pooling key resources from both geographies together to help large Indian clients, he adds. 
    A United Nations report projected that FDI in Africa will touch $100 billion in 2014, where India trails France, United States, United Kingdom, China, Malaysia and Korea. Airtel can look at more inmarket acquisitions in Africa, 
while it looks to stabilize the $10.7-billion buyout of Zain's continental unit three years ago. Drug maker Cipla is paying $512 million to take charge of a joint venture with South Africa's Medpro. 
    Still, most FDI in Africa is greenfield as it boasts of very few large acquisition targets. Emerging market investors have outpaced their counterparts from the developed economies in Africa, where a battle is brewing between China's state-owned behemoths and Indian billionaires. China's FDI in Africa was estimated at $20 billion in 2012, but many academics think the figure is significantly higher due to under-reporting. 
    "Business will go where the next demand is coming, and Africa is a big opportunity," says BMR Advisors chairman Mukesh Butani, adding that political impasse back home would have prompted some Indian companies to move growth investments overseas. "There are significant opportunities in consumer sectors like automobiles and FMCG, though India may have lost the initiative to China in African natural resources," Butani adds. 
    Buoyant commodity prices and peace in strife-ridden regions like Congo and Somalia have stabilized economic activity and triggered consumer spending, which makes Indian FMCG companies like Emami and Godrej talk up the Africa potential. "Currently, 20% of our international business comes from Africa and we aim to notch this up to 35-40%,"says Emami CEO (international marketing division) Shyam Sutaria. 
    Godrej Consumer adds that Africa is a market being primed for "tremendous dividends in the coming decade". BOOMING CONTINENT 
    Derisking from uncertainty at home, Indian cos are rushing to corner the billionplus African market 
    Bharti Airtel's $100m buy of WaridTel's Uganda 
arm last week is 
just one such move 
    GCPL already clocks 1,000cr revenue from the continent and expects it to grow substantially 
    The Tatas will spend $1.7bn in Africa for the group's auto and hospitality cos 
    Vedanta has earmarked $2bn for African mining resources