Pay At Least 100% More For Your Rail Pass





LIFE IN CITY WILL BECOME EVEN COSTLIER WITH UNPRECEDENTED SUBURBAN FARE HIKE On Some Routes, It's Set To Treble

Less than two months after voting overwhelmingly for the BJP-Sena alliance in the Lok Sabha elections, Mumbaikars got the shock of their lives on Friday when the new government doubled--in some cases, trebled--prices of suburban railway season tickets.
The hike, effective from June 25, comes just weeks before the railway budget will be tabled in Parliament.

More than half of Mumbai's population commutes by train. Western Railway ferries 35 lakh commuters every day and Central Railway 40 lakh, making for a daily total of 75 lakh commuters, in a city with a population of about 1.4 crore. Nearly 55 lakh of these commuters hold season tickets.

The unprecedented increase will be severe: some of the fares, released by officials, indicate that season ticket fares may soar nearly three times on some routes. The worst-hit will be commuters staying in the extended suburbs of Thane, Borivli, Kalyan and Virar.

Railway officials, however, argued that suburban fares are highly subsidized and the rise would partially offset their losses. WR records an annual loss of Rs 88 crore and CR Rs 571 crore.

The hikes in daily ticket fares are not as high; first-class fares have risen by between Rs 5 and Rs 20. Second-class daily ticket prices have been left unto uched except for the CST-Kalyan fare, which increases by Rs 5 (from Rs 15 to Rs 20).

Apart from the 14.2% hike in fares across all classes, the Railway Board has also decided to tweak the system of calculating season ticket fares. A Railway Board official said, "The fare for the monthly season ticket was calculated on 15 single journeys per month. However, from June 25, commuters would be charged for 30 single journeys per month."

A railway official said, "Back-of-the-envelope calculations show that the CST-Thane or Churchgate-Borivli first class season ticket holder will have to shell out Rs 1,310 per month against Rs 655 earlier. A monthly first class season ticket for Ka lyan, Vasai or Virar (from CST or Churchgate) would cost around Rs 2,000."

An average commuter staying between Mira Road and Virar or Kalwa to Badlapur-Ambernath will have to pay more than his monthly society maintenance bill. Karan Nayak, a resident of Dombivli, said, "I have a monthly maintenance bill of Rs 1,200 but the season ticket would now cost me Rs 1,900. I will have no option but to switch to travelling by second class."

A railway official said that the suburban operating ratio of CR and WR stood at 194% and 191%, respectively , for the year 2012-13. e said, "We have spent H crores on upgrading the suburban system through MUTP-I and II. That money has to be recovered to ensure that there are enough funds in the railway's kitty to undertake expansion and modernization projects."

An MRVC official justified the hike on the grounds that season ticket holders are paid conveyance by their employ ers. He said, "Why should we subsidize a person by charging only for 15 journeys when he is undertaking more than thrice that number per month?" TIMES VIEW: This paper has consistently argued against politically opportunistic, populist measures that end up hurting the economy in the long run. We believe that while governments need to subsidize the supply of what economists call `public goods and services' (could be anything from health and education to fuel and transport), especially for the weaker sections of society, pricing of such goods and services shouldn't be completely out of line with the realities of the market. Given the state of the railways' finances, a fare hike was perhaps unavoidable (although we believe we are being made to pay for inefficiency, waste and corruption).

But what Mumbai's commuters face is an increase of unconscionable proportions. It's a crushing burden, especially when one considers that the suburban network is the lifeline of this city, transporting more than half its population every day.
Millions of them are poor -they travel not for pleasure, but to eke out a living. Where will they overnight find the money to pay double and treble the existing fare? It'll only encourage ticketless travel. The government needs to reconsider the extent of the fare increase.





Metro wins over office-goers with speed & comforts





Commuters Say They Will Switch Permanently To New Ride In Town

The Mumbai Metro appears set to become one of the mainstays of the city's transporta

tion complex, a distinction that the suburban rail network has held for decades but the Monorail could not achieve.
An estimated 3 lakh commuters used the Metro on Monday , its second day of operation.
Among them were joyriders, but the bulk consisted of office-goers, many of whom, pleased by their comfortable commute, decided not to return to their old modes of transport.

an IT professional whose office is in Chakala. "Every day , I used to either take a bus or an auto from Vikhroli to Andheri. Now, I can go to Ghatkopar station, take the Metro and reach my destination in less than 15 minutes. This is amazing."

Similar delight was expressed by others. Vaibhav Yadav, a 25-year-old film editor who travels regularly from Ghatkopar to Andheri, said till last week he went to Dadar by train, crossed over to Western Railway and caught another crowded train for Andheri.
"The worst part was waiting at Andheri station for a bus to Lokhandwala Complex." On Monday , Yadav saved more than an hour as he reached D N

According to the Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL), about 2.2 lakh passengers used the Metro by 7pm on Monday . Extrapolating from the figure, the service operator estimated that the ridership at day's end is likely to be around 3 lakh. On Sunday , about 2.4 lakh passengers had tried the service, which, according to the MMOPL, was the highest first-day ridership of all metro projects in India.

An MMOPL official said, "Although many joyriders came on Monday , the bigger share was commuters who had switched over from road transport." He added that 40,000 smart cards were sold on Day 2, indicating that the Metro is already building a base of regular commuters. "The response is encouraging. We are confident of meeting our targets."

The system is designed to handle 7 lakh commuters a day .

Many passengers heaped rich praises on the comfort of Metro travel. "This is the best and fastest way to move between eastern and western suburbs," said Ajit Panigrahi,

Nagar in under 20 minutes and took an auto to Lokhandwala.
"This is the cheapest mode of travel. And given the city's sultry weather, the air-conditioned journey is a real boon for Mumbaikars," Yadav said.

Ravi Singh, who commutes daily from Andheri station to his office in J B Nagar, said he will now forsake his usual BEST route number 340. "The bus goes under the Metro and uses the same route from Andheri to Ghatkopar. Since the Metro is faster and cheaper, I will prefer that," he said.

Samrat Teli (33) described the Metro as "the smartest way to travel".
"It will be very popular among young officegoers. If you want to save time, this is the best alternative. Also, it is a pleasant experience to travel in these new coaches." Teli, who goes from Badlapur to Andheri for work, said the large stations, escalators and the staff left a positive impression on him.





Green nods go online with time limits





The government on Thursday kicked off online environment clearances for industrial and infrastructure projects which have for long been hobbled by the slow pace of green approvals.

As part of the transition to an e-window mechanism, for the next three weeks, project developers will be required to submit a hard copy of the application besides filing it online. From July 1, the system will be fully online, environment and forests minister Prakash Javadekar said.

There will be a time limit for the entire approval process, with stage-wise timelines.

"Efforts will be made to bring down the timelines for each stage," he said.

The e-clearance mechanism is the first in a series of online approvals that the government proposes to put in place. In the next stage, forest clearances will be made online and work has begun to give mining-related approvals also through the same route.

The environment ministry had initially planned to have a common platform for state and the Centre for green clearances. The online mechanism will now deal with approvals given by the Union ministry and its related offices. The government has not launched the system of "deemed approval" either, which will mean that a clearance will be granted if no objection is raised within the stipulated timeframe. This is expected to be in place in the coming months.

The Centre is looking to work with the states to ensure that the process at their end is completed on time so that the environment ministry can grant clearance within a maximum of 60 days, an official said.

There will also be a penalty provision if a delay at any stage remains unexplained. Though this provision is yet to be codified, the ministry appears firm on introducing this clause as early as possible. The move will not just remove physical interface but also enable the government to track an application more effectively and identify "tables" on which proposals are held up. For the past few years, the environment ministry has come to be seen as the biggest stumbling block in project approvals and has been criticized for delays in power, port, road and other projects.

"This step is a beginning of transparency in governance and better functioning of the ministry. One need not visit the office but submit their proposals online," said Javadekar, while addressing an event to celebrate World Environment Day .

The new system, which monitors stage-wise approval and compliance mechanism, will ensure security of information while simultaneously maintaining transparency in dealings between the ministry and the applicant. An applicant, under the online system, will be able to monitor stage-wise process of their application. After basic verification, a password will be generated in four days time and the applicant can check the progress online.

Sensing that only the change of system is not enough to realize the twin objects of growth and environmental protection, the minister wants to see a change in mindset of his `babus' and ropes in the motivational trainer and author Shiv Khera to lecture them during a half-day leadership motivation conference on Friday .





Ahead of polls, Cong-NCP govt gifts populist budget





Eating Out, Sugar, Cotton Clothes May Get Cheaper

Eating out in small and mid-sized restaurants is set to get less expensive, your neighbourhood cinema ticket may get cheaper, and prices of cotton clothes, sugar, jaggery, and 'bhel', one of Mumbai's favourite snacks, are also expected to come down.

With an eye on the assembly polls barely four months away, the Congress-NCP government on Thursday unveiled a populist budget aimed clearly at winning back the mass support that the combine so spectacu

larly lost in the Lok Sabha polls.

For the first time in years, the state has not touched excise and VAT on Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and has exempted from tax the interstate trade of raw and unbranded tobacco. This could lead to reduction

in prices of tobacco and IMFL.

Deputy CM and finance minister Ajit Pawar, while presenting the budget, announced that the turnover limit of registration under VAT has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to benefit small-time restau

rants and businesses. He said the state had decided to reduce tax on cotton from 5% to 2% and exempt the sugarcane purchase tax, which will impact prices of clothes, sugar and jaggery. Presenting the state budget, deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the state has exempted from VAT the sale or lease of copyrights of cinematographic films for theatrical exhibition with retrospective effect for a period between 2005 and 2011, something that may have an impact on ticketing. Tax has been exempted on gram and dalia, which is expected to bring down bhel prices.

Another bit of good news for consumers is that retailers now have to pay 1% of turnover or 1.5% of taxable turnover instead of VAT, which may slightly lower prices of goods and commodities.

Pawar said a decision over traders' demand for replacement of the local body tax (LBT) system with other taxes will be taken during the ongoing monsoon session.

The populist measures come even as the state which generates 14% of national income reported a revenue deficit of Rs 4,100 crore in the interim budget which was tabled before the Lok Sabha polls this year.

Hotels in B and C category cities have got luxury tax concessions which were earlier extended to cities like Mumbai, Pune, Navi Mumbai and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The exemption limit for existing rooms has been increased from Rs 725 to Rs 1,000 and reduced for rooms with rates of Rs 1,500 and beyond. This may result in stability or reduction in prices at these hotels.

For hotels, restaurants and other businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 1 crore, the turnover limit for filing an audit report has been increased from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. However, according to sources, infrastructure development may get a little costlier as the government has decided to impose a 5% tax on sales of notified capital goods such as heavy machinery including earth movers etc.

The state has fixed a cap of Rs 10 lakh for stamp duty collection over mortgage of property , pledge and hypothecation. According to Vinod Sampat, an expert in the housing sector, this will help reduce the stamp duty burden for investors and buyers.

Mohan Gurnani, president of the Traders Federation, said the initiatives would yield benefits for retailers as well as consumers, but the major demand for total replacement of LBT had not been given any priority in the budget. He said asking retailers to pay 1% of turnover or 1.5% of the taxable turnover instead of VAT was a welcome step as it may benefit consumers by way of a slight reduction in prices. Pradip Shetty of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Western India said the increase in turnover limit for filing an audit report would bring major administrative relief for businesses such as restaurants but would not bring any monetary benefits.

Debt burden may go up by 20% Mumbai: The debt burden of the state is expected to jump by about 20% for the new fiscal. The budget presented by finance minister Ajit Pawar in the assembly on Thursday suggested that though finances were weakening, the overall debt position was under control if compared with total revenue receipts. However, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed that per capita income of the state was the highest in the country after Haryana and almost one-and-a-half times more than that in Gujarat.

In 2012-13, the debt burden on the state was around Rs 2.46 lakh crore, but it grew to Rs 2.71 lakh crore in the fiscal 2013-14. Now, for the ongoing fiscal, it is expected to touch Rs 3 lakh crore, the copy of the budget brief suggested.
The revenue deficit has also gone up to Rs 4,100 crore.--Chittaranjan Tembhekar

Jun 06 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) Ahead of polls, Cong-NCP govt gifts populist budget Chittaranjan Tembhekar Mumbai TNN   Eating Out, Sugar, Cotton Clothes May Get Cheaper Eating out in small and mid-sized restaurants is set to get less expensive, your neighbourhood cinema ticket may get cheaper, and prices of cotton clothes, sugar, jaggery, and 'bhel', one of Mumbai's favourite snacks, are also expected to come down. With an eye on the assembly polls barely four months away, the Congress-NCP government on Thursday unveiled a populist budget aimed clearly at winning back the mass support that the combine so spectacu larly lost in the Lok Sabha polls. For the first time in years, the state has not touched excise and VAT on Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and has exempted from tax the interstate trade of raw and unbranded tobacco. This could lead to reduction in prices of tobacco and IMFL. Deputy CM and finance minister Ajit Pawar, while presenting the budget, announced that the turnover limit of registration under VAT has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to benefit small-time restau rants and businesses. He said the state had decided to reduce tax on cotton from 5% to 2% and exempt the sugarcane purchase tax, which will impact prices of clothes, sugar and jaggery. Presenting the state budget, deputy CM Ajit Pawar said the state has exempted from VAT the sale or lease of copyrights of cinematographic films for theatrical exhibition with retrospective effect for a period between 2005 and 2011, something that may have an impact on ticketing. Tax has been exempted on gram and dalia, which is expected to bring down bhel prices. Another bit of good news for consumers is that retailers now have to pay 1% of turnover or 1.5% of taxable turnover instead of VAT, which may slightly lower prices of goods and commodities. Pawar said a decision over traders' demand for replacement of the local body tax (LBT) system with other taxes will be taken during the ongoing monsoon session. The populist measures come even as the state which generates 14% of national income reported a revenue deficit of Rs 4,100 crore in the interim budget which was tabled before the Lok Sabha polls this year. Hotels in B and C category cities have got luxury tax concessions which were earlier extended to cities like Mumbai, Pune, Navi Mumbai and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The exemption limit for existing rooms has been increased from Rs 725 to Rs 1,000 and reduced for rooms with rates of Rs 1,500 and beyond. This may result in stability or reduction in prices at these hotels. For hotels, restaurants and other businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 1 crore, the turnover limit for filing an audit report has been increased from Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. However, according to sources, infrastructure development may get a little costlier as the government has decided to impose a 5% tax on sales of notified capital goods such as heavy machinery including earth movers etc. The state has fixed a cap of Rs 10 lakh for stamp duty collection over mortgage of property , pledge and hypothecation. According to Vinod Sampat, an expert in the housing sector, this will help reduce the stamp duty burden for investors and buyers. Mohan Gurnani, president of the Traders Federation, said the initiatives would yield benefits for retailers as well as consumers, but the major demand for total replacement of LBT had not been given any priority in the budget. He said asking retailers to pay 1% of turnover or 1.5% of the taxable turnover instead of VAT was a welcome step as it may benefit consumers by way of a slight reduction in prices. Pradip Shetty of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Western India said the increase in turnover limit for filing an audit report would bring major administrative relief for businesses such as restaurants but would not bring any monetary benefits. Debt burden may go up by 20% Mumbai: The debt burden of the state is expected to jump by about 20% for the new fiscal. The budget presented by finance minister Ajit Pawar in the assembly on Thursday suggested that though finances were weakening, the overall debt position was under control if compared with total revenue receipts. However, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed that per capita income of the state was the highest in the country after Haryana and almost one-and-a-half times more than that in Gujarat. In 2012-13, the debt burden on the state was around Rs 2.46 lakh crore, but it grew to Rs 2.71 lakh crore in the fiscal 2013-14. Now, for the ongoing fiscal, it is expected to touch Rs 3 lakh crore, the copy of the budget brief suggested. The revenue deficit has also gone up to Rs 4,100 crore.--Chittaranjan Tembhekar

Modi, Obama to meet in US in Sept





Bilateral Summit Will Take Place In Washington

In a hugely significant foreign policy decision, PM Narendra Modi has confirmed to US President Barack Obama that he will have a bilateral meeting with him in Washington DC in the last week of September. Obama had invited Modi to the US when he called to congratulate him the day after the election results were announced. Significantly , the meeting won't happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York but in the form of a full-fledged summit in the US capital. The two sides are finalizing the date for the meeting, TOI has learnt. The Modi-Obama summit promises to be one of the marquee global events of the year and will overshadow Modi's presence at the UNGA, if he decides to go to New York too.

In taking the decision, Modi has shown that his own predilections, if any , will not come in the way of India's ties with the US. He has, in fact, acted with alacrity and decisiveness on what ma ny believe will be one of the biggest immediate challenges for India's foreign policy--that of mending Indo-US ties, which was on a downslide under UPAII and nosedived with l'affaire Khobragade. Modi's decision underlines the criticality of the US in India's strategic matrix. There was speculation that Modi might focus more on China and South Korea for economic gains, and on an improved security partnership with Japan, but these are not likely to come at the expense of Washington.

Modi was thought to be inadequately equipped to mend Indo-US ties because--as some reckoned--he would find it difficult to come to terms with the US's hostility after the 2002 riots. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to meet US President Barack Obama in September, had remained the only person to be barred from travelling to the US for many years under the country's controversial International Religious Freedom Act.

While the UK and the EU were quick off the blocks in reaching out to Modi, the US was late in responding. But once it did in the form of a meeting the previous US ambassador Nancy Powell sought with him, Modi has been generous in his response. In an interview to TOI before he took over as PM, Modi had said that relations between the two countries cannot be allowed to be "even remotely" influenced by incidents related to individuals.

Describing the US as a natural ally , he had said it was in the interest of both countries to further develop the relationship. Modi's decision to confirm the Obama bilateral is also the second big surprise he has sprung on his detractors who thought he would be straight-jacketed by his own election campaign, and the baggage he was supposed to have come with on relations with the US. Despite his admonition of the UPA for its `biryani' diplomacy--biting reference to its supposed softness towards Islamabad--Modi successfully invited Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in.





Man Who Could’ve Been Next CM Dead





A Week After Modi Gave Him Key Cabinet Post, Car Crash In Heart Of Delhi Ends Life Of Party's `Tallest Leader' In State BJP May Now Find It Difficult To Get Sena To Give Up Top Job

Gopinath Munde's Maha dream died in New Delhi early Tuesday morning. A hectic 16 hours divided between Mumbai and Delhi proved to be his last. He'd flown to the capital Monday evening just for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with his full council of ministers. On Tuesday, he was to fly back at 7am to Mumbai and take a chopper to Beed for victory celebrations.

Munde, the biggest and mo

st popular leader of the BJP in the state whom Modi had just entrusted with the key Cabinet portfolio of rural development, panchayati raj, drinking water and sanitation, was killed in a road accident while on his way to the airport.

His death comes just two days after the Shiv Sena named its boss Uddhav Thackeray as CM candidate for the coming Assembly elections without consulting the BJP, its alliance partner. The BJP, which

won 23 seats compared to Sena's 18 in the Lok Sabha elections, shot back saying no decision had been taken, but strongly indicated that the choice of chief minister would be theirs. There was no doubt in anybody's mind that Munde would be the BJP's nominee.

An OBC leader with considerable mass appeal who helped the BJP shed its upper-caste-party tag in Maharashtra, Munde himself had looked forward to becoming CM. He reportedly told a journalist during the recent Lok Sabha campaign, when asked if he'd relinquish his Beed seat for the top post in the state, "Who would not like to be Maharashtra CM?" After the LS poll win, he told TOI, "Even if I am in New Delhi, my heart will be in the state polls." He didn't appear overly worried about the Sena's unilateral nomination of Uddh

av on Sunday . On Monday evening, just hours before the fatal accident, he reportedly told a journalist, "Uddhav has no doubt made the Sena strong.
But the formula in the alliance is clear: The party that gets more seats gets the CM's post." Though the Sena has been the senior partner in the state, the BJP has been looking to set the recent LS results as the benchmark for seat-sharing this time.

Munde's tragic death at the age of 64 has dealt a harsh blow to the BJP's plans because the party feels it will now be difficult to get the Sena to give up its claim to the top post. Munde's status as mass leader and his record as deputy chief minister during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime (1995-99) meant that the Shiv Sena couldn't question his ability or experience. Union rural development minister Gopinath Munde's sudden death has dealt a harsh blow to the fledgling Narendra Modi government and BJP's plans for Maharashtra assembly polls that are barely four months away.

The early morning crash that killed Munde came at a time when the politician was enjoying renewed relevance in BJP affairs after a lean patch that had seen him even contemplate leaving the party.

Munde's selection for the politically important portfolio of rural development was a careful choice

as Modi wanted to give charge of the ministry to a leader with sound grasp of ground realities.

Munde, a backward caste leader from the Marathwada region, knew about impoverishment and rural distress, given his own hands-on experience as a grassroots leader.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scouting for a minister who could assess the needs of farmers and rural artisans and ensure that billions of rupees of government funds were well spent, he couldn't have done better than Munde.

Munde's departure will again expose the thin leadership reserves in BJP despite its unprecedented 282 seats

in Lok Sabha. It will not be easy for Modi to find a suitable replacement.

Munde's maturity and calm demeanour made him an important ally in Modi's quest to reshape governance and initiate sweeping changes in the BJP organization. A

modern politician despite his subaltern roots, Munde was in sync with Modi over the need to make BJP an upto-date, right-of-centre party.

The Beed MP was an important part of BJP and Modi's plans for Maharashtra, being the one leader who enjoyed recognition across the state. His grounding in RSS's "cultural nationalism" along with his OBC credentials made him a very valuable leader for BJP's bid to woo the numerous backward castes without losing its upper caste appeal.

As deputy chief minister, Munde had acquired a reputation for being an efficient administrator who did not flinch from taking some tough decisions as home minister—he backed the police initiative to crack down on organized crime through a series of encounters.

This time, Munde was very much BJP's CM choice, as his credentials could not be questioned by Shiv Sena on the grounds of capability

and experience.

If BJP succeeds in rewriting the terms of its political deal with Sena, as it hopes to in the light of winning 28 Lok Sabha seats to its partner's 18, Munde would have been its calling card.

Munde had a good profile among the urban classes, being seen as a leader who did not indulge in the confrontationist politics of rural versus urban.

The late leader's biggest asset was his relaxed, genial persona that helped him build relationships across party lines, a trait that stood him in good stead. The effusive and emotional testimonials of allies and opponents are evidence of this.