Author: yazdi

Activists warn of eco disaster if bldgs come up on salt pans

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In a move that will have long-term implications for over 5,400 acres of salt pan land in the city, the Centre has decided to shut down salt departments across the country , including Mumbai.The decision comes at a time when the state government has plans to open up large chunks of these eco-sensitive sprawls in Mumbai for “affordable housing“. For over a decade, builders have been eyeing salt pans for development, claiming that salt production is negligible. Activists have warned of an environmental disaster.

The Centre has ordered that the Salt Commissioner’s Organisation, headquartered in Jaipur, be shut in a phased manner, according to a note issued by the department of industrial policy & promotion last July . The Centre’s decision to shut down the salt commissionerate will impact over 61,370 acres in nine states, including over 13,000 acres in Maharashtra, out of which over 5,400 acres are in the city.The organization currently has five regional offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kolkata, besides field offices to monitor production, distribution and supply of salt.

Sources said in Mumbai, there were complaints of corruption, high-handedness and vexatious litigation against officials of the salt department who have filed dozens of “frivolous” cases against salt pan owners.They said in several cases, officials allegedly misused the Public Premises Eviction Act against private owners, who have been in possession of salt lands for decades. One owner said he had to approach the Supreme Court to get an FIR quashed against him.

The DIPP note, accessed by TOI, said work of the salt department, including collection of data of salt production, will now be handled by its economic adviser. The shutting down of the Salt Commissioner’s Organisation was recommended by the Expenditure Reforms Commission.

Last month, the Union industry ministry asked for the addresses, contact numbers and emails of salt manufacturers. “The ministry wants to obtain the names and addresses of all the salt manufacturers that have the maximum privately owned salt works and land. Though the Deputy Salt Commissioner’s Office in Mumbai has all the details, officers claim they don’t. This is a ploy by the Central government to send noticessuits easily and in bulk,“ said a Mumbai-based salt land owner.

India is the 3rd largest saltproducing country after China and the US. When India attained Independence in 1947, salt was being imported from the UK and Aden. Today , the department claims it has not only achieved self-sufficiency , but exports surplus salt. The production of salt during 1947 was 1.9 million tonnes; its increased 10-fold to 22.2 million tonnes during 2011-12.

But in Mumbai, said BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, salt production stopped decades ago.The state government is eyeing large chunks of salt pans for development. One of the plans is to build 1.5 lakh houses to rehabilitate project-affected persons and slum dwellers. It also wants to build houses for middle and higher income people to solve the affordable housing crisis in the city.

Allegations abound, however, that hidden in the proposal to create public amenities is a plan to commercially exploit salt pans to build towers and malls. Environmentalists remind that the lands constitute Mumbai’s last oxygen reservoir and should be left untouched.

TIMES VIEW:

The sprawling salt pan lands act as a natural buffer along Mumbai’s coastline and are part of a contiguous ecosystem which includes estuaries, wetlands and mangroves. They are free of human habitation and afford the last few tracts of open space and clean air available around the city. Any move to change the status quo with regard to their management and custodianship must be viewed with caution and questioned in public interest. Given that the state has eyed salt pans in the past for development and it’s never had a creditable record in environmental conservation, there is no reason for civil society to let its guard down.

Hospital held liable for child’s death due to unqualified anaesthetist

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Can a general medical practitioner without specialized qualification practise as an anaesthetist? Would hands on training be a substitute for requisite qualification? This issue has been decided by the Maharashtra State Commission in a recent judgement delivered on September 26 by Narendra Kawde for the Bench along with Justice A P Bhangale.
Case Study: Hanumant and Jayshree Alkute had admitted their five-year-old daughter Shruti to Pune’s prominent Ruby Hall Clinic run by the Grant Medical Foundation, a public trust. The child, who had a past history of renal calculi, was examined by a team of doctors which included a paediatrician, an endocrinologist and a urologist who concluded that she would require a surgery for removal of kidney stones.
The operation was performed by a qualified urologist, with Dr Rusi Nariman Marolia acting as the anaesthetist.Post surgery, the child’s heart beats reduced and she became critical. Even though she was put on ventilator, she died due to cardiac arrest.
The parents later discovered that Dr. Rusi Nariman Marolia was not a qualified anaesthetist. They filed a complaint before the Maharashtra State Commission alleging negligence on the part of the hospital and its doctors. The complaint was contested. The hospital and its doctors stated that a medical committee from Sassoon Hospital had been constituted to report on the cause of the death. It was admitted that Dr Rusi Marolia did not have any degree or qualification in anaesthesia, but he had obtained knowledge and expertise in surgical anaesthesia while working as a Resident Doctor in Sassoon Hospital from August 1966 to January 1969. Subsequently, since 1975, he had been practising as an anaesthetist at Ruby Hall Clinic.
In view of this the Committee had opined Dr Rusi Marolia could had requisite training and experience to practice as an anaesthetist. It was also contended that there was no finding of medical negligence in the post mortem report. They sought a dismissal of the complaint.
The State Commission found that despite Dr Rusi Marolia having only an MBBS qualification, was appointed by the hospital as an anaesthetist. This was in breach of the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002, which prohibit an unqualified person from practising in a field in which he did not have the requisite qualification. It was also in contravention of the law as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the case of Poonam Verma vs Dr Ashwini Patel where unqualified persons were held to be quacks and charlatans. The Medical Committee’s observation that Dr Marolia could practice as an anaesthetist was trashed by the state commission as being contrary to law and its interpretation by the Supreme Court.
The state commission concluded that the administration of anaesthesia by Dr Rusi Marolia without having the requisite qualification was by itself sufficient to establish negligence. The Bench of Justice Bhangale and Kawde directed that their order be sent to the Indian Medical Council as well as the Maharashtra Medical Council for suitable action against Dr Rusi Marolia.
The state commission exonerated the other doctors, but held Dr Marolia and Ruby Hall Clinic jointly liable for negligence. It ordered them to pay a lumpsum compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the parents of the deceased child, and an additional amount of Rs 80,000 for expenses and litigation costs. It was directed that compliance of the order should be made within 45 days, else the amounts awarded would carry interest at 9% for the period of delay.
Conclusion: In spite of spending huge amounts on health care, hospitals compromise on patient safety by deliberately appointing quacks and letting them treat unsuspecting patients. This is a growing menace which requires to be curbed.
 (The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt. of India’s National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His e-mail is jehangir.gai.columnist@outlook.in)

Victims of Any Unscrupulous Builder, What are the options ?

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“Victims of RNA Corp.” OR Victims of Any Unscrupulous Builder, What are the options available for Home Buyer and Aggrieved Flat Owners in Redevelopment Project

How to File a Complaint against a Builder, What are the options available

Any citizen can file a case against a developer. There are several options and situations under which a property buyer can file a complaint. Types of complaints are:

1. EOW

2. Consumer case

3. Suit for Specific Performance of Contract

On the following grounds in which a property buyer can drag an incompetent property developer on violations/ breach of ground
Non-execution of relevant sale agreement despite having received a substantial advance amount
Non-issuance of copies of all relevant documents viz.; development agreement, power of attorney, sanctioned plan (by concerned Regional Authorities), specification of construction materials/design as per sanctioned plan and any other relevant documents
Charged higher than the agreed amount
No issuance of proper receipt(s) against the paid amount
Poor quality construction
Delivering of a house not complying to agreed specifications
No free parking space within the premises
Did not form a co-operative housing society and handed over to members
Non-provision of water storage tank
Non-provision of proper ventilation and light
Delayed possession beyond the stipulated time limit
Not obtaining completion certificate from the concerned registered (by the authorities) architect
Non-issuance of Occupancy Certificate at the time of delivery of respective flats/house to its occupants
Non-declaration of expenses against which the developer collected money

And many more…

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Supreme Court judgement on Nominations / Nominees

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SCC – Supreme Court Cases – Pg. No. 440, a Land Mark Judgement :Nominee of Deceased Member is absolutely entitled for the Ownership by transfer, Co-op. Soc can’t challenge the right of Nominee a settled Law of the land.

No legal heirship, Court order or Succession Certi. or Letter of Admin.is reqd.

Pl. Circulate & take advantage, @ v v imp for all Society members and  office bearers

supreme-court-judgement

Kodaikanal Won’t – Mercury contamination

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Sign the petition asking for Unilever to clean up the mercury poisoning in Kodaikanal: http://www.jhatkaa.org/unilever/
Written by Chennai-born rapper Sofia Ashraf and set to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” the video takes an undisguised jab at Unilever for its failure to clean up mercury contamination or compensate workers affected by its thermometer factory in Kodaikanal.

Sofia Ashraf is BACK with a brand new video! This time she’s challenging some of Unilever’s biggest misleading statements regarding the company’s mercury contamination of Kodaikanal, India.

Last year, Sofie’s super viral parody video ‘Kodaikanal won’t’ made international waves that forced Unilever CEO Paul Polman to respond promising quick action. It resulted in Hindustan Unilever (HUL) compensating 591 of their ex-workers in Kodaikanal, many of whom had been devastated by mercury poisoning.

That was a massive victory but we only won half the battle. Unilever is yet to clean up the harmful mercury contamination inside and near their thermometer factory, which continues to slowly poison forests and water bodies in the area.

Watch the video, and then share it on social media to help it go viral. Just like last time.

Countering Unilever’s misleading claims and setting the public record straight is an important step in ensuring that the company’s mercury mess in Kodaikanal is cleaned-up to a high standard.

The press release can be found here.

 

Selfless Service for NGOs

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We live in an age of such cynicism and negativity that most of us would admit to a twinge of doubt when we wish to give back to society through a financial contribution. Many find it hard to believe that there are people out there who have devoted their lives to a cause or to alleviate the suffering or exploitation of others. How do we distinguish between those doing genuine work from the ones who have made NGO-work their publicity vehicle?
Arusha Creations, led by Eknath Satpurkar, its founder, has done the job for us. It took the form of a tele-serial called Tapasya, which show-cased 52 carefully selected NGOs that are doing selfless work. The NGOs featured in this series had no government or foreign funding, nor had they won any major awards then. But each episode was a gift of love, which gave the NGO a professionally created profile, without fake glorification or needless understatement. Tapasyabeen telecast by Doordarshan’s Sahyadri channel and was re-telecast by ZEE24Taas.
Mr Satpurkar says that the series was entirely self-funded (about Rs1.10 crore, some of which they recovered through advertising during the telecast) by his company. He believes that it is “our duty to bring to light such selfless services to the society, so that the society also can contribute to the cause in any form physical or financial.” He also managed to get some famous personalities from the Marathi film and literary world to anchor various episodes or compose the theme song.
To ensure ongoing reach and support, the Tapsaya series has now been made available as a set of DVDs plus a booklet of information about the NGOs covered in the series. You can buy the set at the address below.
Mr Satpurkar says that a Mumbai builder was so impressed with the Tapasya series that he presented the DVD sets to homebuyers while handing over the keys of their flats. Latur-based Samvedna Cerebral Palsy Vikasan Kendra, run by Suresh and Deepa Patil, a simple couple, was stunned by a phone call from an overseas Indian, who was so impressed with their work, that he funded a two-acre plot of land and a three-storey building to help the organisation expand its work.
“The Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly also bought DVD sets of Tapasya and distributed it among members of legislative assembly (MLAs) requesting them to spend their funds on such NGOs instead of routine, road, water and sanitation works,” Mr Satpurkar says.He shared a touching story on how these people behind the NGOs think. He said, “I invited Sunil Deshpande of Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra to Mumbai. But he flatly rejected my invitation. When asked about the reason, Mr Deshpande told me, it would cost him around Rs2,000 to visit Mumbai; instead he would use the money as yearly expenses for an Adivasi child’s education.”
The first set of DVDs contains 26 episodes on NGOs like Samvedna, Udyog Vardhini from Solapur, Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra from Melghat area which has generated livelihood in the malnourished region by training artisans in bamboo handicraft. Then there is Bhatke Vimukta Vikas Pratishthan (BVVP) from Osmanabad which works at education and self-employment of neglected tribes like Paradhi, Bhill and Vaidu. Samtol Foundation (from Mumbai) and Chaitanya Mahila Mandal (from Pune) also feature in the first DVD set, among others.
The second set provides information about 26 other NGOs that are working relentlessly across Maharashtra to help the society. These include: Manohar Dole Foundation from Narayangaon (in Pune district), Aatpadi, Sangli-based Sheti Pariwar Kalyan Sanstha, Palawi-Prabha-Hira Pratishthan (from Pandharpur) that provides shelter and care for children affected by AIDS. Gramvikas Samiti (from Baripada in Dhule district) and, Satkarma Shraddhshray (from Panvel) that runs several service centres for tribals, Parivartan Mahila Sanstha (from Titwala), which focuses on women empowerment, Vijaya Pariwar (from Nagpur) and Aadhaarteerth Aadhrashram (from Trimbakeshwar, Nashik), among others.
If you are an individual, buy the DVD and check out the work being done by India’s unsung heroes. If you are a corporate house or a charitable organisation, you have a fantastic database of genuine organisations that deserve your support.
Aurusha Creations
2, Laxmi-Narayan Baug,
Bal-Govinddas Rd,
Mahim, Mumbai – 400 016
Tel: (022) 24305392, Mobile: (91) 98203 25061 / 94239 72450