How to Obtain an Alcohol Permit in Maharashtra, India

December 24, 2015December 24, 2015 yazdi1 Comment

Questions and Answers

Did you know that by law (The Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949), the possession, consumption, and transportation of liquor is illegal in the Indian state of Maharashtra without an alcohol permit? The legal age for alcohol consumption is 25, and all residents of the state must obtain an alcohol permit to consume, transport, or possess up to 12 units of alcohol or face a fine of up to INR 50,000 and/or a jail sentence of up to five years. To avoid such an event from ever occurring, here is how to make your permit in Mumbai, the state capital.

Steps

1. Purchase a Rs 10 court stamp fee. You can get it from any court or at the Asiatic Town Hall near the collector’s office.

2 Go to the permit issuing office. In Mumbai, you need to go to the Old Customs House (Collectors Office) at Fort area in South Mumbai. Also regional excise offices in Malvani (Malad West), Andheri, Bandra and Chembur have this facility available.

· Chembur Excise Station
Jama Chowk, Chembur camp, Next to crime branch, Sindhi colony, Chembur East

· Chunnabhatti Excise Station
V.N.Purav Marg, Tata Nagar, Chunnabhatti East

· Bandra Excise Station
Kalanagar, Behind Nandadeep Garden, Bandra East

· Andheri Excise Station
Tahsildar Compound, Near Bhavans College, D.N. Road, Close to Navrang Cinema, Andheri West

· Malwani Excise Station
Malwani No.1, Next to Fire Brigade, Marve Road, Malad West Google Maps. The counter is near the Marriage registration office in the building on the ground floor.

· For other districts, you can get it made from an Excise officer of the rank of sub-inspector and higher.

3 Get the application form. The application form is available for free. You can also purchase the court stamp fee at the nearby Asiatic Town Hall revenue office.

4 Fill the application form with your name, date of birth, age, occupation, and address.

5 Glue the court fee stamp on the application form.

6 Get your permit. Hand the clerk the application form, your photographs, Photo id and Address proof like Passport and Driving licence and the necessary fees depending on the licence type.

Questions and Answers

Tips

· The photographs should have a white background, show the facial features clearly, no spectacles to be worn, ears clearly visible, no teeth show, head positioned straight (not tilted).

· The permit issuing window is open from 11 am to 3:30 pm. (lunch time is 1:15 to 2:00 pm).

· If you have made a lifetime permit, it is recommended that the permit be laminated.

Warnings

· The permit only allows the possession, consumption, or transportation of up to twelve units of alcohol.

· You must be above 25 (30 in the district of Wardha)

· Possession, consumption, or transportation of alcohol in Maharashtra without a permit can get you fined to Rs 50,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to five years.

Things You’ll Need

Two stamp-sized photographs (25 mm × 35 mm)
Government-issued proof of identity and age. (eg Passport). You must be above 25 years (30 for applicants in the district of Wardha).
Current address proof (eg latest bank statement)

Fees (cash only)

o Rs 2 — day (country)

o Rs 5 — day (foreign)

o Rs 100 — year

o Rs 1000 — lifetime

Sources and Citations

· Maharashtra State Excise – FAQ

· Alcohol laws in Maharashtra could drive you to drink

Source : http://www.wikihow.com/Obtain-an-Alcohol-Permit-in-Maharashtra,-India

Solar Energy / Wind Energy / Energy Storage – How Cheap?

December 18, 2015 yazdi1 Comment

How Cheap Can Solar Get? Very Cheap Indeed – Click Here

It’s now fairly common knowledge that the cost of solar modules is dropping exponentially. I helped publicize that fact in a 2011 Scientific American blog post asking “Does Moore’s Law Apply to Solar Cells?” The answer is that something like Moore’s law, an exponential learning curve (albeit slower than in computing) applies. (For those that think Moore’s Law is a terrible analogy, here’s my post on why Moore’s Law is an excellent analogy for solar.)

How Steady Can Wind Power Blow? – Click Here

NREL recently released data showing that next-generation wind turbines could reach an incredible capacity factor of 60% over 2 million square kilometers of the US, or enough to provide roughly 10x as much electricity as the US uses. If true, this would be a game-changer in wind power, as I explain below.

How Cheap Can Energy Storage Get? Click Here

Bill Gates recently told The Atlantic that “we need an energy miracle”. The same article quotes him as saying that storage costs roughly an order of magnitude too much. How quickly will the cost of storage drop? I attempt to answer that question here.

tl;dr: Predictions of the future are fraught with peril. That said, if the current trajectory of energy storage prices holds, within a decade or two mass energy storage of a significant fraction of civilization’s needs will be economically viable.

Ramez Naam

Ultratech Cement mines limestone (and villagers) in Chhattisgarh

December 14, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

The people of Parswani were promised jobs, healthcare and water. Now, after signing an MOU, they just about get polluted water for irrigation purposes.

Paraswani village in Balodabazar district, Chhattisgarh contains vast reserves of limestone, a sedimentary rock that is a primary ingredient in the cement manufacturing process. Since 1992, Ultratech Cement Ltd. (UTCL) followed by four other similar companies, have begun excavating this rock within a 30 km radius of the village.

UTCL operates an 8200 TPD (Tonnes Per Day) plant, which is supported by captive limestone mines, and is spread over about 997.355 hectares. Mining depth is currently at 37 metres below ground level, and UTCL will continue to operate the mine until its lifetime when about 231.48 million tonnes of mineable reserves are used up.

“Before the commissioning of the UTCL plant, the people of our village were given a 100% job guarantee and promised other basic facilities such as water, health, education, etc., but the company has recruited only 16 people as employees and 50-60 as contractual labourers. Every year, we face domestic water crises and now we are also facing water crises to sustain our farms”, says Dhelsingh Verma, a senior representative of Paraswani.

Earlier, water from the Paraswani Dam met irrigation needs but as the mines expanded, Paraswani’s resources have reduced. As the demand for water to irrigate their fields went up, the villagers were left with only one option which was to procure the waste water generated by UTCL as the company had refused to provide fresh water for this purpose. Now, the villagers have signed an MOU with the company to procure polluted water for irrigation.

The copy of the MOU provided to India Water Portal clearly states that the water supplied by the company is not fit for drinking purposes and should be used only for irrigation. The company also does not take any responsibility regarding the quality and quantity of the water supplied to the villagers.

The people of Parswani are also having to deal with other fallouts from this agreement such as lack of infrastructure and healthcare. The photos below show how the villagers are coping with the poor hand they’ve been dealt with.

Click Here for more, with photographs

Join The ‘Save Our Spaces’ (SOS) Campaign

December 14, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

Call 20 councillors and share their response below…

JOIN THE ‘SAVE OUR SPACES’ CAMPAIGN | MAKE A CALL TO OVER 5 MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS TODAY AND REPORT IT HERE!
You can stop the ‘Kidnapping Policy’ which is being called ‘Adoption Policy’

The BMC intends to have a policy to give legal rights and possession to private parties on our Open spaces which are owned by us. At a conservative value of Rs. 20,000 per acre it means giving away our land worth over 20,000 crores. In our country possession is de facto ownership. There are many instances in the past where these methods have led to private bodies usurping our Open Spaces on the pretext that they will adopt or take care of our grounds.

We can stop this corruption. Call up more than 5 corporators and argue with them that they should oppose this loot. Get their responses and report them with your name on this website.

On this site, you will find contact details of municipal councillors in the city at http://satyamevajayate.info/sos. Call them and ask them what their views and plans related to the new policy are. Let’s share their response (or silence) publicly, as I have done on this site here: http://satyamevajayate.info/volunteer-efforts-report

This is your chance to help promote transparency and accountability and make your voice heard!

Here are some things that you can say/ask when you call your councillor and other councillors and party leaders:

– I’d like to know whether you support the move to allow corporations, NGOs and other groups to adopt open spaces.

– What are your reasons for this?

-The total amount required to maintain these open spaces is less than 200 crores annually. The BMC’s annual budget is 400 crores and less than 200 crores are spent.

-If BMC wants citizen participation ALMs, NGOs and corporates can be given the role of monitoring and auditing the grounds. Their report should be submitted each month and deficiencies corrected and penalties imposed on the defaulting contractors.

– Our elected representatives have no right to create third party rights to private bodies.
1000+ acres worth around 20,000 crores are at stake. Do participate in this campaign and report before December 30, 2015.

If the councillors go against our interests in this matter we will take this citizen campaign in the next BMC election and campaign to defeat those who give our Open Spaces away for free.

You can read more about this issue here:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/news/an-sos-for-the-citys-ope…

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-vested-interests-run-amok-2148198

https://orfmumbai.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/open-spaces-for-a-greener-and…

http://blogs.rediff.com/thebravepedestrian/2011/08/01/mumbai-citizens-se…

For any questions, please mail me at shaileshgan@gmail.com.

Regards,

Shailesh Gandhi
Former Central Information Commissioner

Dear friends,

The following is the video clip on protection of open spaces by Shailesh Gandhi :–

Aggrieved customer takes bank to task for blocking account, wins

December 7, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

Banks often make unauthorized debits from a customer’s account, taking advantage of having our

money at their disposal. A bank cannot take the law into its own hands to recover its dues. Here is a case where the a bank was taken to task by an aggrieved consumer.Case Study: Srinivasa Rajan had a credit card issued by Tata Finance Ltd. In mid-November 2002, the company asked Rajan to pay Rs 74,516.45 towards various charges and fees for its retention and use.After 10 days, Rajan was informed that his card had been suspended. Over three years passed without any action being taken by either Rajan to challenge the demand, or by Tata Finance to recover the amount.

Subsequently , ICICI Bank took over Tata Finance’s credit card division. Since Rajan had an ICICI
account, in April 2006, the bank unilaterally blocked the account for an amount exceeding Rs 80,000. It also issued a legal notice, asking Rajan to pay Rs 1,58,093.95 as the outstanding dues on the credit card. It then debited this amount from his account and usurped it without even bothering to inform him.

He only learnt of it when a cheque he issued was dishonoured for lack of funds. Aggrieved, he complained to the district forum for a direction to the bank to unblock his account and to pay compensation and costs.

Click Here for the full case study ->Times of India – http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=CONSUMER-AS-KING-Aggrieved-customer-takes-bank-to-07122015008067

Jehangir Gai

(The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt.of India’s National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His email is jehangir.gai.columnist@outlook.in)

THE SPIN ON ASPARTAME

December 6, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

If you google “aspartame,” the results will take you literally days to wade through-believe me, I know. I’ve been sifting through it for days. There’s more than enough information, research, and speculation out there on the subject to fill volumes, and this is just a small article.

So rather than simply rehash everything that has been written about aspartame (I’ve included some links at the end of this article, and within it, for those who want more information), I wanted to take a different approach. I wanted to focus on a small part of the debate, and then follow it through to wherever it took me.

I wanted to look at the folks who keep assuring us that it’s safe: the experts. Experts in the government, experts in the medical field, the people who keep patting us on the head and telling us not to worry, that if aspartame was dangerous, they’d tell us.

The problem was, I’ve always been something of a skeptic. The more someone pats me on the head, the more I start looking for something up his sleeve.

But, as skeptical as I am, what I found startled me: a concerted effort, on the part of those at the highest levels of our government and those at the highest levels of the medical community, to mislead us about the safety of aspartame.

SunEdison to supply cheapest solar power in India

December 2, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

Workers clean photovoltaic panels inside a solar power plant in Gujarat, July 2, 2015. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files

U.S.-based SunEdison has won a bid to sell solar power in India at a record low tariff, which could boost the appeal of the renewable source at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for clean energy to combat climate change.

Solar energy still has a long way to go before it can effectively compete with coal, given questions over consistent supply and transmission. But falling rates could unlock more government support for solar and wind energy.

Modi’s government expects clean energy to yield business worth $160 billion in India in the next five years, and established U.S. companies like SunEdison and First Solar Inc are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries.

SunEdison won the auction for a 500 megawatt project in Andhra Pradesh, bidding to supply power at 4.63 rupees ($0.0706) per kilowatt-hour, Upendra Tripathy, new and renewable energy secretary, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Maryland Heights, Missouri-based SunEdison did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

“Delighted that an all time low solar tariff … has been achieved during reverse e-auction conducted by NTPC,” tweeted power, coal and renewable energy minister Piyush Goyal, referring to India’s biggest power utility.

The previous lowest solar tariff in India was about 5.05 rupees per kilowatt-hour for Canadian company SkyPower’s project in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Coal power costs anywhere between 1.5 rupees to 5 rupees, according to a government official who declined to be named.

India is providing cheap loans to set up solar projects and helping companies buy land to meet its ambitious target of multiplying renewable energy generation to 175 gigawatts by 2020. Solar energy is targeted to leap five-fold to 100 gigawatts.

The country is relying on renewables to fight climate change rather than committing to emission cuts like China, arguing that any target could hinder economic growth vital to lifting millions of its people out of poverty.

Deep-pocketed investors like Japan’s Softbank and iPhone maker Foxconn have already pledged to invest about $20 billion in solar projects in India.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Ed Davies)

Original at

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/11/04/sunedison-inc-solar-india-idINKCN0ST0DK20151104

Drinking Water from thin air ?

November 30, 2015 yazdiLeave a comment

In a country where women often have to walk miles to find and collect drinking water for their families, the WaterMaker project to produce water from thin air is no less than magical. It is, in the words of one grateful recipient, “khuda ka paani.”

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words: “producing water from air”? When Meher Bhandara, the founder and director of WaterMaker India, heard them, she was intrigued. “Water from air? How is that possible?” she wondered.

Today, Meher and her small team of eight people, are making it possible for many places in rural India to enjoy clean and pure drinking water produced right out of air.

People taking water from an Atmospheric Water Generator

“When we first heard of this technology in 2004 from a scientist in the US, we laughed. But after he told us more about it, the first thought that struck us was that India needed clean drinking water desperately. We checked out the machines that use this technology and were really amazed. As social entrepreneurs, we decided to make these unique Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) in India, so we could provide clean and healthy drinking water to people who needed it the most…Today we are proud to say that we have the largest range of AWGs — producing from 120 litres to 5000 litres per day. We also export these WaterMakers (AWGs) to many other countries,” says Meher.

Meher and her team took part in an exhibition in Delhi, where they showcased one AWG machine just to see how people would react to it. “The people were completely amazed. They could actually see drops of water forming from thin air. People were literally walking around the machine and looking under it to see if there were any hidden pipes.”

It was then, in 2004, that they decided to manufacture the machines in India itself so as to have control over the quality and delivery of the machines.

An Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG)

How does it work?

An AWG in Jalimudi village, Andhra Pradesh

So how does air lead to the production of water? The machines work basically on the simple refrigeration technique of condensing the humidity in the atmosphere and collecting the resultant water. After the condensation process, the water is passed through various filters to purify it, resulting in clean drinking water.

“Our technology is most effective in areas where the temperature is between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius, with relative humidity conditions over 65-75% or more. Producing water directly from air, WaterMakers need no water source. Using electricity or any alternate energy source, we use techniques optimized to condense water from air. Water quality complies with WHO/BIS standards and the water contains no harmful chemicals, bacteria, pesticides, or minerals,” explains Meher.

Click Here for more from TheBetterIndia.com

Also see http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/24/tech/innovation/machine-makes-drinking-water-from-air/

HC forbids govt, BMC from granting nod to mobile towers at playgrounds, parks

November 28, 2015 yazdi1 Comment

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) not to grant any further permission for installation of mobile towers in playgrounds, recreation grounds, parks and gardens.

The HC was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by several petitioners, including NGO Nagar (NGO Alliance of Government and Renewal) and charitable organisations Agni Trust and Organisation for Verdant Ambience and Land Trust, which challenged the notification issued by the state government on March 4, 2014, permitting installation of mobile towers in public open spaces like playgrounds, recreation grounds, parks and gardens.

“Around 1,400 such mobile towers are proposed to be set up in parks and they will have great consequences. These are recreation grounds used by children to play,” said senior counsel Aspi Chinoy, appearing for the petitioners. The state government sought time to take instructions on this issue. The HC has now granted the government two weeks’ time. “Do you know what this means?” asked the court. “The respondents shall not grant any further permission for erection of mobile towers in any recreation grounds, playgrounds, parks and gardens,” said Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice A K Menon.

“If you want to bring about such modification, you have to issue a public notice as this has far reaching ramifications. Fortunately nothing has been done so far. If one company has sought setting up of 1,400 towers, other might also make similar requests,” argued Chinoy.

The PIL states that no objections/suggestions from the public were called for before issuance of the notification and seeks for the notification to be quashed and set aside.

“The notification prohibits installation of mobile towers in the premises of schools and colleges as well as adjoining buildings within three meters from the boundary walls of schools and colleges on the ground that it will have deleterious effect on youth and students. It, however, arbitrarily permits the installation of mobile towers in recreation grounds, playgrounds, parks and gardens, which are primarily frequented by children, and youth for playing, exercise and leisure,” stated the PIL.

The petition further stated that the notification will lead to depletion of Mumbai’s already overburdened open spaces. “The availability of open spaces in Mumbai are abysmally below the national average and any further encroachment on these spaces is detrimental to the public interest,” it further stated.

On October 3, 2013, the state government published a notification inviting objections and suggestions to a proposed draft notification on installation of mobile towers issued under MRTP Act but had excluded land under any reservation in the concerned DP. The installation of telecom towers on reservations (including non-buildable reservations like playgrounds, recreation grounds etc) was first proposed by a mobile telecom company, stated the PIL. The state government then issued the notification on March 4, 2014 which allowed installation of towers in open spaces.

The court asked Chinoy if the mobile towers seeking permission were 4G towers and was told “they must be”.

ruhi.bhasin@expressindia.com

See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/hc-forbids-govt-bmc-from-granting-nod-to-mobile-towers-at-playgrounds-parks/#sthash.hu7OgaAB.dpuf