31,000 trees to be cut to widen Goa highway

The widening of the Mumbai-Goa highway will re quire around 31,000 trees to be axed. These trees line a length of 91 km, which is part of the 366 km stretch of the NH-66 that will be widened into four lanes. With transplantation not easy given the terrain of the highway, experts suggest saplings be grown in nurseries and then planted along the highway. Environmentalists are also worried about soil erosion and threat to the entire eco system. PWD officials said the tree cutting would start once land acquisition for the project is completed.

Bahubali 2 opening breaks all BO records

There is indeed no film which has had such a massive release and acceptance by the viewers.

Bahubali 2: The Conclusion, which has undoubtedly set new benchmarks in the history of Indian Cinema by breaking the record of highest Day 1 collection previously held by Sultan and Dangal, continues its winning streak.

The film featuring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Sathyaraj, Ramya Krishnan and Tamannaah Bhatia was released on April 28 in four languages – Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

Besides being strong in India, Baahubali 2 was also massive in the US wherein it became the first film to make it the top 3 on the US weekend Box Office following its release in 425 theatres.

No Indian film has ever opened this big on the US box office chart before. It generated the biggest opening weekend of all-time for an Indian film in North America with an estimated $10.1M.

The multi-lingual film has amassed a whopping Rs.506 crore worldwide (cumulative figure of all languages) over the opening weekend, according to a report on BoxofficeIndia.com.

While the collections in India read Rs.385 crore (gross) over the weekend, it minted Rs.121 crore overseas. The business in US and Canada, Gulf and Australia has reportedly smashed all records. Not just that, if we include the collections of the previews, then the worldwide collection goes up to Rs.520 crore.

MahaRERA gets going

RERA ushers in the much desired accountability, transparency and efficiency in the sector with the Act defining the rights and obligations of both the buyers and developers. This important legislation gained momentum under this Government and could see the light finally”.

The Real Estate Act 2017 has several significant provisions for the benefit of buyers and ensuring transparency in the sector. Some of these important provisions are:

Deposits: Builders are required to deposit 70 per cent of the funds collected from buyers in a separate bank account in case of new projects and 70 per cent of unused funds in case of ongoing projects.

Mandatory registration: All projects with plot size of minimum 500 sq.mt or eight apartments need to be registered with Regulatory Authorities

Penal interests in case of delay: Both developers and buyers have to pay the same penal interest of SBI’s Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus 2% in case of delays.

Liability: Liability of developers for structural defects for five years.

Punishment: Imprisonment of up to three years for developers and up to one year in case of agents and buyers for violation of orders of Appellate Tribunals and Regulatory Authorities.

Here's a lowdown on what it is, and how it will change things for you

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act came into force in Maharashtra on May 1.
The law will change your home-buying experience. Here are some key takeaways:

1 REGISTRATION OF ALL PROJECTS

The law has made it compulsory for developers of all residential and commercial projects to register their projects with the specially formed Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA). This needs to be done within three months, that is by July 31st.

Till such time that a particular project is not registered, the developer cannot advertise, market, book, sell or offer for sale, or invite persons to purchase in any manner any plot, apartment or building.

Those who fail to register their properties as per the Act will be liable to a penalty, which may extend up to 10 per cent of the estimated cost of the project.The Act states that on continued violation, the developer or promoter of the project shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend up to three years, or with a fine which may extend up to a further 10 per cent of the estimated cost of the project, or with both.

Apart from Registration, the promoters shall be required to provide quarterly updates on the status of the project to the authority.

2 DISCLOSURE AND TRANSPARENCY

It is now mandatory for the developer to give out all details of a project such as cost of land, development agreement, cost of construction, sanctioned plans, covered parking lots, and open spaces, among others. These details will be available to buyers online. The developer will also have to make a disclosure about the time frame in which the project will get completed, and submit phase-wise plans of development.

He will also have to update information about units and covered parking lots sold. While advertising his project, the developer will have to give out details about MahaRERA website on which all these details will be uploaded.

3 ALL FOR BUYERS

The Act ensures that a developer is unable to make any additions and alterations in the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications and the nature of fixtures, fittings and amenities etc. without the previous consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees, other than the promoter, who have agreed to take apartments in a building.

Under the new law, the developer will not be able to restrict sale on the basis of caste or community. Also, a buyer will only pay for carpet area.

Unlike the past, if a project gets delayed then the onus of paying the monthly interest on bank loans taken for under-construction flats will rest on developers. Under RERA, a separate account will be used to deposit 70% of the money collected for the project's construction, and developers can draw from it only for construction purposes.

In case a buyer or allottee finds any structural or workmanship defect within five years from date of being handed over the flat, the promoter will have to rectify it without any further charge. If he fails to do so, the aggrieved allottee is entitled to receive appropriate compensation under RERA. The promoter will also have to execute a registered conveyance deed in favour of the allottee within three months from date of issue of occupancy certificate, or when sixty per cent of the total number of purchasers in a building or a wing, have paid the full consideration to the promoter, whichever is earlier.

4 HOW TO COMPLAIN

In case a developer fails to deliver on his promise, buyers will have to approach the Authority. The complaints will be heard and disposed of in a time-bound manner. If the buyer is dissatisfied with the orders passed by the Authority, he can approach the Appellate Tribunal, and eventually the High Court.

5 BROKERS BEWARE

Brokers will have to regis ter with the Authority. If any agent fails to register, he shall be liable to pay a penalty of Rs.10,000 for every day during which such default continues, which may cumulatively extend up to five per cent of the cost of a plot, apartment or building, as the case may be, of the project, for which the sale or purchase has been facilitated.

Aizawl FC script I-League fairy tale

Aizawl FC scripted one of the most beautiful stories in India's sporting history by clinching the I-League title after holding Shillong Lajong 1-1 in their final league match in Shillong on Sunday.

Their fairy tale of becoming the first football club from Northeast India to win the premier domestic football tournament is even more commendable considering the fact that this was just their second year in I-League. Why, they were even relegated for this season but played because a few teams pulled out of the tournament.Indian football, thus, has its very own Leicester City moment. Both are tales of an unheralded football club defying all odds to open a chapter full of hope.

Of India & Pakistan's friend Turkey....

India and Turkey will attempt to put an economic-business overlay to a fairly distant political relationship. In his first visit to India as President, Erdogan will hold talks with PM Narendra Modi and other leaders.The two sides are expected to discuss regional security and terrorism, but both sides remain far apart on many of these issues. Particularly on Kashmir, Erdogan takes an India-unfriendly approach.

Questioned about his views on Kashmir in an interview by a TV channel on the eve of his visit, Erdogan said, “We should not allow more casualties to occur and by strengthening multilateral dialogue, we can be involved, and through multi lateral dialogue, I think we have to seek out ways to settle this question once and for all, which will benefit both countries.“

Turkey is keen to establish its companies in the building industry, where Turkish companies are regarded as the best in the world, often rivalling Chinese companies. They have earlier tried to break into the Indian market but found the real-estate and construction sectors to be very difficult to negotiate. This time, they are hoping Modi's efforts to streamline business will yield dividends.

Several agreements are in the pipeline, but a defence framework agreement will be closely watched, specially given Turkey's close ties with Pakistan. Erdogan is also expected to ask the Indian government to remove all influences of Fethullah Gulen, who he says is responsible for the failed coup against him in 2016. The Middle East and the Syria crisis will form part of the conversations, where Turkey takes a very different position from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Telecom User Base Touches 1.18 billion

India's telecom subscriber base, mobile and landline combined, touched the 1.18 billion mark at the end of February 2017, growing 1.17% over the previous month, according to regulator Trai.
The market growth was propelled by the addition of 13.75 million mobile users during the month. The demand for once popular landline phone has been dwindling as the cheap mobile handsets, coupled with falling tariffs and freebies, have led to an explosion in cellphone connectivity .

Over the past few months, operators including newcomer Reliance Jio and incumbents like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have been doling out attractive offers and unleashing high-decibel marketing campaign to woo customers.

“The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,174.80 million at the end of January 2017 to 1,188.5 million at the end of February 2017, showing a monthly growth rate of 1.17%,“ as per the data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

The urban connectivity went up to 692.15 million in February-end, from 681.15 million in January-end, a growth of over 1.6%.

The pace of growth of rural connectivity was slower at 0.56%. Rural telecom users increased to 496.39 million from 493.65 million during the same period.

The Indian telecom market the second-largest in the world after China in terms of subscriber base added 13.75 million mobile customers in February. This pushed up the total mobile subscriber base to 1.16 billion.

EPI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was important to drive out the “VIP culture“ out of one's mindset and replace it with “EPI (every person is important)“. “Generally speaking, in our country there exists an atmosphere of disdain towards the VIP culture. It runs so very deep, I experienced it when the government recently decided that no person in India, whatsoever his status might be, will move with a red beacon atop his vehicle. In a way it had become a symbol of the VIP culture. The red beacon used to be fixed atop a vehicle, atop a car, but slowly and steadily it permeated into the psyche and got firmly entrenched in the mindset. The red beacon has gone for good but nobody can say with certainty that it has also disappeared from the mindset,“ the PM said in his Mann Ki Baat address on Sunday.

The PM said the exit of the red beacon through a government decision was part of a system. “But we have to make efforts to cleanse it out of our minds. If we collectively strive to do it with eternal vigilance, it surely can be flushed out. Our concept of New India precisely is that in place of VIP , more priority should be accorded to EPI. And when I'm saying EPI in place of VIP, the essence of my sentiment is clear -`every person is important'. Every person has his or her own importance, every person possesses a sagacious aura in a unique manner. Let us warmly accept the importance of 125-crore countrymen, let us respectfully embrace the divine greatness of 125-crore Indians and we'll garner strength of immense magnitude.We have to do this together,“ the prime minister said.