Bangalore gets a new push

An Advertisement released by the Karnataka Government showing good intent.Now hope they follow it up with action and execution.

Ahmedabad-Dholera Metro link proposed

A high-level meeting held in Delhi to finalise details of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) has identified a ‘suburban metro link’ between Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Dholera as an important transport connectivity plan for the proposed Ahmedabad-Dholera special investment region (SIR). The project acquires significance as Dholera — located about 110 kms from Ahmedabad — could well give it a port-city status if the port being proposed by the Adani group comes up at this location in the Gulf of Khambhat.Proper connectivity between Ahmedabad and Dholera would mean that goods being shipped from the Delhi side along the DMIC would be exported out of Dholera, instead of taking the shipments all the way to Mumbai, because of a distance shortened by almost 400 kms. An international airport has already been proposed at Fedara.
An internal note on the Delhi meeting says the metro link will facilitate passenger movement between these three locations in view of thousands of crores worth of investment likely to come up in the SIR. The state government has already written to the Centre to approve a metro rail plan for Ahmedabad city and its outskirts, which could well get linked up to this new metro plan along the SIR. The note suggests three more rail projects would be taken up on a priority basis to boost the Ahmedabad-Dholera SIR.
These are – conversion to broad gauge of the Ahmedabad-Botad rail line (150 km); new rail link from Bhimnath to Dholera (16 km); and a new rail link from Bhavnagar to Petlad via Adhelai, Dholera and Vataman (170 km). The note says these rail links will provide connectivity to Dholera and Bhavnagar ports. The corridor will also require broadening of several roads providing linkages to Dholera and Bhavnagar ports.

Sasan Power Project to be completed before schedule

Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power has told government it will complete the Sasan ultra-mega power project in Madhya Pradesh three years before target time set in agreement signed with the government.The company is implementing the 3,960MW project through its fully-owned subsidiary, Sasan Power Limited, and has committed to switch on at least two units aggregating a capacity of 1,320MW by March 2012 to help the government achieve its capacity addition target.Reliance Power has said it will complete the last of the six planned generators of the Sasan project by March 2013, achieving the full aggregate capacity 36 months ahead of schedule. According to the schedule laid down in the agreement with the government, the last unit was to be completed by April 2016.
To ensure timely completion of the new schedule, Reliance Infrastructure (REL Infra), which is carrying out the construction job worth Rs 12,800 crore for the project, has roped in US-based Black & Veatch as an independent project monitor. The move is seen as allaying apprehensions in some quarters over reliability of Chinese generation equipment supplies. Reliance has zeroed in on Shanghai Electric of China for supply of key equipment such as boilers, turbines and generators for the project.Black & Veatch is globally recognised as a leader in design and engineering of coaland gas-fired power plants.It will prepare project manuals, review equipment engineering plans and installation of equipment. It will develop an information management system for project. REL Infra plans to implement and manage power projects through a real-time internet-based system and the US consultant will develop a state-of-the-art monitoring centre at Dadri in UP.

A Bear Tale

A 20-minute reunion after a 10-day hiatus said it all. Human or animal, when it comes to emotions the spontaneous overflow is difficult to control.Ramsingh Munda, his daughter Gulki and sloth bear Rani did not want to keep their emotions under check as they repeatedly hugged, caressed and cosseted each other at the Nandankanan Zoo here on Friday. The meeting between the father-daughter with their former “pet” touched many a heart, but the exchange of love and affection was short-lived, thanks to wildlife protection laws. “I felt thrilled on meeting Rani, but after meeting her, feel depressed that I cannot take care of her and can meet her only occasionally,” said a weeping Ramsingh (45).
“How can I accept that Rani, whom I treated like my daughter, is now no longer with me? I did not know the wildlife laws when I found Rani as an abandoned cub inside the jungle 18 months ago. But now I appeal one and all not to help raise a wildlife animal. Else, they would end up behind the bars like me and their families would suffer unbearable pain,” added the illiterate tribal, even as six-year-old Gulki appeared too choked with emotions to put words to her feelings.
Rani, on her part, jumped with joy on seeing her “family members”. But, after being fed with milk and biscuits when Ramsingh and Gulki came out of her enclosure, the sloth bear seemed sobbing and looking at the twin walking away in sheer desperation. Ramsingh, who hails from Rutisila village in Ghatgaon area of Keonjhar district, invited problems for himself simply because he had raised Rani in his household. Recently, he was arrested for “illegal possession” of a sloth bear and the animal was shifted to the zoo here.
Widespread criticism subsequently led to Ramsingh getting bail and the state government announcing that it would rehabilitate him. But the case against him has upset Ramsingh. “I only fed the bear and never used it for commercial gains. Yet, I am being punished,” he said, adding, “I would be happy if I am given a job to look after Rani in Nandankanan.”

The plight of Ram Singh Munda, an Orissa villager, who was jailed for his love for an orphaned bear has moved even some wildlife activists who feel the law should be applied judiciously. However, a majority of such activists — much against public opinion — feel that the law can’t make an exception. According to Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, no one is allowed to keep a wild animal without having the permission of the chief wildlife warden. Munda had no such approval and was jailed. The bear was sent to a zoo where it refused to eat and Munda’s six-year-old daughter was sent off to a state-run boarding school. Sonya Ghosh of NGO Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals feels ‘‘there is no point in applying the law in a way that’s only technically correct. There are so many dancing bears in the city who have not been rescued and deer that are kept by farmhouse owners. Poaching is rampant and nothing is being done about it. In this case, the authorites have no plans to rehabilitate the bear. All you are doing is ruining the relationship between the man and bear. Since Munda lived in a remote corner and is illiterate, he might not have known about the law and is paying a price for it.’’ Samir Sinha, head of Traffic India, WWF, says that ‘‘in a situation like this, it is up to the judiciary to interpret the law. The law should be applied consistently. While this case might be different from others, the fact remains that in such cases, close human contact with the bear can lead to problems later. Abiding by the law is, therefore, necessary.’’

Delhi plans a Signal free Corridor

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is planning to make a corridor from Rani Jhansi Road to Punjabi Bagh which is expected to make New Rohtak Road a signal-free stretch.The project, which will cost around Rs 200 crore, is pending with DDA’s technical committee. According to the plan, an underpass will be made at Anand Parbat T-point and two flyovers will be built near Liberty cinema and on Faiz Road, respectively. The Anand Parbat area faces jams on daily basis, forcing the civic body to conceive the idea of the corridor. In 2005, the residents living near New Rohtak Road had moved the Delhi High Court over the traffic congestion issue. MCD, along with CRRI, had carried out a survey of the area and decided to make an underpass at Anand Parbat T- point and a flyover near Liberty and another one at New Rohtak Road-Faiz Road intersection.The MCD claims that west and north Delhi constitute 60% of the traffic volume of the city. It is for this reason that the civic agency is trying to decongest the area. It is planning to make another corridor from Talkatora Stadium to Rajouri Garden. As per plans, an underpass will be made from Shankar Road to Patel Road and vice versa, in front of Siddharth Hotel. Another underpass will be made at Shankar Road near the Upper Ridge Road and a flyover will come up at Vandemataram Marg. Besides this, a flyover is being built from Filmistan cinema to St Stephen’s Hospital, work on which will begin soon. This will provide six-lanes of uninterrupted road space for vehicles and will ensure signal-free traffic from ISBT to Dhaula Kuan.

Ecuador buys Dhruv, India's Advanced Light Helicopter

India has made aviation history by concluding a $51 million deal with Ecuador for the sale of seven ‘Dhruv’ advanced light helicopters (ALH).The deal signed between Ecuador Aviation Authority and bluechip Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) envisages the supply of seven helicopters in semi knock-down conditions to the South American country in a time-frame of 15 months to two years.With this, India has joined a select group of nations with a capability to bid for international chopper contracts. So far, the helicopter market has been dominated by the US, European companies and Russia.Dhruv has been making waves in international air shows the world over since two years but international sales of the helicopter have eluded HAL. The firm came very near to bagging its first international order when it bid for the Chilean armed forces contract two years ago, but was beaten to the closing line by US competitors. Now Dhruv, which has already been inducted into Indian armed forces, has beaten four leading companies for the Ecuador order, including European major Eurocopter.HAL will be supplying ALH to Ecuador in partnership with Israeli aircraft company Israeli Aviation Industries (IAI). It had earlier supplied one helicopter to that country, as part of efforts to sell the chopper worldwide in partnership with Tel Aviv.

Mumbai's Property taxes to shift to a Capital Value based system

It has taken ten long years since the idea was first formally mooted, but if all goes well, the property tax system in Mumbai will, finally, be placed on a rational and logical basis.The Maharashtra legislature, within the current monsoon session, is likely to amend the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 so as to shift the basis of calculation of property taxes from the present ratable value system to one based on the capital value of the property.
The world over, there are two systems of calculating property taxes. One based on the ratable value – the rent that the property is likely to get – and second on capital value of the property. Experts point out that per se, one is as good as the other.The problem in Mumbai’s case was outdated laws like the Rent Control Act were severely distorting the market as far as rents on properties were concerned. Under the Rent Control Act, rents, in large swathes of South Mumbai, especially in old buildings were frozen at the 1940s level. Now if the rent is officially frozen as per law, the BMC could hardly charge a higher property tax. As a result Mumbai had this crazy distortion where properties in South Mumbai which were probably worth several times properties in the suburbs, were being levied a pittance as property tax. On the other hand, suburban properties were being charged – at times – a property tax that was 115% of the ratable value (i.e the rent the property was likely to get).Not only was the system patently unjust, BMC’s finances were also suffering,as it earned a pittance as tax from its most expensive properties. The first move to address this imbalance was attempted about ten years ago, when Mumbai University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, after a study proposed shifting the basis of property tax computations on a capital value basis. The Ready Reckoner was chosen as basis of the capital value. The formula worked out by these two institutions assigned weightages to the age of the property, area, its usages, type of construction, location etc and gave rebates based on these criteria. The proposal, while completely rational in its thinking drew a storm of protest, as residents of old buildings feared their property taxes going up several times. Politicians of various hues got involved and the move faced opposition at every stage of the legislative process. But after a lot of going back and forth, the joint select committee of the Maharashtra legislature, is believed to have recommended a system that may satisfy all parties. According to these recommendations, flats up to 500 square feet carpet area will not see any hike in property tax for the first five years when the capital value-based system comes into force in Mumbai. In the subsequent five years, they may face a hike but this cannot be more than 40 per cent of the tax in the preceding years.Similarly there is also a carrot being offered as far as penalty on late payment of property taxes is concerned. Presently a 20% penalty is imposed in case of late payment of taxes. The amendment proposes that a levy of one per cent on the tax payable will be levied for every month delayed. If the tax liability is Rs one lakh, and there is a six month delay in payment then the penalty would be 6% of one lakh.Another interesting feature would be that all properties, whether self-occupied, rented or leave and license, would be assessed at the same rate. According to reliable sources, the model created is a revenue
neutral one with the objective to move towards a more rational system of assessment of taxes. Under this system, the rate of tax will be 0.45% of the capital value of the property per annum.
The formula for assessment of tax as per the capital based system of tax will be: Rate of tax multiplied by capital value of the property [which is as per the ready reckoner rates] x area of the building x usage of the building and type of construction and age of the building. Depending on the age of the building and type of construction [permanent, semi-permanent, medium, commercial), the property can get rebates.As against a total of about 300,000 properties in Mumbai, BMC has collected data on about 180,000 properties.Before implementing, the Corporation can make changes in the rate or capital value. Though the model proposes the same rate of taxation for residential and commercial properties, the corporation can have a different opinion on the taxation for different classes of users.Given the fact that the proposals have been approved by the Joint Select Committee, consisting of members from the government as well as the opposition, the final assent to the bill seems like a shoo in. But there are always many a slip between the cup and the lip, so keep your fingers crossed.