My Piece of Sky!

“Who says you cannot hold the moon in your hand?

Tonight when the stars come out and the moon rises in the velvet sky, look outside your window, then raise your hand and position your fingers around the disk of light.

There you go . . . That was easy!” …Vera Nazarian

Vera Nazarian is an Armenian-Russian American writer of fantasy, science fiction and other "wonder fiction" including Myth punk, an artist, and the publisher of Norilana Books. Thoug what she has mentioned about the sky & the magic it holds, it’s not fantasy but sheer nature which any of us can experience from our windows. But is it really true as it’s that “my piece of sky” is what has become a fantasy, especially for the millions living in Metros like Pune. As usual to all those who are wondering where this topic is heading, recently I was in conversation with my sister who has a good rather decent flat at plush location in Pune & yet she is after me for changing the same & all she said to me is, “Snajya, I want a flat with big terrace from where I can see the sky clearly!”. That’s the only reason I want to shift from this flat of mine which has everything from location too luxury but sky view! It’s not her words rather the feelings about sky which made my thought process going on role. As really the view of sky is so important for a home? May be we come from a town like place where apartment complexes were unheard of & mostly all were single storied homes & sky was always in the view, may it be from the front or backyard or from the roof of the home i.e. top terrace! Here I confess that I really couldn’t find the term parallel to “Aangan” or “Sajja’, as these are spaces one has to feel & not just rudely express them as civil terminology! These were the spaces from where sky was always within your reach & now looking back to my days as kid & realize how much time of the day I used to spend under the sky!  And I certainly miss it in Metros like Pune & sure I am not the only who miss it. As most of us who has memories of childhood looking at sky on a sunny day & got excited by the white smoke trail of jet moving on the vast blueness of the sky, will certainly be missing looking at sky! Now we mostly spend our days & nights under shelter within the concrete or glass walls & with artificial lights at our service & rarely have even a minute to look out of our window & see the sky, leave apart going to top terrace of our buildings & spend some time under the sky! Really, here I will like to ask a question to all the readers & to my friends that when did you last have gone to roof of your building where you reside or work & just kept looking at the sky at any hour of the day or night? I am sure most of us will have to remember real hard & I myself have rarely done it but then I have a small terrace at my work place as well to my study in my home & I do spend some moments under the sky! What it gives me can’t be shared in words as peace is something one needs to experience, to feel & not to bound it in words! I think it’s this peace factor which makes that small corner named terrace most important in any home! Agreed with modern living conditions, all can’t have luxury of having individual home with private roof but we do have balconies & attached terrace to have our view of the sky. And yet the roof should be common & accessible for all the occupants of the buildings or should be so, legally as well morally! In my childhood days in summer we used to sleep on the roof of the home & even still back in time when we were living in old town where the houses were joined, so the roof was common & to sleep under the stars was real fun  while chatting with friends & sharing horror stories! Well that was community living in true sense & the roof or the terrace along with our piece of sky was major aspect of that life!

 It’s interesting how the terminology in the home designing has changed from time to time but has the use of these spaces changed so? No, is what I feel personally. Now over twenty years associated with making homes of various sizes & for different requirements few things haven’t changed at all. Though the increasing prices as well scarcity of space & the rules have had their impact & for a while we may think a particular aspect of planning is getting absolute or taking a back seat but it’s a temporary effect. After all from the civilization time the needs of human being towards his residence haven’t changed much.

A home should give you a secure & safe feel with peace as well have a good aesthetic looks too. Now, secure & safe one can make any house by all physical means like durable material, locks, doors etc but how one makes oneself at peace & another factor is aesthetic factor of the home i.e. its looks for outsiders. Here the builders as well designers started knowing the importance of making the home more open to nature as that’s one sure way to have peace for the residents of the home & then we need a place from where we can be absolutely in tune with nature without being feel unsafe & there the term "Sajja" came in to the picture which now we call as balcony. But actually speaking it’s not exactly a balcony; it’s an open space at upper floor adjoining to the main house which is open to sky & from where you can be in actual contact with nature around. More rightly its terrace attached to the room & not top of the building.

In central India where the summers are extreme hot many a times this Sajja's are protected by "Gavaksha" i.e. sort of windows with ornamental "jali" carved in stones mostly. This served two purposes ,one is giving protection from heat waves & another was the view of the sajja was getting protected too, so the ladies of the house also can use it without getting watched by passer by traffic or from surroundings. Many of the Havelis or Wadas use to have central chowk open at ground level but then it has its own restrictions as it does provides the view of the sky but not the breeze which you get at Sajja level as well the view of the surrounding. And the classic example of such protected Sajja's is Jaipur's Havamahal! With ornamental red stone jali work protecting every Sajja at multiple levels an effect of most beautiful facade has been created. In northern India such Sajja's are created at every level so from any floor you can have your view as well breeze. Many Havelies proudly still carry the Sajjas & very beautiful Jalis protecting them at proper places. Many a times an open window like place is created at outer wall of the room where you can sit adjoining to it & enjoy the view around. In Europe also under the name of Balcony or Verandah such spaces have been created from ancient day’s in house building. Many a times such places have been beautifully decorated by plantation creepers like “bogunvllias" giving the whole outline a colorful effect. Rather in many families it’s a tradition to have their morning breakfast as well dinner at such places & get relaxed by being in tune with nature.

In later days of FSI & multistoried building the term Balcony was introduced which was a very similar in concept of Sajja but a wrong implementation in size at many places it was just four feet wide giving you no room to move as well restricted view of surrounding. Because of shortage of space the balconies also got converted in to the room only. Again the need for having your own piece of open sky started bothering designers & the term of Attached terrace come in to the picture. Many a must be thinking it’s another of developers earning way but what I feel, there has to be a place which should be in proportion with the size of your home & which should be open to sky or surrounding as that’s the place where you are free from the concept of getting confined by the walls & it’s this openness which makes your mind also open for the nature. And what kind of home it is which don’t have a place where you don’t get in contact with nature! Unfortunately I have seen such terraces getting covered or enclosed in the weirdest ways not only defeating the concept of the same but spoiling the esthetic view of the entire building. People use tin sheets or fiber sheets or use iron grills & things like that under the name of security & try to enclose this area also. It’s a pain to watch the horrible grill structure & enclosing of the adjoining terraces people do in the name of safety with various types of fabrication. I am not against safety of the occupants but ultimately safety is in our mind, there are ways to get it in practicality is what we need to understand. By covering such small adjoining terraces we are cutting ourselves from the sky is what we forgot! Well, can’t blame the residents too as when per sq ft rates are souring, every sq inch counts & in that race sky loss to enclosing walls is a fact.

 Another important aspect is with increasing concretization around we are forgetting that we are not the only specie which need shelter & protected habitat but there are many around whom we are displacing for our homes! If you have noticed in Pune city or any growing town earlier we were able to see lots of birds like Bhardwaj, Common Sparrows, Bubul, Mainas & even Butterflies but now we hardly see any of these birds. Simple reason is they just don’t have any places left where they too can rest for a while & get some food naturally available & water. They can’t make their nests on brick walls or concrete slabs or glazing we have for our facades! Here such sajjas i.e. terraces can provide them a good place to have their habitat for water & food by a little of our attention & support. This can be our support to biodiversity & just a small provision for birds to have water & food with few planters & see the difference! I have experienced it at my own small piece of terrace adjoining to my work cabin. I stared keeping just water bowls & at each after noon there is like get together of many birds for bathing & drinking water & just to watch it is so relaxing for me & each day some new guest comes in form of a bird making the get together more colorful.

Friends, make some time out from your busy schedule & spent few minutes in the place called "Sajja" if you are lucky enough to have one & see the change those few minutes brings in your life! We need to understand the importance of such spaces in & around our home & should try to use them for the purpose for what they have been created. Recently I came across a very beautiful sentence by Architect Mr. Rajiv Mishra, who is Principal of great JJ School of Architecture, sharing the same here; “Moonlight floods whole sky from horizon to horizon; how much it can fill in your room depends on the windows it has”! I think the sentence says it all as sky is fathomless & surrounds the earth so we all have our share in it; all we need is to look for that peace of ours from the sky! So lets experience some relaxed & cozy moments here at such terraces, seeping a cup of tea & looking at rising sun or welcoming monsoon with getting soaked in first rain drops by holding the railing bar, at a cozy warm noon read a fairy tale book sitting in a chair & sometimes when its dark around just look at the stars at distance & try to make out figures from their formations! After all owning a home doesn’t mean just to own a piece of concrete slab encased by brick walls covered by costly interiors; but it’s the view of sky you can look at through those walls is what real home means & trust me it comes at free of cost!

 

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2014/01/wanted-leader-for-real-estate-industry_8.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Birds, Builders & the City!

It’s not concrete but feathers which makes life beautiful… Sanjay.

For the first time in so many years of my writings I dared to use my own quote to start a topic & I apologize as I am no great philosopher, celebrity or thinker to have a quote list of mine. Yet when I have been invited rather honored by my ever enthu nature lover friend Anuj Khare for a speech plus presentation at 18^th Rajya Pakshi Mitra Sammelan (Friends of Birds), these were the word which came to my mind to start my presentation. At the start of the New Year itself I was lucky to be associated with two major events regarding birds; Bird fest in first week of January & The Rajya Pakshi Mitra Sammelan in second week of January. Many will wonder what’s big deal, agreed there are birdwatchers like there are sky or star watchers, so what’s special about the bird fest events? Well, in both events along with interaction with authorities in the field of birding there was bird’s photography exhibition & what caught my attention was a huge photo frame in the exhibition at the entrance only, of a common sparrow. Many visitors were stopping in front of the sparrow’s picture frame & I could hear the comments “Kharach chimanya disatch nahi aata” i.e. sighting of a common sparrow is rare now a days! The who’s who of Pune’s social life was there & they too expressed concern about sightings of common birds like sparrows getting rare from city life. Even PMC’s Commissioner who graced the event was curious to know about why sparrows from the city getting vanished! This has already set my thought process on role as beauty of a community is enriched by the variety of species of life you found around which we call biodiversity! And sure as a city we are going on reverse track is a fact.

On all such background when I went to give presentation that too with the subject like “Birds & Builders”, most of the audience was ready to grill me & many looking at me like “he is the guilty one for every wrong doing about birds”! I started my presentation with the above quote & in the first place accepted that role of builder on the front of birding is the main reason why the need I itself has been caused for such sammelans! Its easier to blame someone for any wrong thing happening & especially when the target is builders or developers then the job is more easier! But when we say Tigers are in danger then can we blame that too just some category, the threat tigers have, even say the poachers? Well, no will be the answer as it’s the entire system which is responsible for the survival of the tiger is at blame & that includes forest department too people residing around the forests, the policies regarding development around tigers habitat & such hundreds of factors which decides faith of the tiger!

On similar lines sparrows or any common birds’ species like bulbul or maina or kingfisher depends on entire system or surrounding around them may it be city or village. Like poachers are one of the links in making tiger’s life difficult, builders too are just a link for making city birds life difficult! But like poachers who are mostly locals around the forest & if decided they can be saviors of the tigers, same way builders also can become protectors of the birds! As for whom the builders build the home? For the common man only & does these common men asks what kind of arrangement the builder has made for the birds around their building. In my entire twenty five years work, I haven’t come across a single client asking so! For that not just one or two buildings but entire city surrounding which we call as urban development needs to be worked out keeping birds in mind. After all when we say green buildings, it doesn’t meant only for human species but the term covers entire biodiversity around, of which bird are a major part. Again many citizens will say that, there are so many trees around so what more they can do for birds? Well planting trees is satisfying just one of the needs of the birds. We have to understand bird’s life cycle to build a surrounding for them. For e.g. a bird like sparrow cant build its nest like many other birds like "baya". Sparrow or bulbuls can make a nest only if they have a safe place for the same; like below Mangalore tile roof or any small opening in walls of wadas which are made of clay. At such places these species can make a nest of dry grass or fallen leaves & that type of material only if a safe shelter to support the nest is available. Also they required source of water as well food nearby to feed the new born.

Now have a look around & what we see? All around the concrete walls, glass facades, lush lawns, ornamental exotic trees with no fruits or grain farms & imagine from where the poor sparrow will get her infrastructure to survive? Also most of the birds needs dust to have dust bath i.e. soil cover & in a concrete paved surrounding there is very less exposed soil around so that’s another lacuna in their needs. At the same time the increasing level of sound pollution & air pollution is major reason driving the birds out of city. As small birds like sparrow can’t sustain the high sound levels getting emitted through our nearly four million vehicles in Pune as well the smoke they emit is a bonus for polluting the air the birds’ breath. And in addition we have all year long processions with DJ & Dolby system with speaker walls for any event from marriage to some person’s janamadin or smrutidin! Why just birds even human will run out of the city such is the situation around! Similarly the new buildings with all aesthetic sense & international looks have no spaces for nesting of these birds; rather we don’t want any bird damaging our so called beautiful & exotic elevations by their excreta or food spills or the shabby material they use for their nests! The city has two rivers & number of streams in form of natural water bodies but what’s their condition now? The rivers have become big drains; the streams have either got encroached by every known segment of society or have been concretized, making all the vegetation lost! Now all we can see around is kites, crows & pigeons, that’s all birding the so called developed city is witnessing! In Pune we have habitats like Naik Bet or the  hills around (It’s called as Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary also) & neither forest department nor local body has enough funds to protect vegetation over there, is what both organization claims! So neither there is any habitat for birds nor anybody cares about the birds in the entire city & we call it as progress or development! And then we have PMC, Urban Development Department, Architects, and Structural Designers along with all sorts of latest fancy materials to make our residences comfortable but unfortunately poor birds have no one to think for its residence! We have garden department but is that enough & with all the trees around yet birds are getting rare is a fact so what can be done & what are we doing are the two questions we all should ask ourselves on birds front! Sadly its same scenario all around the State, in every town or metro on the bird’s front.

Actually the needs of the birds are very less as mentioned above & all it takes a little caring & concern regarding the birds while planning our buildings. We can plan some open space where thickset of plantation with creepers & shrubs so as there will be habitat for nesting & food in form of worms & insects. Also try to plant fruit baring trees as well have some patches of exposed soil on the ground level. The farms or agriculture fields are fast getting replaced by buildings so we can make arrangements of bird’s feeders in every attached terrace & ask the flat holders to keep some grains in such feeders along with water bowls. This can be a supply of food & water for the smaller birds & it works, I can tell this from my own experience at my home as well office terrace bird feeders. Every day at least ten species of birds including sparrows & bulbuls comes here & get feed! Also we can keep properly ventilated artificial nests at safe distance from floor in attached terrace; just assure that the birds get enough privacy & secure feel in such nests as well somewhat greenery around via plantation in flower beds or even in pots! We can involve ornithologists i.e. people working in bird research & take their suggestions while planning our buildings. Dr Satish Pande has shared one such tip with us that to keep holes in top floor terrace walls i.e. parapet of the buildings so birds like parakeets & owls can make their nesting at such places. We are doing it & witnessed parakeets nesting in such holes. Most important is involving younger genre in the awareness campaign as that has great power. We have witnessed this Diwali the anti fire cracker campaign has helped in reducing use of fire crackers which is a big disturbance to the bird life around. So we can make school kids aware about the importance of birds in our life & make them participate in conservation of the same.

At city level, terms like water bodies, green belts & biodiversity parks should not be tags for just development plan but needed to be in existence on ground too. As these places not only makes breathing lungs for the city but act as habitats for the various bird species also. Every citizen should fight to make these places alive as growing population of different species of birds is an indication of healthy biodiversity in the city. Even the media needs to be more aware about this front as again neither bird fest nor the pakshi sammelan could make front page of any news paper because birds don’t have got celebrity status neither the bird watchers is a sad fact of the society!

  

Most of the business houses use images of beautiful birds & greenery, for their marketing purpose but what we do in actual to protect this scenes is more important. Recently I heard an advertise of some builders project on a city FM radio channel where first a sound clip of vehicles horns & machines is played & then you hear chirping of birds & on the background a voice asks you, “what kind of music you want to listen when you wake up?“ Well, very nice way to define importance of the birds in our city life & surely effective to sale the flats!  

Friends’ birds paint the sky we live under with their beautiful color & their cheerful sound makes the best composed music our ears could hear; but for that all they need is some little space of their own & they depend on us only for that space. It’s our greed that we encroaching that little space also as we are blind in our so called power over other species; but remember however powerful & knowledgeable we may be all our knowledge & power won’t be able to make a single sparrow back once it is extinct! Just playing an advertise won’t be sufficient for the poor birds or else one day all we will be left with is only the recorded chirping of the birds & on that day the term beauty also will vanish from our life & we only will be responsible for the outcome!

--

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2014/01/wanted-leader-for-real-estate-industry_8.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Black Money, Dark Side of Real Estate!

Honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it….Mark Twain

No need to introduce one of the most humorous & witty writers of all time & in so less words he has described importance of honesty with money matters! Well real estate & money goes in hand but what about honesty? Don’t get surprised with the start as where this topic is leading? The book I wrote & various write-ups in columns have made me able to enter at some circles which I wouldn’t have been ever just as a builder! One such occasion rather honor came in my way when in last week I got a call from Mr. Ashok Kothawale of Majestic Publication. Those who are not avid readers for them it’s one of the oldest & respected publishing houses in book world of Marathi as well in many languages now. Apart from just book publishing the organization is known for their social contribution too, especially for Majestic Talk Show which popularly known as “Majestic Gappa”, in the social circles. It’s an event with nearly 60 years of heritage now where different topics are selected which are close to the heart of the society & every day two to three personalities from the field of the topic are invited. It’s open interview in front of fairly large & sensible crowd, which is conducted by equally competent personalities from the media!

Just as a builder I would have never got the call, as with due respect to my profession i.e. real estate, they doesn’t allow entry on this stage just for the money you have earned but what is your social or cultural contribution to the society is what it looks for ! Frankly about money earning, there also I don’t score much yet as I mentioned the book & some routine writing as well speeches I gave for environment & society, ensured me I am the better candidate when topic is Real Estate! Till I went there I wasn’t aware about the exact questions I am going to face but I like that way more as then you are ready for battle as you don’t know what’s going to be thrown at you! The other two invitees were Mr. Ketan Tirodkar, a renowned RTI activist rather more famous for digging “Aadarsh Scam”, which shook the real estate as well politics of the State & Mr. Hemant Desai, well known name in News Media for his study in Politics as well Finance! When I read these names I knew that the discussion won’t be just environment or real estate’s technical side but more on financial front of the industry & when its finance of real estate, black money was going to be at the helm! And so it went, the anchor  Mr. Nilesh Khare, a veteran from TV Media was to the point with first question to me with mischievous smile “Sanjay, what’s black money’s role in real estate, will you please guide us?”

Well somehow I played safe not going in specific details but the entire two hours questions as well points raised were about the black money & its impact on not just real estate but entire economy of the country. With Ketan & Hemant like stalwarts, they were ready with all references & names as well figures where as all I have was logic. And I in the very first go, declared that I am no way a financial guy rather I know as less about finance as any of the listener sitting in the crowd yet I am in the industry for nearly twenty five years is a fact; as well I do run my own company, so somewhat money I too have seen! With that much of exposure somehow I went through the talk show as most of the listeners were interested in knowing about black money as well its role in real estate & who has most of it, types information. There was no point in denying that there is no black money involved in real estate as even a five years old kid wouldn’t have believed me! So I explained  them, by me black money is something which you can’t show in account book as well can’t revel its details such as from whom you have received or to whom you have given & amount as well mode of payment etc! And by me everyone has some day & some place faced black money. Each of us has been sometime in life has jumped the signal & paid a green note to the hawaldar & needless to say it’s without receipt. We have been to Municipal Corporation for water connection or property tax or birth/death certificate & have got cleared the matter by paying some unaccountable amount. We have been exposed to MSEB for meter issue like change of name from earlier home occupant or a faulty meter issue & we have sorted it out again by under the table practices. The list of such jobs in our beloved country is endless & whenever such incidences are there & all the money used in these transactions is called black money at the end. Here I asked them, all of you guys here, now tell me who hasn’t touched the black money ever in life?  So on this nobody raised the hand & that shifted the focus of the interview back to main course i.e. Real Estate. After that it was corruption as well economics & high prices of real estate etc etc & the interview ended on positive note; but the issue of black money lingered in my mind.

As in our country black money & sex are two topics about which everyone loves to gossip & speak in private but no one is ready to share his or her personal encounter or experience about the same in public or even in close circles! Like these topics are taboo for the entire society making more & more people attracting to the discussion about the subject, especially black money. And surprisingly whenever the black money topic comes up everybody is very sure that all the black money or most of it either goes to Swiss bank or in real estate & that’s why builders are rich with black money. Many even goes to the extent of saying black money is parallel economy of this country & that’s why we didn’t suffered with the recession as when white money’s economy i.e. legal money, is in doldrums it’s the black money’s economy which kept the things rolling & stable! Well I repeat I am no financial wizard yet I understand one thing the above statement is like saying pain of heart break in love is receded by drinking alcohol! 

Joke apart rather the recession is outcome of black money getting stronger, as once we have understood the simple truth that black money is the money which you can’t show in your accounts then its means of generations are in mainly two ways. One is regular which we know & its corruption i.e. taking money in unaccountable manner for which you are getting paid by the govt or even the private organization in whatever job you are! And second is which is more wide spread & that is tax evasion! Many won’t know but more black money is generated by tax invasion by every business than by corruption & this is from the financial experts not just because I am saying. It’s logical also, as agreed we are a corrupt country, this too has been proved by various surveys & we do rank in top; yet how much individual can gather money even in corruption, there is a limit to it! But when the big corporate evade taxes, the kind of inflow is huge & this all black money either goes out of country or comes mostly in real estate mainly in land deals! Then comes the money generated through corruption in which govt officers, political leaders & high profile corporate individuals also comes. All these people collects the money which is unaccountable & it’s for the favors or even the routine jobs they do, in short every sign costs here! And the another aspect of corruption in govt or even private organization is not to do a particular work & show it as done & get money out of it. Or increase the valuation of a work & the increased amount is shared amongst all the concerned parties as black money! And here we conveniently forget that when its corruption generated black money then the taker as well giver both are equally responsible. Many will say what they can do but surrender to the authority who is demanding, but then that can’t be excuse for being party to the crime in the eyes of the law is a fact!

Now let’s see why everybody strongly believes that all such black money which remains in the country comes in real estate only? Why people don’t give names to IT industry or automobile industry for consuming black money? Answer is simple it’s the policies we have in real estate as well procedures involved in construction of the projects makes it easier than any other industry to accommodate black money! For e.g. the land which is basic raw material of the real estate. I have repeatedly discussed this issue that every product in this country has got MRP i.e. maximum retail price. This is the price above which one cant sale a particular product but land has no such MRP but the ready reckoner i.e. a price index decided by the govt says you can’t sale the piece of land below a certain price. But no upper bar of how much higher you can go above the ready reckoner price of a land. Land is limited & population is ever growing so in country like ours land prices have been always souring & as we don’t have upper bar so what price is above ready reckoner, never comes on record & all the unaccountable money i.e. black money can be consumed here without any hassle! Now the one who has invested this money will obviously wants it back so the builder who purchases this land from such person has to generate this black money at his end also, so the flat purchaser has to generate it too & the chain goes on! Then the hundreds of NOC’s required for even ten flats project too thousand flats project are also generation cause of black money. So here the builder has another hole to fill which eventually becomes one more source of consumption of black money in real estate.

This all can be stopped by applying simple common sense & making the land rates properly governed by the govt. Put up upper bar of land deals & ensure that it’s in tune with the market prices. We can even think of setting a separate system like share market for land deals, so all the transactions will be handled by a custodian, making all money involved accountable! Also there is a need to work out the proper taxation of profit generated through land deals as at present that’s another reason why people don’t show the original price of the land. As in some cases the tax on the profit in land transaction goes to nearly 30% which is termed as gain tax. Similarly a little bit of transparency & fear of law will make the project sanction process get rid of all the noc’s involved in building construction process. This will remove the generation as well consumption of black money from the industry. Why can’t like western countries we make very clear guidelines & development plans of city & make no need of sanctions itself? Let the architect plan the building as per norms & rules & just inform the local body what he is building. If it’s out of the rules then straight way demolish the entire thing without showing any mercy & prosecute all the concerned persons. And act on this in time so no one will dare to break the rules, not even public will book the flats in such projects without confirming its legality, as then only we can get rid of this demon named black money. As every such black rupee is a burden on the common man at the end & it includes each of us. This way the cost of every product gets rising unnecessary & at the same time the country gets less money for the development making us poor in infrastructure!

Black money is a curse to any nation as it makes few people rich & the country as well large numbers of its citizen gets poor. As I have already clarified that I am not an expert on tax evasion & tax reforms needed to make; but it’s equally true that more & more corporate should deal in accountable money only, for which govt has to work on to make such policies. At the same time for curbing corruption there should be more transparency in every sanction process & try to make most of the systems online including payments to the govt departments. There should be minimum human interface so as to reduce corruption tendency. Even the developed countries have corruption & tax evasions by corporate & generation of black money; as its human tendency but then the percentage is much less & most important common man don’t get suffered in the process! What I feel is there should be total no entry to the black money in real estate. Because it’s simple logic that the one who has black money will be no saint & then what can we expect from such people but fraud & bad service to the customer? So more such money in real estate means more bad people in the business which isn’t good for the industry is a naked truth. 

Unfortunate part is we all are so much accustomed to the term black money that we have forgot even the difference & sad  but jokingly I have heard many saying, “money has only one color & that’s green”! Even in the talk show I noticed one significant thing that all or majority of the crowd were of age above forty & I couldn’t see young faces. Is it an indication that younger genre has accepted the black money as their part of life or see no difference in black or white kind of money? If it’s so then it’s very alarming for our future. As black money is not just some notes of green color but it’s an attitude which reflects criminal or corrupt mind & if the younger generation of our country is of this attitude then we don’t need a horoscope reader to tell future of our country which is nothing but black!

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Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2014/01/wanted-leader-for-real-estate-industry_8.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

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