A School called Forest!

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. ...Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's May, peak of Central India's summer & probably the best time to visit forests here, if you are ready to bare the heat & wants to see the animals! As trees are surely not at their best but the water is scarce at these times, may it be for man or animals & most of them are on constant search of the same! And here is where lays your best chance to see the maximum of wild life!
Many a times I have faced this question from my friends, what’s there in Jungles that I visit them so often & yet don’t get bore? I too have asked this to myself many a times & the answer lies within the forest only! As the quote says it teaches so many things provided you go there & with open mind. In my recent trip to Kanha, Pench & Nagzira, though just one round at later two, here are few of the experiences & each of them was like attending separate class of life!
Class one.
There is a story behind every shot in forest!
While moving through the meadows of Kanha saw a blue jay circling over a dry tree & just out of curiosity what its doing on a dry tree we stopped the gipsy & as soon she felt our presence she flied away. Got more curious & aimed my lenses to the tree & saw the reason, she has her newborn in the nest made in a hole of that dry tree. Ignoring the alarm calls in distance & guides urge for chance of tiger sight I decided to wait to get the feeding snap as to see the blue jay with its blue display wings on is something far more interesting! But the protective mother was not ready to guide us to her newborn's location as she was unknown to the fact that we already knew the location of the nest, so she kept waiting on a near by tree for us to move away from there. The wait game started & after 30 minutes with all dilse sorry for the disturbance we caused in her feeding, the caring mother in her won over the security factor & she flew towards the waiting new born to feed & I got my shot!
*The jungle taught me to wait & be patient till the right moment comes!
Class 2
Forest is full of Surprises!
Here is one more, in Pench we were waiting on other side of a dry back water ground & there were alarm calls of chitals on other side. Each animal even the birds makes a peculiar sound when they see Tiger or any predator, which is called as alarm call & that’s the best way to locate the hunter as or else you cant see any thing by just your eyes so dense & camouflaging is the color of Tiger! As there wasn’t anything to do but wait to see the Tiger unless he comes in open I was just focusing my camera on a stork standing near a dike & just when I was clicking it suddenly the tiger leaped up in the frame from the dike! I & the stork were both equally surprised with this sudden appearance of the King of the forest!
*The jungle taught me to be ready for the surprises in the life which sometimes may be sweet & some times sour as there was equal possibility that instead the Tiger coming in frame the stork itself could have flown away before I click leaving the empty canvas of back water in the frame!

Class 3

Surprise is the word in forest!
As a routine I Was waiting to see the tiger as usual with the alarm calls from chital & monkeys & suddenly near the gipsy in which we were waiting there was a fallen dry tree which got alive with some moment, first I thought its regular flame back wood pecker but wow they were pair of gray pigmy woodpecker with male displaying orange cap! These are very rare not because of just les in numbers but because they are very small ,hardly 6 inches in size & perfectly blending colors with the tree bark.

*Once again forest has surprised me with the unexpected & taught me a lesson that while chasing big targets never miss the opportunity to enjoy smaller joys! They are far more important!

Class 4
We were following pug marks of a male tiger in Kanha & suddenly saw its glimpse in the bushes as he left the road & entered in a dry nallah along. There was a crossing to the nallah so we speed up & decided to wait at the crossing in the hope of we can have a good shot there but he wasn’t interested & left the nallah & started walking from opposite bank of the nallah from the bushes. Again we knew this track also was leading to a road which runs directly across to his path so we went ahead & kept waiting where the jungle path meets the road. There was alarm call at the opening of the jungle path from which the tiger was walking; few were of monkey on right hand side where we had been waiting & one from peacock on left hand side of our gipsy. Relying on surety of monkey call we decided to move right & kept looking where the monkeys were calling & in the mean time tiger crossed from where the peacock was calling & all we could see is just back side of him while crossing the road!
*The jungle has taught me one more lesson that even surest of our sources can fail & never ignore any information how ever irrelevant it may look on face!

So many such classes are on when you are in forest & attend them with open mind. It’s like going to a free school where no teacher will force anything on you yet you have to remember that you are there to learn & the process is ever going. Here right from the monkey to the trees all are your teachers & you have to watch them with open eyes & ears as they can’t speak in your language but yet they speak with you in so many ways & teach you to see your own life in different perception. The best thing forest teaches you is, to have patience till the right moment. As in forest nothing happens just for the sake of it. Every thing every act of animal or plant has a purpose & timing. How important is this knowledge as in our daily life also it’s the impatience which is the cause of all our troubles. We get impatient when we don’t get our morning news paper in time & even when any big job isn’t being done in time by the staff or collogues! It has become tendency of our modern times, being impatient for every thing & which is root of all the uneasiness rather I will call it as unhappiness which is growing around in the society. And here is where visiting forests makes the difference as it’s only here you learn to enjoy waiting & be patient! What you bring along from the forest is this patience & joy of waiting which you can use in your daily routine to combat with your uneasiness generated from day to day problems around.
Another aspect is most of us are continuously busy in chasing some targets in present times & all the time we can think nothing other but the target we are chasing. Like I experienced in chasing Tiger in forest, nothing wrong in aiming big but we should not lose interest or ignore the smaller joys of life coming in our way while we are running after our target. What every course like Art of Living tries to teach us is the same which forest actually displays in front of us & in a beautiful way! Not just the tiger but every small animal, insect, flower, tree & bird can give you the equal amount of joy in watching them move & just flow with the nature. All one has to do is feel it & learn from it how to be in tune with nature.

May be here lies the answer of why I go to forest again & again as for me its like new experience every day  just like I used to go the school to learn something new & get exited with the knowledge! And best part is this school has no end to any course & one can keep visiting it ever & the teachers wont say enough of teaching! So go ahead & enjoy the fun of learning with forests!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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Taking Possession of Home!

A relationship requires lot of commitment & work…Greta Sacchi.

When ever I see any of building getting completed & people saying they have got the possession & soon the will be shifting to their new home, I remember this quote of the thinker lady! Recently we handed over one of our project with small ceremony which included get together of all the flat holders along with the people associated with making of the project. As a builder I have been witnessing possession giving since last many years & yet the joy on the faces of the people not only the flat holders but so many who are involved does amazes me rather thrills me is correct word. Many a times I have heard people giving names to the profession which I am in i.e. builder & because it’s considered as just a money making & without emotion factor involved in it. Rather if we see the head lines in news about builders or real estate industry then one will think its most non creative non-sentimental profession, creating dry & dead concrete jungle! It’s not true rather for me it’s the most creative profession in world & this I am not saying because I am builder but the way I see the people & the building when its get ready!

Imagine a piece of land empty & with no human life over it & once we start working on it in few years you create home for so many on it & the place lives up after possession, hustle of people living there, kids playing in the open spaces around the buildings, the trees blossoming which you have planted & elderly people socializing in the places created for the cause, so many activities happening around once the place gets occupied. Even the building which looks dusty & gray in cement clad surrounding gets painted & covered like a newly wed bride & gets ready for the guests coming over! Who says there isn’t any creating in all this! Going a step ahead in a way its like work of a God! Here many will say I have gone crazy comparing our self with God but isn’t it like crating a complete new world out of nothing? I am not saying this in respect of powers like God but the job of making a home on a baron land & give its possession to the owner is like what God does with the world, is what I meant!

Unfortunately many never understand the charm or thrill in the whole process & the possession rarely takes place as a ceremony.  Usually the customer is invited at builder’s office & after confirmation of payment clearance keys are handed over, that’s it! A home is the only product where the buyers has to go to the product to take its ownership & the product don’t come along with you but you have to go to the product & stay with it! Even if you are buying a ship or a jet you get it delivered at your home after you purchase it but not home.  So many thing happens when you arrange a possession ceremony, actually it’s a get together of all those who are associated with the home. Making of a home is a process ongoing for 2-3 years & many agencies are involved. Right from the surveying team who measures the plot to the architect who plans the building over there & then hundreds of various agencies who are associated with building process by one way or other. And remember the one who are working in these agencies are human only & like me most get attached with this building while working on it. For all such persons handing over of what they have spent a year or two is surely a moment of emotion. As for all these months we are used to visiting the building when it’s in making & suddenly the day of handing over to its owner comes & we realize that our role is done, from next day we won’t be coming here ageing for no reason. Rather we will have to answer security at places why we are visiting the building which we only have built! It’s like job in an orphanage, for few days or months you are taking care of a child with whom you get attached & suddenly one day you know it’s being adopted now & you won’t be seeing the child again ever! Many wont agree with this concept or view of mine but believe me I have seen even workers at site getting attached to it & that’s more probable as many of them lives there during the construction & for them its their home for some period of the life.

Nothing better soothing than to watch the building you are working on getting towards finishing & been ready for possession, it’s like watching a child grow as each day there is some progress. I have made a practice to photograph the site every stage & make an album of the same & hand it over to the every flat holder at time of possession as these are the best memories of your own home making. Rather all those who can make it should visit their building periodically & do such effort of photographing as with digital camera it’s much simpler now. So many things are related to the possession of a home like making pooja or planting trees which will grow as we stay there & watch them grow along. Small thing does make big difference in presentation. Now days even a two wheeler keys are given with a small pooja & ceremony at automobile show room & the staff their smiling & clicking snap with the customers. Why can’t building industry follow such good traditions from other industries? There are few builders following the tradition but the number is very less is a fact.

Actually when we build a home for some one it’s a service rather one of the best noble service as most of the people buy this home once in life time. And then it’s not just a commodity product but in our country home has highest sentimental value too & keeping this in mind we should deliver the same. Possession isn’t just legal clearances of the document or fulfillment of all dues but at the same time a home should be delivered in real finish form. With all works completed & every agency moved out completing its job as well the formalities like occupancy/completion certificate obtained by the developer. It’s a responsibility of possession taker also to make a check list of his own & see that all the points have been duly taken care so as to avoid any future clash with the developer. Especially the civil works within the flat as well in common areas like painting, plumbing & cleaning etc. We can always add on by providing things like information of all flat holders in a form of small directory & giving it to every occupant of the building so as they can be in touch with each other. Arranging a small function, get together is proper word is the apex of all the service. It’s a joy to watch them come like coming for a marriage & take the possession of their & the pride in their eyes, it always gives me the feeling of satisfaction & fulfillment of mine & my teams commitment towards the relation which has been developed with our customers over the years of their home making! After all what is a relation? It’s trust & warmth between the developer & the customer which has to be experienced mutually & what better occasion than handing over that bridge or the cause of the relation i.e. the Home!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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

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Darker Side of Real Estate!

Making easy money is the worst temptation a man can have...James Hadley Chase.

Chase was undoubtedly the best crime story writer of all times & his specialty was that in every of his story however the clever plan may be, yet the crime gets detected at end & in some way or other the criminal gets punishment! When asked that why the end is always like this where the plot of any crime ends in failure, however clever it may be planned, the master story teller said “I didn’t wanted to glorify the crime & wanted to send the message that what ever you plan, at the end a criminal never succeeds!” Well unfortunately in current days logic of Chase isn’t working at least not in real estate!

This is one side of the real industry which most of the people in it have experienced in some way or other but which never comes in day light. The city is growing & many have benefited from this growth & money does attracts all sorts of tendencies is a truth from ages. And so it has proved again with real estate. In last few years not only the prime lands in the city center but even in suburbs land rates have soured & the real estate industry turnover is touching new highs with every year. And along with land there are brokers or agents, then various material supplies like sand, bricks, metal & undertaking petty contracts. With all this many avenues have been opened up to earn money for many people around & no harm in it till some one wants to play foul & want to make fast money. And let me be frank not all uses the conventional path of earning money which is “work hard & sincerely”! One has to be very careful now days while dealing in real estate as with whom you are getting associated is important!

The things stars right from selecting proper land through reliable sources. We all have read enough incidences of land grabbing & mainly in suburbs these things have been more. Some ten years back many of the farmers in suburbs which are now newly acquired part of PMC/PCMC sold their land by way of private plotting & the buyers were mainly service class middle income group who were seeking for fulfillment of there dream of own bungalow which is getting more & more difficult with every day. But in this process they haven’t followed the proper procedure of documentation like demarcation certificate, sanctioned lay outs neither they did any thing to protect the land physically by compound wall. Nobody confirmed the proper road or access rights to such plots as the land was not of much value then. By the present time the city has been extended to such plots & suddenly everybody could see the money involved in & then started the dark race to grab the butter of such land. People started taking advantages of lacunas in documentation & flaws in on site condition. Mostly the people who have bought such piece of land were not united neither having any support or knowledge of legal system nor the money to avail security services. Result was when they went to site they found some body else’s boards on their plot & though 7/12 was on their name there wasn’t any documentation which will show that where that piece of land actually is i.e. demarcation certificate. Few who have demarcation were told that the entry road wasn’t part of the agreement & now they don’t have the road to go their plot! Many understood the faith of their plot & surrendered & sold to the party who was occupying the plot at thrown away rate. Few who went for legal system as they weren’t having enough documentation even the system couldn’t help them & have to give up soon. A very few & lucky one could succeed in regaining what they have bought & unfortunate part is the story still continues! Many a still enter in to agreements without checking the proper title/ ownership evidence nor spend money to secure the piece of land they have bought. A best policy I will advise is to buy only fenced property & unless there is drivable road to the very plot site you are buying don’t touch the deal how ever lucrative it may sound. As its not only the common men have been duped even the reputed developers have been cheated in this practice.

Another very much common thing is selling same piece of land to many purchasers. Here many of the lands around the city were open land & family ownership, to study the title obtaining every members sign of the family as per the HUF i.e. Hindu Undivided Family act is of immense importance. Its not just the sign of person on whose name the 7/12 is there is necessary but his/her's entire family trees is equally important, even the minors as later they could claim & they have claimed in many cases making the deal go in to toss a few years later. In such cases the whole investment has gone into drain. As I mentioned this all started when people started realizing the money involved & it’s said that essence of money is very strong & gathers all sort of crowd, which is happening right now around! Unfortunate part is the govt system even after knowing doesn’t change or take any step to stop this. In Madhya Pradesh which is a backward state in comparison to us, they have a system of revenue department giving NOC prior to any deal & they publish a notice in news paper calling for any claims about the land deal. In a way govt itself is assuring the purchaser about the land title as well the possession! So simple & effective though a bit time consuming yet it takes care of many future irregularities which may happen.

Why can’t we have all the pieces of land marked on site also as per the govt land record at least those which are in residential zone as per the development plan or regional plan? Make all the lands marked on plan publish such maps on web site. To my knowledge the govt is in such process but the effect is yet to be seen. Presently the biggest lacuna is matching 7/12 record & demarcation record & its this discrepancy of which ill tendencies takes the advantage of. Another is marking the roads & reservations on site, at least the roads which have been part of DP & RP. This simplest thing will help many people who are not aware of zoning & get duped by buying piece of land which only later they realize is the part of future road or any such reservation. It will also clear the disputes on many lands which presently have no entry or have been deliberately land locked by the people who are not giving their piece of land in road just to take advantage of their position! All roads should be marked on all vacant lands & made at earliest on site; it is the simplest answer to many access issues or land lock problems.

Need of the time is there has to be a separate cell for such types of crimes if we at all call them as crime. The land matters are a dicey subject & even police are not much aware of the acts & documentation. The entire crux is the slow process of changing name on title documents. Unless & until the whole things don’t go online & change of ownership directly not gets reflected on ownership documents these things won’t stop. The legal system is also equally responsible as civil/land matters keep dragging for years & possession is still a key issue, so naturally the one with muscle power holds strong!

Best part is not to get carried away by the deal how ever lucrative it may look & be a more conservative when buying any piece of land as its better late then landing in trouble later! What I will advise here to any person seeking to buy a piece of land or having already is to get the property fenced with name board displayed at site mentioning name as well dimensions & contact numbers. Similarly get the demarcation certificate as well zoning done & keep watchman at site if possible. If it’s a group of small plot holders then jointly do that to share the expense. One may find this as expensive but in actual it’s an investment! Use senior experienced advocate for documentation & don’t try to find out any short cuts in what he has advised. People even try to save on public notice by not advertising in paper like Sakal which have more circulation instead going for smaller news paper just to follow the formality of notice. Such type of practices will only make your own land vulnerable!

Another increasingly concerned thing is about not exact mafia style but about monopoly practices in certain areas like sand supply or water supply or executing some particular works at site. It was a common thing in Mumbai but in Pune it’s started slowly. Here too not many developers will not speak openly but encroachment of so called local leaders & there interference in site matters is there. And they do press or force for giving material orders or works like excavation to their "karyakkartas" & at no negotiation, basis needless to say!

Here too need is not to get surrendered & take help of the authorities immediately as once you bend your knees you remain that way only! Some where extravagant exhibition of wealth by the people associated with this industry is also reason behind this i.e. criminal element is being attracted towards the industry by seeing this display of wealth with fancy cars & jewelry & lavish offices & they think there is lot of money & fast one here! Which isn’t actually false yet it is hard earned money for many with the kind of competition out there & the hurdles in construction & the torturous process involved in it. As the master story teller said money is going to bring all kinds of attentions yet it's up to us how to stand amongst all!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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

Maharashtra Housing Act 2011

Believe me, that was a happy age, before the days of architects, before the days of builders… Seneca

Many will be surprised by a builder mentioning this quote but the quote from the great thinker always amaze me. Especially with the current mentality of the society towards the builders & the head lines this specie makes does go on the line of the quote. Recently there was this typical message forward joke which I remembered when I read the head lines of the news about Housing regulatory Act/Bill announcement. It will be known as “The Maharashtra Housing (Regulation & Development) Act 2011.”  The joke was something like this...A person was calling at home of his builder continuously inquiring about the builder! After few calls the builders wife annoyingly scowled that I have told you he is passed out & no more still why are you calling & asking for him? The man replies "Kyoki ye sunaneko achha lagata hai!" (Feels good to hear those words again & again that he is no more). Many of my collogues wont like this joke & yes as a builder I too wont like to become such builder with such unhappy customer! But joke apart this shows the attitude of the society towards the builders & building line & the reputation it has earned in the minds of common man!

If you read the head lines then they too go along with the joke as it says "Finally builders are under tight noose of law" or “Here comes the control tool over the builders" or " Now the common man can breathe happily from builders grip". My my! Is this bill for an industry creating 2nd largest employment as well turnover in the Countries financial growth or for controlling some gangsters running their racket! Agreed there have been some nasty examples about land grabbing as well illegality in land deals but at the same time thousands of people are living in their homes at peace & daily there are hundreds of deals happening with both sides happily entering in to agreement of real estate is a fact too! Here many will say what both sides? In real estate there is only one side & that’s builders! Well may be a truth but partial. My write up or columns are never to justify builders act as that’s a social crime in this city as well in our country! Leave the sarcasticness in my statement yet any business has not only two sides but many of them & especially this Industry though its not even acknowledged as Industry yet for the sake of writing I am considering real estate as an Industry. The kind of exposure to various laws as well Govt NOC's this industry has to undergo is simply incomparable with any other Industry! And if you see any of the NOC's or condition every Govt agency or public body puts in them, it's clear that they wants all benefits from the growth of real estate segment but don’t want any responsibility or burden on them!

I can give hundreds of such example & simplest is any local authority sanctions plan of new building have all the premiums, development charges for the same & yet get an undertaking from the developer that water, drainage, road ,electricity etc every thing will be his responsibility! What kind of deal this is & who is going to have regulatory bill on such kind of sanctioning? Take a look the way any city's real estate is growing & compare the same with infrastructure around, even a five year kid can tell the gap & then we tag builders with all names for not being able to give adequate facilities to the residents but have we ever thought of who is actually lacking in the job! Then there is always allegations about the various fronts where builders are non transparent ,one of them is area especially salable area. Then let me clear MOFA i.e. Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act makes it mandatory to mention carpet area in every agreement, so there is no question of hiding it. If any developer is not mentioning it then its flat purchasers duty to ask him so! Unfortunately we are more clever or keen in purchasing even vegetables but when it comes to purchase of own home we are least bothered about such technical aspects neither seeks guidance from any experienced person! Here also see the differences on stance taken by authorities about the area norms, mostly all governing bodies like PMC/Town planning recognizes FSI which is built up area without balcony or terrace & accepts premiums on the same & at the same time they charge premiums on balconies, terraces, staircase, lift rooms & even parking! The revenue department also considers stamp duty of built up area considering all these, then where is question of challenging salable area & painting builders at fault for not using just carpet area while selling?

If we want to regulate something it can’t be one way! We have to get all the agencies & builders on one scale first then only we can expect fair practices is what I feel. Again I repeat this column is to discuss the regulatory bill but before that we should know the ground reality about the situation around so I elaborated this point. Basically the regulatory bill was to make the things very plain & strait for a common man who wants to buy a home for himself. Presently as I mentioned above there is MOFA as well MRTP act i.e. Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act to govern the real estate development. But both the laws are quite old, MOFA has been drafted 1963 when as the quote says the term builder wasn’t present & required lot of amendments pertaining to the today’s life needs as well demands. Then again a lot was required to clear the discrepancies between the procedures followed by the industry as this is the most unorganized segment is a fact. So obliviously the first need was to identify the specie calling themselves as developer! Lets see what difference this particular act has in compare to its earlier versions under different names.

First & most important many definitions of various terms like Carpet Area, Common Area, Project, Registration & many more have been widely covered & clarified. So there will be no discrepancy as what to be considered in carpet area & what not. Parking can be allotted to the flat purchaser is also cleared in the act but not in reserved open spaces. A Housing Regulatory Authority will be formed under this act & it will be compulsory for any developer to register any of his new projects with this authority, without that he can’t launch the project or take the bookings in the same. The developer even can't advertise the project in any form before registration This regulatory body is supposed to clear the registration process within 7 days from the application & the developer will have to furnish all the information i.e. Disclosure about the project. This disclosure will have all the information right from land title details to plan sanction certificate with all the structural drawings, specifications, work schedule etc complete. This whole information about the project will be published on the web site of Housing Regulatory Authority & will be available for any interested purchaser. This will help in getting the term transparency in existence in the working of this Industry.

Also as per the act the developer can’t take more 20% of the total amount of the unit without entering in to registered agreement with the flat purchaser. Also the act requires even the flat purchaser also to get registered with the Regulatory authority. In case of breech of the agreement if the regulatory body founds the developer as guilty then they can cancel the registration of the project & the developer can’t take any bookings for the project. One good provision is the developer can’t give possession of the unit without obtaining Occupation/ Completion certificate from the competent authority whatever system it may be following. This will reduce quite a number of conflicts between the developer, flat buyer & the local governing bodies like PMC/PCMC.

There are some suggestions/provisions in the bill which may lead to confusion or seems impractical at the moment & they are about utilization of the amounts which has received against bookings of the units in the project. Here the act requires the developer to maintain a separate account per project & keep the money taken under different heads accordingly such as MSEB, Water deposit etc! And at end hand over the same to the society or apartment condominium whatever it will be. As those who have multi-projects under one company it will be difficult for them to keep such project wise accounting & what this provision is going to make the difference or how this can stand legally is a question.

Most important is there is creating Competent Authority who will be not below the rank of Deputy District Registrar Officer for a specified area/zone along with establishment of Housing Regulatory Authority. Any of the party can make appeal to this authority in case they feel that there is a breech of contract by opposite party. This Housing Regulatory Authority shall take all possible measures for the growth & promotion of healthy, transparent, efficient & competitive real estate market is what intended from the provision!

What more we could have asked for & there are many more detailings which can't be covered here due to space! But wait, this is just draft of the act & many debates will be there with in detail discussion about every para & provision. All a common man & a common builder like me will expect is a plain & simple functioning where results can be obtained in easy & faster way instead adding one more hurdle in the entire process of building a project! And that is in our own hand as the more transparent the developers will be & more keen & questioning the purchasers will be the easier will be the deal for both of them! Agreed this is the age of builders & developers but let us understand it’s just one side of the coin & other side is the people who will be living in the buildings being build by the builders! So both the sides shouldn’t forget this very fact & act accordingly making the world better even with builders in it.

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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

Home, ours & theirs!

We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity...E. O. Wilson

An interesting incidence happened last week with me. At midnight security watchman of our building called me telling there was a big snake near watchman cabin can I do something? I rushed down with a torch & saw a beautiful Russel Viper, unarguably one of the most venomous snake found in our country.. It was frightened & was sitting curled up, all ready for attack on any approcher. My first thought was to kill him as we could have easily done that as being from a rural place I am quite used to snakes & killing them with a stick but on second thought my wild life love & environment background didn't allow me to do so.

I have list of snake friends all across Pune in my cell with their numbers, I tried a few & one of snake friend snake friend Mr Ganesh responded at past midnight who came & captured it & send to snake park, Pune. I was happy to assist him in doing so, a thrilling experience as the snake was very fast & venomous! The whole episode lasted for an hour but it was happy ending, not all the snakes are lucky as this one was. It could have been easily got killed by any speeding vehicle from adjacent road as it must have come from river which flows at some distance or from a construction site which is going across the road along green belt near river. Even the snake friend Mr Ganesh said now a days these species are getting real rare!

Each days we see or hear many such incidences happening with different species like monkey getting caught  between electric wires or many a birds getting hurt by kites thread (Manja of Patang) or any animal getting hurt by vehicle on road & the list goes on. Sadly now there are not that many animals available anymore in Metros for even accidents! Then their are stories of common birds like sparrows getting absolute from the city & we have to celebrate World Sparrow Day! All they need is some green spaces in the concrete jungle which we proudly call our homes! But then these green spaces are in direct conflict with building spaces. I have been witness to snakes coming out of building and construction sites so many times. The same is true for birds and other small species which need natural habitats and have been used to them for hundreds of years (in Pune), which are now been increasingly developed for roads and constructions.

Any land which is not being used for construction & even may look like baron is never dead actually. There are species like rats, ants, termites, lizards very much alive in the open earths surface & birds praying on them & snakes. In a way any open land is a habitat of a complete life cycle for many species & when ever we start building any sort of construction on the same this whole life cycle gets broken by our activities which in a way is an encroachment on their home & its our duty only to undo the damage done by us which unfortunately we are forgetting or ignoring or neglecting whatever we call it. Day by day snakes & other such species are getting extinct from cities due increasing urbanization. We need to balance green spaces within the city planning to maintain their habitats, its a big lacuna in urban living which is being neglected, making such species taking heavy toll on their living!

Well people like us who live in Metro’s i.e. Pune/Mumbai  either mostly ignore such news or incidences or post our concern in FB or Twitter & forget about the incidences till again we came across any such news. Even on FB there is usual comment war & blaming & that’s it! Many will say what more we can do & it’s not our job let the concern people find the solution like there are many NGO's including people with ample time at their hand. I also have come across many who even go to argue at such level that what difference it makes if few snakes die or you don’t see sparrows or birds in cities! Aren’t there enough problems we are facing like traffic, water, drainage, home prices! Why to beat our heads over animals & forests which are miles away from the cities & let’s focus on our own problems! There are snake parks & zoo's to take care of animals why we should bother to create spaces for them at our cost when the land is so scarce & rare commodity? Why we should endanger lives of our kids playing around by allowing such dangerous species like snakes to survive near our homes? I really don’t have proper counter argument when such points are raised except questions like does we as human beings who considers our self as most powerfully developed brains have got no responsibility towards other species that are not developed like us? Isn't being powerful means taking care of others who are weak in comparison to us? And if answer is yes then what are we doing to perform our responsibility towards this cause? Leave apart the platonic ideas like how the world will be without music of birds & fragrance of trees & butterflies etc but shear as our duty towards the weaker ones what are we doing for them?

Some where the answer lays with all of us even those who don’t indulge in such arguments & turns a blind eye on any of the argument. Now here many will say what we as individual can do when there is government for such things? This answer is worst than the acts of poachers in forest because what is government but us! It’s what we are doing is more important than what others are going to do. There is a famous story by Osho which I would like to share here... "There was a woman & when ever she sees a mirror use to break it saying it shows her face ugly ! And when away from the mirror she used to be happy & saying she is beautiful but its the mirror which shows her ugly!" Actually she was ugly but was blaming the mirror for showing her so! We are just like the woman in the story who is afraid of mirror. We are ignorant about our responsibility towards the species like the poor snake in our complex which was representing the entire species faith caught between us human beings & our greediness which we name as our need! And we turn a blind eye towards our responsibility saying it’s not my job to think over such aspect of life!

Here again saying that we should stop construction would be extremist at least a kind of temporary stop for some years, but we are not prepared for that. As we considered our needs on the top of every thing & which is true in one sense as when thousands of humans are deprived from proper shelter how we can stop constructing them!

Yes we need to make builders, developers and administration more responsible and accountable for the biodiversity destroyed. In countries like Germany, the law is that any land developed over has to have a biodiversity mapping and biodiversity offsetting: which is that whatever is destroyed during this process is replaced or offset somewhere else. I am not sure of all the details yet but one thing is sure that we have to think for such places in ever urban development where not only a human being but hundreds of others species can survive peacefully. Many countries have adopted such laws & what’s more important is the citizens over there have understood the urgency of the issue & responding going ahead of law & following it. As why we need law to make us aware about saving some body's life is what I will ask to myself? All one has to do is think for others home while building our own home! A small piece of land which can stay raw with natural greenery & some proper plantation by understanding the need of surroundings with guidance of any knowledgeable person in this field can serve the purpose! For example we plant many show plants & have lawns beautifully manicured but they are not at all useful for biodiversity conservation as these species needs natural habitats which can be made available by planting indigenous trees like neem, baniyan, piple etc which by them self are base for life cycle of many species of insects as well birds. Even a small piece of open land with soil cover where rain can accumulate & percolate in earth can become home to many. Why we have to wait for any law to tell us these simple things?

Apart from just being responsible if we go beyond it & think about the pleasure this biodiversity around us can give us then think about the sight of sparrows feeding their new born or a bulbul making his nest or the red color rain insect which first rain bring as well the butterflies  come along with the blossoming of flowers! The list is endless & just to watch all such happening around can be a fun which no money can buy. All you have to do is create some space for such species & spare few moments of your money making schedule for them & make them part of your life style. Its not only about the Developers & Govt or NGO's but its us only who is going to demand this space for other species when we buy our so called home. Rather this should come as a package deal with our four walls then only we can have some hope for any future for the poor Russel Viper & many like him! As the quote says biodiversity has to be felt & understood from within or else we have no right to call our self a human being!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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

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

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Punes tommorrow? PMRDA (Pune Metropolitian Regional Development Authority)

A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again...Margaret Mead

In the last few days two announcements were in news. As usual we don’t have any shortage of such announcements. Just like we need air to breathe & gossips to survive, we need the news which shows us dreams of our bright & better tomorrow. Our rulers by now have understood perfectly that how to keep the mind of the people they rule busy with such things & that’s why periodically we keep hearing announcements about Airport Then Metro or Affordable houses or Builders regulatory bill & now PMRDA i.e. Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority formation! The last two are quite recent i.e. Builders /Developers regulator bill & PMRDA formation. Each such announcement it’s always said that how it will make the difference to a common man living in & around the city but never we have been told what happened to earlier announcements! Well, we deserve that as we never ask this question while in the joy of hearing the new announcement! Here today we will see one of the announcement i.e. about PMRDA.

As the quote says since long we have been shown the dream of such city where the life will be ideal & without any daily problems like traffic, water, drainage wont be there & all this at a reasonable price! I am deliberately using reasonable pricing as affordable term is so cheaply used that its irritating to use the same any more as we don’t know who can afford what & yet we keep on using the term. When ever any issue related to real estate growth comes the standard outcomes quoted by the rulers are, this particular act or development will help in making better homes available at cheaper rates to the needy ones of the city!  Similar is with PMRDA, the purpose is spotlessly perfect considering the way Pune as a region is going. Gone are the day where as city was restricted to Deccan & Laxmi road now  we have people residing at Shikrapur on north side, Pirangut on west side, Urali Kanchan at eastern side & development goes up to Bhor on southern side! Imagine the span, its more than 60 km distance on all side of city center if we call Deccan as one. And what has caused this development, is it that the city is very god at offering infrastructure to the citizens that’s why more & more people are getting attracted here? Well answer is yes & no both! However we blame or curse the civic body for poor infrastructure yet when compared to other towns or cities in the State, we are much better if not best! We have ample power supply & adequate water supply & most important this city has CULTURE! This remains best back bone of the development. And we need to make sure that this backbone of our city survives.

The PMRDA concept is noble & to ensure the holistic development of Pune not just city wise but as a region in totality, which is lacking at present. Let’s refer the facts, what’s actual situation of the area which is going to be under PMRDA. There are two Corporations, one Pradhikaran, four Cantonments, Number of Grampanchyats, Zillah Parishad, many Nagar Parishads & Collectorate on top of all. All these are presently managing the various issues of infrastructure & planning of the area under their respective jurisdiction in and around Pune. And the outcome is what we are witnessing i.e. mess on all fronts right from public transport to road connectivity too medical or educational facilities to drinking water, each the problems are becoming grave! And yet the region is growing in real estate. After all what is real estate but reflection of societies need! As no one can’t demand just home, when we call something as a home it’s not just the four walls & roof but the surrounding it offers to us. And it’s this surrounding which is missing right now around the most of four walls we call home!

This type of experiments have been tried in Mumbai i.e. MMRDA & in Nagpur its NIA, Nagpur Improvement Authority & at Bangalore too. In nutshell it’s creating a separate entity which will work individually on larger projects as well along with the local authorities to ensure proper infrastructure on a much larger area than just some Municipal Corporation or Zillah Parishad.

Here many will ask when there are so many public bodies monitoring the development then what’s one more body is going to make difference & how it is going to make better homes available which will be at reasonable price? Well agreed no on can change the situation in one night as there isn’t any such magic wand but definitely one can plan for a system which can deliver the result. Results which all other systems have been failed repeatedly! As we are seeing Pune has been increasingly growing as a region & not just city under the jurisdiction of PMC or PCMC & all this growth needs a centralized coordinating or governing authority. Like PMC can plan & build the roads within its boundary limits but what happens to the road networks of areas surrounding to PMC? If the road abruptly ends at city limit, it’s of no use as it has to lead in some proper direction. Similar things have been happening on Public Transport as even merging of PMT & PCMT haven helped to improve the service. Not only because PMPML is managed wrongly but also because the expectations have been increased too much about public transport. We have a much larger area to be served for public transport than just areas under PMC & PCMC. So many routes will have to be planned where the length of routes will be much more than what it is now. New means of transport has to be defined & all these things will be interconnected to each other not just as per present boundaries of the local bodies but to be planned in much more larger canvass. The same principal will be applicable to water supply, drainage & many more infrastructural things which will need to be planned thinking as this whole area as one region, which presently the governing bodies cant because of their limitations of boundaries.



The concept of PMRDA is covering all these things under one wing. This body will plan for the region as whole & will get the executed via local bodies. It will have a smooth & cohesive, interlinked planning going above the present boundaries thus assuring a network of evenly based infrastructure to all the people living in the region. The present scene like Baner has water & Sus don’t have, won’t be any more. The roads will be well interconnected & helping the commuter to go from one end of the region to another without any hindrance. PMRDA will be having representation of all the local present governing bodies along with panel of experts is what we know. With land use getting defined by one authority & the infrastructure being made available to remote parts of the region more & more land will come under proper use & many lands which are under utilized can be used for housing. This will make more options available for the homes & with demand evenly balanced all around the city center & not just for some pockets. After all when we ask for a home in reasonable price then its not just the basic cost of the house but the daily expenditure it make us spend on our living also counts in it!

The entire picture looks very rosy & nice but only thing is this has been in talks since last 7-8 years & yet nothing has been finalized in concrete. This is the crux of our Govt's planning, they think perfectly but when it comes to put the thoughts in action they fail miserably! Reasons may be any but to me main reason is weak memory of the society ,who get happy after hearing such dreams are being announced & then forget it by the time next dream is being announced by the same Govt! Lets hope the PMRDA dream comes true as this is one dream if comes true has capacity to change our future which is in our hands only!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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

Water water water!

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody... Mark Twain.

I think the great writer should have been born here as the words are so much to be not only just read but adopted! Not many years back when ever the question was asked what back bone of Pune’s growth is, many would have answered its ample water availabilty, with more than five dams serving one city! Think how lucky the city must have been. For people like me who come from Vidarbha where water is the rarest commodity Pune was like heaven with 24 hours water supply. Still today in my town the water supplies in winters why just summers is half hour a day! Water is one thing which makes all segments of society to come on one platform as you may be a millionaire but still you need the same quantity of water which a labor will require for your basic needs!

Few years back I was attending a seminar in Delhi & Israeli high Commissioner was inaugurating the same, he said I don’t understand why India considers herself a poor country when she has so much of water? Many a must have considered it a joke then, but look at the scene now! On one side we are becoming wealthy with all the IT, Education, Auto industries & on other side every one of us is having problem in getting enough water for our life style! What it indicates? Few years back we have same dams, same rainfall & there wasn’t any problem about the water supply to the city but suddenly come summer & the only subject which is surrounding us is Water! We indeed are a funny city; we keep changing literally even on fronts of our problems! Some time its traffic then its public toilets for ladies then its road condition in rains & even flooding & now its water. One problem makes us forget other & the cycle continues through out the year.

One will ask what this have to do with real estate is. Well this is most important aspect of real estate, the water! As I mentioned earlier rainfall is same, dams are same then what’s problem? Well it’s the population as well the city spread which is growing. Now here most will say what’s new in that we all know it! Here will like to share a Zen story...
One day a wealthy person asked a Zen monk “What’s secret of happy life?". The Monk said “Sleep when you are sleepy & eat when you are hungry". The wealthy person said what’s so great about it, even a five year boy can tell this! The monk smiled & replied even a  five year boy can tell this but even a hundred year old cant achieve it! The zest is understanding our own needs & acting according to them. And this is what we are missing in our city! We just crave about the problem but never respond to them. Each year in summer there are talks about who took whose water & blame game & comparison between PMC/PCMC & news in all media with snaps of tankers as well long queues for water, that's all. The 2/3 months of summer gets over & so is the topic, again we all enjoy the water which rain god gives us & get ready for next summer!  There are many shades being given to this issue & these shades also depends up on the present condition mostly political & never technical. Like now its being discussed that because of elections the water has been spent generously & after election this caused shortage. There are even blames of diverting city water to some particular projects around the city! Common man gets confused as usual with all this & the mind gets diverted from actual problem.

Let’s accept the city is growing & what we are doing about it? Go through the advertises of any new project & it displays 24 hour water supply as a main focus. Well good thing for advertising but how & is it worth? Giving 24 hour water is one thing but using it 24 hours can lead to wastage is what we forget. And any good facility is a responsibility too so having water in ample is our responsibility & we only have to conserve it properly, who is going to remind this to the flat buyers? The local bodies too show immatureness at such times reacting in haste. For eg there was a news that PMC has stopped giving water to new constructions? Does that going to stop new constructions? There are bore well, tanker supply as once a permission to build is given doesn’t it our responsibility to give them water? There are thousands of labors working on sites, from where they will get water to drink & for their daily needs? Or else stop giving permissions to new construction! Truth is we want the cake to be remained as it is & eat it too! And then for whom these new buildings are coming up? Surely the developer is not going to occupy all the flats by himself? It’s the citizen of this very city who needs these homes too!

As a developer it’s our responsibility to make water saving arrangements in our complex & for that we don’t have to look for what’s written in rules! Even a dual flush tank in each toilet can save thousands of litters of water used for flushing as it uses adequate water for different purposes. Similar is with pumping & water storage tanks arrangement as well rain water harvesting. All these will definitely help in reducing use of potable water which we receive from PMC water lines. At the same time making residents aware about the use of water is also important. I have tried a simple idea in my previous company’s projects of fixing water meters on down take line from over head water tank. It gives idea of water consumption by the society & we can control use of water accordingly from this knowledge. Because it’s a general tendency of people to comment “we are receiving less water”, without even trying to check how much water they are actually using.

It’s high time for the governing bodies to analyze what’s going wrong & take proper steps before the outburst of common man. Lot many questions are unanswered as yet like really how much water this city receives & how much actually goes to the end user. We are poor at measuring system on both fronts i.e. on getting water as well on distributing. We have no idea that Rain Water harvesting is being made compulsory in new projects since last 4-5 years but how much actual saving it has caused in terms of litters of fresh water supply. Like electricity why the water supply is not being charged on consumption basis if supply base meters have failed in past? Common man don’t even know the term TMC which actually means how much water? Btw it means Thousand Million Cube Feet i.e. approx 28 million cubic meter & 1 cu mt is 1000 litter of water. If population of Pune is say 40 lacs then with 150 lit per head per day we will need 60 crore lit water daily & we are unable to locate the gap between supply & use & demand! All this because of lack of using proper technology & in time.

No doubt the various fire fighting announcements by civic body are must but why can we have permanent solution instead trying to do patch up works to the problem? And imagine right now there is no new source of water insight in immediate future but the population is going to keep increasing is a fact. So with every summer the problem is going to get worsen. Water recycling is one sure way but there is not subsidy for the installation neither there is any discount in electric tariff for the same. And as mostly water treatment plants run on electric energy the running costs are unaffordable for many societies. It’s a joke that this State gives free electricity to agriculture pumps but at commercial rate to the water recycling plants!

Such lacunas needs to be removed & fast as the problem is not for any individual but for entire city. It’s sad that on one side we call our self as techno hub & in reality no one has guts to accept the responsibility as well challenge to take on the water issue when all modern technology is at hand! Similarly the citizen also should realize that they too should play their role on this front instead just blaming rulers as well PMC, by trying to take initiative in water saving in any way, even calling for experts advice if they are unable to understand what to do! Water is most important factor for any human settlement as without it no community can grow & we are growing is a fact, so the future is unavoidable. And as per the quote, the water will be hurting us most if we don’t react in time & it won’t bother who the hurt party is!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628805700569/

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