Union Budget 25, Real Estate & Reality!

 

                                         

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“A budget should reflect the values and priorities of our nation and its people” … Mary Landrieu.

“This budget is of the people, for the people & by the people” …Nirmala Sitaraman.

Mary Loretta Landrieu is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana for nearly two decades! No need to introduce the second name as the lady who has just delivered 8^th consecutive Union Budget, our very own Finance Minister of India! Both women may be worlds apart literally, yet both are from politics & see the similarity between what they express about budget, the only difference if emotions just the way there is between Hollywood Movies & our Desi movies (exception Disney movies). The sentiments which Mary has put in professional language, have been expressed by our honourable finance minister Ms NS (Short Form for sharing, no offence) only in simpler language. Well, enough of word play which definitely is not object of sharing & I am bad at it as I am not a politician nor a trader, I am a civil engg & a builder, so the sharing is about Union Budget & you must have already read enough doses of the same but this is not about decoding of union budget, so don’t worry! I am not a financial expert nor even an accountant yet budget is the key word for any business so is for mine & in both ways, i.e. from the provisions in it when it’s for our country of which I am a part & to make my team as well readers (young ones) know importance of this term!

First about the union budget, well when my journalist friend (yes, a journalist can be a friend too) asked me to write something about the budget, my first reaction was looking around, Who, Me? As I have just started understanding my own company’s balance sheet a bit, that too after running it for nearly two decades, not a great thing to brag about definitely, yet the reason is they don’t teach you a single thing about money in engineering nor in that field when you start working! Another aspect is I don’t understand why a budget has to be made in the most complex way so as a common man (like me) has to be dependent on the Finance Gurus’ (most self-proclaimed) for understanding it! May be its same way why a common man can’t buy even few gunthas(few sq fts) of land on his own & get plan sanctioned & completes his own home, just to allow some builders to make money, here also the same logic applies though the money earner is not builder but some fraternity, may be Chartered Accountants! One thing is sure whoever or whichever segment may get benefitted from the budget the end winner is always the govt & Hon FM will say it’s a way to help people as unless govt earns money how can it help people, right? Hundred percent right but which people earn & who lose, as common sense is someone’s gain is someone’s loss, this also is a logic, right? Unfortunately, from the times I have started reading or knowing about budget its always the real estate which is at loss, is what my perception & this is why I thought of writing about budget even though I don’t understand it much!

Here I will mention a story of a learned Pundit (sorry a Pundit is always supposed to be learned) & a Boatman. In a remote part of the country a village's only connection with the pouter world is by a ferry boat & a local villager used to run that ferry who was illiterate. One day a Pundit came to his ferry & asked the boatman to carry him to the village across the river in his ferry. As the journey started Pundit was carrying many books with pride in the ferry & he asked the boatman, have you read Veda (Sacred Books), on which the boatman replied no sir. On this, the Pundit says, a quarter of your life has been wasted! After some time, Pundit asks the boatman, have you read Upanishads (philosophical books), and the boatman replies he has never even heard of such books & Pundit says half of your life has been wasted! After some time again Punit asked have you even read Panchatantra (books of folktales), on this, the boatman shyly answers that he doesn't even know reading. Hearing this Pundit says three fourths of your life has been wasted. In the meantime, the season changes & suddenly there was turbulence in the water & a heavy storm occured with the boat starting to wobble heavily. The Pundit gets afraid & the boatman asks him, does he know swimming, Pundit replies no, he doesn't know swimming. Hearing this boatman says, Punditji full of your life has been wasted!

Well, I don’t want to disrespect any Pundits over union budget & neither I am a boatman but the analogy is when you are doing any business or earning any rupee in any way (even as housewife) the you have your own takeaways which you understand how such things are going to affect it & I know my business just the way boatman knew his! So, this budget has nothing for real estate or making the homes affordable in any direct way is my take away from the budget! There may be statements from many Pundits that the provisions are such that there will be saving for the middle class which will make them able to invest in the homes & there will be rental income with lesser tax or two properties can be claimed for tax rebate or something like that but none of this is going to help to save the real estate or say help the real estate the way it wants to get helped! Here, many will say why real estate needs to be helped in the first place as the builders have earned enough for decades & I don’t blame them but that was past & those builders are no more in the industry or most of them have perished is a fact! I am talking about helping real estate & that means everybody associated with it, even the buyers, is my subject of sharing!  

I have already cleared that I am not a fiancé guy but like the boatman I have some very basic questions in my mind as I have been watching/ reading outcomes from the budget over last decade & they are, why real estate is not being given as industry status when it’s one of the largest jobs creating sector. Why real estate’s brains (there are still a few alive) are not ever called by Hon FM or her team to discuss our issues before budget proactively for understanding this business. Why no direct benefit such as GST reduction on basic raw materials for construction is given if we want to make affordable Homes for the people. Why there is such disparity in the GST policies about real estate that No GST on ready possession homes while fixed 5% GST on Homes in making & that too on Home’s agreement price which includes the land/tdr price which plays major role in price of a Home i.e. up to 75% in same cases so the GST is actually nearly 30% on construction cost if you say land is exempted from GST! Gain tax is one such pinching issue as when there is Income Tax, how can there be Gain Tax again that too only for real Estate Industry, as Gold also people invest for appreciation why not on Gold there is Gain Tax then! Real Estate business probably needs maximum NOC’s & has to deal with most govt depts, why there is not a single window system suggested & applied for this sector in any budget ever! Why there no benefit of export (is what my CAs’ tells me) for any foreigner/ NRI buying property in my projects by paying me in foreign currency! Why there is no direct fund provision (Barring Urban Challenge Fund, which is not clear about its use & governence) for acquiring reservation lands in all the towns & cities as because of that thousands of reservation lands remain undeveloped & eventually fall prey to encroachment (slums) which again is a big threat to the real-estate which are doing it in legal way & makes legal homes unaffordable! Why don’t the banks (read as SBI, Maha bank etc) considers real estate as priority sector & allocate funds at low interest for it1 Why don’t Hon FM guides (read as orders) banking sector to consider cost of land which makes nearly 70% of the project costing also part of project finance while the very same banks do mortgage the same land for meagre finance they do!   Why not abolish TDS, GST, Gain tax, Income Tax & all such & have one simple tax system for entire real estate! So many “why” comes to my mind when I read the figures of lakhs crores of rupees being given for this industry & that purpose while real estate’s bag always remains empty except some meagre rental TDS types announcements, is my subject of sharing! I know the experts will call me a fool with all my doubts but then the Pundits always think the Boatman is a fool, so be it!

Till then, coming back to another budget which we neglect in a great way at our end & that is proper budgeting of everything when it comes to expenses. This aspect or part of sharing is especially for Maharashtrian builders who think sale is their profit (sorry, no region offence)! Hon FM may bless us or not but we must have a keen eye, ear, nose & everything when we spend even one rupee & that is possible in a right budget about expenses we are supposed to do. Budget is something which many organizations claim they have but either the budget is with loopholes or its not being tightly followed. That way a budget is like a red signal on the road, it may warn the vehicles to stop but can’t stop them from jumping it yet the outcome is an accident someday for sure! So dear real estaters, taxes will be there & you will always be a step-child for the govt but you can have your own budget for your work & respect it for your own protection is what I will share!

Finally, I am a wild lifer too (by heart if not by business) & the union budget makes me unhappy here also as hardly any headlines (I read those only) were there about sizable provision for wildlife protection or forest dept. We need land for wildlife (tigers) which needs money, we need big staff to protect wildlife again money, we ned to make people around forests aware & have jobs which again needs again money, though homestays are going to be promoted as per budget but it means loan & we all know what happened with loan system from farmers suicides, right?  Hon FM, a war is going on between humans & entire wildlife (read as forests) & the humans have you to make provisions for them to win the war as you only have said the budget is, by the people for the people of the people. But whom the tigers & deer should look at as their people for money provision for their protection is the war with the humans, is the question I will ask to you, adios with this question!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Secure Your Home!

 

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“Security is an attitude towards life & not just some systems or rules”… Me.

Above is not just a quote or set of words but these were the feelings which came to my mind when I offered to speak or share my views on the subject of security of a building. Well, in a society very close to my residence, a chain snatching incident happened with a resident of that society right at the gate & in the crowded hours of evening, which started a big discussion on that society’s WhatsApp group. We happened to have our small unit in that society so I too am a member of that WhatsApp group. After going through the discussion of which focal point was obviously safety & security, I said to the members with my little exposure to this aspect I can give a small presentation to interested members about the security aspect of a building & then members can decide further course of action on which they agreed, & outcome is as below! I am deliberately using the format of the PPT slides & elaborating the points, as that way every point can be explained to the readers also to the core of its meaning!  At the same time this is a learning or say innovating experience for me also as by me, nearly fifty percent of security is achieved in the planning of a project itself & rest is its execution once people start living in that building, so I thought the process of presentation about security will be useful to my team as well our project’s residents also! And of-late (post Corona) somehow crime rate is increasing as may it be Cyber Crimes or chain snatching or breaking in flats, large number of people either don’t have jobs or are interested in making easy money & the outcome is, every day you open any newspaper & you find city news page full of housebreaking & such crimes is a fact! Though that’s not the subject of my sharing & many will say what’s Police is doing , well police can’t protect your head while driving but you have to wear a helmet the same way, it’s your home of which you also must take some precautions to protect it, that’s security!

 1.Object of Security Systems.

Theft, Mishap, Natural Calamity, Life Threats, Property Loss, Goods Loos (Cars/ bikes)and such. As its important to understand the object or outcome we want before we initiate some system or else like the phrase in Marathi “Aag Rameshwari & Bamb Someshwari” like situation, means we spend & form some system which will be useless for the object we have in mind!   This fact not only the society people but even the building/ project planners also needs to be understood.

2.Residential Society.

Let’s focus on a residential complex as in a commercial building users are different so will be the means . Here the first object is to prevent theft , protecting our valuables & safety of life of the residents & later our valuable goods.

3.Preventive Measures & Corrective Measures.

Security is two-fold, post & after! This means just the way we take vaccines to prevent a disease, the vaccine doesn’t ensure that we won’t ever be infected but it increases our immunity for the disease & in case we suffer from the disease then we have to take necessary medicines. Same way security measures are like a vaccine against theft & that’s prevention yet incase if theft happens, we can then look at post measures for the same.

4.Preventive Measures.

Study the society layout & planning. Mark loopholes from the angle of objective. Most important is to avoid any bad incident & let the bad people know what you are dealing with, they must know what are preventive measures taken by the society as that creates fear in the mind of a criminal. No theft or burglary like crimes happens by chance or is an accident because the thief is risking his life & can’t afford to return empty handed. He or they (a gang) usually study the target which is your home & society & they will hit the weakest one on the security front.

Display signages  of safety measures in bold. Just the way the sign of “Beware of Dog” on a bungalow gate makes you cautious while entering that bungalow, the  security measures must be visual enough to make the thief remind you are not unprepared! Unfortunately, in the respective society where the chain snatching incident happened there was CCTV but no signage of its existence displayed was there!

Right entry exit checks. Every entry & exit must be checked! For that you need right security servicemen equipped with whistle, stick torch etc. This is the weakest link in most societies especially single stand buildings. If you hire a watchman with meager payment to save the money then first, he will find a parallel job to make his needs meet (Moonwalking for IT guys) which will make him less alert on his job as a watchman. And second is, he won’t risk his life when the need arises i.e. To confront the thief or say bad guys! So always hire the right security service.

Single entry Single exit. This is important in planning aspects then the security team can keep a clear watch on who has entered the premises & who has left, which many buildings especially projects with a greater number of buildings don't follow, just for convenience of easy entry & exit nearer to their buildings or wings!

Spend on compound walls & secured entrances to individual buildings. Even if the builder has not given you a safe & proper compound wall, the society can extend its height, as it must be felt like an obstruction for the thief!

Free entry only to the authorized/ legitimate occupants. In any building only the real occupants or users must have free entry that too via card or some recognition.

All visitors must be monitored at entrance. This is something many people find irritating or inconvenient or insulting but very same people smilingly allow themselves to be frisked at malls or hotels! And let’s accept, security is above emotions then only it's effective!

Emergency Contact Numbers boards in each lobby & entrance. The local police & all such essential numbers must be displayed in bold in all lobbies as well near watchmen. And the watchman cabin must be near the washroom so even during that time the gate must not be unguarded & under his eye sight!

5. Secured entrance lobby.

With a manual lock key system. MS Grilled entrance lobby is the best & basic thing for every building entrance. Which you can lock at late night & the keys can be with every flat holder for late night visitors.

Thumb entry system. This is a lock which opens with only the thumb impression of authorized residents. But the problem is elderly people’s thumb impression it doesn’t take.

Intercom confirmation entry. Best & most effective, any visitor is allowed inside the premises only when confirmed by the security via intercom call with the respective flat holder. This takes a bit of time but it is an effective system.

ID Card entry. Just like in Five Star hotels, all the residents have their magnetic card which is the access key to their respective building’s lobby door.

Emergency Alarm for Watchmen. There must be an emergency alarm switch hidden near the watchman, so incase of such a situation he can alert society with one push.

One more thing is, the society must give the watchman a dedicated mobile phone with its sim card, maybe a basic model & with society key members numbers feeded in it as this will help him to communicate with the watchman.

6.Security of property i.e. vehicles.

Jammers by society. When going outstation for longer duration the society can have its own set of vehicle locks & the member can lock it like traffic police jammers with it for added safety.

Society Stickers. Every vehicle must have society issued stickers on it, if possible, with bar-codes also can be there on the stickers.

Anti-Theft Alarms should be fitted to all the vehicles for any attempt to open or start the vehicle with the wrong key or forcefully.

Tracking devices are a must especially for cars. As well you can have them fitted to your two wheelers also now. And display all such initiatives in the parking lots in bold!

7. Corrective Measures.

CCTV is nowadays a common amenity but nobody takes effort to check its footage’s effectiveness. Good quality night vision cameras & regular servicing & results of the system, is the matter of concern here.

Right & aware record keeping of entry/ exit is a must &, if possible, make it in a computer of society office. At the same time maintain a database of all maids/ drivers/ visitors including character certificates from local police.

 

8.Personal Attitude of Residents

Detailed Information of all occupants is important data in case of some crisis & needed to be stored at society computers. We can use any committee member or office bearer’s personal PC/ laptop also for this in case of small size society.

Information of regular outsiders, maids, drivers & their character certificate from local police stations, this is the responsibility of every flat holder.

Know your neighbors & keep keen eye on any irregular activity around, such as suspicious persons, broken or open doors of a flat etc. Small things make a difference such as, having a light fixed outside of your entrance with a switch inside flat for night visitors in case lobby lights are off, then you can check who is standing outside of the main door. As well have a  security/safety gate with double Kadi/Konda so as nobody can lock you from outside. MS Safety grills to toilet windows also are a must & right design of grills & fixing so they stand firm & can’t be easily removed.

Periodical cross checking of security systems is also necessary & for that form a committee for the same with adequate powers through general body meeting.

9. Budget of the security systems

There are two types of expenses, one time & recurring. One time is civil works & systems such as CCTv & whatsoever needed to be done. Recurring is maintenance contracts for all these systems & staff you appoint such as watchmen etc. And you can always take expert advice as well security audits done by them & even take assistance from local police also.

10. Friends, security, as I said, is an attitude & it's ever evolving & your attitude only will define how hard you can make it for a thief or burglar to break into your home or society; thank you & I conclude with this note!

The video of this presentation you can watch at YouTube link below & please do share to make others aware as well improvise…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aj3AAD1lmA&t=1s

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

 

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Air Pollution, City, Real Estate & the Govt!

 

                                                  Orchid Jiwan by Sanjeevani at Sus Baner

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“The more we pollute the earth, the less we deserve to live on earth!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

 

“Automobiles are often conveniently tagged as the villains responsible for the ills of cities and the disappointments and futilities of city planning. But the destructive effects of automobiles are much less a cause than a symptom of our incompetence at city building!” -  Jane Jacobs.

 Two great names in the urban planning of today’s world & great thinkers (philosophers too) who always warn us the way we plan our towns or cities at the cost of nature at large! Mehmet is from Turkistan while Jane is from USA yet what they write is applicable not just to their regions but entire world planners which as usual we ignore & price, we are already paying1 Our Pune city is not exception to their writings & if you think I am far fetching the subject the read every day’s column about pollution figures which indicates air quality of the city, suburb-wise! Problem is, as usual only the real estate is considered as demon (read as, the demon) in this city or say society & face the burnt. I remember my school days when there are few boys in the class (needless to say I was one of them) whom the teachers (all the teachers) use to beat whatever wrong happens in the class from their purview & their justification was we don’t need any proof, these buggers must be party to the wrong doings & our only fault was, our poor or say bad reputation! Today when I open newspapers & read the pollution figures of air quality or water shortage or even accidents happening because of heavy vehicles such as concrete carrying mixer trucks or dumpers or water tanker’s accidents & blaming on real estate i.e. constructions going all in & around the city, I get the same feeling even after being an older, which I had as a student! And if punishment then was being beaten by the teachers today the punishment comes in the form of notices or stop work i.e. financial punishment (read as stresses) from every teacher which are in the form of various agencies & media & NGOs,’ is my subject of sharing!

No, I am not justifying how real estate is right & innocent as two things, one I know nobody will believe me & another is, that’s not my purpose of sharing but to make you realize about problems created by wrong urban planning, wrong business (real estate) policies & suggestions for solutions for pollution problems, if we really want to solve them! As agreed, real estate has its lacuna, just the way we as students had in our school days but we weren’t the only problem makers & by punishing only a few students whether they are faulty or not you can improve others kids, that logic still prevails, is my subject of sharing! And most importantly every time if you start punishing the same students for problems created by other students then you will lose them from the education forever, same is with real estate! Air pollution of the city has deteriorated, stopping constructions. Water shortage is there due to lesser rainfall, stop constructions. Drainage lines are inadequate, stop constructions. Roads are not good or land for roads are not acquired, stop constructions. Road accidents are increasing, stop construction industry's vehicles (eventually stopping constructions). The list for stopping construction under the blame for any reason which is the outcome of wrong policies of the govt is endless, is my subject of sharing!

About water shortage, the infamous ever-going war between Irrigation dept which is supposedly custodian of water in entire State & our very own PMC is on & while the builder has no say in this yet I am sure there will be stop works in the summer for less water supply, as Hon irrigation Minister has already blamed it on the builders being selfish for water consumption causing water shortage for the masses, wow, just wow! Bhai log (brothers & Sisters), the builders build the houses for the citizens of this very city only & they build these houses only after getting sanction from the PMC or some govt dept only by paying lots of money to the govt from which the govt is supposedly do the infrastructure works such as water supply, so how the builders can be blamed for shortage of water to the masses, & a responsible minister of govt makes such statement, is my subject of sharing! At the same time the ongoing drive of giving stop work notices to the construction sites for air pollution is the outcome of one such “Killing of Business Policy Making,” as indeed pollution must be curbed but then has anybody really checked the count of pollution created from the construction sites & nature of that pollution? Because, hazardous is CO (carbon Monoxide), Sulphur, Lead & all such elements or chemicals & none of above is generated from the construction works is what I can surely tell as a civil engineer! Yes, the dust aspect is there but the volume is negligible & its periodical & one time, though that too needed to be controlled is sure but stopping construction & blaming entire city’s air quality on construction is totally outrageous & wrong & illegal is my subject of sharing!

On the top of it some gentleman filed a complaint against air pollution in Green Tribunal in Ahmedabad & our State’s environment dept stopped giving EC environment clearance which is needed for projects above built-up area of 2 lakh sft, is the super joke! Just because real estate’s every project is a new industry in a way so you can hold the builders on the gun point but why don’t you then stop all the industries in the Pune region which are polluting air & water every day in some way for sure! And why don’t you stop nearly 70 lakhs plus vehicles from coming on roads which everyday let tons of toxic gasses in the city’s air! And all these vehicle’s another side effect is, unlike their owners they can’t be fitted inside home but need ground or open space which they take from the trees! These 75 lakh vehicles are like citizens of the city & they are on move & wherever these are parked, it takes away the space of some tree which we cut to park our car & reduces green cover of the city in process, adding to the air pollution of the city! Then comes the issue of garbage burning in & around the city which is illegal & yet being done all around the year, which is major cause of air pollution in suburbs like Hinjewadi as well the villages which are now in Municipal Corporations i.e. PMC & PCMC! This is happening because of inadequate garbage collection & treatment facilities on civic bodies but the sufferer is the entire city & builders! There are millions of IT Parks, Malls in this city which use Air-conditioning units & causing the air temperature of surroundings to rise significantly which again is one of the causes of air pollution; so, shut down all such malls & IT parks too, can we do that? Last, but not least, Diwali is ok but may it be some tournament victory or marriage or birthday of a Bhai or election results, the city’s sky is filled up with every type of fire crackers generated. Each of these fancy firecrackers emits more than one building’s polluted elements in air which are super toxic, who is going to give stop work on the sale of firecrackers in the city, is my question to the govt!  Govt don’t (and won’t) do any of above things because govt doesn’t dare to do it, govt knows this & builders are the easiest of scape-goats to slit the throat, so you stop their projects & show the people how active you are in caring for the clean air in the city, high time people must understand this, is my subject of sharing! As you can make a logical study & policy for the norms to follow at site to control air pollution as well see that those are being followed just like other norms such as side margins & plan sanctions, that’s the right way to do it! And what about thousands of illegal homes being build every day in every town & city & not just in Pune, who are stopping them not for just making pollution but polluting the entire city by their mere existence, what are we doing about them, high time real estate dons’ must ask this question to the govt!

The real reason of air pollution in the city is not some ongoing construction sites but alarmingly increasing numbers of vehicles & their exhausts, very poor public transport which forces citizens to use their private vehicles, small & large industries in & around city & reducing green cover of the city due to overdose (read as greed) of FSI by the govt to earn more money in the form of development charges & registration charges & GST type taxes via construction! The govt wants money from real estate but doesn’t want the responsibility of taking care of the real estate process; is, my subject of sharing! At the same time, millions of people are migrating from all over to some city or region for their survival, which again causes the burden of every infra thing on that city & eventually causing an increase in pollution, who is responsible for this migration but govt! And the builders which are supposed to build houses for these migrants, are being blamed for air pollution, wow again! Sorry, this I am not writing because I am a builder or to support builders, read & think with your own brain & then decide the cause of air pollution or water shortage like aspects of your own city, & then if you feel I am still wrong, just ignore my words then!  Today you are stopping construction works for water shortage & making builders give affidavit to provide water to the buildings which the govt itself is sanctioning & is partner to them actually; tomorrow the govt may ask builders to provide oxygen also to the residents of the buildings because govt fails to provide clean air to the citizens, what next? Rather, increase tree cover, create green patches in & around the city, strengthen public transport to reduce the need for private vehicles, make urban development laws the right way, try to save every drop of water, conserve natural water bodies, shift all industries from where their pollution can be controlled & many such things!  High time for the public to ask the questions to the govt instead blaming some fraternity for its failure on clean air front, as dear citizens, you have voted to the rulers in the govt & not to some industrialists for your comfort, mind it & act or else one day there will be only the pointing fingers at your own self in the mirror, adios with this warning!

-

Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/

Hyenas, Wolves, Humans & the Grasslands of Pune!

 

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“When humanity wins its battle against the forests, this victory will be humanity's greatest defeat!”
―…  Mehmet Murat ildan

Turkish Playwright, Novelist & Thinker Mehmet has been always one of the greatest of such kind in our genre & has helped me in many of my recent sharing with his words of wisdom, especially when subject is forest or say nature at large & its fight for survival with none other than the humans i.e. us! Actually after going through writings of many wise people such as Mehmet I myself have understood one thing which he has said in above quote, the battle or fight of forests may be on with humans but this fight humans are not going win ever as the day we will chop down last tree or wipe out last blade of grass that day, our life will be only black & white, rather only black is for sure yet humans never give up the fight is the problem! Rather that's the sole purpose of my such sharings, somewhere someone will also understand & join the bandwagon of stop fighting with forests, but as of now there are very few, so be it, thanks Mehmet!

Now, if dosage of philosophy is too much for you then here is something nice, wonderful, great, amazing news (well some different start) & it’s about forests which meets you in the form of grassland & it’s just 100 km away from our concrete jungle i.e. Pune (though with the chaos on the road even 100km feels like 1000km, sorry, sarcasm)  & thanks to the forest dept with some dedicated men like CCF N.R.Praveen, DCF Mahadev Mohite,  RFO Surywanshi & guard Ganesh Bagde (from forest dept)  , Raju Pawar like locals has for some time won the battle with the forests by joining hand with it & result is awesome! At first glance, all you can see is yellow drying grass everywhere, thorny bushes, barren hills with boulders, some neem trees in backdrop that's all & you think why you woke-up at 3 am in morning, left your cozy comforter, travelled some 100 kms & come here in the first place! As the sun rises in the sky, then you start seeing black & grey striped objects walking in weird ways, in the distant howling of wolves starts & you see wings wandering up in blue sky, welcome to Pune Grasslands, a unique landscape habitat which you won't get to see or feel in any other forests of Maharashtra & home to Hyenas, Gray Indian Wolf, Indian Fox, Chinkara & many birds. Take an example of a Hyena family here, in my more than 30 years of wildlife, hardly once or twice I could click this animal but here in Kadbanwadi I can click them leisurely as they too were in such a mood, a rare sight & many such awaits you!!

Though all this hasn’t happened in some days or months or years but its dedicated persistent efforts of nearly a decade which has made this landscape not only survive but thrive. This entire area which stretches over hundreds of kilometres between south & east side of Pune district is a rain shadow area & that’s actually make it unique on the front of flora & fauna! That way I have been visiting these grasslands for nearly more than decade since when hardly few people knew about their existence or say importance but post Covid effect on wildlife tourism (good way) & thanks to some real interested officers in the grasslands, today this patch of land is slowly becoming dearer to wild animals which makes it dearer to wild lifers. In the morning when I reached at the gate of Kadbanwadi from Indapur side (another gate from Baramati side i.e. Shirsufal), it was heartening to see SUV’s (as normal cars can’t be maneuvered on these tracks) aligned at gate & entry tickets were full! Later while we were waiting at the water-hole, I was more fascinated by seeing the photographers aiming their telephoto lenses outside just a cut-paste scene from tadoba or Kanha, this is what was missing from these grasslands & this will help to make them thrive, is what I felt!

Earlier also animals like Hyena, Wolves, Fox, Jackals, Chinkaras were there along with many birds which you will find only in these habitats but continuous movement of humans inside these lands & outside has made these animals to go in hiding. As most of these animals are shy & nocturnal (only or mostly move in darkness or night) so their sighting is always rare but now with proper system of safari, routes in place as well many patches of land secluded as no human movement zones, slowly the animals are getting comfortable & that’s the reason I could click pack of hyenas, which I have never ever thought that I can some day! Though there is private farming inside & around these grasslands which in one way is a boon then in another way is a curse! Boon because I see wolves & jackals taking shelter in green crops when the grass has dried up & use these shelters for breeding. Same way chinkaras also eat green leaves when there is summer or dryness around as this is a rain shadow region & none of these animals will stay only because you made artificial water holes! At the same time, it's a curse because as these farm lands are private there is always human movement making the animals disturbed & it's not good for tourists. At the same time private farming & forest dept are in loggerhead over the ownership because of undefined boundaries, is one more problem. I think the solution lies in acquiring these lands just the way we have done in project tiger & for that declare these grasslands as Project Wolves! Problem is unlike farmers around the forests in Vidarbha regions, farmers here are rich & with politically strong backing, so to make them understand & shift from these grasslands isn't an easy job but then that’s why govts’ are supposed to do hard jobs, right? And these grassland animals needs their space as they are here since hundreds of years, they can't survive anywhere else, its their owny home! 

Another aspect which of late forest dept has significantly acted in these grasslands very positively is, empowering the locals about wildlife, a success formula of Tadoba as once the locals start loving (read as protecting) the wildlife then, half the war is won! So, the next step is giving professional touch to the wildlife tourism here which includes right vehicles (such as gypsy) as fortunately here there are no big predators such as tigers so safety isn’t that big a problem & we can experiment a bit. At the same time increase routes, timings as when a person spends time to travel here & money then he has to be in the forest for some time which will make him feel worth of what he has spent! And the most important aspect is stay, as all the mammals I mentioned above you get to see in early morning hours & late evening, so one has to have decent stay arrangements around which are missing at present. We can actually use the private lands around the grasslands for resorts or homestays & the forest dept is working on it!

Recently I came across news of weddings being held at such locations & people spending millions on these weddings or events, these grasslands can be a super venue for events, get togethers, gatherings, corporate getaways! Because wildlife is not only about the tigers & leopards & elephants, it’s about the experience of wilderness you get to feel around you. Just imagine, you are sitting out in open, with cool breeze caressing you, sky is clear & star-lit, it's dark around as your city eye-sight is not used to pitch darkness ever & in the distant there is howling of wolves & along with-it cicadas background music & the howling is joined by hideous laughing sound by hyenas; give a shot guys, you won't ever forget this experience! And this will be a real boost to the tourism as well as the entire wildlife in these grasslands, of course without disturbing the harmony of the habitat & that’s what coexistence is about, adios with this note!

Check some moe magic of grasslands at link below & please do share...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72177720323118163/with/54228319738

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked..

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

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https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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