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Kharcha paani

Mumbai greenest in the country

Mumbai has most numbers of green building projects in the country, with over 229 million square free of green building space.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

As cities become more congested and more polluted, and as old buildings give rise to swanky office complexes and residential towers that consume a lot of resources, every real estate developer worth his salt is asking to incorporate ‘green’ elements in their projects.

Cynics argue that developers do this not out of a sense of obligation to the environment but because they earn several benefits for coming up with green projects. The reasons notwithstanding, the country is seeing a rise in the numbers of green building projects, and a majority of them are in Mumbai.

On Saturday, July 20, the  Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) announced that Mumbai has the largest stake in green building projects in the country. The IGBC and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) spearheaded the Green Building movement in India a few years ago. Since then, the movement has apparently gained momentum, with the country showing over 2,110 registered green building projects amounting to over 1.51 billion square feet of green building footprint. This has put India in the top 5 countries in terms of the world’s green building map.

Green Building seminarSaid Gurmit Singh Arora, Vice Chairman, CII (IGBC Mumbai chapter), “Today, Mumbai has over 295 registered green building projects, amounting to over 229 million square free of green building space, thus leading the green building movement in the country. As these numbers steadily grow, the State can reap significant ecological and economic benefits.

“Most importantly, these buildings can demonstrate energy savings to the tune of 40 to 50 per cent and water savings to the tune of 20 to 30 per cent, apart from other intangible benefits.”

The IGBC is also set to release the report on ‘Environment Guidelines for Public Buildings’ as Phase I and the same guidelines would later be released for private buildings under Phase II. In the context of green buildings, it must be noted that the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, accords faster clearances for green buildings rated by IGBC. Additionally, the construction costs of a green building are 3 to 4 per cent higher than a conventional building, but the incremental cost gets paid back within three to four years with a substantial reduction in operational costs.

Arora added that since 75 per cent of buildings that would exist in 2030 are yet to be built, there exists a huge opportunity in design and construction of green buildings, “which not only addresses ecological issues and concerns, but also makes good business sense.”

(Pictures courtesy www.indianrealestatemarket.com, CII)

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Kharcha paani

Lingerie mannequin issue makes shops see red

The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association is asking for zero interference from the BMC in displaying lingerie inside shops.
Viren Shahby Viren Shah, FRTWA President

It is quite strange that Ms Ritu Tawde, a BJP Corporator, has proposed the banning of mannequins wearing lingerie or displays of lingerie on the roadside, and not inside the showroom.

We from the FRTWA (Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association) have always objected to anything being sold on the footpath by hawkers or through any illegal stalls. The BMC has only a few thousand license holders who are supposed to sell in a 1 metre x 1 metre area only, and in that area too, they cannot keep or display mannequins and sell any garments. This means that in any case, it is illegal to sell anything on the footpath, a resolution that is passed by the House, and the BMC does not need any separate resolution for this.

We support their action on roadside mannequins and displays.

Our objection is to the proposed ban on display within our shop premises. This should not be stopped or prevented, as it is our right as shop owners to display and sell the products. If we get any complaint from our customers at large, then we will look into the issue, but we cannot solve any such potential complaint by forcefully being prevented from our right of business and right of freedom to sell the products.

Since the time this issue first came into light, we have written two letters to the BMC Commissioner, the Chief Minister and the Mayor, and requested them to not take any decision in this regard without consulting with us. After all, we are the affected party, and any restriction that affects our business interests must be imposed only after discussing it with us and taking us into confidence.

Regards,

Viren Shah, President,

FRTWA

What do you think of the proposed ban on the lingerie display on mannequins in Mumbai? Tell us in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy photogallery.indiatimes.com, deccanchronicle.com)

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Kharcha paani

Maha CM wants Chinese industries in State

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan throws the door open for Chinese investment in industry in Mumbai and Maharashtra’s economically backward areas.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Maharashtra State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is eyeing Chinese investment into Mumbai and Maharashtra. After previous visits from British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, it was the turn of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to visit Mumbai yesterday.

During the visit, Chavan sought China’s help in creating various industrial corridors in Maharashtra. Apart from this, he solicited Chinese investment in the State’s economically backward areas to create employment opportunities. “The State’s textile policy is open and conducive to foreign investment,” Chavan is said to have told Li during their meeting in Mumbai. “Maharashtra is the second-largest producer of cotton in the country, and we have the technical expertise and machinery required for a major textile operation. China can invest in this ‘value chain’,” he said.

The State is also open to providing land at Chakan (near Pune) for Chinese industries. “If Chinese companies are sufficiently interested to set up factories here, we can create Special Investment Zones in the area for them. There are a few Chinese companies operational in Maharashtra, and they are doing well in building construction and vehicle manufacturing. We would like China to set up plants that manufacture heavy vehicles for India,” Chavan said.

Additionally, Chavan sought China’s know-how in providing basic services to citizens, such as water supply, solid waste management and drainage.

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Kharcha paani

Just ‘Be!’ in Mumbai

Be!Fund, an initiative that funds enterprises run by people from low income groups with risk-free capital, launched in Mumbai yesterday.

This is great news for those looking for capital to fund a business idea that will benefit the community they live in. Going to School, the Delhi based not-for-profit organisation, announced the launch of the Be! Fund at a press conference in Mumbai yesterday. The Be! Fund provides new access to risk-capital (up to $10,000/INR 500,000) to young people from low income groups so that they can start sustainable enterprises that solve local social and economic problems where they live.

Be! Fund is built on the premise that the world needs new heroes for the time we live in and the heroes we should look for are the poorest young people in India – they have solutions that can change India for everyone.

Be!Fund operates by using movies and radio to reach out to young people to ask them to call with local, sustainable, business ideas for change. “The business idea must prove that they can solve a local problem, generate income for the entrepreneur and create jobs. Young people return the investment once they generate a profit, if they fail, they are not put into debt. It’s a risk capital fund based on trust and belief that the poorest young people are the best people to run their businesses. All returns are ‘paid forward’ to invest in more young entrepreneurs to change the way ahead,” says the Be!Fund website.

Raghav Dhar, Bollywood Director, Sanjay Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Star India, Elizabeth Warfield, Deputy Mission Director, US Agency for International Development (USAID), Anusha Bhagat, Chief Operating Officer, UBS Bank India, Shrinath Bolloju, Group Chief Operating Officer, Deutsche Bank India, and Lisa Heydlauff, Director, Going to School formed the panel that discussed the need for such an initiative. They discussed the need for creating new hero stories to inspire young people to choose to become entrepreneurs, the role of national television in taking these stories to millions of young people free-of-cost, the impact of development organizations supporting innovative approaches to sustainable development and the role of banks taking a risk with their philanthropic capital to invest in young entrepreneurs from base of pyramid communities.

Commenting on the role of Be! Fund, Heydlauff said, “By 2020, there will be over 200 million unemployed young people below the age of 30. The youth unemployment crisis cuts across all industries and development sectors. In short, we need new heroes to solve India’s greatest problems – the heroes we need to find are the poorest, youngest people in India, who by pioneering new sustainable business models that create jobs and solve problems become role models to inspire millions of young people to change the world around them by choosing to become entrepreneurs.”

The Be! Fund started in Bengaluru, with a seed capital from entrepreneurs Phaneesh Murthy and Dev Roy, who believe that the poorest young people in India are worth investing in to change the world – they have the answers to the problems their communities face, all they need is a group of people to listen to them and be open enough to take a risk to invest in their ideas to make them a reality. After the success in Karnataka, new investors in Be! Fund decided to take this ‘made-in-India’ model to Mumbai and the rest of India.

 (Picture courtesy businessenquirer.net)

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Kharcha paani

Tea cheaper, cigarettes, tobacco dearer

Maharashtra State releases Budget 2013-2014 in State Legislature today. Cigarettes, alcohol to be dearer; tea and essential commodities enjoy concessions.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Every successive Budget, State or Union-presented, comes down heavily on certain things while letting others off a bit easy. The Maharashtra State Budget 2013-2014 was tabled in both Houses of the State Legislature today by Deputy Chief Minister and State Finance Minister Ajit Pawar today. Here are some of the Budget’s highlights:

– Concessional rate on tea to continue up to March 31, 2014.

– Increase in tax rate of gold, silver and their jewellery from 1 per cent to 1.10 per cent and sugar cane purchase tax from 3 per cent to 5 per cent to raise fund for drought relief for one year.

– Increase in tax on bidis, cigarette and tobacco.

– Tax on paver blocks to be increased from 5 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

– Surveillance of transactions by Sales Tax Department to go up.

– VAT exemption on Braille watches and vehicles for handicapped.

– Reduction in rate of tax of AICD heart implant from 12.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

– Financial Institutions liable to pay stamp duty on mortgage deeds.

– Increase in excise duty on country liquor, I.M.F.L. and strong beer.

– Rs 150.83 crore allotted to State sports and youth policy.

– Rs 80 crore earmarked for technical education quality improvement.

– Rs 317.17 crore for police modernisation.

For complete Budget 2013-2014 coverage, click here. 

(Picture courtesy fanpop.com)

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Kharcha paani

Proposed Mumbai-Delhi corridor meets farmers’ agitation

The process of acquisition of farming land for the proposed Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor is currently seeing agitation from 10 States.

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is facing stiff opposition from farmers in Maharashtra. And the reason is the proposed Mumbai-Delhi industrial corridor.

Currently, farmers and activists from 10 States in the country are up in arms against the proposed corridor, for which land is being acquired from farmers. Yesterday, the agitation reached Khandesh after crossing Konkan.

As per the NAPM, under whose direction the agitation is taking place, the yatris started off on foot from Karla SEZ area (Lonavla) late at night to reach Malegaon in the morning, where they were welcomed by their comrades from Rashtriya Seva Dal. The first halt of the yatra was at Jodge, where 3,600 hectares of land of five villages have been given notice under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act (MIDA).

“A population of 30,000 villagers in Jodge, Jayuk, Chicharovar, Sayane BK and Sayane SH villages have been given notice. The villagers have rejected the entire project. They say that they are against forceful acquisition of land without a stated reason and without the consent of gram sabhas under MIDA, especially since MIDA already has possession of prior acquired land,” an NAPM spokesperson said. The yatra is said to have then reached Dhule city after giving support to the struggle of these people, and promising to connect their struggle to the one underway at the national level.

Shyam Patil, a Dhule resident and agitator, said of the Dhule-Nardana Industrial Area, “The MIDC has completed the formalities under clause 32 (1) and (2) for acquisition of 634 hectares of land in Malich, Gorne, Baghode, Menane and other villagers, despite a textile industrial area already in function in the region.”

Suresh Desle of Maliv village said, “The people who had lost their land earlier are yet to get their due, and now fresh notices have been give out to villages with dual crop farmland. I had discussed the gram sabha’s proposal in this regard not only with the Collector, but also with the Secretary and Minister. However, no conclusion has been reached till date, and the sword of acquisition still hovers over their heads.” He added that a small committee had also been formed with the support of local farmers there.

The next meeting was at Sonegaon, with the gram panchayat and villagers. While the land there is also under threat under the Dhule-Bardhana Industrial Area, the process of acquisition hasn’t begun yet. The people there allege that the collector has given away 43 acres of land, which belongs to to the gram panchayat, to the Dhule-Itarsi Wiring Company without any legal investigation or gram sabha consent.

“A frightening image of MIDC is evident at every step. 17 lakh acres of land have been acquired for industrial purposes in Maharashtra, from the Konkan, Marathwada and Khandesh to Vidarbha in the last 50 years. People across different regions have expressed their anger at MIDC, and are all set to intensify their protest,” the NAPM spokesperson said.

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