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C O V E R S T O R Y

NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR, SEPTEMBER, 2013

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C O V E R S T O R Y


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E d i t o r ’ s N o t e

Dear Reader,

On behalf of National Political Mirror, it is my pleasure andhonor to introduce the magazine to our readers at large. Thismagazine will signify political parties, society, regions, corevalues and their major role in the politics of India. It will bealso coming up with new concepts, introducing new methods,

projects, theories and general information to professionals and people in-terest has made this phenomenon results in the magazine.

On the national interest, the government of India should arrange pollingbooth facility in each and every Indian embassy for NRIs (Indian Citizen)those who are working in other countries. So that NRIs can contributetheir votes which will also help in making decision. NRIs vote will be play-ing important role in India which is world's largest democracy and secondmost populous country.

On the political front, BJP has started its election campaigned for GeneralElections,2014 along with coming assembly in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Mad-hya Pradesh and Rajasthan with appointment of Narendra Modi as BJP'sPrime Minister Candidate for next year Lok Sabha Election.

Along BJP, the Congress has also started its campaigned from Rajasthanwith its President Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone of Rs 37,230-crore refinery and petrochemical complex launched of two project.

Now, we talk about regional party like Samajwadi also full mood in elec-tion with Muzaffarnagar riots where were 47 life claimed by riots.

Other regional party Biju Janta Dal (BJD) is also ready to fight in comingelections with good scored in recent Urban Elections Bodies in Odisha.

On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal lead Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) has alsocampaigning for its party candidates for upcoming Delhi assembly elec-tions. AAP’s strategy is very different than other party. AAP’s campaignedquite effectible in Delhi; party has deployed their all ground people to beatboth BJP and Congress.

I could keep going and stop myself only at the risk of giving too muchaway and spoiling the excitement that always comes from opening up themagazine and taking that first perusal through the table of contents.

Just know that even though the last couple years have been hard and it'shard to feel completely optimistic about this magazine, this isn't a maga-zine for sunshine-pumping. It should leave you feeling better about politi-cal development, but it won't do so at the expense of maintaining theobjective distance necessary to deeply assess where the program stands.

Hope you all enjoy -- this was truly a labor of love.

Along BJP, theCongress hasalso started itscampaignedfrom Rajasthanwith itsPresident SoniaGandhi laid thefoundationstone of Rs37,230-crorerefinery andpetrochemicalcomplexlaunched of twoproject.

Sanjeeb Kumar SahooEditor-In-Chief

Editor-in-ChiefSanjeeb Kumar Sahoo

Consulting EditorYogesh Sood

CorrespondentNitin Keshar

Pathikrit Chakraborty

ContributorsDeepshikha Singh

Art DirectorAnwarul Haque

Legal AdvisorSumit Kumar

Owned, edited, Printed and Published bySanjeeb Kumar Sahoo * Published from

House Number-34, Gali Number-10, SouthGanesh Nagar, New Delhi-110092

*Printed by Modest Graphics (P) Ltd, C-52-53, DDA Shades, Okhla industrial Area,

Phase-1, New Delhi-110020

*All disputes to be settled in Delhi Courtsonly. All rights reserved. No responsibility istaken for returning unsolicited manuscriptsunless a self-addressed stamped envelope isenclosed. views expressed in articles in Na-

tional Political Mirror do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial.

Contact us:

NAtiONAL POLitiCAL MiRRORHead Office: House Number-34, Gali Number-

10 South Ganesh Nagar, New Delhi-110092MOB: 09338433764

INSIDECOVER FEATURE

FOOD SeCURitYBiLL ON SHAKY

GROUND

HAS BJP LOSt itS WAY?

iNDiA BAttLe’SFOR BetteR

PORtABLe WAteR

04

11

42

Update 7PeRSPeCtiveit is A vicious Cycle 12Not For the Needy But For the Pockets Of Greedy 13BJP's Move to Make temple in Ayodhaya 14CONCeRNWhat Ministry is Doing For the indian environment? 15iNFRAStUCtUReFading Sheen Of Gurgaon Malls 18Gurgaon : Rental Housing in the City 20Will Mhada Fulfill the Need For Real estate Of Common Mass? 22FeAtURethin Line 24Akhilesh Yadav’s Plans Blocked By Senior Leaders 25SPeCiAL StORY the Delhi Circus : BJP, Congress Have to Bridle AAP 27UPDAte 30teCHBiz 34BOOK RevieWimperial reality through social prism of the British Raj 40FeAtUReUttar Pradesh’s political parties manages by JP group, 44Reliance and Sahara india Parivar

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P e r s p e c t i v e


By Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo

Ahead of Lok Sabhaand Assemblyelections, regional

party Biju Janta Dal(BJD) lead by OdishaChief Minister NaveenPatnaik sent clear mes-sage to its political re-bellion while winning 41of the 66 urban localbodies in state.

Odisha’s urban localbodies result indicatedthat no Narendra Modiimpact in Odisha. Gu-jarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi is BJP’sPrime Minister Candi-date for 2014, LokSabha elections.

According to the re-port, Naveen Patnaikhas always taken elec-tions seriously, sinceassuming as the ChiefMinister for the firsttime in March 2000.

BJD president wasvery serious about theoutcome of the pollswas evident from thestrategy he has adoptedto make the party win.

Not only Chief Min-ister himself cam-paigned extensively in a

majority of urban localbodies, but also Pat-naik engaged his cabi-net colleagues andlegislators to concen-trate on particulartowns to oversee theparty campaign.

Further, the rulingparty also engaged themaximum number ofOdiya film actors tocampaign in support ofits nominees.

Chief Minister alsohas campaigned hardby helicopter to almostall the local bodiespitching for his partycandidates.

Before urban localbodies, Naveen un-veiled his Youth Policy

and started laptop dis-tribution programmefor meritorious stu-dents of high schoolcertificate examinationacross state.

On the other hand,the opposition Con-gress which had re-mained out of power inthe state since 2000,but any how managedto improve its tally fromnine in 2008 to 12. Theopposition BJP waswon only one local bodyin tribal-dominatedMayurbhanj district.

The result says Pat-naik will influence theLok Sabha and Assem-bly polls in 2013 in abig way and hope fully

he will retain in poweras fourth consecutiveterm as Chief Ministerof Odisha.

Out of the totalnumber of 1121 wardsthe results of whichwere announced by theState Election Commis-sioner Ajit Kumar Tri-pathy, BJD bagged642, while Congresswon 318, BJP 47, Inde-pendents 101 and oth-ers 10.

Polls were not beingheld in 25 urban localbodies in westernOdisha due to agitationby people demandingsetting up of a perma-nent high court benchin the region.

In the 2008 urbanlocal bodies polls, BJDhad romped home in 40while the Congress andBJP had each wrestednine.

In additions, the re-cent urban local bodiespolls also rejected twit-ter and facebook theorywhich is still using bypolitical parties and itsleaders for campaignedfor its candidates forelections.n

No Modi Impat InNaveen’s HomeOdisha’s urban local bodies result indicated that no Narendra Modiimpact in Odisha. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is BJP’s PrimeMinister Candidate for 2014, Lok Sabha elections.

6 NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR, SEPTEMBER, 2013

the scheme will create more unemployment in states likeJharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh where tribal are liv-ing. if tribal are getting subsides food then they will notregularly work and depends on subsides food.

Food SecurityBill On ShakyGround

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C O V E R S T O R Y


The nationalfood securitybill, 2013 re-cently re-ceived the

assent of the Presidentof India; PranabMukherjee. By this as-sent, the food securitybill has become the Act,which promises to easehunger and guaranteevery cheap food to thepoor’s of India. How-ever, there are con-cerns that food securitybill has not been prop-erly thought throughand could become un-sustainable.

Attempts of bill Despite the fact that,food security bill is agood attempt by thegovernment for thosewho don’t have accessto food at a subsidizedrate. Even bill supportsfood for pregnantwomen and childrenunder the age of 16.

The United Progres-sive Alliance (UPA) gov-ernment said that itwill guarantee food atvery cheap rates of be-tween one and threerupees per kilogram toup to 70% of the popu-lation.

In this scheme, ruleand regulation is ap-plied that everyone whoqualifies for the sub-sidy will be entitled to5kg in total of rice,wheat, pearl millet andsorghum (a cereal).Where, rice will be sold

at a subsidized rate ofthree rupees per kilo-gram; wheat for two ru-pees per kilogram;coarse cereals at onerupee per kilogram re-spectively.

In fact, the govern-ment is taking varioussteps to form commit-tees to look at meas-ures of poverty. Thegovernment intends touse the Public Distribu-tion System (PDS) fordelivering subsidies tothe poor. In case wherethe government is notable to make food avail-able in the PDS thenthey will give cash pay-ments to be used forfood directly into peo-ple’s bank accounts.

The Delhi govern-ment has alreadystarted distributingsubsidized food usingthe PDS.

Even every districtwill have a grievance of-ficer who will deal withcomplaints about im-plementation at thelocal level. We don’tknow how that willfunction but they havethe authority to punishpeople who are not giv-ing out the food.

Each state will havea food commission tooversee the program.

Challenges of megaprogram

The food securitybill seems to be a megaprogram and will re-quire a huge food sub-sidy. By the industryexpert, the cost of foodsecurity bill will go upfrom 0.8% of Gross Do-mestic Product (GDP) toaround 1.1% of GDP.This is a major increasein a situation where the

By: Sanjeeb Kumar Sahoo

the UnitedProgressiveAlliance (UPA)governmentsaid that itwill guaran-tee food atvery cheaprates of be-tween oneand three ru-pees per kilo-gram to up to70% of thepopulation.

8

C O V E R S T O R Y


government does nothave sufficient and ad-equate resources as itis.

“The governmentwill sell the food to ra-tion card holders at oneand three rupees perkilogram, which is asubsidy of 16 rupeesper kilogram. The gov-ernment says it willprovide 62 million tonsof food a year underthe bill and the size ofthe subsidy is esti-mated around Rs.1,30,000 crore,” expertadded.

The sustainability ofthis bill will be or isunder question be-cause, if the quantity offood remains the sameeach year, the foodsubsidy bill will in-crease yearly. As thecost of food goes up theamount that the gov-ernment sells the sub-

sidized food for will re-main the same. It’slikely, because of a ris-ing population, whichthe quantity of the foodsupplied will also in-crease.

Who are entitled?Now the big questionarises, that who are ac-tually entitled to thissubsidized food? Orhow government willtarget the beneficiar-ies? And by whatmeans government willidentify who is reallypoor and who is not?

According to the bill,every state will providethe list of the poor tothe government. But inreality, do states willhave such records ornot?

If this situation pre-vails and climatechange takes place

what is going to hap-pen? This is an issue.

Another problem,the scheme will createmore unemployment instates like Jharkhand,Odisha, and Chhattis-garh where tribal areliving. If tribal are get-ting subsides food thenthey will not regularlywork and depends onsubsides food.

On the other hand,many states includingChhattisgarh, TamilNadu and Delhi alreadyhave a subsidized foodprogram so it is un-clear how the two willrun together orwhether it will createconfusion in both.

ConcludingThis bill claims to be

promising; which willhelp the poorest of thepoor. Currently, thisbill is only targeting 50per cent of the urbanpopulation and 75 perof the rural populationrespectively.

The governmentshould keep a checkand reduce the leak-ages from the distribu-tion system and makeit transparent. We cantake an example fromChhattisgarh where 98per cent of the food isgoing to the right per-son. When the food ar-rives in stock, thoseentitled to it receive amessage on their cellphones to alert them.

In last, if the poorare getting food at alow price, then it’sgood. n

the UnitedProgressiveAlliance (UPA)governmentsaid that itwill guaran-tee food atvery cheaprates of be-tween oneand three ru-pees per kilo-gram to up to70% of thepopulation.

9

U p d a t e


People should come forward to use the Right to Infor-

mation (RTI) Act with a view to keeping tabs on the

utilisation of development funds, Union Information and

Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said today.

Despite receiving central funds, the SAD-BJP govern-

ment in Punjab does not properly utilise the same for de-

velopmental work, he said.

The Centre allocates about Rs 800-1,000 crore for

Punjab per annum for programmes such as rural develop-

ment and the MGNREGA jobs scheme, Tewari said.

“But neither does the state government contribute its

share towards the central schemes and nor do Zila

Parishads utilise these funds properly. That’s why there is

no visible development in the state,” he said.

“All panchayats and citizens are free to seek the de-

tails of development funds from the Zila Parishad,” he

said.

Tewari, who is the Ludhiana MP, slammed the SAD-

BJP combine for Punjab’s poor fiscal situation and said

that the government should come up with a white paper

on the state’s economy.

“If no central grant is given to Punjab, the state will

face bankruptcy as it is currently unable to pay even the

salaries of its employees,” he said.

Earlier, Tewari laid the foundation stone for works to

upgrade two link roads in the Dakha area of Ludhiana

district under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna.

One of the roads would connect Sohian village with

National Highway-95 while the second would link Braich

to Dhollan. The two roads would be upgraded at an esti-

mated cost of Rs 1.06 crore and Rs 6.39 crore, respec-

tively.n

Use Rti to keep tabs on utilisation of funds : Manish tewari

Only 15 states have so far set

up their own respective State

Disaster Response Force following

direction from the National Disas-

ter Management Authority

(NDMA) earlier this year.

Only 15 states have so far set

up their respective state dedicated

forces meant for immediate re-

sponse to disaster and also involve

in community capacity building

and creating awareness on the

need to observe and follow safety

guidelines, NDMA member said,

K M Singh.

“We had been advocating for

the setting up of the state disaster

response force by all state govern-

ments to tackle emergency situa-

tions in line with the NDRF,”

Singh said while addressing a con-

ference on safe management of

chemical petroleum and petro-

chemical industries.

Meghalaya Chief Minister

Mukul Sangma informed that the

state government would soon set

up the state disaster response

force as mandated by the NDMA.

“You reminded me that we need

to move faster and ensure that it

is put in place at the earliest,”

Mukul said, while apologising for

the delay.

The NDMA member informed

that the Centre has sanctioned the

setting up of yet another battalion

of the National Disaster Response

Force (NDRF) in the North East,

preferably in Upper Assam.

A battalion of the NDRF in

Guwahati is the only one looking

after for the whole region, he said

adding that one more battalion is

likely to be set up in Upper Assam

or Silchar wherever land is given.

Singh said the NDMA is also

keen to set up at least one com-

pany of the NDRF in each of the

NE states provided the govern-

ments provide land for them.

He said the country had

recorded 1861 major hazardous

accidents in 26 states in the coun-

try, adding that in the North East

region, Meghalaya, Assam, Ma-

nipur, Nagaland and Tripura have

very high vulnerability to natural

disasters and being located in the

highly seismological active zone.

Only 15 states have set up Disaster Response Force: NDMA

10

U p d a t e


India's envoy to China Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has been appointed

as the next Ambassador to the US and his position in Beijing will be

taken by Ashok K Kantha. Both Jaishankar and Kantha are from 1977-

batch IFS. Both the diplomats are expected to take up their respective

assignment shortly, Ministry of External Affairs said . Jaishankar will re-

place Nirupama Rao. Ashok Kantha is currently Secretary (East) in the

MEA and has served in Malaysia and Sri Lanka among other postings.

The country's envoy to Beijing since August 2009, Jaishankar's name

was making rounds for the position of Foreign Secretary after Ranjan

Mathai. However, the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh opted for the

seniority and appointed Sujatha Singh as the Foreign Secretary.

Ashok K. Kantha, currently Secretary (East) in the Ministry of Ex-

ternal Affairs, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India

to China.

Kantha, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1977 batch,

will succeed Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who has been named as

the country's new Ambassador to the United States.

Kantha, who was earlier the Indian High Commissioner in Sri

Lanka, will take up his new assignment shortly.n

Jaishankar is new Ambassador to US

India's envoy to China Sub-

rahmanyam Jaishankar has

been appointed as the next

Ambassador to the US and his

position in Beijing will be

taken by Ashok K Kantha.

Both Jaishankar and Kan-

tha are from 1977-batch IFS.

Significantly, both appoint-

ments come ahead of Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh's

visit to these countries. Singh

is leaving for the US on Sep-

tember 25 and is expected to

visit China next month.

Both the diplomats are ex-

pected to take up their respec-

tive assignment shortly,

Ministry of External Affairs

said . Jaishankar will replace

Nirupama Rao. Ashok Kantha

is currently Secretary (East)

in the MEA and has served in

Malaysia and Sri Lanka

among other postings.

The country's envoy to

Beijing since August 2009,

Jaishankar's name was mak-

ing rounds for the position of

Foreign Secretary after Ran-

jan Mathai.

However, the Prime Min-

ister Dr Manmohan Singh

opted for the seniority and

appointed Sujatha Singh as

the Foreign Secretary.n

Jaishankar is new Ambassador to US

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Wednesday issued a legislative de-

cree giving Hindus and Sikhs one seat

in the country’s lower house of parlia-

ment.

With this, the Afghan parliament

will now have 250 seats.

This follows Karzai’s approval of

cabinet amendments of Aug 26, a state-

ment by the president’s office said.

Under Afghan law, the president

can issue decrees when parliament is

on vacation.

The decree comes ahead of 2014

presidential election and parliamentary

polls in 2015. n

Hindus, Sikhs get one seatin Afghan parliament

The union cabinet has approved enhance-

ment of the authorised share capital of Na-

tional Backward Classes Finance and

Development Corporation (NBCFDC), from Rs.

700 crore to Rs.1,500 crore, said an official

statement.

The NBCFDC provides concessional loans

to the people of Other Backward Classes

(OBCs) living below the poverty line through its

various schemes.

The enhancement of the authorised share

capital of NBCFDC will strengthen its equity

base and will help more number of people be-

longing to the OBCs in getting loans and finan-

cial support, said the statement.

The NBCFDC was set up in 1992 with an

authorised share capital of Rs. 200 crore which

was enhanced to Rs.700 crore in 1998-99. n

Union cabinet approvesmore funds for OBCs

11

U p d a t e


President Pranab Mukherjee

has administered oath of office

to Deepak Sandhu who became the

first woman Chief Information

Commissioner of the Central In-

formation Commission.

A former Indian Information

Service officer of 1971 batch,

Sandhu has served at many key

positions like Principal Director

General (Media and Communica-

tions) Press Information Bureau,

Director General DD News, Direc-

tor General (News) All India Radio

before taking over as Information

Commissioner in 2009.

She represented the country at

international Film Festivals in

Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Tokyo,

International Conference on Ter-

rorism and Electronic Mass Media

at Glendzhik (Russia) and Cyprus

besides Heads of News Meetings

at Atlanta, USA and Beijing.

Speaking to a news agency she

said the RTI journey which began

in 2005 is just a beginning and she

propose to take it forward by en-

gaging with various stakeholders.

The new CIC said her priority

would be to reduce the pendency

of cases at the Commission.

The 64-year old officer is join-

ing office for a relatively smaller

tenure of nearly three months in

which her biggest challenge would

over 30,000 pending cases with

the Commission.

“We are waiting for new Com-

missioners which are likely to be

appointed soon. It will ease our

burden of disposal of cases and

also reduce the pendency at the

Commission,” she said.

Sandhu will succeed

Satyananda Mishra who demitted

office after five-years of tenure at

the Commission yesterday during

which he headed the Bench which

declared political parties to be

under the ambit of the RTI Act.

Deepak Sandhu takes oath as Central information Commission

Under RTI, disclosure of personal information in re-

spect of service record, income tax returns and as-

sets of an individual is illegal unless it is necessary in

larger public interest, the Bombay High Court has ruled.

Accordingly, Justice Vasanti Naik quashed an order

of Nashik State Information Commissioner asking the

information officer to supply information about per-

sonal assets of petitioner Subhash Khemnar to respon-

dent Dilip Thorat.

“On hearing the petitioner and on perusal of the Act,

it appears that the Chief Information Commissioner

was not justified in directing Information Officer to sup-

ply personal information in respect of service record,

income tax returns and assets of the petitioner unless

he was satisfied that such disclosure was justified in

larger public interest,” said the judge in a recent order.

In the impugned order there is no finding with re-

gard to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that the

disclosure of the personal information in respect of the

petitioner was justified in larger public interest, the

judge noted.

Under section 8(1) J of the Act, there is no obligation

on the Information Officer to give personal information,

the disclosure of which has no relationship with any

public activity or interest, or which would cause unwar-

ranted invasion on the privacy of the individual unless

the authority is satisfied that the disclosure of such in-

formation is justified in larger public interest, the Judge

further said.

The petitioner had challenged the order passed by

the Chief Information Officer on December 4 last year

asking the information officer to supply personal infor-

mation about him on a second appeal filed by the re-

spondent.

Initially, the information officer did not supply the

information and rejected the application filed by the re-

spondent.

Thereafter he went in appeal before a higher author-

ity but it was rejected. He then went in second appeal

before the Chief Information Officer which was

allowed. Being aggrieved, the petitioner moved the

High Court. n

Personal details cannot be disclosed under Rti: Bombay High Court

12

U p d a t e


More than 1,400 cases of alleged paid news

have been detected by the Election Com-

mission in the last four years during assembly

polls held in 17 states.

The maximum of 523 cases were detected

during assembly polls in Punjab last year, fol-

lowed by Gujarat – 414, Himachal Pradesh – 104

and Karnataka – 93 (this year), according to offi-

cial data.

97 such cases were reported in Uttar

Pradesh, while 30 instances of paid news were

detected in Uttarakhand and nine in Goa.

In the states which went to polls in 2011, Ker-

ala had 65 such cases, Assam – 27, Tamil Nadu –

22, West Bengal – eight and Puducherry – three.

In Bihar, during assembly polls of 2010, 15

such instances were detected.

Except for Assam, none of the north eastern

states reported any instance of paid news and

there were no cases registered in Tripura,

Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur.

The total cases detected were 1,410 since

2010 till the Karnataka elections this year.

A number of candidates were issued show-

cause notices after these instances were reported

and the EC is adjudicating these cases.

The EC has created an exclusive wing — Elec-

tion Expenditure Monitoring cell — to monitor

cases of paid news and has taken onboard a team

of income tax sleuths to check the menace dur-

ing polls.n

election Commission detected over 1,400paid news cases during Assembly polls

Buoyed by the success of students from the state

cracking the prestigious all-India civil services

exams, Jammu and Kashmir government has decided

to bear the expenses of coaching of those who have

cleared the preliminary stage of the exams.

The government will bear the expense for further

coaching outside Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the In-

stitute of Management, Public Administration and

Rural Development (IMPARD) to sponsor all the stu-

dents from the state, who qualify preliminary exami-

nation of Indian Administrative Services (IAS), for

further coaching outside the state.

“You should support all the successful candidates

of preliminary examination of IAS and help them re-

ceive further necessary training, if they are willing, in

the reputed and recognised institutes outside the state

so that they prepare in a better way to qualify the final

examination,” Omar said at the 12th Executive Coun-

cil meeting of IMPARD here.

Shah Faesal, a Kashmiri doctor, had topped the

2009 civil services exams, while in 2012 ten students

from the state had made it to the prestigious league.

Omar said the youth from Jammu and Kashmir

“are second to none” in talent and can prove their met-

tle at national and international stages if provided op-

portunity and appropriate guidance.

In a detailed presentation, Director General IM-

PARD BB Vyas briefed the chief minister about the

functioning of the Institute and referred to new initia-

tives taken to upgrade and improve its performance.n

Jammu and Kashmir government tobear coaching expenses of iAS aspirants

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has ap-

proved an additional allocation of 50 lakh tonnes of

foodgrain for below poverty line (BPL) families, said an

official statement.

According to the statement, the additional allocation

will remain valid for lifting up to March 31, 2014 or till

the National Food Security Ordinance is implemented

in the respective states. Earlier this year, the govern-

ment had approved a similar allocation of 50 lakh tonne

of food grains to the states.

Considering the sufficient grain stocks in the central

pool and requests from states, the government has been

allocating additional BPL allocation of 50 lakh tonnes

of wheat and rice since 2010-11, said the statement.n

Union cabinet approves 50 lakh tonne grains for poor

13



By Pathikrit Chakraborty

This is being done to pro-mote and make Patel asthe poster boy of the BJP

and link him with the ideologyof the right wing party. But hasthe BJP lost way? NarendraModi whose plank has been de-velopment, how can a man likehim fall trap to such a nui-sance.

History is witness that Patelwas a man of the congress partydriven by the socialist policiesand ideology, of which Patel wastrue believer. Also to add is theincident which comes to mind,when Mahatma Gandhi was as-sassinated by NathuramVinayak Godse then SardarPatel publicly banned the RSSparty.

Moreover, BJP has alwaysplayed with the freedom fightersfrom the beginning; by associat-ing Subhas Chandra Bose,Swami Vivekananda with itspolicies and right wing ideology.Scholars can easily debate thatboth Bose and Swami were bereft of the rightist theologywhich arose from the Germanmodel. If we go deeper thenSwami can never be restrictedinto an ideology his clarionspeaks for itself, Bose fought forIndia not to make it a ‘HinduRashtraya’. His love for Ger-many was because it wasagainst England in SecondWorld War which then ruled

India.It’s ironical that Jayprakash

Narayan, who was a core social-ist and first effective person toraise voice against the congressmade or brought the relevanceof BJP of which only Atal BihariVajpayee was its child, who onhis own ability made successfulNDA. He did not preach an ide-ology rather was a socialist. Oneof the commentators, and closeaide of BJP and former advisortoo many senior BJP leaders, ina popular magazine commentedon Atal as a ‘rightist humanist’,

which again is a blot on his per-sona. This has been the basicelement of the right wing party.

That is why BJP has neverbeen able to form the govern-ment on its own due its narrowpolicies, Narendra Modi needsto come out from his reveriesand stop worshiping the oldidols in the BJP colour.

He should first revamp thesystem of right wing ideologyfunctioning as principle and dictating BJP, the youth oftoday wants development notMandir.n

it’s ironical that Jayprakash Narayan, who was a core socialist and first effective personto raise voice against the congress made or brought the relevance of BJP of which onlyAtal Bihari vajpayee was its child, who on his own ability made successful NDA

Has BJP Lost its Way?

14



By Nitin Keshar

With the costof living ris-ing, increas-ing

dependence on gold andReserve Bank is busyplanning new reforms,Indian economy hasgone only one way overthe last few years-DOWNWARDS.

The situation is grimbecause the amount ofmoney 10% of peoplehave far exceeds the re-maining 90% wealth. Soit very much explainsthe situation of India’strouble. The demand ofgoods for the large sec-tion of society is killedfor they have little re-sources to spend whichin turn is killing the pro-duction and henceforthstalling the growth.

The big question iswhy only 10 per cent arerich and rest of us livinga life full of struggleevery day. It is a viciouscycle which causes it.Just imagine, a poortribal from Niyamgiri liv-ing on an abundant re-sources. In fact he

should be rich but theysurvive on hope. Hopefor a better future. Fu-ture which they believe,better governance willchange. So they getmisled or maybe not,vote for the best partythey feel. Expecting theirlives to change.

All political partiesfor sure work for thebetterment of society let

us assume for the 90%who are struggling hardevery day. But to run aparty and enable itssmooth functioning theyneed funds. Since themajor chunk is strug-gling hard to maintainthemselves the uber-richhelp the politicos to runthe party. It is not wiseto imagine a politicalparty can function with-

out funds. And when thebread for politicos iscoming from the 10%who exploit the 90%,then it is understood no-body will say a word forthey (political parties)don’t want to die ofhunger. In doing so theykill the dreams of thosewho expect a changeand the rich make moremoney and common

man suffers.If you make

simple a tribalfrom Niyamgiri isasking for helpfrom the real own-ers who are actu-ally exploiting him.How absurd it is.

The need is tokill politics andperhaps enablethe funding of par-ties via govern-ment channel. Itwill for sure hurtthe taxpayer ini-tially but it will forsure yield good re-sults. Incentivisethe work of politi-cians. Don’t makeit a social work.Leaders are ourservants not mas-ters. They are

there to help us and areproviding a service. Letus pay for the serviceand be the boss. Andthis will at least stop theexploitation by the superrich and we can alwayspull up the politicos fortheir bread depends onus and not on the 10%population which isfeeding on rest of thecountry.n

It Is AVicious Cycle

it is a vicious cycle which causes it. Just imagine, a poor tribalfrom Niyamgiri living on an abundant resources

15NATIONAL POLITICAL MIRROR, SEPTEMBER, 2013

By Nitin Keshar

There are places inour country wheresome people are

still discriminated andthat to for bizarre rea-sons. A one such surveyconducted in TamilNadu covering 1845 vil-lages found out over 80forms of strange un-touchability practicesstill existing in the soci-ety.

The funniest onebeing, a community ofso called elites in whichDalits are not allowed tokeep male dogs as pets.The reason is the weird-est one. The so calledwise ones or rather pureones believe that if Dal-its are allowed to keepmale dogs then they willbreed with the femalepets of the funny upperclass and will shake thechastity of not only theirdogs but also it will af-fect their purity some-how reasons known onlyto them.

Seriously at first onelaughs hearing aboutsuch things but the bit-

ter truth is why aftermore than 66 years offreedom we still need tohave reservations in oursociety. Yes if such athing prevails it is notonly right but an urgentneed to help the under-privileged to come up insociety and give them aplatform to excel.

But this is not hap-pening.

The reservation sys-tem in our country isflawed for the leadersare engaged in showingof strength rather thanuplifting the deserving.Every now and thenthere are huge ralliesasking for more Centralfunds for the needy.Bihar Government heldits Adhikar Rally seek-ing funds under the spe-cial status category, forthe State is discrimi-nated and the money isneeded for the better-ment of socially back-ward people. But toorganise such massiverally about Rs5,20,00,000 was spent.These six zeros of theface value could have

been utilised easily tolaunch a welfare pro-gramme in one of thebackward area of theState. It is bizarre youspend crores of rupeesand ask we don’t havemoney for development.

And recently afterseeing the antics ofBihar, Odisha has alsojoined the race. For theirSwabhiman Yatra theyhad booked about sevenspecial trains each cost-ing more than Rs 30lakh. And to managethe administrationalarrangements for morethan 10,000 party work-ers they would havespent a bombshell. Thisto any sane person willlook like splurging themoney, not lack of re-sources. We all knowwhere the money fromspecial package will go.

Now with the chang-ing trend more andmore ethnic groupswant to be granted spe-cial category to get bene-fits of Governmentwhich are actuallymeant for the needy.

The system of reser-

vation is not the wrongone but to identify whoactually need it and whoall are shamming has tobe kept in mind. Forthis we have to identifythe needy, the ones whoare poor not becausethey want to sham anddrink away their savingsbut those who havebeen sidelined, os-tracised and left asidefor they are the childrenof lesser Gods.

Time has come tounderstand that reser-vation is not a problembut a wonderful systemto uplift the sidelinedbrothers and sisters ofours. But it has to bedone in an organisedmanner. Just someone’ssurname is abc.. orxyz… doesn’t entitlethem to benefits. Thereal beneficiaries have to be identified atvery grassroots level andpeople have to be edu-cated that we all are hu-mans and the onlyrelationship one mustacknowledge is of hu-manity.n

Not For the Needy But Forthe Pockets Of Greedy

66 years of freedom we still need to have reservations in our society

POLItICAL RALLIeS


16




In a bid to boost itschances in 2014general elections the

Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) has again firedits old salvo to ‘buildRam Mandir’ in Ayod-hyaya. Amit shah, ap-pointed by GujaratChief Minister Naren-dra Modi to lead UttarPradesh in electionsaddressed his partyworkers in Ayodhya toinfuse new spirit in thestate party by takingup the issue to buildRam Mandir.

It is also seen by theexperts as master-stroke strategies to notonly unite the warringVHP and sangh the sis-ter concerns of the BJPin Uttar Pradesh butalso appease the highcaste people. The otherstate parties like theBahujan Samaj Party(BSP) are already clam-

ouring for the Brah-mins by showing theface of Satish ChandraMishra. This tells theclear picture of partiesto gear up for the com-ing general elections.

On the other hand,as in the past the stateleadership which ifrested with SamajwadiParty (SP) has alwaysbenefitted the BJP.

How can one failto remember themerciless firing at‘Karsewaks’ whenMulayam was inpower during1990 to appeasehis minority Mus-lims on one handand make way forthe BJP first timein the history.

On a more basictone we can grasp thisfact that whenever theBJP is in power theMuslim populationsfeels threaten and ifthe SP is in power tooit shows to protectMuslims. Thereby, anychaos or anarchy orcommunal problem en-raged by the BJP on is-sues like making of thetemple is dealt with aniron hand by the SP,which on the Muslimsact as “Mulayam ismullah’’ the saviour ofthe Muslims. So, tostay in power the SPindirectly dependsupon the BJP. This allis social engineeringand way to form thegovernment by any

hook or crook.The congress is also

trying to show mettlein the state but hasfailed miserably in thelast year’s general elec-tion. It has failed toconnect at the grass-roots level with thevoter. Rahul Gandhican only dominate themedia and pitch invoices for his greaterrole in leadership buthas not been able to dosomething of worth ofhis ailing party in UIt-tar Pradesh. The BJPhas made move in thename of Amit Shah, SPwill role its dice soon;the BSP has started itMarch to woo Brah-mins and it might alsolook forward to be apart of the third frontat the national level.But nothing solid hasbeen made by the con-gress other than tovisit Amethi by theGandhi scion.

The time is ripe forthe parties to soon hitthe bout and make itsway in the coming2014 general elections.

In the coming fu-ture will lotus sway theyouth in its favor withalliances or the palmdo hat trick else thirdfront will do somethingof worth.n

the other state parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are already clamouring for theBrahmins by showing the face of Satish Chandra Mishra

BJP's Move to Make temple in Ayodhaya

17

C o n c e r n


By Deepshikha Singh

Environmentalalteration isas mature asthe history of

human development.During the previouscentury, expansionand amendment havecome much soonerthan ever before. De-spite the fact that ittook a few thousandexistence for man topass from Paleolithicto Neolithic tools, ithas taken less than acentury to transformconservative weaponryto nuclear devices.Enlargement has beenso rapid that naturalworld has not hadpoint in time to settlein to these changesand to human neces-sity and moderation.

Situations &ProblemsThe previous centuryhas seen an uncon-tainable increase inpopulation, inclusiona tremendous burdenon natural resources.There is not an ade-

quate amount of foodfor the world’s hungry.Moreover, the world it-self is damaged outdue to disproportion-ate farming; make useof of chemicals andpesticides and extremeuse of ground water.

On the other hand,water resources are

imperfectly pollutedand discharge of toxicfumes from industryand vehicles has poorus of clean air. Indus-trialisation plus agrowing consumer fi-nancial system haveled to the creation ofhuge megapolises withtheir evils of indis-

posed garbage andwild sewage.

To battle theseproblems, world bod-ies like the United Na-tions and the WorldCommission on Envi-ronment and Develop-ment have beenformulating ideas forenvironmental protec-

What Ministry is Doing For the indian environment?it is clearly evident that 25 years after the first conference in tbilisi, there has not beenan appreciable change in lifestyles or the level of awareness.

18

C o n c e r n


tion and sustainabledevelopment.

A number of inter-national conferenceshave been held, open-ing with the first onein Tbilisi in 1977 tothe Earth Summit inRio de Janeiro, thePopulation Summit atCopenhagen, theworld Summit on Sus-tainable Developmentin Johannesburg andseveral others. It isclearly evident that 25years after the firstconference in Tbilisi,there has not been anappreciable change inlifestyles or the level ofawareness. Countrieshave put their own in-terests ahead of envi-ronmental protectionand the future of com-ing generations.

india’s position onenvironmental pro-tectionA variety of acts havebeen approved downthe years, as wellcountless to be putdown here. The Min-istry of Environmentand Forests laid downits objectives:l Maintenance &

examination offlora, fauna,forests andwildlife

l Prevention andmanage of pollu-tion

l Renewal of de-graded areas

l Defense of envi-ronment, all in-

side the framework of legisla-tions.

the most impor-tant tools use forthis includesl Analysis and im-

pact measure-ment

l Manage of pollu-tion

l Renewal pro-grammes

l Hold up to organi-zations and NGOs

l Study to solve so-lutions

l Preparation to

augment the nec-essary manpower

l Compilation inaddition to distri-bution of environ-mentalinformation

l Formation of en-vironmentalawareness amongall sectors of thecountry's popula-tion.

Failure of Ministryof environmentFrom beginning to endthe years, the ministryhas accepted count-

less laws to facilitatethem in their missionof environmental pro-tection. Unhappily, allthe system and actshave not done suffi-cient on the way toprotect the environ-ment.

The greediness ofmany in the centralbodies has lead to ex-ploitation of the lawsand cruel exploitationof the land, most im-portant to ecologicaldestruction and socialinjustices. Mainly lead-ers of industry, exces-

19

C o n c e r n


sively, have been lack-ing in a social con-science. They havedemoralised our coun-try’s capital and con-taminated our soil,water and air. Publiclack of concern has nothelped either. We, ascitizens of this countryhave not made ourvoices heard. The open-ing up of our financialsystem and globalisa-tion has put a greaterpressure on our re-sources, additional viti-ating our easily brokeneco-system.

A fresh trend whichis inspiring to note isthe role of the IndianJudiciary in environ-mental protection,which has adoptedpublic interest litiga-tion (PIL) for the foun-dation ofenvironmental protec-tion. This has provedan effectual tool. Thecrying need of thehour is to educate thepublic and make themaware of their rightsas citizens of thiscountry to a clean en-vironment, to cleanwater, clean air andclean surroundings.They should act jointly

to fight corruption ingovernance and ruth-less exploitation bythe captains of indus-try.

An approach forenvironmental pro-tection might beadopted:l Decrease fertility

rates and managepopulation,

l Reducing force onnatural re-sources;

l Phase out non-re-newable inputs –in power, cultiva-tion and manu-facturing

l Teach and informthe people aboutthe gains of envi-ronmental protec-tion andsustainable im-provement.

Still Hope for envi-ronment in indiaWe can, in the direc-tion of a certain de-gree, overturn theprocedure of dreadfulconditions of our sur-roundings, for MotherEarth is lenient andclever to heal her in-juries if we do not im-pose additionalgrievous ones on her.According to PaulBigelow Sears said,“How far must suffer-ing and misery go be-fore we see that evenin the day of vastcities and powerfulmachines, the good

earth is our motherand that if we destroyher, we destroy our-selves.” Consequentlywe are supposed to dosomething in the pres-ent day on behalf ofan improved tomorrowintended for our chil-dren.

ConclusionThe environment en-compasses all livingand non-living thingsoccurring naturally onEarth or some regionthereof. It is an envi-ronment that encom-passes the interactionof all living speciesComplete ecologicalunits that function asnatural systems with-out massive humanintervention, includingall vegetation, mi-croorganisms, soil,rocks, atmosphereand natural phenom-ena that occur withintheir boundaries.Universal natural re-sources and physicalphenomena that lackclear-cut boundaries,such as air, water,and climate, as well asenergy, radiation, elec-tric charge, and mag-netism, not originatingfrom human activity.The natural environ-ment is contrastedwith the built environ-ment, which com-prises the areas andcomponents that arestrongly influenced byhumans. A geographi-cal area is regarded asa natural environ-ment. n

the greedi-ness of manyin the centralbodies haslead to ex-ploitation ofthe laws andcruel ex-ploitation ofthe land,most impor-tant to eco-logicaldestructionand social in-justices.

20

I n f r a s t u c t u r e


By Deepshikha Singh

Universal meaning ofMalls as we under-stand is a form oforganised retailing.

Which lend an ideal shop-ping experience with anamalgamation of product,service and entertainment.The mall flourished for thefirst seven years due to theabsence of competition buthas now been deserted byshoppers looking for snazzierstores and additional fea-tures like a multiplex andfood court which they find inthe more recently-developedSelect CityWalk and DLF andAmbience malls.

Currently in India Retailmarket is going through atough phase. Too many de-velopers launch malls with-out understanding thebusiness model properly.Therefore, vacancy levels arehigh.

Factors responsibleThe most important factor inthe failure of Gurgaon mallsis the inequality of the brandand the consumer. Thebrands chosen for the mall

Fading Sheen Of Gurgaon Mallsthe emergence of mall boom started from the appearance of Gurgaon. in an expansionthat surprised many town planners, Gurgaon changed itself overnight by first housingthe headquarters of many multinational businesses in addition to banks, and then call-ing itself the ‘shopping-mall capital of india’.


should be steady withthe kind of demographicprofile of that region orlocation. At the presentit is very difficult to at-tract the brands firstbefore deciding or final-izing on the location ofthe mall & withoutproper specification &layout of the entire realestate. Consequently,the better & most logi-cal approach is to final-ize the location first &then attract suitablebrands very carefully. Itis very important tokeep the consumer orclient profile of that re-gion in mind. Thebrands should be in ac-cordance with the typeof customers in that re-gion because they formthe majority of the foot-falls. So in order to un-derstand the clientprofile, their psychol-

ogy, decision makingcriteria, buying behav-ior, tastes & preferences& motivations or drivingforce behind purchasedecision should be care-fully examined & in-ferred. For example, ifthe consumers of thatregion are observed overtime to have spent moreon food than clothing,then a few good restau-rants & fast food cor-ners are a must for thesuccess of that mall.

The DLF Grand mallis trying hard to mark apresence in people’smind because from sur-vey it is established thatthe majority of the pop-ulation prefer to spendmore on food & theyprefer to shop Apparelfrom local markets &approximately 30% ofthe population as foundto be fashion conscious.

The remaining popula-tion is not botheredabout the brand nameor the values associatedwith the brand. Theylacked motivation tobuy Branded apparels.

An added examplecan be the of AmbienceMall, where in spite ofan excellent store interms of ambience &assortment mix, thestore is failing to attractcustomers.

Well-built brandslike Pantaloons & Shop-pers Stop acts as a pil-lar to protect the brand.They attract the major-ity of the customerthrough their brandnames & it results inthe increase of footfallsin the malls & therebygenerating more salesto other stores also.

ConclusionThe woes is the risingprices of real estates.The real estate devel-oper’s interests are notmatching with the re-tailers interests as theretailers are payingheavy rentals on realestate & their monthlysales is not coveringtheir rentals for monthsin continuation. So thepicture depicted for fu-ture of the Mall Cultureis that the competitionis fierce among themalls to survive & onlythose malls will survivewhich will successfullygo through a detailedresearch on the con-sumer decision makingprocess of those regionsin particular. n

the DLF Grandmall is trying hardto mark a pres-ence in people’smind becausefrom survey it isestablished thatthe majority ofthe populationprefer to spendmore on food &they prefer toshop Apparelfrom local mar-kets & approxi-mately 30% of thepopulation asfound to be fash-ion conscious.



By Deepshikha Singh

the rental values

The rental pricesacross Gurgaonwhich coverareas like Palam

Vihar, DLF City Phase Iand Golf Course Exten-sion road saw an in-crease from the lastcouples of areas. The av-erage rental valuesacross these areasmoved up by 4 to 10%in this period. This in-crease is driven by fac-tors like growingnumber of MNCs cominginto the market andpresence of civic facili-ties in the vicinity.

The main reason isbecause of improvedconnectivity, availabilityof properties with allmodern facilities andamenities in new devel-opments led to spike inrental values.

every indian’s dream is to own a house but in reality people still own the dream and not ahouse they become part of a vibrant rental housing market. in Gurgaon where we have luxuryaccommodations, shopping malls & markets, hotels with five stars to smart offices has failedsomewhere to keep pace with quick boom over the years. Regular power cuts with shortage ofwater supply, blessed with pothole and open mess drains has set a model of the weak commu-nications, transportation which is leading people towards rental housing.

Gurgaon Rental Housing in the City



In the meantime theavailability of all essen-tial facilities and ameni-ties in place such asSouth City I, normalrental values registereda drop, primarily on ac-count of traffic conges-tion and high prices.Other localities such asNirvana Country andSector -55 registeredstable values trend dur-ing the period. Therental ethics in Gurgaonswell up much fasterthan any other emergingcorridor, primarily be-cause the corporate pro-fessionals there arewilling to pay high rent.

The crowd in Gur-gaon is very unique asthey do not want tocompromise on theirstyle of living. They pre-fer paying a higher rentthan living in a back-ward area. Plus the in-crease in rental valuehas mostly been concen-trated to areas likeSohna road, GolfCourse, Sector 56, andDLF Phases.

Gurgoan FactsProperty rates have has touched the roof inGurgaon, making ittricky and not suitablefor a person belonging tolow-income group toown a house in the city.The Haryana govern-ment has given an out-line to a housing policyto provide rental hous-ing for members of theeconomically weakersections.

Gurgaon has

emerged as the wonder-ful for property investorsand real estate compa-nies. According to astate government offi-cial, the rent cost of thehousing units rangesbetween Rs 5000 to Rs25000. The governmenthas forced real estatebuilders to constructhouses which is totallydedicated for rent pro-pose.

Gurgaon has an edgeterms of new launchesfor rent purpose whilemore or less equal interms of absorptionrates that indicate thatdemand for affordablehousing is more or lessrobust throughout theNational Capital Region.

Data’s & FiguresIn reality a lot of unitshave been lying vacantthat is sold but not oc-cupied in Gurgaon. Thehome seeker demandhas usually been low inGurgaon. Problems sup-porting water scarcity,power crisis and otherinfrastructure chal-lenges are only com-pounding downsiderisks of the rental mar-ket.

In fact Gurgaon hasone of the lowest rentalyields because, soonrental rate appreciationwould depend solely onthe occupier demand,which is dependent onemployment growth inGurgaon and availabilityof basic infrastructure.

In this context,rental rates are expected

to stagnate in societiesor complexes which donot have access to suchbasic amenities. Accord-ing to the report, in Gur-gaon, the interest ofresidential units in thefirst quarter of 2011 was9,242 units, whereasthe unit bought in thesame period in 2012was only 5,547-a drop ofapproximately 40 per-cent. The rental rate sit-uation of some of thesocieties suffering fromwater crisis has alreadyset the alarm bells ring-ing. Out of the 250houses that we had putout on rent 30 (15-20percent) have vacateddue to the water short-age.

On the other hand,thesocieties in the city,which for the past fourto five years have notfaced any water prob-lems. These are societieswhich were 'lucky' tohave good number ofborewells at the time oftheir launch unlikemany others who arefacing the problem now.Plus their are highchances of rents in suchsocieties going down by15-20 percent, however,he says it all depends on

the flexibility of theowner.

Wrapping upA sensible owner shouldbe able to reduce therent by 15-20 percent.For instance, if the aver-age rent is Rs 30,000per month for a flat in asociety crippled by watershortage, the ownershould be willing to rentit at Rs 25,000 permonth to avoid losses.He has two choices - ei-ther he reduces the rentand give it to the ten-ants and suffers a lossof Rs 55,000 per year(as the lease is usuallyfor 11 month) or he doesnot let the flat out onrent and it remains va-cant for say threemonths or even more asthere is no guaranteethat the tenants willcome after knowing thatthere is a water shortagein the society.

In addition, thistrend may seem to be atemporary solution butthere is a little bit ofsuspicion whether it willresolve the problem."Hence no one is sure ifthe infrastructure prob-lem will ever be solvedpermanently. n


24



By Deepshikha Singh

Real estate canalso be said asroyal estate.Real estate

means the propertywhich comprises ofland along with thebuildings and naturalresources such ascrops, minerals, orwater which are the im-mobile property of na-ture. The business ofreal estate deals inbuying, selling, rentingofland, buildings orhousing.

Origin of real estateMetro lifestyles necessi-tate the need for ownedhomes in the apart-ment style. Mumbai ishas become a hypermetro city from a sim-ple metro city givingboost to real estatebusiness. Metrolifestyle creates theneed to own homes asrented house, flats orapartments. Govern-ment is focusing in theexpansion of Malls, ho-tels, restaurants, play

parks, joggers trackand connecting the cityclosely connected toeach other with sky-walks and over bridges.Besides that the focusis also in developingbarren land, waste landand converting dumpyards into multiplexesor huge multi facilitycomplexes.

Ancient Mumbaiwas a non urbanizedMumbai where onecould see few bunga-lows or row houses.But now the city isslowly converting into acity of with tall towerswhich depicts to us

that “Sky is not thelimit”. Mumbai has gotrapidly urbanized but itstill has its heritage in-tact in some areasmainly in South Mum-bai .It includes some ofthe prominent places inMumbai such asChurchgate, Mumbaicentral, Nepean searoad, Cuff Parade andsome areas in westernsuburbs such as Ban-dra Palihill.

The growing mallsand multiplexes havealso had a strong influ-ence on the lifestyle ofpeople in the city. Thebuyers and renters are

now looking for super-market amenities whilerenting or purchasing ahouse. There has beena tremendous increasein buying and selling ofproperty and alongwith the growing inter-est of people looking forrented homes. Themarket was earlierstatic and now it hasbecome dynamic.

Rising prices of realestate MumbaiThere have been hugehikes in the Mumbaireal estate prices in thepast few years. Thequestion is how big is

there have been huge hikes in the Mumbai real estate prices in the past few years. the ques-tion is how big is the rise and in which areas the real estate prices have touched the sky?

Will Mhada Fulfill the Need ForReal estate Of Common Mass?


the rise and in whichareas the real estateprices have touched thesky?

Cuffe Parade – Oneof the most high profileares of Mumbai andone of the highly fo-cused areas of interestfor investors. The prop-erty prices rose a stun-ning 13, 29% over thelast year.

Khar West –KharEast is quite crowdedand underdevelopedtoday but Khar West ishub of many Bollywoodcelebrities and indus-trialists which lead toincrease in rising prices

Bandra- Anotherhub for bollywoodcelebrities and modelswhich have increasedthe prices for rentingand ownership of peop-erty in this area.

Nepean sea road -This area is consideredas the royal place inMumbai .The big shotsand high profile per-sonalities of Mumbaihave their bungalowsin possession in thisarea which clearly indi-cates that the prices ofacquiring “real estate

“in this area is soaringhigh.

Ghatkopar East –Ghatkopar was a smallvillage in the beginningof the last century.With the growth ofMumbai Ghatkopar be-come part of the subur-ban area.

Ghatkopar WestThis area is strictly forgovernment staff. Thisspecial colony has itsown medical facilititesand modern appart-ment buildings, overthe years (due to thecentral governmentstaff) this has proven tobeen quite a stablearea for property in-vestments

Khar West –KharEast is still quite

crowded and undevel-oped today but KharWest is home to manyBollywood celebritiesand industrialists.

An answer to theneed for Realestate for the com-mon massThe MaharashtraHousing Board for-merly called "BombayHousing Board" was es-tablished in year 1948and had a jurisdictionover the entire State ofMaharashtra exceptVidharbha region.Mhada Mumbai hasmade life of a middleclass earner in Mumbaieasier.One could dreamof owning a house inMumbai with its mini-mum earning.This bodytook the responsibilityof constructing residen-tial buildings undervarious housingschemes for differentsections of the society.Maharashtra housingand area developmentauthority also knownas MHADA took theduty of allotment and

maintenance of thesebuildings. The Vid-harbha Housing Boardwas established in theyear 1960 as a succes-sor body to the erst-while Madhya PradeshHousing Board. Itsfunctions were similarto those of the Maha-rashtra Housing Board,except that it facilitat-ing loans to co-opera-tive housing societies,institutions and localauthorities for the con-struction of houses.

The MaharashtraHousing and Area De-velopment Authority(Mhada) on Thursdayallotted low-costhouses to 6,925 millworkers through thecomputerised lotterysystem last year.Mhada lottery systemis a computersied lot-tery system where anindividual can apply toacquire Mhada at a lowaffordable cost .Theprices at which Mhadasells is much lowerthan the market ratesso that maximum num-ber of people could af-ford to buy a propertyin an expensive citylike Mumbai. There isan application cost andthe lucky applicant isable to acquire theproperty as per theMhada rates.

The concept ofMhada flats could con-tribute to possession ofincreasing number ofreal estates in the newhyper metro city Mum-bai. n


26

F e a t u r e


By Nitin Keshar

There is a very thinline between rebel-lion and revolu-

tion. What started asstruggle for Independ-ence long before 1947was labelled as a rebel-lion but post 1947 itwas the biggest revolu-tion in the history ofIndia.

What starts as aspark ignites the pyre ofsuppression. The worldis at a stage of transfor-mation. A few yearsback it started inTunisia as Jasmine rev-olution and later spreadon to catch hold of thewhole Arab world. Andnow in Turkey peacefulprotests of some naturelovers have united thecountry to such an ex-tent that the Govern-ment is shaken andhave come to call itsown people extremists.Is it the reason we electour representatives sothat when they can’thandle the situationthey assault their ownfellowmen and callthem terrorists.

In Kashmir a similarsituation prevails, goneare the days whenyouth opted forweapons to make theirvoices heard. Over the

last decade there havebeen only two majorbomb blasts in theState while places likeMumbai, Delhi, Hyder-abad and Bangalorehave seen more violenceand deadlier attacks. Inthe Valley youth havetaken to the streets toprotest and almostevery once in a weekthe young guns, sup-ported with their oldercounterparts, demon-strate against Govern-ment apathy. It is along battle these bravehearts are fighting.Their causes are gen-uine but the police bru-tality on suchprotesters in unaccept-able. The movement isgrowing stronger andthe dissidence rising.Now for the greed of fewleaders the oppressed

are taking up to thestreets. This is Kash-mir’s long going Free-dom Spring which soonwill set the wheels ofchange in motion.

And the fire is goingto spread to all theplaces where the meekare oppressed. The at-tack by Naxals on thepolitical leaders was abrutal act. May be theyare still not awareabout the power ofstanding tall and askingfor their rights with thepeaceful rallies but theycan take a cue fromKashmir and howthings have changedthere. There the move-ment has been trans-formed from sitting inhiding to coming infront and asking forwhat you deserve.

And like there is

wind which spreads thefire, in India also a rev-olution is in waiting.The young from acrossthe country are going tocome up together, will-ing to stand tall to thewater cannons demand-ing what is rightfullytheirs. So it is better forour politicos to startthinking about it. Ei-ther change themselvesand show results of de-velopment or be readyfor the winds of change.

The country wantsresults and the data toprove it and with pres-ent statistics of econ-omy skidding to thebottom, corruption atits peak, safety in one’sown home not assuredthe Government has tobuckle up. For now thethin line is getting evenfainter...n

Over the last decade there have been only two major bomb blasts in the state while places likeMumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore have seen more violence and deadlier attacks.

thin Line

27

F e a t u r e



The political sce-nario in UttarPradesh is sim-

mering for the nextbout, 2014 generalelections. The generalscene of the state isgrumpy, with peoplestruggling to find thebasic necessities of liv-ing along with a deteri-orating law and orderin the state.

Rape, police officialsbeing beaten by goonsis a daily story acrossthis state. The infra-structure of the statehas been plagued byno opportunities of in-vestment from the pri-vate sectors. The stateof health affairs is alsoin tatters, with govern-ment doctors not givenproper salaries andtimely promotion.

The ruling sama-jwadi party has beenconsistently attackedfor its soft corner forthe mafias and protect-ing the goons.

Dr.Laxmikant Vaj-payee, state presidentof the BJP, said “theSP is a muslimvadi

party’’. The governanceof the SP is eyewash.He feels there ispresently no govern-ment in the state. Thereal party in the stateis only BJP which runson core policy of ‘Hin-dutva’ and that willbounce back in thecoming elections.

He further addedthat the state of Uttar

Pradesh would witnessa bigger ‘jan-abhiyan’that took place in1977. Accompanyingsimilar statements,Dwijendra Tripathi, ofthe congress said,there is nothing likesocialism left in the SP,except crony capitalismand lack of gover-nance. The present SPgovernment is bureau-

cratic that has made apower center with fewleaders, which was notthe case when Mu-layam was the chiefminister.

He further said,there is no policy forUP, by the SP govern-ment and nothing hasbeen done on the edu-cation front, also at-

Akhilesh Yadav is one sincere chief minister who has plans. But the family bickering is holdinghim back so also the politics of his father.

Akhilesh Yadav’s PlansBlocked By Senior Leaders

One official clerkin the Bahujansamaj party, head-quarters, says thatthe SP govern-ment has donenothing for thepoor, whereas,BSP was a partywho thought foreveryone, he alsohinted thatmayawati will be apart of third frontand not minglewith UPA or NDA.


tacked the rule of SPfor law and order. Healso added that there isno public support ofBJP in Uttar PradeshCommenting on thepolicies of the congressin the present he says,for the first time therehas been a decentral-ization of power, divid-ing Uttar Pradesh into8sectors then interact-ing with the block levelleaders then finally se-lecting candidates forelection by the UttarPradesh congress elec-tion committee. rahulGandhi has made anew move to publicizeall the schemes offeredby the central govern-ment in Uttar Pradesh,especially in areaswhere no rule of con-gress exists.

One official clerk inthe Bahujan samajparty, headquarters,says that the SP gov-ernment has donenothing for the poor,whereas, BSP was aparty who thought for

everyone, he alsohinted that mayawatiwill be a part of thirdfront and not minglewith UPA or NDA.

The security offi-cials at the S.P head-quarters rubbish allclaims regarding lackof governance, one saidsultan(akhilesh) looksafter everything prop-erly. One official whorequested anonymity,and looks after the fi-nancial cell of SP said,‘’Akhilesh Ji’’ is a youthicon, he has manyplans for the state butit gets hindered by thethree ministers, azam,shivpal, ramgopalyadav. Mulayam SinghJi, has stopped lookingafter Uttar Pradeshand is mainly inter-ested at national poli-tics.

He also added thatSP has fulfilled all itspoll promises and inthe coming elections,the party will give agood fight and hope togain more seats in

2014 elections.The intelligentsia

across the state haspraised Akhilesh Yadavfor his approach andsensitivity for the peo-ple; some also regardhim as youth icon but

yielding no results be-cause his plans areblocked by the ‘kitchencabinet’ a group ofsenior leaders aroundhim.

A teacher, of a veryprominent school inLucknow says, ‘distrib-uting laptops will yieldnothing, the basic ne-cessity is to revampthe primary educationsystem of the state’.Haider Naqvi, a seniorjournalist, working fora national daily said ,Akhilesh Yadav is onesincere chief ministerwho has plans. But thefamily bickering isholding him back soalso the politics of hisfather.

Whereas, Padmap-ati Sharma, a freelancejournalist fromVaranasi, said, ‘therule of S.P governmentis all about corruptionand communal ism.Ram Singh working ina municipal corpora-tion , says that we arenow getting timelysalaries which was notthe case when BSP wasin power.

Rakesh KumarVerma, a civil servicesaspirant from Ghazi-abad adds, ‘’ that theSP needs to pull up it-self from its disinte-grating functioning andalso do something sig-nificant for the peopleof the state. All theleading political partieswant to take advantageof the situation in thecoming polls.n

Rape, police officialsbeing beaten bygoons is a daily storyacross this state. theinfrastructure of thestate has beenplagued by no oppor-tunities of invest-ment from theprivate sectors. thestate of health affairsis also in tatters, withgovernment doctorsnot given propersalaries and timelypromotion.

F e a t u r e

29

S p e c i a l S t o r y


The electoral battle isall set to be like a20-20 match in 20

Assembly seats in the up-coming Delhi electionsslated for November thisyear. The political fight isgoing to be tougher thisyear for these 20 seats asthe new entrant, the AamAadmi Party (AAP), has al-ready registered its activepresence. These seats,spread across the city, wit-nessed a close contest be-tween the candidates ofthe two main parties, theCongress and the BJP in2008. The surveys con-ducted by different organi-

zations are likely to spoilthe chances of Shiela Dik-shit government this time.With the entry of AAP, theSheila government is fac-ing a big challenge on ac-count of corruptioncharges, hike in electricitycharges, and arrogance ofCongress leaders. Thesurveys do not indicateclear majority of any of theparties. Some surveys arecautiously predicting ahung assembly for Delhi.If AAP is able to win even15 seats, the chances ofhung assembly increase alot.

Delhi BJP President,

Vijay Goel, at a joint pressconference announced thatBJP will focus on a host ofissues ranging from power,water, inflation, corruptionto lack of development inrural areas, unauthorisedcolonies, JJ clusters andslums. While Congressleaders are saying theparty will emerge victori-ous on the basis of devel-opment work in the last 15years, the main issues forthe Assembly election areinflation, rise in power tar-iff, irregular water supplyand corruption.

A BJP leader VijayMukhi said that the gen-

the surveys do not indicate clear majority of any of the parties. Some surveys are cautiouslypredicting a hung assembly for Delhi. if AAP is able to win even 15 seats, the chances of hungassembly increase a lot.

The Delhi Circus : BJP, CongressHave to Bridle AAP

YOGESH SOOD

30



eral issues prevailingacross the country, likeinflation and corruption,would play a crucialrole. "I think that it isnot local issues but gen-eral issues, like corrup-tion and price rise, thatwill affect the Congress'vote share," said theleader.

In many of these 20constituencies, candi-dates won on thin mar-gins of a few hundredvotes. There was oneseat - Rajouri Garden inwest Delhi - where theslender margin of 46votes made history asfar as the Delhi Assem-bly elections are con-cerned. The AAP isfocusing on unautho-rised colonies, resettle-ment colonies andJhuggi areas where thepeople really appear tosupport him and hisparty.

The residents ofthese areas face basicproblems, like inade-quate supply of water,lack of sewerage, pricerise, lack of hospitalsand basic education,and Arvind Kejriwal andhis team will try to drawthe maximum politicaladvantage from these is-sues. This Delhi Assem-bly election is thebeginning of AAP leaderKejriwal's political jour-ney. He is aware that itwill be embarrassing ifhis party does not get itsshare of votes. To getpublic attention, and thevotes that have so farbeen shared betweenthe Congress and BJP,he has adopted differentstrategies. He is knownfor his crusade againstcorruption and in thiselection his main mes-sage to the people is acorruption-free govern-

ment.A close analy-

sis of the 2008 As-sembly electionresults revealsthat both the mainparties had re-ceived a goodshare of votes andthere was a verythin margin be-tween the votepercentage ofthese two parties.While the Con-gress received40.31 per cent ofthe total votes, therunner-up, theBJP, was not farbehind, getting36.84 per cent ofthe total votes.

Of the total 70 seatsthere were 20 seatswhere the margin be-

tween the winner andrunner-up was evenlesser. These 20 seatsare Rajouri Garden,Ghonda, Trilokpuri, Pat-parganj, Narela,Vikaspuri, Mustafabad,Mehrauli, Shahdara, TriNagar, Bijwasan,Timarpur, KasturbaNagar, Model Town,Gokalpur, Wazirpur, Kr-ishna Nagar, SangamVihar, Malviya Nagarand Okhla. The Con-gress had won 13 ofthese 20 seats and theBJP, six. One seat hadgone to a BSP candi-date. Leaders from bothparties agreed that win-ning these 20 seatswould not be a cake-walk.

"We can't ignore theAam Aadmi Party. Politi-cal equations havechanged due to theentry of the AAP. Wealso believe that he(Arvind Kejriwal) will getsome share of votes incertain seats. But it willaffect the prospects ofthe BJP more," a Con-gress legislator said.

Don't be surprised ifyou see Katrina Kaif orKareena Kapoor urgingyou to cast your pre-cious votes in Delhi thisAssembly elections. TheDelhi Election Commis-sion is banking oncelebrity power to at-tract youngsters to theelection booths. Officialssaid Katrina and Ka-reena are the topchoices for the advertis-ing campaign for thisAssembly election.

the party circle is abuzz,though, with somenames. "Actress KirronKher's name comes atthe top on this list. Sheeven has the endorse-ment of Goel, who hadinvited her for the re-cent bijli (power) rallyat Ramila Maidan andshe obliged... Kher canalso rally support of thecelebrities for theparty's election cam-paign," a BJP leadertold Mail today.

31



"There are many ac-tresses, and mediaagencies are working onthe project. Very soon,we will finalise onecelebrity. Some actressfrom TV serials couldalso be roped in. Themain purpose is to at-tract young voters. Theyouth identify them-selves easily withcelebrities," a seniorDelhi EC official said.The share of youth hasseen a substantial risein the revised electoralroll this year. Earlier,there were a total of98,000 youngsters onthe voters' list and nowafter a revision exerciseby the election commis-sion, the number hascrossed over three lakh.They would also be a de-cisive factor in decidingthe fate of the candi-dates in the electoral As-sembly battle of Delhi.Also, with the Generalelections not too far, theDelhi elections would bea pointer for the finalsthat is The GeneralElections of 2014.

If naming a chiefministerial candidate isa telling urgency for theDelhi BJP, finding acandidate to fightagainst Sheila Dikshit inher bastion - New DelhiAssembly constituency -is even a bigger pollproblem for the saffronparty.Knowing well whathappened to senior BJPleader Vijay Jolly, whohad lost the electionagainst Dikshit in 2008,not many party leaders

have evinced interest intaking on the chief min-ister. Even Delhi BJPchief Vijay Goel, formermayor Arti Mehra andLeader of the Oppositionin the Delhi Assembly,V.K. Malhotra, have nothinted of any suchbravado. Since the 2008loss, Jolly has been try-ing to gain a footholdback in the city politics.

The party circle isabuzz, though, withsome names. "ActressKirron Kher's namecomes at the top on thislist. She even has theendorsement of Goel,who had invited her forthe recent bijli (power)rally at Ramila Maidanand she obliged... Khercan also rally support ofthe celebrities for theparty's election cam-paign," a BJP leader toldMail Today. Kher is notnew to the BJP and poli-tics. Earlier, she shoul-dered responsibility of

the party's women af-fairs and during NitinGadkari's tenure asparty President, she wasco-convener of itshuman rights cell. "Sheis active and a knownpublic face who canmatch the Dikshitpower," said anotherparty leader.Anothername doing the roundsfor BJP's candidateagainst Dikshit is that ofKiran Chopra, a socialactivist, who is a hitamong the Capital's sen-ior citizens as she runsa NGO for them.

She is close to seniorBJP leaders at the na-tional level. For both theCongress as well as theBJP, iot would be ab-solutely mandatory tobridle the political ambi-tions of the AAM party.The AAM party will tryall its charms to showthat neither BJP norCongress would givegood governance to the

people of Delhi. But willthe Delhi voters buy thepromises made by theAAP is a million dollarquestion that the politi-cal pundits are wonder-ing. Yes, people of Delhifeel that it is time thatMrs. Shiela Dikshitshould go, but can BJPdeliver?

Now with the elec-toral battle lines drawn,both anti- Congress in-cumbency factor andmis- governance of theCentral government, it isfor the BJP to seize op-portunity. But NitinGadkari, Incharge of theBJP, election committeeseen as outsider and atloggerheads with theDelhi BJP President,Vijay Goel to lead hisparty workers ; politicalobservers feel that theCongress Party mayagain emerge the winnerfor the fourth time inthe forthcoming Delhiassembly elections. n

32

U p d a t e


BJP will contest all the 14 Lok Sabha seatsin Jharkhand on its own in the 2014 gen-

eral election, according to former chief ministerand senior party leader ArjunMunda.

“We will contest all the 14 LokSabha seats in Jharkhand but ithas not yet been decided who willcontest from which constituency,”Munda .

Expressing confidence thatBJP has bright prospect to im-prove its tally in the general elec-tion next year, Munda saidCentral leadership of the partyhas nominated Modi as theparty’s prime ministerial candi-date and party leaders and work-ers were engaged to strengthenhis hands to form the next government. Mundasaid people of the country want to see Modi as

the next prime minister and expect him to putrein over the prevailing corruption, unemploy-ment, internal and external security problems.

Referring the demand for Spe-cial status to Jharkhand, Mundasaid the state government shouldhave placed its demand techni-cally instead of issuing state-ments. It is easy to give statementthan turning it into action, Mundasaid claiming that he had takenup the issue at a meeting of Na-tional Development Council dur-ing his tenure.

Munda, however, refused tocomment on the performance ofHemant Soren-headed coalitiongovernment in the state. We willwait for next three months before

making comment on the performance of the in-cumbent government in Jharkhand, he said.n

BJP will contest all 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand: Arjun Munda

Jharkhand Chief Minis-ter Hemant Soren said

the central land acquisi-tion bill did not favour thestate’s tribal people, andtold reporters that hewould raise the issue withthe union government.

“The state governmentwill formulate its own pol-icy to give maximum bene-fit to people of the state,”Soren said.

The new land acquisi-tion bill of the centre laysdown that land would beacquired by offering four

times the market price ofthe land in rural areas.

In Jharkhand, severalsteel, power and otherprojects are hanging inbalance because of theproblem of land acquisi-tion.n

In a bid to boost infrastructure in NorthEastern region, the government today

approved three important highway proj-ects in Assam entailing Rs 2,130 croreexpenditure under Special AcceleratedRoad Development Programme (SARDP).

“The Cabinet Committee on EconomicAffairs has given its approval for four-lan-ing of Numaligarh to Jorhat, Jorhat toDemow and Demow to Bogibil sections ofNational Highway No 37 in Assam underSARDP Phase A,” Information and Broad-casting Minister Manish Tewari told re-porters after the meeting.

The cost of widening of 51 km Numali-garh to Jorhat section is estimated at Rs644.60 crore while four-laning of 80 kmstretch of Jorhat to Demow is estimatedat Rs 963.21 crore, he said.n

Government approves Rs 2,130 crroad projects in Assam under SARDP

Land acquisition bill not fair to tribals:Hemant Soren

33

U p d a t e


Trinamool Congress RajyaSabha member Mukul Roy has

sanctioned Rs 10 lakh fromMPLAD fund for the renovation ofChrist Church School at DumDum which was vandalised re-cently allegedly by some guardiansand 'outsiders' following the deathof a student.

"I have sanctioned the moneywhich would be given to nodalagency Kolkata Municipal Corpo-ration for the renovation of theschool," Roy told.

The money was given as perthe instruction of Trinamool Con-gress chairperson and Chief Min-ister of West Bengal MamataBanerjee, he said.

A five-member delegation fromWest Bengal Association of Chris-tian School submitted a memo-randum at the Chief Minister'soffice on Thursday thanking herfor "taking personal interest inthe past week, in speaking to ourleadership and addressing ourconcern". n

To expand its regional reach,public broadcaster Prasar

Bharati is exploring the possi-bility of running three round-the-clock channels inJharkhand, Chhattisgarh andUttarakhand.

Sources said that in a meet-ing of the Prasar Bharati Boardheld here today, officials of theBoard apprised the status ofthe four Doordarshan channelsin the Hindi heartland states ofUP, Rajasthan, MP and Bihar.

The four channels, whichhad earlier been operating onlyfor a few hours everyday, wereconverted by Prasar Bharatiinto 24X7 channels.

Prasar Bharati officials toldthe Board that three of the fourchannels (with DD Rajasthanbeing the exception) had al-ready acquired pole position inviewership ratings from amongregional channels which oper-ate in these states.

Officials told the Board thatsubstantial manpower and re-sources were underutilised andthe four regional channels,which are now running roundthe clock, only requireda minimum investment.

“The Board was ap-preciative of the effortsmade by Prasar Bharatito run channels by effec-tively utilising the exist-ing resources and agreedthat the possibility ofturning the existing ter-restrial stations inRanchi, Raipur andDehradun into 24 into 7channels on similarlines,” a senior officialsaid.

Prasar Bharati had earlierbeen questioned by the I&BMinistry to clarify if its boardhad given a categorical ap-proval to the launch of the fourHindi channels in the states.

The official said that in theBoard meeting held today,there was no specific discus-sion on the clarification soughtby the ministry.

Another official said that ina way Prasar Bharati was notstarting new channels but only“ramping up” Doordarshanchannels, which were telecast-ing content just for a couple ofhours, into 24 hour channels.n

Prasar Bharati mulling 24X7 tv channels for four states

tMC MP gives money from MPLAD to Christ school

34

U p d a t e


West Bengal Chief MinisiterMamata Banerjee has

said that certain forces wereproviding money to organiseriots in the State, warning thather government would dealstrongly with any attempt tocreate communal disharmony.

“We have information thatsome people are trying to or-ganise riots in the State by ar-ranging funds. Big heads areinvolved in it. We have specificinformation about who arefunding to create riots. I warnthem not to play with fire. Wewill not allow riots to break outhere,” she said.

Banerjee was speaking at agovernment programme inHooghly district which she wasvisiting to review governmentprojects.

“We have never supportedriots or communal disharmonyand we will not spare anyonewho tries to instigate commu-nal discord in the State,”warned Ms. Banerjee.

She also urged the peoplenot to lend ears to rumours.

“Even three or four mischie-vous people are enough to startriots in localities. Do not lend

ears to rumour-mongering andwe should not get involved inriots. Hindus and Muslims willlive together.

“People of all faiths are ourproperty. Hindus and Muslimsare flowers of the same stemand we care for both,” Ms.Banerjee said reiterating hergovernment’s zero-tolerance forthe politics of bandhs andblockades at a time when shewas trying to woo industries foremployment generation.

“We would not tolerate poli-tics of bandhs and blockadesand obstruction which wouldcreate hurdles to industriesand employment”, she said.

On return of land to farmerswho were unwilling to partwith their land for the TataMotor’s small car project inSingur, which is in Hooghlydistrict, Ms. Banerjee said thatshe was with them and wouldcontinue to remain so.

“I would take a decisionafter the court verdict” waswhat she said.

She said she had never de-ceived people by misleadingthem. n

Certain forces supplying money to organise riots: Mamata Banerjee

Asenior Congress leader has hitout at the BJP government in

Madhya Pradesh, saying the saffronparty thinks about welfare of minori-ties only when elections are around.

“I want to know from the BJP whatprevented it from doing something forminorities since 2008 and why all of asudden it has started thinking aboutthem,” Gufran-E- Azam.

Azam criticised the BJP for itsconference scheduled here on Sep-

tember 25 as part of its efforts to wooMuslims ahead of the upcoming As-sembly polls. In an oblique referenceto Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi and his Madhya Pradesh coun-terpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan, theCongress leader said, in his view,there was not much difference be-tween the two. “One tries to fool peo-ple by not wearing a skull cap and theother wears it to show he is truly sec-ular,” Azam said.n

BJP thinks about minorities only during election time: Gufran-e- Azam

35

U p d a t e


NCP president Sharad Pawarhas said, "some people have

started dreaming of PM's post",adding that attempts werebeing made to garner votes byfomenting communal hatred.

"There is a saying inMarathi... which means, thegroom, in his eagerness to getmarried, has worn the head or-nament (called baashing) onknees.

"Nothing is yet on the hori-zon...but some people havestarted dreaming of becomingthe prime minister," Pawarsaid.

"To realise these dreams.. ifthere are not sufficient seats inLok Sabha, then attempts arebeing made in the countrytoday to create a conflict in thename of caste, religion and lan-guage and grab power throughthese means," he said.

"Those who believe in secu-larism should come togetherand raise their voice againstthese communal forces," Pawarsaid, speaking at an all-lan-guage trade union function, or-ganised by NCP leader VijayKamble, in suburban Bandra.

Decrying the communal vio-

lence in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaf-farnagar, Pawar said, "such anatmosphere was never there inthat place earlier." NCP wouldsend a relief team to Muzaffar-nagar, he said.n

Some people are dreaming of becoming PM: Sharad Pawar

Terming Odisha’s efforts to ground majorprojects as a “positive” approach, a six-

member central team today suggested the stategovernment to upload requests, requirementsand views in the website.

This will enable taking up matters with min-istries concerned for early solution the teamsaid, according to official sources.

The team led by Additional Secretary, Cabi-net Secretariat Anil Swarup, made this remarkwhile reviewing the progress of 44 projects incoal, petroleum, power, railways, shipping andsteel sectors.

“We have reviewed the projects in differentsectors for facilitating and fast tracking of theprojects. I am happy that state government ma-chinery has exhibited proactive support in suc-cessful implementation of the projects,” Swaruptold reporters here.

Presiding over the meeting, Odisha ChiefSecretary J K Mohapatra asked all the depart-mental authorities and project implementingagencies to make use of the collaborative effort.“Remove all small or big bottlenecks on the wayof implementation of the projects,” he said.

In the first sessions, coal and railway proj-ects were reviewed followed by discussion onthe projects relating to Power, National High-way and some steel sectors in the second ses-sion.

Issues relating to forest clearances, landacquisition, tree cutting, DGPS survey, issueof FRA and PTG certificates, overlapping coalblock areas, utilisation of low-grade ore by do-mestic industries, evacuation of surplus powergenerated within Odisha were discussed andsorted out in the meeting.

Chief Secretary Mohapatra emphasised onthe need for six- laning of Paradeep-DaitaryNational Highway.

The large infrastructural and investmentprojects like Jharsuguda-Barpali-SergadaRailway line, Kanika siding, Railway Line fromJharsuguda to Basundhara, Natraj underground mine, doubling of Haridaspur-Pa-radeep new railway line on SPV mode,Talcher-Bimilagarh new Railway line, Anugul-Sambalpur Toll Road Project, Cuttack-AnugulToll Road Project, were among the projectstaken up for review, sources said. n

Centre lauds Odisha’s way to handle major projects

36

Te c h B i z


Telecom Commission (TC) has approved anambitious scheme to distribute free mobiles

handsets to each family in villages and tabletPCs to students in 11th and 12th classes. Boththe projects are expected tobe rolled out after 2014 LokSabha Election. Now the pro-posal will go the cabinet forclearance.

Apart from the devices,the UPA government is alsoplanning to provide freerecharge of Rs 360 every yearfor the mobile phones for twoyears. This will include talk-time of 30 minutes, 30 SMSsand 30 MB for possible Inter-net usage.

Similarly, the tablet PC isproposed to come with bundled SIM, Internetusage of up to 500 MB, talk-time of Rs 75 and75 SMSs for a specified period.

Both schemes, if approved by the authorities

concerned, are expected to start after March2014. General elections are due to be con-ducted before May.

The mobile phone scheme, meant for mainlyMGNREGA workers, providedthey have completed 100 daysin 2012, is estimated to costthe government Rs 4,850 croreand allotment will be completedover period of six years. The de-vices are being proposed tocome with a warranty of threeyears.

As per the report, the tabletPC will be distributed in threephases where is first phase 15lakh students will be covered,35 lakh in second phase and40 lakh in third phase. Simi-

larly, the mobile phone scheme is proposed tocover 25 lakh beneficiaries in first year, 50 lakhin second, 75 lakh in third and 1 crore infourth year. n

telecom Commission approves plan to distribute free mobiles and tablets

Nokia has launched its 114feature phone, a low-cost

phone with Urdu languagecapability in the country forRs 2, 579. The Nokia 114,which will benefit over 15crore Urdu speaking people inIndia. The new device phonecomes with dual-SIM compat-ibility.

The phone has a VGAcamera, which is also capableof shooting videos and offersmicroSD card slot with up to32GB of expandable memorylimit. The device will supporttalk time of up to 10.5 hourson 2G network, allow internetbrowsing, FM radio and video

streaminga.The company is the first

company to introduce re-gional language content in 11Indian languages since 2008-Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Tel-ugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Ben-gali, Odiya, Assamese,Punjabi, and Marathi, accord-ing to the company. It is alsothe first company to intro-duce an in house app calledAkshar for the Asha Touchrange of affordable smart-phones. Akshar supports 11Indian languages and allowsconsumers to interact in theirlocal language. The companywill be launching it pan India

but its focus will be five mar-kets like Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra, Jammu andKashmir, Uttar Pradesh andKarnataka. The new device isavailable across stores now.n

Nokia Launches Urdu Language Mobiles

37

Te c h B i z


Apple haslaunched twonew models of

iPhone- the iPhone 5sand iPhone 5c - inCalifornia. The iPhone5s will come in gold,silver, space gray andwill run on A7 chip. Ithas a 4-inch Retinadisplay and glass in-lays.

"iPhone 5s to con-nect to high-speednetworks with sup-port for up to 13 LTEwireless bands, morethan any other smart-phone in the world.With download speedsup to 100 Mbps, buy-ers can browse, down-load and streamcontent even faster,"claimed Apple.

The new device in-cludes dual-band802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fisupport for up to 150Mbps and Bluetooth4.0.

The phone delivers10 hours of talk timeon 3G networks, up to10 hours of webbrowsing on Wi-Fiand LTE networksand up to 8 hours on3G networks, and upto 10 hours of videoplayback and up to 40hours of audio play-back. The new phonecomes with iOS 7 andhas hundreds of newfeatures, includingControl Center, Notifi-

cation Center, im-proved Multitasking,AirDrop, enhancedPhotos, Safari, Siriand introduces iTunesRadio, a free Internetradio service based onthe music you listento on iTunes. iPhone5s also introducedTouch ID and 8megapixel iSight cam-era with True Toneflash.

The iPhone 5s willbe available in the USfor $199 (US) for the16GB model and $299(US) for the 32GBmodel and $399 (US)for the 64GB model.

Apart from iPhone5s, the company alsolaunched iPhone 5cthat comes with a 4-inch Retina display.

The new phone isrunning on A6 chip,has an 8 megapixeliSight camera and isavailable in blue,green, pink, yellowand white The newdevice comes withmore LTE bands, anew FaceTime HDcamera, and iOS 7,the most significantiOS update since theoriginal iPhone.

The iPhone 5c in-cludes dual-band802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fisupport for up to 150Mbps and Bluetooth4.0. The iPhone 5c de-livers 10 hours of talktime on 3G networks,up to 10 hours of webbrowsing on Wi-Fiand LTE networksand up to 8 hours on

3G networks, and upto 10 hours of videoplayback and up to 40hours of audio play-back.

The iPhone 5calso comes with iOS 7and has features likeControl Center, Notifi-cation Center, im-proved Multitasking,AirDrop, enhancedPhotos, Safari andSiri. The companyalso introducediTunes Radio, a freeInternet radio servicebased on the musicyou listen to oniTunes.

The new device willbe available in the USfor $99 (US) for the16GB model and $199(US) for the 32GBmodel. n

Apple launches iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c

38

Te c h B i z


Microsoft has said it would buy Nokia's mo-bile phone business for 5.4 billion euros

that is approximately $7.2 billion.A media release from the company said:

“Microsoft andNokia have decidedto enter into atransactionwhereby Microsoftwill purchase sub-stantially all ofNokia's Devices &Services business,license Nokia'spatents, and li-cense and useNokia's mappingservices."

Under the termsof the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia'sDevices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 bil-lion to license Nokia's patents, for a total trans-

action cost of EUR 5.44 billion in cash. Mi-crosoft will draw upon its overseas cash re-sources to fund the transaction. Thetransaction is expected to close in the first

quarter of 2014,subject to approvalby Nokia's share-holders, regulatoryapprovals and otherclosing conditions.

"Building on thepartnership withNokia announced inFebruary 2011 andthe increasing suc-cess of Nokia'sLumia smart-phones, Microsoftaims to accelerate

the growth of its share and profit in mobile de-vices through faster innovation, increased syner-gies, and unified branding and marketing', therelease said.n

Nokia has launched an EMIscheme for its latest smart-

phone-Nokia Lumia 925 for Rs33,499 in India. Under thescheme, the Lumia 925 amountcan be paid in six equal monthlyinstallments at zero per centrate of interest and no process-ing fee.

The scheme will be availableacross select Nokia priority part-ners and multi branded outletsacross the country. For thescheme, Nokia has tied up withCitibank, HDFC Bank, AxisBank, Standard Chartered,HSBC, ICICI Bank and SBICards for the Easy EMI schemeand the offer will be available toconsumers with credit cards

(only) from any of these banks. The banks together have the

target consumer base of over 16million providing Nokia an op-portunity to extend the service

to a large consumer base." Our insight shows that

many customers don't end upbuying their preferred handsetmodel as it tends to be margin-

ally above their pre decidedbudget, making upfront pay-ment difficult. Our easy EMIscheme at 0% interest addressesthat challenge and will allowcustomers to actually buy thehandset they desire." said ViralOza, director-marketing, NokiaIndia.

On 22 August, the companyhas launched Nokia Lumia 925a metal design for the first timeto the Nokia Lumia range, withthe polycarbonate made avail-able in white, grey or black. Awireless charging cover can beclipped onto the back of thephone to take advantage ofNokia's extensive wireless charg-ing accessories and ecosystem.n

Nokia launches eMi scheme for Lumia 925

Microsoft to acquire Nokia for $7.2 bn

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The domestic handset maker, LAVA Interna-tional has launched its another smart-

phone-Iris 506q for Rs 9,499. The new device isrunning of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is pow-ered by 1.2GHz dual-core processor.

It has a 5-inch display with 480x854 pixelsresolution and comes with 512MB of RAM, 4GBof inbuilt storage with expandable up to 32GBthrough microSD card. It sports a 5MP camera(rear auto-focus with in-built flash) that pro-vides multiple camera options includingpanorama mode, smile detection to capturestunning photographs and a 0.3 MP front cam-era for 3G video calling.

It supports various connectivity optionswhich include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, EDGE,GPRS and 3G with downloads speeds upto 21Mbps. Under the hood, the smartphone boastsa 2000mAh Li-Pol (Lithium Polymer Battery) foran extended battery life. The Iris 505 is FOTA

upgradable which helps to update the hand-set's software ‘over the air', without connectionto a PC or any other device.

The iris 505 also features gesture controlwhich helps a user change music tracks, clickpictures, change FM channels and browse thegallery with a swipe of the hand without touch-ing the screen.n

BlackBerry has launched itsnew BlackBerry Z30

smartphone .The new device isrunning on BlackBerry 10 OSversion 10.2 and is a full-touchsmartphone.

The 5-inch display is basedon vivid Super AMOLED tech-nology and has an 1280 x 720pixels with 295 pixels per inch.

A 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4Pro processor is supported by aquad core Adreno 320 graphicsprocessor. There is 2GB ofRAM and 16 GB of internalstorage and a microSD slot forexpansion. An 8-megapixelrear camera and a 2-megapixelfront camera are included.

Wireless connections in-clude 4G LTE with globalroaming bands, near-field com-

munications (NFC), Bluetooth4.0 Low Energy and 802.11a/b/g/n.

"The new BlackBerry Z30

smartphone builds on the solidfoundation and engaging userexperience of the BlackBerry10 platform with features likethe powerful BlackBerry Hub,its exceptional touchscreen

keyboard and industry leadingbrowser," said Carlo Chiarello,Executive Vice President forProducts at BlackBerry.

The BlackBerry Z30 smart-phone comes with stereospeakers that immerse you inyour music, videos, apps andgames, and makes conversa-tions sound like you're face-to-face.

BlackBerry Natural Soundis new technology exclusive toBlackBerry and part of Black-Berry 10 OS version 10.2 thatmakes BBM Voice and BBMVideo chats sound more natu-ral and realistic.

The BlackBerry Z30's 2880mAh battery which the com-pany claims gives talk time ofup to 25 hours. n

Blackberry launches smartphone-BlackBerry z30

LAvA launches another smartphone-iris 506q for Rs 9,499

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Domestic handset maker, Micromax haslaunched its Canvas Tab P650 tablet in

India for Rs 16,500. The new Canvas Tab P650tablet has an 8-inch display, an IPS display.

This tablet is running on Android 4.2 (JellyBean) and is upgradable via FOTA. The devicehas a 16GB internal storage and supports mi-croSD expansion up to 32GB. The new CanvasTab P650 tablet is powered by a 1.2 GHz quadcore processor alongside 1GB of RAM andpacked with a 4800 mAh battery.

"The Canvas Tab will strengthen our leader-ship in the tablet PC market complementedwith a 360 degree go to market strategy toreach out to the consumers," said RahulSharma, Micromax CoFounder.

"The Canvas Tab P650 has a 5MP camera,while the front panel sports a 2MP shooter.This tablet works on Wi-Fi as well as 3G net-works and comes with voice calling facility. Thenew table is 00 this tablet offering five hours ofbrowsing time on 3G. The tablet comes pre-loaded with apps like Spuul, Opera Mini, M!

Live, Music Hub and M! Security," the companymentioned in its statement.

The Micromax Canvas TabP650 will beavailable in two colours, Blue and White.n

Shenzhen-based ZTE said itwas the first company to

receive regulatory approval inChina to sell a 4G handset forfourth-generation networkservice.

The company's GrandMemo handset was approvedby China's Ministry of Industryand Information Technology torun on the 4G TD-LTE networkstandard. The single-SIM, dualstand-by voice solution usedby ZTE Grand Memo LTE(Model No: U9815), a quad-band device compatible withthe TD-LTE/ FDD/TDS/ GSMbands, means it is capable ofsupporting simultaneous high-speed data transmission and

high-quality voice calls."The company's Grand

Memo LTE is offering superiorspecifications including a 5.7-inch high-definition display

with 1280x720 resolutions, a1.5GHz nVidia Tegra3 quad-core processor, 12-core GPUand 13 million pixel camera,supporting 1080P HD videoplayback and recording," thecompany mentioned in itsstatement.

With an ultra-refined dis-play and packing entertain-ment features including "HomeTheater," the ZTE Grand MemoLTE is well-equipped to takeadvantage of the fast datatransmission speeds of 4G net-works. The ZTE Grand MemoLTE will be one of the high-lights of PT/EXPO COMMCHINA 2013 conference in Bei-jing this month.n

zte Grand Memo handset to be first 4G smartphone in China

Micromax launches tablet- Canvas tab P650 for Rs 16, 500

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After Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Sony has un-veiled its latest water resistant smartphone -

Sony Xperia Z1 in India for Rs 44,990.The phone runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

and is powered by 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon800 processor with 2GB RAM. The new devicehas a 5-inch LCD display with 1920x1080p reso-lution and Triluminous technology.

The new device comes with 16GB internalstorage and supports microSD expansion up to64GB. The connectivity options include 2G, 3G,4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and NFC.

It comes with shatterproof and scratch resist-ant glass and large 3,000mAh battery which thecompany claims gives talk time of up to 15 hours.

The Japanese phone maker has unveiled Xpe-ria Z1 at IFA 2013 in Berlin two weeks back.

The company is offering free 8GB data down-load on Vodafone. Sony also offers free accidentalinsurance for six months and EMI scheme with

the device.The Sony Xperia Z1 comes with free access to

movies, songs and TV shows with Xperia Z1. Onlycontent under Sony Music, Sony Entertainmentand Sony Pictures brands will be available tousers as part of this scheme.

Before this, the company had launched high-end Sony Xperia Z Ultra with 6.4 inch display. n

Domestic mobile manufacturer, Intex has launchedits another smartphone - Intex Aqua HD for Rs

15,999 in market. The smartphone is running on An-droid 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and has a 11.9-cm (4.7-inch) TFT displaywhich offers 720x1280 pixelhigh definition resolution.

The new device is poweredby a 1.2 GHz quad core Medi-aTek 6589 processor, 1 GBRAM and 4 GB built in memorywhich can be expanded furtherto 32 GB through a micro SDcard. The smartphone has a 13megapixel autofocus camerawith LED flash and 5 megapixel front camera. The dual-SIM smartphone is powered by an 1800mAh batterywhich delivers up to 5 hours of talktime and 300 hoursof standby time. For connectivity, there are Wi-Fi, Blue-tooth, GPS/ aGPS and 3G options. n

intex launches smart phone-Aqua HD for Rs 15,990

Lava launches iris 506q for Rs 10,999

Sony launches Xperia z1 for Rs 44,990

The domestic handset maker, LAVA Interna-tional has launched its Iris 506q smart-

phone in India for Rs 10, 999. The phone ispowered by a fast 1.2 Ghz quad core processorand the latest Android 4.2 (jelly bean) operat-ing. Besides, this 3G handset has Bluetooth(v3.0) and WiFi connectivity and also featuresLight, Proximity, Magnification and G sensor.It also supports localized services includingNavigation powered by GPS/A-GPS. It sports a5 megapixel auto focus rear camera that hasoptions including panorama mode and smiledetection. It has also a 0.3 megapixel frontcamera for 3G video calling.

"The Lava Iris 506Q comes with a 5-inchqHD (540x960) display with OGS technology.The smartphone supports expandable memoryof up to 32GB and it has a battery life of2000mAh. The Iris 506q is FOTA upgradablewhich helps to update the handset's software‘over the air', without connection to a PC orany other device," the company mentioned inits statement.n

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BY Deepshikha Singh

“Whisky is for drinking, wateris for fighting over,” MarkTwain once said.

Regardless of India’s cur-rent rate of economicgrowth, around 100 mil-lion people live in areas

that lack access to clean water.Demands for drinking water areexpected to increase due toIndia’s escalating population and global climate change predictions, which are expected to cause alterations in wateravailability, weather patterns, andglacial melt-rates in the Hi-malayas.

Modern India demonstrates adynamic and on occasion comple-mentary blend of cultures, lan-guages and religions, with strictfamily traditions and a social-stratification system of castes.Such diversity makes availabledifficulties when implementingwater treatment technologies anddevising water managementschemes and policies, especiallyconsidering the widening divisionsbetween rich, urban Indians and

their poorer, rural counterparts,accelerated by India’s burgeoningeconomy. Also, government dis-honesty, aquatic mismanagement,water pollution, environmentaldegradation, and unsustainablewater usage, particularly from theagricultural sector, are havingmajor repercussions for regionsthat lack access to clean drinkingwater.

Water pollution and manage-ment is a key subject relating toIndian freshwater quality.

Reality checkIndia collects a standard of 4,000billion cubic meters of rainfallevery year. Unhappily, merely 48percent of rainfall ends up inIndia’s rivers. Due to require-ments of storage and crumblinginfrastructure, only 18 percentcan be utilized. Rainfall is re-stricted to the monsoon season,June all the way through Septem-ber, when India gets, an averageof 75 percent of its total annualrain.

Once again, due to India’sstorage crunch the government isnot capable of storing surpluswater for the dry season. Suchseasonal distribution of rainfallhas not stimulated the develop-ment of better capturing and stor-ing infrastructure, making waterscarcity a needless yet dangerousproblem.

Way outAn instant solution to India’swater crisis is to change watermanagement practices by modifi-able usage with effective legisla-tion. On the other hand, aspreviously mentioned, there is

india Battle’sfor Better portable Waterif the government does not wake up india is headedfor a major water supply problem. even with a more orless steady monsoon, india wastes most of her water

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considerable opposition to raisingelectricity tariffs, and there wouldmost likely be even more resist-ance to enacting tariffs on wateritself. An additional future solu-tion to the water crisis is the pri-vatization of water. Proponentsclaim that a privatised water sup-ply would prevent waste, improveefficiency, and encourage innova-tion.

India is as well bearing in mindlarge-scale engineering projects,similar to those adopted in China,such as the South-to-North WaterDiversion Project. Though, asIndia is the world’s largest democ-racy, such projects have beentremendously difficult to pass be-cause they are controversial andhave stirred lots of debate andmuch resistance.

The most talked about project is the $112 billion Inter-linking of Rivers project (ILR). TheILR was permitted by the Presi-dent in 2002 and is due to becompleted in 2016. This projectwill link all 37 rivers by thou-sands of miles of canals anddozens of large dams. Thisscheme is projected to increasethe amount of water presented forirrigation and would add34,000mw of hydropower to thenational pool.

The Indian government is bynow trying to get states to startrainwater harvesting in order tomore efficiently tap into the hugequantity of monsoon rain. Collec-tion of rainwater recharges watertables, allows easier ease of ac-cess to water resources, and in-creases availability for irrigationall through the year leads to im-proved village.

Winding upIndia is facing a looming watercrisis that has inferences not onlyfor its 1.1 billion people, but for

the entire world. India’s demandfor water is growing even as itstretches its supplies. Water in-frastructure is crumbling, pre-venting the government frombeing able to supply drinkingwater to its citizens. Pollution isrampant due to unfettered eco-nomic growth, poor waste man-agement laws and practices.Although many analysts believethat demand will outstrip supply

by 2020, there is still hope forIndia.

Water scarcity in India ismainly a manmade problem; con-sequently if India makes signifi-cant changes in the way it thinksabout water and manages its re-sources soon, it could ward off, orat least mollify, the impending cri-sis. India has had success withwater infrastructure development,which allowed the country to takeadvantage of its water resourcesin the first place and achieve foodsecurity. These projects did allowthe expansion of urban and in-dustrial sectors and increasedavailability of safe drinking water.India needs to make water supplya national priority the way it hasmade food security and economicgrowth priorities in the past.India’s need for a widespreadmanagement program is soneeded because of its rapidly de-

pleting water supply, environmen-tal problems, and growing popula-tion. If the country continues witha business as usual mentality theconsequences will be drastic.India will see a sharp decrease inagricultural production, whichwill negate all the previous effortsat food security. India will becomea net importer of grain, which willhave a huge effect on global foodprices, as well as the global sup-

ply of food. A rise in food priceswill aggravate the already wide-spread poverty when people haveto spend larger portions of theirincome on food.

In addition to overburdeningthe agricultural sector of India’seconomy, the water crisis willhave a big effect on India’s indus-trial sector, possibly rusting manyindustries. To finish, India couldbecome the stage for major international water wars becauseso many rivers that originate inIndia supply water to other coun-tries.

India has the authority to keepaway from this dark future if peo-ple take action without more ado:start conserving water, begin toharvest rainwater, treat human, agricultural, and indus-trial waste effectively, and regu-late how much water can bedrawn out of the ground.n

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The topsy-turvy politicalthrone of Uttar Pradesh ismade by well-maneuvered

social engineering, appeasing ofminorities and distributing in-novative freebies to marginalizedsection of the society. The fun-damental economy of UttarPradesh has not been in soundhealth since many years; thestate financial exchequer isunder heavy debts and alsoshows a deficit. Then how hasthe successive state govern-ments after the ‘Mandir-Mandal’era ruled this state with theirschemes?

A political analyst said thatthe financial purse of the statepolitical parties are managed bybig business companies in thestate namely JP group, Relianceand Sahara India Parivar.

He also added that the win in2012 Vidhan Sabha polls of SP(Samajwadi Party) was incom-plete without financial aid of Re-liance and Sahara India Parivar.The rallies and road shows ofthe SP leaders during the cam-paigning were planned andunder taken by the SaharaGroup. Recently, the rulingSamajwadi Party’s supremo Mu-layam Singh Yadav clamored forthe group in the Rajya Sabhawhen it has come under scan-ner of the SEBI.

Meanwhile, after a lot of

pushing on the question of SP &Sahara Group nexus, an ex-manager of the Sahara real es-tates, said “During the previousregime of the SP rule, manylands were allotted to build realestates and all theprojects of ourgroup were en-couraged by thestate without anychecks or norms.”

He further saidthat the sprawlingSahara shoppingmalls in the statewere given clear-ance by manysenior SP leadersin lieu of heavypayments.

He elaboratedthat during theBSP reign in 2007all the projectswere stopped.Even today, if onetravels across thehighway afterpassing Kanpurand entering Kanauj, the N.Hthat links Delhi via Kanpur, onecan easily have a look of acresof land with posters written“this land belongs to Sahara”.

Ved Prakash, a class 12 stu-dent, son of a PCS officer livingin posh Sahara colony said,‘’During the previous SP rule,whenever the convoy of Saharause to pass the traffic police

were instructed to stop trafficcausing delay and late to com-muters.”

Harish, a very old SamajwadiParty worker, said: ‘’MulayamSingh Ji was a socialist to core

and valued hard-workingpeople related to humblebackgrounds, he changed alot after the entry of media-friendly, ‘Amar Singh’, whometamorphosed the image ofthe so-called SamajwadiParty. Amar Singh is only re-sponsible for ‘Subrata Roycoming closer to Mulayam’.

He also added despite theexit of Amar Singh manysenior leaders of SP use thevehicles or are escorted bymen of Sahara.

Interestingly, the opposi-tion parties also hammeredthe SP with its ironical ‘so-cialist’ ideology. An old con-gress man said, SP is anotorious party followingonly capitalistic policies. TheBJP struck a hard toneadding SP is eyewash; all its

leaders follow capitalistic mod-els and policies.

Whatever, be the changingdynamics the SP emerged as the leading party in the pastVidhan Sabha elections, it willbe interesting to see how itmanages to see how the SPmanages its resources for theLok Sabha elections with help ofcapitalists.n

Uttar Pradesh’s political parties manages byJP group, Reliance and Sahara india Parivar

the sprawling Sahara shopping malls in the state were given clearance by many seniorSP leaders in lieu of heavy payments.

A political ana-lyst said thatthe financialpurse of thestate politicalparties aremanaged by bigbusiness com-panies in thestate namely JPgroup, Relianceand Saharaindia Parivar.

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