The official residence of the Maharashtra Governor, the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, has bagged the coveted ISO certificate for having excellent management systems, an official said on Tuesday.

“It is perhaps the first Raj Bhavan in the country to have received the international-level certification,” the official said.

Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Tuesday accepted the ISO 9001:2008 certification.

The Governor said getting the ISO certificate was only the beginning and maintaining the standard of services over a period of time would require involvement and willing participating of all officers and staff.

“As the highest office in the state, Raj Bhavan must set an example for other organizations in terms of efficiency, standards and quality of services,” Sankaranarayanan urged.

Situated in south Mumbai on a lush green 50 acres, the landmark Raj Bhavan is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on three sides, with sprawling heritage buildings dotting the complex.

Originally, it was a hunting lodge for the British rulers, later it was converted into a summer residence and gradually it became the official residence of the governor.

The complex, boasting of its own private beach, has been officially housing the residence and secretariats of governors — formerly British, and post-Independence Indian — right from 1885 onwards.

Over the years, it has hosted both Indian and foreign dignitaries in one or more of the bungalows which are richly decorated with carvings, fittings and furniture, valuable paintings and other artefacts.

Besides Mumbai, there are three other Raj Bhavans in Nagpur, Pune and the hill station of Mahabaleshwar which are used as official residences.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has pulled up ICICI Lombard Motor Insurance for indulging in “unfair trade practices” and asked it to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to a complainant.

In their order, Forum president Umesh Jhawalikar and member ND Kadam observed that the bank’s insurance wing was deficient in its services as it totally rejected the insurance claim when it could have sanctioned a partial amount.

The claimant Gopalakrishnan Nair told the Forum that he had a valid insurance with the company for the period November 9, 2006 to November 8, 2007 for a sum of Rs 3,88,800 for his car Opel Corsa.

The complainant informed the Forum that his car met with an accident at Turbhe on December 8, 2006 and he had promptly registered an offence with the APMC police station and a ‘panchnama’ of the accident site was also carried out.

The vehicle was later taken to the Fort Point automobiles for repairs. After the survey, a claim for the accident was lodged with the insurer within the stipulated period, he told the Forum.

However, the insurer refused to accept his claim and settle it as per the guidelines of IRDA and within the stipulated period as a result of which he had to make use of another vehicle for his travel and pay charges to the garage as the car was still parked in the Fort Point premises.

Thus Nair lodged a claim of Rs 5,62,350 which included the insurance claim amount, charges for parking his car at the garage which was Rs 35,550 and also expenses for usage of other vehicle for commuting and other expenses which totaled upto Rs 1,34,000.

The respondent insurance company, while arguing the case, informed the Forum that as per experts’ opinion of the company after survey of the damaged vehicle, there was no necessity to change the bodyshell of the car.

However, the claimant had carried out an independent survey in which the expert had opined otherwise. This was the matter of dispute which delayed the process, the insurance company informed the Forum in its submission.

As per IRDA guidelines, the bank should have made 75 percent of the eligible amount to the claimant within the stipulated time which it did not do as a result of which the insured had to park his car in the garage for which he incurred additional expenses on parking and also had to make use of other means of transport for commuting, pending repair.

The complainant had promptly taken all steps including complaint to the APMC police station, getting the panchnama done, getting inspection done by an expert, and also filed the claim within the stipulated period along with all relevant documents, as per IRDA guidelines and the Indian Motor Tariff, the Forum observed.

The Forum further said it was necessary that the insurance company should have sanctioned the claim within the stipulated time. Likewise, it was justified that the insurance company ought to have sanctioned up to 75% of the insured amount by taking into consideration prevailing circumstances and the documents.

The insurance company, however rejected the claim on two counts. One there was no need to change the body shell and another the original repair bill was not presented by the claimant.

As the respondent was the service provider for the complainant, it was duty bound to sanction his claim up to the eligible sum which was justified. It could have sanctioned the claim even by deducting the charges of the body shell within the stipulated time, which it failed do.

Hence, it is held that it had indulged in unfair trade practices, the Forum said.

Millennium city, Mumbai, will soon become the first place in India where consumers can enjoy power portability.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday held a meeting with the representatives of power discoms, Tata, Reliance and BEST to discuss power tariff issues concerning Mumbai.

After the meeting, Chavan said “We are giving directions to both Reliance and Tata that the Reliance consumers can move to Tata since their power has lower tariff. State government will be keeping tabs to ensure that there is no hindrance for consumers, who wish to switch from Reliance to Tata. Both the private power DISCOMs have agreed to this”.

Chavan added that the government will make sure that there will be uniform tariff for consumers consuming up to 300 units across the state. He said “We are working towards that. And have asked Tata and Reliance to give a roadmap to ensure that there is uniformity in power tariff for up to 300 units”.

This comes after the Congress government in Maharashtra faced rebel from two of its own MPs, Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam.

Stating that they were not backing any political party or individual, Vishwa Hindu Parishad International Working President Pravin Togadia has asked people to vote for candidates with a clean slate and stature in Lok Sabha elections.

“VHP has no political agenda and the organisation is not supporting anyone. We are with those who are credible and committed to protect the interests of millions of Hindus,” he said.

He said parties are forgetting the core issues of Ram temple, common civil code, Article 370 and cow slaughter and felt that people should check past performance of candidates as well as the parties before electing them.

“People should select only those who have honoured their commitments and are honest,” the VHP leader said.

Criticising the formation of Minority Development Corporation by the UPA with a financial allocation of Rs. 700 crore, he question its propriety and said that the majority population (Hindus) is deprived of such privileges.

“No one thinks of millions of Hindus living in poor conditions,” he charged.

“Are there not any poor Hindu students who also deserve financial assistance for studies,” he asked.

Evading a direct answer on his ‘strained’ relations with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s PM nominee Narendra Modi, Togadia said since he is a VHP leader, his views are not separate from his party.