Maha govt may have to mop up Rs 300 cr towards subsidy for 50% tariff cut in Mumbai

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January 9, 2014

Mumbai electricity consumers with monthly consumption up to 500 units may have to wait 50% cut in their tariff alike their counterparts in Delhi. However, preliminary estimates made internally by power distribution companies Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure, the BrihanMumbai ElectricSupply and Transport (BEST) and the state energy department show that tariff reduction for the consumer categories of 0-100 units, 101-300 units and 301-500 unit will cost the distribution companies worth nearly Rs 300 crore.

These companies will be entitled to get the government subsidy to make up the possible loss in their revenue as per the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003. The reduction will be possible only in variable charge component of the per unit tariff. The other option is that the regulators can take a call to approve tariff rise in other categories especially industrial and commercial to cross subsidize the lower tariff to residential consumers with monthly consumers up to 500 unit.

A senior minister, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard ”The issue will be discussed threadbare at the cabinet before taking any formal decision on tariff cut.”

Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure are tight lipped on the politically sensitive issue of tariff cut in Mumbai. However, officials of both the companies cite the sections 65 and 108 of the Electricity Act. As per the section 65, the state government can grant subsidy to any consumer or class of consumers in the tariff determined by the power regulator. On the other hand, under section 108 the state government has give direction to the state power regulator in the matters of policy involving public interest. BEST official argued that it will have to make up loss incurred by its transport wing with its revenues from power distribution.

However, the ruling NCP, which also holds the energy portfolio, has publicly opposed any move to provide subsidy to private distribution companies in Mumbai including Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure.

Tata Power has a consumer base of 4,25,000 of which nearly 2,50,000 are residential consumers of which about 1,00,000 are with monthly consumption up to 500 units. As far as Reliance Infrastructure is concerned, of the total consumers of 2.8 million, 2.3 million are residential of which 1.7 million consume up to 500 units per month. In case of BEST, which is a part of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, it has a consumer base of 1 million of which 7,65,000 are residential and nearly 6,60,000 consumers have monthly consumption up to 300 units.

Mumbai safest city to drive: Survey

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Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

Mumbai has emerged as the safest city to drive and is also voted as the city with most disciplined traffic, says a road safety survey on drivers conducted in key cities.

The survey conducted by an insurance company with a sample size of 987 has been conducted in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata among others.

“Mumbai has been voted as the safest city to drive and also emerged as one with the most disciplined traffic,” Sanjay Datta, chief of underwriting and claims at ICICI Lombard, which conducted the survey told reporters today.

While Delhi has the best roads, Bangalore has been voted as having the best driving facilities in terms of roadside assistance.

As per the survey, 19 per cent of respondents believe that increase in the penalty amount will help curb violation of traffic rules.

Interestingly, pedestrians are perceived as the major violators of traffic rules by both car and bike drivers.

As far as accidents are concerned, the survey revealed that autorickshaw drivers top the list of worst offenders leading to accidents in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad.

The survey also pointed out that around 75 per cent of the women respondents feel that they drive safer than men.

The private general insurance firm also said that Bangalore has recorded highest accident claims for private cars, while Ahmedabad leads for two-wheeler claims as per its claim data.

AAP students wing protests against Mumbai Univ professor’s suspension

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Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

Aam Aadmi Party students wing on Thursday held protest outside the Maharashtra Raj Bhavan to protest the suspension of Mumbai University professor Neeraj Hatekar. The AAP protestors were detained up by police and prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been imposed in the area.

Professor Hatekar was suspended by Mumbai University Vice Chancellor Rajan Welukar on Saturday after he publicly spoke out against what he said were irregularities in the university.

He had accused the Vice Chancellor of mismanagement. Many people including eminent historian Ramachandra Guha too have tweeted in Professor Hatekar’s support.

HC seeks report on vacant police jobs; steps to fill them

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Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

The Court Bombay High Court today asked Maharashtra Government to file a report by February 6 on the existing vacancies in the police force as on December 31 last year and inform what steps were taken by the state to fill up the posts in the past two years.

The direction was given by a bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah on a suo motu (on its own) PIL seeking improper probe into the murder of a Pune builder Nikhil Rane.

During the hearing of this PIL earlier, the court had transferred the probe to CBI saying that the State CID had drawn a blank in the investigations. This was done on the plea made by Ashwini Rane, wife of the slain builder.

While this aspect of the PIL had been disposed of, certain issues such as shortage of staff and vacancies in police force came up before the court which adjourned the hearing from time to time.

The High Court also asked the State today to file an affidavit on what steps it would take on its proposal to segregate the police force on the basis of two categories — law and order and investigating crimes.

The bench has fixed the matter for hearing on February 20 and asked the State to give the information on segregation of police force and filling up of vacant posts by February 6.

During the pendency of this PIL, the High Court had come across an affidavit filed by the State in the Supreme Court in another matter on a proposal to segregate the police force two-fold viz investigation of crimes and law and order.

The State had then informed the court that vacancies in the range of 20 per cent to 42 per cent existed in lower categories of police force at the level of sub-inspectors, inspectors, Superintendents of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police.

However, today, Anil Anturkar, the lawyer for builder’s widow Ashwini Rane, alleged that vacancies still existed in the police force and no steps had been taken to fill them up.

The least that was expected of the Government was to fill up the vacancies, if not improve the investigation machinery, he said.

Nikhil Rane was fatally injured on November 23, 2009, when gangsters fired at him from close range. His widow filed a petition in 2010 seeking transfer of probe to CBI.

BJP demands special audit to find ‘real’ cost of Mumbai metro project

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Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

Alleging that there has been an enormous cost escalation in the Mumbai Metro Rail project, BJP today demanded that Maharashtra government should conduct a special audit to find out the `real cost’. “There has been a cost escalation of upto 300 percent in the Mumbai Metro Rail, which is a public-private-partnership project. I have written to the chief secretary J S Saharia and demanded a special CAG audit,” BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya said here.

Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Infra owns a 69 pc stake in Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), the execution agency. State-run Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) holds 26 per cent equity while the rest is held by Veolia Transport RATP Asia. Somaiya said he sought details of the cost escalation from MMRDA, but drew a blank. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is the chairman of MMRDA, did not question the cost escalation, Somaiya alleged, adding that he would be meeting the CAG next week. Because of the increased cost, the commuters would have to shell out more when the Metro becomes operational, Somaiya said.

Governance the Modi way

By

Vaidehi Taman

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January 9, 2014

The January 7-9 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi, of which FICCI is a partner, is aimed at enhancing networking and reinforcing commercial linkages among the diaspora. There are 25 million people of Indian origin residing outside India. As India completes 75 years of independence in 2022, Modi said it was possible that India develops to be globally competitive and admired as well as be locally inspiring and inclusive and gave the slogan of “United India – Grand India”. In an apparent reference to the upcoming General Elections, Modi said it will take another few months for “good days” to usher in. Underlining that petty politics between states and Centre harms the nation, Modi felt happy that states were competing with each other and nations were wanting to deal with them directly instead through the Centre. Modi noted that focus has now been shifted from Central government to state authorities. The sharper this competition becomes, the better it is for the overall development of the country.Taking a dig at Dr Manmohan Singh, Modi said he backed the Prime Minister for saying that good times are ahead.Before addressing the plenary session of 12th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the largest gathering of Indian diaspora in the world, Modi, who aspires to become the country’s next Prime Minister, got a round of applause. Last week, Manmohan Singh said India is changing in a significant way and asked over 22 million expatriate community, the world’s second largest, to stay engaged in the future of the country with confidence and optimism. Modi further hailed the Indian diaspora, saying that NRIs should not be weighed in just dollars and pounds. He underlined that the experience gained by the NRIs should be invested to give new direction to the nation. Modi referred to two major events in history in which the migration had come together to support the country – one was during the 1975 emergency and the second the 1998 nuclear test by the BJP-led NDA government.

Modi is trying his level best to reach out people and make it happen for BJP in general and for his PM post in particular. By now the people are bored with him as he talks only about Gujarat and himself, or attacks Congress or family. People want to know what solutions, what growth model and what vision Modi has for this country. He always failed to discuss these things. Whatever Manhoman Singh said, was related to Rahul as future PM and Congress as progressive party. What Modi interpreted as, wait for few months, good days are ahead as he will be PM and Congress would pack its bags.

Entire Congress is relying only on Rahul Gandhi and that will be disastrous. Rahul or Manhohan, both should remember that there are a number of top leaders in the Congress who are talented and can lead the country to glory. The advent of the Aam Aadmi Party and the rise of Narendra Modi have eroded the image of Rahul Gandhi and the older regional parties. It is in this light that the inclusion of Priyanka Vadra, on whose image of freshness the Congress hopes to cash in, has to be seen. While this development may be the party’s counter to Modi’s rising fortunes, it will further isolate party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka’s next move will be watched with interest. If the Congress decides to go the whole hog and bring in Robert Vadra along with Priyanka, a truly dynastic regime will ensue. Of course, Sonia Gandhi may yet manage to cobble together support from splinter parties, but the Congress’ campaign will by no means be smooth-sailing this time round. The move to initiate Priyanka into active party politics seems to be an act of desperation on the part of the Congress. While the party hopes Mrs. Vadra will somehow revive its sagging and shrinking image, it overlooks the fact that her controversial husband Robert is still associated with corruption and amassing ill-gotten wealth. In such a context, Mrs. Vadra might emerge as a burden rather than an asset to the party. If allegations that Priyanka herself has acquired plots in Himachal Pradesh through Virbhadra Singh persist, political adversaries won’t fail to capitalise on the chinks in the party armour. The Congress is looking jaded and the inclusion of Priyanka Vadra is not likely to enhance its image. It needs to understand that the dynastic charisma it so relies on has faded. Finally, to say that Narendra Modi will be less disaster as a prime minister largely because of what happened in Gujarat when the Congress itself was responsible for the 1984 riots, is uncharitable. India, after a very long time, got a top-class economist as its leader and one can only express anger and disappointment that he let things drift. Dr. Singh could have acted firmly and cut any wayward allies to size when scams began to take their toll on the Congress. His having glossed over the scandals is shocking. His views on Modi are something that needs to be taken lightheartedly. Apart from his unexpected aggression towards the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and his own decision not to seek a third term, Dr. Singh’s media conference, possibly his last as Prime Minister, did not reveal anything new or startling. Was the press conference a signal from the Congress that he was just running the clock down and a new leadership will henceforth call the shots?

What Modi said today also should be taken light heartedly, as no one knows what is written in the fate of BJP, there are many new emerging political parties who can play spoiler as they played in Delhi.

Rs 500 crore image makeover for Rahul

By

Mahendra Singh

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January 9, 2014

Narendra Modi will immediately say, “500 crore ki face cream lagayenge”. I do not know how the Congress party thinks. Leaders are born and not made. After Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi was a born leader (inspite of all his idiosyncrasies), Rajiv Gandhi was not a born leader (he was a reluctant leader) and Rahul Gandhi is also not a born leader. He does not need any Japanese company for his image makeover. Japanese themselves are not good political leaders they have become successful on account of their sincerity and good habits. It is a waste of money.

The first thing Rahul has to do is to appear relaxed and carry a smile like his sister Priyanka. Think before you speak and to develop good perception, meet people who have no personal axe to grind. Have an interaction with advisers and involve in discussions. Dilip Kumar never attended an acting school and yet he is the most natural actor. Nargis, Suchitra Sen, Madhubala were simply natural and they are acknowledged leaders of their respective field. So, be yourself and have no inhibitions.

The trouble with the Congress is that it is carrying too much unproductive baggage which should be shed by the party. Do not issue tickets to Ghulam Nabi Azad, Veerappa Moily, Priya Dutt, Sanjay Nirupam ( let him now go to AAP) , Sheila Dixit, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Rita Bahuguna. Instead tickets should be issued to leaders like Jyotiraditya, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and many young, qualified and clean persons. Training must be imparted to them to be as vocal like AAP activists. Look at the manner in which Arvind Kejriwal speaks who possesses the same accent of the Delhi residents. Time has come to develop that art.

In the film Sagina Mahato, Dilip Kumar says, “Aami sagina mahato”, “ Aami jigish kotchi”, how he is instantly appealing to the locals. Look at the manner in which Gabbar Singh speaks the most simple lines effectively, “Ketna innam rakhe hai sarkar…”, “Are ooh Sambha..” in the classic film Sholay. Be natural, honest and straight forward. Simply announcing welfare schemes won’t work. Why Digvijay Singh does not inform you about all these things? Why he only teaches you “politicking”? If you are not willing to learn, no teacher, howsoever experienced can teach you.

You need not react to everything immediately. See how Narendra Modi does not jump up to reply to everything. Why can’t you meet Modi at least once and have an interaction with him which will help you. In the film Moghul-e-Azam, Prithviraj Kapoor goes to meet “Baghi” Salim in his tent despite being prohibited by Raja Maan Singh, but he overrules him, thereby displaying his astounding leadership qualities. That is why he was known as “ Akbar-e-Azam”.

Take steps to reduce fuel consumption

By

Suraj Chandran

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January 9, 2014

Ever since petroleum prices have been deregulated in the year 2010 petrol prices have been revised every fortnight. Thus you might be hearing the news that there has been a rise or fall in fuel price every two weeks. The decision to deregulate petrol prices was done to reduce the losses incurred by oil companies due to mounting oil subsidy. However, consumers had to bear the brunt of rising fuel prices. Since last three years petrol prices have risen by more than 25 rupees.

The rise in petroleum prices have severely impacted the transportation undertakings like BEST and state transport buses. As a result of this, fares of buses and autorickshaws have increased. Even diesel prices have been partially deregulated as its prices are rising by 50 paise every month until the losses incurred by state-owned oil firms are wiped out. Facing an additional burden of about Rs 1,200 crore due to the increased diesel and electricity cost, Railways had revised the passenger and freight tariff, linking it with fuel adjustment component (FAC). The cross-subsidy for passenger service is currently touching Rs 26,000 crore in a year. Rising number of cars too has resulted into the increase of fuel consumption.

Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily had commuted in the metro to work as part of his ministry’s drive to promote fuel conservation and reduce India’s massive oil import bill. All the officials from petroleum ministry and public sector units (PSUs) nationwide will travel by public transport every Wednesday.

Moily walked from his residence at Tughlaq Lane to the Race Course Metro Station, from where he took the train to Central Secretariat station, which exits almost at the doorsteps of the oil ministry housed in Shastri Bhawan.

Through this mega fuel conservation campaign the oil ministry aims to curtail the oil import bill by $5 billion. Other measures include staggered office timings for government employees and encouraging bicycle for short distance travel.

The oil ministry had taken this decision after the fuel import bill soared because of rising international crude oil rates and record depreciation in the value of rupee.

Citizens too can take some initiatives to reduce the consumption of fuel. They can opt for carpooling services where in three to four persons can share a cab for commuting to their work places. If more and more people start using carpooling programmes or organise carpools within their workplaces overall traffic congestion will decrease, which reduces fuel consumption, commute time, and the cost of road repairs. It will also reduce environmental pollution and carbon emission thereby improving air quality. Car pooling reduces commuting stress thereby allowing people to read, relax and converse. Commuters can opt for shared auto services which can reduce several vehicles off the city’s roads. Finally, commuters can opt for public transport like buses, local trains to save fuel.

Congress may finalise 100-150 LS poll candidates by January-end

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

With Rahul Gandhi keen on early declaration of candidates for Lok Sabha elections, Congress is understood to have decided to come out with a list of 150 to 200 nominees by the end of this month.

Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held in April-May and the decision will give at least three months time to the candidates to prepare for the elections.

The exercise of finalizing candidatews will begin immediately after the AICC meeting on January 17, a senior party functionary said.

“The meeting of screening committees to shortlist candidates will begin soon after the AICC meeting and we will be deciding candidates for much more than 100 Lok Sabha seats by the end of January,” the AICC functionary closely associated with the exercise said.

The A K Antony panel entrusted with the task of drawing up an action plan for the party for assembly and Lok Sabha a elections few years ago had recommended that the candidates for the elections should be declared at least a few months ahead of the polls.

Efforts to implement the recommendation were made many times, including in the recent assembly election in Madhya Pradesh. However, it could not be done owing to intense rivalry over ticket distribution in the party as well as some apprehension that this could lead to rebel candidates putting up their candidature and getting time to prepare for elections.

Sources said Gandhi is, however, keen that candidates are given sufficient time to prepare for Lok Sabha elections.

One of the reasons for the defeat of the party in Madhya Pradesh elections this time has also been attributed to quite late declaration of candidates.

Coal blocks allocation: Centre tells SC something went wrong

By

Afternoon Voice

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January 9, 2014

The Centre on Thursday admitted before the Supreme Court that something went wrong with the coal blocks allocation and that it could have been done in a more refined manner.

“We took decision in good faith but something turned out to be wrong,” Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati told a three-judge bench headed by Justice R M Lodha.

“In hindsight, we can say something has gone wrong and some correction is required to be done,” he said, virtually accepting that mistakes were committed by the government in coal blocks allocation.

Vahanvati’s response came after the bench observed that the exercise could have been done in a “far better manner”.

“Everything could have been done in more refined and better manner. I accept my lordships view,” the AG further said.

At the outset of the day’s hearing, the bench asked the AG about the Centre’s stand on deallocation of certain coal blocks.

In response, Vahanvati submitted the government would next week make its stand clear on the issue.

The AG had in September 2013 submitted that coal blocks allocation was merely a letter of intent and does not confer any right to the companies over the natural resource which is decided by the state government.

He had contended that decision of coal blocks allocation to companies is only the first stage and firms get rights over coal only when they start mining for which they have to take various clearances.

The mining states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, however, had earlier told the apex court that coal blocks allocation was “entirely controlled and regulated” by the Centre and they only played a minimal role in the whole exercise.

The court is scrutinising coal blocks allocation since 1993 on three PILs seeking cancellation of blocks on the ground that rules were flouted in giving away the natural resource and that certain companies were favoured in the process.