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indianexpress: A day after declaring the establishment of the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) within three months on the floor of the State Assembly, Minister of State for Urban Development Rajesh Tope told Pune Newsline on Saturday that the only obstacle in the way of setting up the body was clearance from the law and judiciary department.

“The State government assures Puneites that there will be no more dilly-dallying in this regard and after three months the PMRDA will come into existence. This time the state government has announced the deadline of three months after assessing the ground realities. I am 100 per cent confident that PMRDA will become a reality in three months,” said Tope.

Following the announcement by minister in the State Assembly Pune Divisional Commissioner Nitin Kareer said he would be sending a letter to the Urban Development Secretary to find out “what needs to be done from our side.” Earlier, a committee formed under the chairmanship of the former divisional commissioner and the commissioners of both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations had sent a report underlining the parameters for setting up the development authority.

“The plan is to emphasise on infrastructure followed by development rather than development-led infrastructure,” said Kareer.

indianexpress: With monthly rents ranging from Rs 3 to less than Rs 100, it is no surprise that owners of scores of wadas across Pune are not enthused about extending the tenancies as they would rather keep these centrally located quaint living spaces under lock and key. But those unfortunate owners of these dilapidated structures who have been embroiled in legal battles to evict their tenants have been lukewarm in their response to the proposal of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to rehabilitate the residents to make way for infrastructure development projects.

The PMC has offered either the owners or tenants, depending on the agreement reached between the two, 225 sq ft of accommodation area in the heart of the city in return. Owners though prefer financial compensation.

Vilas Karpe, a wada owner, says he is certain to lose out because his 90-year-old property in Rasta Peth that he jointly owns with his kin. “The 225 sq ft area would be of no use if split into six, since any compensation will have to be equally shared between us,” says Karpe.

Seventy five-year-old Yashwant Ganu, owner of Pavagi wada in Shaniwar Peth, says the proposal has finally raised hopes of resolving his long-pending legal wrangle with tenants that impeded development activities for 13 years. He however believes there is only one way to compensate both parties. “The PMC should ensure rehabilitation of the tenants and pay me for the land,” says Ganu.

A J Joshi, who owns a wada in Sadashiv Peth, prefers cash to kind, considering that he made very little by renting out his 233-year-old Joshi wada that once housed freedom fighter Vasudeo Balwant Phadke. “Tenants pay just three to four rupees as rent. So it doesn’t make financial sense for us to hold on to our property,” he says.

indianexpress:  City-based Autoline Industries Limited (AIL) recently acquired Detroit Engineered Products (DEP) as the DEP-AIL group announced the global launch of its software Meshworks Morpher 4.0 in Pune on Friday.

AIL chairman Gopal Patwardhan said the software would enable global manufacturers to bring more products to the market faster and with competitive pricing.

According to a press note released by the company, Meshworks Morpher 4.0 will enable the customer to rapidly generate a newer design by being able to morph the existing model to a target new design.

“This process of morphing a design avoids recreation of the design from scratch, thereby saving the manufacturer tremendous amount of time,” it said.

The software is expected to enable its customers in different sectors like automotive, aerospace, bio-medical and consumer durables to meet the global standards.

indianexpress: A team of specialist doctors from Sassoon General Hospital that had gone to conduct a medical examination of Sanjay Dutt on Saturday returned without examining the actor owing to a huge crowd outside the Yerawada Central Prison. Sassoon Hospital Superintendent Dr PS Pawar said Dutt’s condition was stable.

“We had received a letter by the Jail superintendent on Friday requesting us to carry out a medical examination of the Mumbai blast convicts including Dutt. Accordingly, we arranged for a team of doctors that went sent to Yerawada jail but could not enter the jail owing to the presence of a huge crowd. The medical examination has been postponed and would be carried out later. We will wait for further instructions from the jail authorities. Dutt’s blood pressure is normal and right now there is no need for any medical examination,” Pawar said.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Prisons SC Mathur, while talking to reporters, dismissed media reports on Dutt’s medical condition saying they were exaggerations and had no basis. The DIG was annoyed with the speculative stories by the media and reiterated that Dutt was being given the same treatment as to other inmates in jail.

“Some news channels have been flashing news that is not true about the health of Sanjay Dutt. We are treating Dutt like other convicts in the prison. Due care is being taken and all problems are being attended to. Our doctors take enough care of the convicts and there is no cause of worry,” Mathur said.

Dutt’s private secretary, identified as Kaleem, came to meet the actor around 12.30 pm. He made a hurried exit, avoiding mediapersons.

indianexpress: The National Cadet Corps (NCC) students from across the state were engaged in a rather ‘different’ field activity on Saturday.

They were found on stage talking about the First War of Indian Independence in 1857 and the role of Maharashtra, as NCC commemorated 150 years of the historic event.
 
Fourteen speakers from all seven groups of the NCC directorate spoke at the BMCC auditorium. Addressing the meet, Brig R C Shard, NCC Maharashtra’s deputy director general, focused on the importance of understanding the meaning and values of freedom. “It is upon you to safeguard our freedom,” he told the students who came come from all over the state.

Col Arthur Samuel, group commander, NCC Pune, said the Pune group was declared champions of the inaugural inter-directorate elocution competition, with cadet Kritika Patil coming first among girls and cadet R Dey coming second among the boys.

The NCC also arranged poster competitions, rallies and social welfare programmes to mark the occasion.

The event will culminate in a cultural programme in Mumbai on August 11.

indianexpress: Farmers, scientists and workers are getting together to form the Maharashtra State lime growers’ research and training association on August 11.

The function will be held at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture (MCCIA) premises on Tilak Road. Around 200 people are likely to join the association.

“The association will impart knowledge for the production, processing and marketing of the crop,” said Appasaheb Bhujbal, chief promoter and president of the association, at a press conference on Friday.

Bhujbal added that a representative from each lime growing area in the State — Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Sangli, Beed, Buldana, Akola, Amravati, Usmanabad, Latur and Washim — would be selected to represent the district in the association.

As part of the launch, a day-long seminar on ‘Kagzi lime quality production and processing technology’ will be held. Union Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay and Joint Secretary of Horticulture SK Patnaik are expected to be present.

Bhujbal said that farmers would get strategic advice on how to make lime production profitable. They would be encouraged to use a plant hormone spray called CCC for increasing the yield by 50 per cent. He said the spray had been approved by Rahuri Agricultural University.

indianexpress: Daimlerchrysler and ICICI Bank have announced the nationwide launch of a retail finance scheme for customers buying Mercedes-Benz on Friday.

Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and CEO of DaimlerChrysler India, said this scheme opened up the opportunity for a wider audience to own a Mercedes-Benz.

“One can drive away the C-Class with an Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) of Rs 29,999. The monthly outflow is more affordable than ever before, and has been designed keeping in mind the young and ambitious entrepreneurs and professionals who aspire the Benz,” said Aulbur.

He also said the scheme called Star Choice is being rolled-out across all Mercedes-Benz dealerships in India immediately.

“In the scheme, the customers have two options — they can either be financed at 9.99 per cent interest rate or with very low down payment,” said Rajiv Sabarwal, senior general manager and head, Retail assets of ICICI Bank.