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TOI : PUNE: With 10,000 licensed moneylenders offering Rs 350-400 crore with interest rates ranging from 12 to 21 per cent and countless private moneylenders disbursing huge loans with interest rates up to 100 per cent, farmers still face the debt traps despite loan waiver and other sops announced by the central and state governments.

According to the state co-operative department figures there are 10,000 licensed moneylenders in the state. It was found that these moneylenders have offered about Rs 350-400 crore loans to farmers. The interest rates are 18 per cent for loan with mortgage and 21 per cent for loan without mortgage. The state government had reduced the rates to 12 and 15 per cent, respectively. “Moneylenders, however, continue to charge the earlier rates. No one dares to complain against ‘savkars’ (moneylenders) as they are all big wigs,” says Pandurang Kakade, a farmer from Haveli in Pune district.

There are 876 licensed moneylenders in Pune district and 1,785 in Pune division. But the state co-operative department officials admit that illegal moneylenders have tightened noose around small farmers. The department has initiated action against 1,150 of such savkars.

Those who illegally lend money in villages are none other than local politicians and big farmers. “They charge exorbitant rates and we keep on repaying interest for year after year,” says Dagdu Salunkhe from Karad. “Once you mortgage farmland, be sure that savkar will gobble it. But we are helpless as no bank gives us loans.”

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently said in the state assembly that the government was contemplating a law forbidding private moneylenders from acquiring land mortgaged by farmers and, if already taken over, requiring them to return such land to the original owners.

“Money and muscle power make savkars brutal. The government should first crack down on politicians who are involved in moneylending,” demands…More

TOI : PUNE: As the number of vehicles rise steadily in the city, so does their theft. And city police records more than prove the claim.

Almost 7-8 vehicles are stolen everyday from private parking areas. Among the stolen vehicles 70 to 80 per cent are two-wheelers and only 10 per cent are four-wheelers.

The numbers continue to rise even though the crime branch has been laying traps at public places to nab the culprits.

Records reveal that motorbikes like Hero Honda Splendour, Bajaj Pulsar and Hero Honda Passion, are among the ‘hot flicks’. “The lock of these two-wheelers can be opened by using any bike key. Also, it is easy to find a buyer for these bikes,” a crime branch official said.

Tavera, Innova and Indica are the four-wheel luxuries that are most preferred. “The number plates of these cars are changed and sold in other states to be used as tourist cars,” the official added.

According to a study conducted by the city crime branch in 2007, under additional commissioner of police Rajender Singh, 60 per cent of vehicular thefts took place at private parking places, like the parking lots in residential buildings or from roads in front of the houses. Moreover, the study identified some 60 to 70 public parking places that were prone to vehicle thefts in the city.

In order to nab culprits, the crime branch had started laying traps September 2006. “The result was that no vehicle theft was reported from that location that specific day,” Singh said, adding. “The traps are laid once a week at 18 public locations, identified as theft-prone. We co-ordinate with the local police station for such operations.”

According to the police, thefts from public parking lots have gone down. However, figures say otherwise. While, almost 2,200 vehicles were stolen in 2005…More

TOI : PUNE: The Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) on Thursday estimated that the state government will lose tax revenue worth Rs 150 crore annually if load-shedding was implemented in Pune.

It may be noted that load-shedding is likely in Pune from April 1, following Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (Merc) March 14 directive asking Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to stop supporting the Pune model of zero load-shedding by drawing power from the state grid.

The model came into existence from June 2006 when about 30 members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) started using their captive power plants (CPP) to generate and consume about 80 MW power to keep Pune free from load-shedding. However since then Pune’s demand for power and the shortfall increased and the model needed grid support to keep it running.

A statement released here on Thursday by Anant Sardeshmukh, additional director general MCCIA said that MCCIA was looking for long-term solutions to power problems in urban areas like Pune, Thane and Navi Mumbai. “The Pune model, based on captive power in the city, was and is temporary and could not be sustained even on medium-term basis,” Sardeshmukh stated.

He said that as per current indicators, the supply constraints will become more and more stringent in the coming years and relief is expected only after 2013. The statement further stated that as MSEDCL was deemed license for the entire state, excluding Mumbai, there were legal problems in supplying uninterrupted power to cities like Pune even when they were ready to pay additional cost under reliability charge.

“The only legal and fast way is to separate the urban circles and treating them as separate license. In fact MCCIA has filed a petition requesting to delimit the area under MSEDCL. Initially circles that have brought down transmission and distribution…More

TOI : PUNE: The demand for high-end cars in Pune came as a pleasant surprise for Benoit Tiers, managing director of Audi India, recently. During his visit to the city, he had estimated the sales for the Audi TT sports car, which costs Rs 52 lakh, at around 10-13 cars a year. But when the company received immediate inquiries from five potential customers from Pune alone, it was forced to revise its sales target for India.

From being known as a city of bicycles to becoming a market for high-end cars, Pune obviously does not seem to be content with just the tag of being the Detroit of the East. As the city’s association with auto manufacturers becomes stronger, it is also becoming a good market for auto majors who have set up manufacturing plants in and around Pune.

As many as 120 high-end cars can be sold in Pune in a year, says Audi dealer Kapil Pashankar. “Due to the high price and relatively few buyers, financiers also keep an eye on this segment,” he points out. “Besides nationalised banks and financial institutions, major private banks are eager to finance customers for luxury vehicles.”

“It’s always easy to sell high-end cars as the customer comes armed with complete information about the model he wants,” says Pashankar. “Before going in for such cars, the customer has already tested other segments. He has the global perspective and updated information and hence decides about the brand and model before approaching the dealer.” Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: The Pune rural police raided Kapila Resort on the Pune-Ahmednagar road in the early hours of Friday and arrested five persons for illegally organising a party and playing music beyond the prescribed time limit.

The police had received a tip-off that a rave party was being held at the resort. However, they did not find any drugs with anyone at the venue.

The five arrested have been identified as Mathew Alexander of Kondhwa, Ares Monahari of Mumbai, Rahul Vanjari of Kondhwa, Javed Khan of Lullanagar and Manish Dhole-Patil of Koregaon Park. However, the sixth suspect, Ramesh Dhole-Patil, fled.

Superintendent of police (Pune rural) Vishwas Nangre-Patil led the raid on the resort with a team of 50 policemen, including deputy superintendent of police Ravindrasinh Pardeshi of the Haveli police division and inspectors Ravindra Rasal and Bhausaheb Andhalkar.

The police arrived at the resort at around 3 am and found 150 people consuming alcohol at a party near the swimming pool. The revellers, who comprised mostly of couples and children, were taken into custody but later released after they were found not to be possessing drugs or narcotic substances. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: Faced with several constraints, such as inadequate funds and lack of trained manpower, the department of forests in the state, which plays an important role in preserving the environment, is in dire need of government attention. The department also wants to make use of advanced technology, such as the geographical information system (GIS), to determine the growth of forest cover.

Speaking to TOI on the occasion of world forest day, officials of the department said if anyone wanted an example of how the department is neglected, one should verify for themselves if there is any mention of budgetary allocation to the forest department in the state budget.

“The importance of the department should be recognised and priorities should be accorded. But, this is not happening,” said a senior official.

The forest department protects the forests and sanctuaries in the state, but currently it lacks funds and trained manpower. Print Save EMail Write to Editor Get personalised news s…More

TOI : PUNE: With 10,000 licensed moneylenders offering Rs 350-400 crore with interest rates ranging from 12 to 21 per cent and countless private moneylenders disbursing huge loans with interest rates up to 100 per cent, farmers still face the debt traps despite loan waiver and other sops announced by the central and state governments.

According to the state co-operative department figures there are 10,000 licensed moneylenders in the state. It was found that these moneylenders have offered about Rs 350-400 crore loans to farmers. The interest rates are 18 per cent for loan with mortgage and 21 per cent for loan without mortgage. The state government had reduced the rates to 12 and 15 per cent, respectively. “Moneylenders, however, continue to charge the earlier rates. No one dares to complain against ‘savkars’ (moneylenders) as they are all big wigs,” says Pandurang Kakade, a farmer from Haveli in Pune district.

There are 876 licensed moneylenders in Pune district and 1,785 in Pune division. But the state co-operative department officials admit that illegal moneylenders have tightened noose around small farmers. The department has initiated action against 1,150 of such savkars.

Those who illegally lend money in villages are none other than local politicians and big farmers. “They charge exorbitant rates and we keep on repaying interest for year after year,” says Dagdu Salunkhe from Karad. “Once you mortgage farmland, be sure that savkar will gobble it. But we are helpless as no bank gives us loans.”

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently said in the state assembly that the government was contemplating a law forbidding private moneylenders from acquiring land mortgaged by farmers and, if already taken over, requiring them to return such land to the original owners.

“Money and muscle power make savkars brutal. The government should first crack down on politicians who are involved in moneylending,” demands…More

TOI : PUNE: With 10,000 licensed moneylenders offering Rs 350-400 crore with interest rates ranging from 12 to 21 per cent and countless private moneylenders disbursing huge loans with interest rates up to 100 per cent, farmers still face the debt traps despite loan waiver and other sops announced by the central and state governments.

According to the state co-operative department figures there are 10,000 licensed moneylenders in the state. It was found that these moneylenders have offered about Rs 350-400 crore loans to farmers. The interest rates are 18 per cent for loan with mortgage and 21 per cent for loan without mortgage. The state government had reduced the rates to 12 and 15 per cent, respectively. “Moneylenders, however, continue to charge the earlier rates. No one dares to complain against ‘savkars’ (moneylenders) as they are all big wigs,” says Pandurang Kakade, a farmer from Haveli in Pune district.

There are 876 licensed moneylenders in Pune district and 1,785 in Pune division. But the state co-operative department officials admit that illegal moneylenders have tightened noose around small farmers. The department has initiated action against 1,150 of such savkars.

Those who illegally lend money in villages are none other than local politicians and big farmers. “They charge exorbitant rates and we keep on repaying interest for year after year,” says Dagdu Salunkhe from Karad. “Once you mortgage farmland, be sure that savkar will gobble it. But we are helpless as no bank gives us loans.”

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently said in the state assembly that the government was contemplating a law forbidding private moneylenders from acquiring land mortgaged by farmers and, if already taken over, requiring them to return such land to the original owners.

“Money and muscle power make savkars brutal. The government should first crack down on politicians who are involved in moneylending,” demands…More

TOI : PUNE: With 10,000 licensed moneylenders offering Rs 350-400 crore with interest rates ranging from 12 to 21 per cent and countless private moneylenders disbursing huge loans with interest rates up to 100 per cent, farmers still face the debt traps despite loan waiver and other sops announced by the central and state governments.

According to the state co-operative department figures there are 10,000 licensed moneylenders in the state. It was found that these moneylenders have offered about Rs 350-400 crore loans to farmers. The interest rates are 18 per cent for loan with mortgage and 21 per cent for loan without mortgage. The state government had reduced the rates to 12 and 15 per cent, respectively. “Moneylenders, however, continue to charge the earlier rates. No one dares to complain against ‘savkars’ (moneylenders) as they are all big wigs,” says Pandurang Kakade, a farmer from Haveli in Pune district.

There are 876 licensed moneylenders in Pune district and 1,785 in Pune division. But the state co-operative department officials admit that illegal moneylenders have tightened noose around small farmers. The department has initiated action against 1,150 of such savkars.

Those who illegally lend money in villages are none other than local politicians and big farmers. “They charge exorbitant rates and we keep on repaying interest for year after year,” says Dagdu Salunkhe from Karad. “Once you mortgage farmland, be sure that savkar will gobble it. But we are helpless as no bank gives us loans.”

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently said in the state assembly that the government was contemplating a law forbidding private moneylenders from acquiring land mortgaged by farmers and, if already taken over, requiring them to return such land to the original owners.

“Money and muscle power make savkars brutal. The government should first crack down on politicians who are involved in moneylending,” demands…More