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TOI : PUNE: District guardian minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday urged the Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC) to take strict action against those involved in constructing illegal structures, irrespective of their reputations.

Pawar was addressing the corporators after inaugurating the new general body meeting hall of the PCMC. Pawar, however, refrained from directly mentioning some PCMC corporators whose illegal structures were notified and the civic general body’s decision to keep pending for a year the decision to grant permission to the municipal commissioner to refer the subject of illegal constructions of corporators to the high court.

Pawar said that he will organise a meeting with the chief minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday to discuss various pending problems concerning the PCMC. He expressed displeasure on frequent adjournments of general body meetings saying that the PCMC has the dubious distinction of having maximum number of adjournments in the state. He directed the corporators to hold discussions on the subjects listed in the agenda of the general body meeting and not to adjourn the meetings for minor reasons as it resulted in loss of public money.

He advised the corporators not to approve too many sub-proposals along with the main proposals and said that the expenditure on projects suggested through sub-proposals should not be more than that of the original project.

Computer scientist Vijay Bhatkar inaugurated various softwares developed by the PCMC as part of its e-governance obligations under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) norms.

Ashish Sharma, municipal commissioner, spoke about the facilities created due to expansion of the main office building of the PCMC. He also spoke about the various softwares developed by the civic body.

Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Aparna Doke, corporators, members of various civic committees and civic officials were present at the inauguration. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Thousands of people living in dilapidated wadas in the city will now be able to get permission to repair their dwellings within 48 hours with immediate effect.

Permission for repairs of wadas within a 100 metre area of historic Shaniwarwada will be permitted from next week.

State Urban Development Department (UDD) principal secretary T C Benjamin called a meeting of elected representatives and officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation on Saturday in Pune to discuss the problems faced by residents of old wadas.

The state government has asked the PMC to issue wada repair permission within 48 hours after the tenant seeks the same to repair the wada. Many wadas in the city have became dangerous places to live in but repairs have not always been possible because of technical issues. Court cases are pending regarding ownership of a majority of the wadas. If a tenant wanted to repair the wada, it was necessary for him to get a no-objection certificate from the owner, who would refuse to give it.

“Thousands of people were living in the shadow of death. The fear of collapse is always looming large, especially during the monsoon, said BJP MLA Girish Bapat, speaking to reporters after the meeting. Now the state government has said that tenants can seek repair permission and the civic body should issue it within 48 hours,” he said. However, Bapat added that the state government has strictly prohibited extension of the existing wadas.

Bapat said that the state government had promised that wada repair permission within a 100 m area of Shaniwarwada would be issued next week. Earlier, no permission would be allowed as the archaeological department had banned any such activity. “During the repairs of these wadas, the original structure should be maintained and no addition should be made,” said Bapat.

As per the PMC’s records,…More

TOI : PUNE: The Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) and the Indian Consortium for Educational Transformation (I-Consent) will nurture the 35 students who qualified the Maharashtra Science Olympiad Scholars 2008 till their graduation.

These students will be given the opportunity to develop and nurture their spirit of research through regular camps, said MKCL managing director Vivek Sawant here on Saturday.

Sawant was speaking during the felicitation ceremony organised for the 35 students who had excelled in the Nurturing Excellence and Talent (NET) programme started in 2007, under the Maharashtra Science Olympiad Abhiyaan, to help tap talent in students studying in standards VII to X from rural and urban areas. The ceremony was held at the Inter University Campus for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

He said the students’ growth and progress would be monitored right up to the time that they obtained their graduation degrees. “At this point, we will give deserving students the opportunity to pursue fundamental research by offering them salaries higher than those offered by top-notch companies.”

The MKCL also wants to prepare at least five talented scientists every year, so that in the next 20 years, India would have roughly 100 exceptional scientists said Sawant. “Just as China took up its fitness movement to the point of the Beijing Olympics, India should similarly encourage scientist talent to its utmost.”

Meanwhile, the 35 students were felicitated by noted scientist Govind Swarup, in the presence of educationist Ram Takawale, who is also the chairman of I-Consent.

Sawant also announced that these students would be given DVDs with information on how to explore and experiment with science and related concepts. He said it was important to tap young talent in the field of science from every corner of the country, instead of just focusing on big cities. “The team behind the Chandrayaan launch consisted of scientists who had studied in regional colleges,” he said. He added…More

TOI : PUNE: A day after deputy commissioner of police (zone III) Mahesh Patil ordered an inquiry to probe into an incident of firing of several rounds of bullets in the air at the birthday party of a corporator in Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Pimpri police on Saturday registered a complaint against unknown persons in this regard.

Speaking to TOI, Patil said the employees of Panchasheel hotel in Chinchwad, whose statements were recorded by the police during the inquiry, have confirmed that the incident of firing had indeed taken place at the party.

According to the DCP, the witnesses have not identified any one person responsible for the incident, because there were a large number of customers in the hotel at the time.

“The police are trying to find eye witnesses, who will be able to identify the people responsible for the incident,” he said.

Sub-inspector B D Nalawade has registered a complaint against unknown persons for allegedly committing an act endangering the life or personal safety of others under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint said that about 10 to 12 unknown people had come to the Panchasheel hotel to have dinner late on Wednesday night. After having dinner, someone from the group fired four rounds from a revolver in the air in the open space of the hotel at 2.30 am on Thursday morning, the complaint further said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The College of Military Training’s (CME) reunion for the 11th Engineer Officers Degree (EOD) Course to celebrate the golden jubilee of the batch’s passing out from the institute will conclude on Sunday.

The three-day event began on June 19 and was attended by the retired officers and their families. The 11 EOD course named as Legs’ comprised 31 officers out of which 21 attended the reunion.

The officers were welcomed by CME Commandant Lt Gen U S P Sinha on the second day of the stay at the institute. While giving a brief profile of the 11th Course, the Commandant said the Course has done its alma mater proud by producing 11 Generals and Brigadiers as well as being decorated with 15 medal. The Course also had the unique distinction of producing the chief minister of Uttarakhand, Maj Gen B C Khanduri, AVSM (retd), he said.

As the retired officers took a trip around the institute during the CME Darshan’ they remembered their younger days on the campus, spent either as learners or as instructors. Sharing an anecdote, Col P P Rewari said, “Once I drew a chicken laying eggs on the blackboard not knowing that our instructor was right behind me.”

A special issue of the college weekly magazine was released by Lt Gen B T Pandit (retd). A display of the various circuits used by Indian adversaries to make bombs and the equipment used by the armed forces to dispose them off was put up in the Faculty of Combat Engineering. A slide show showing the past and the present CME was arranged for the guests. A visit to the archives and the museum was also a part of the CME Darshan. The reunion programme will end on June 21. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: City-based Prayas energy group has submitted various objections against the 36.6 per cent tariff hike proposed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (Merc).

The empanelled consumer representative has said incorrect accounting of revenue, reducing the distribution loss reduction target from 4 per cent to one against the Merc directive, projecting less power purchase from Maharashtra power generation company and more from traders at an exorbitant rate of Rs 9 per unit and indiscriminate increase in capital expenditure and operations and maintenance cost have grossly inflated the power tariff hike proposed by MSEDCL.

A public hearing on this proposal will be held in Pune on June 29.

In its submission, Prayas has pointed out that MSEDCL has claimed a revenue gap of Rs 9,578 crore, but detailed study of the MSEDCL proposal revealed that the actual gap was just Rs 2,435 crore. “This implies a tariff increase of 9.30 per cent and not 36.6 per cent as claimed by MSEDCL,” Prayas stated, pointing out that the hike was inflated by almost four times.

Prayas has said that several claims made by MSEDCL in the tariff proposal were “unjustified and inappropriate, if not preposterous”. “The commission should take serious measures to discourage MSEDCL from making such inflated projections and creating panic among consumers,” the submission stated.

Highlighting the mistakes in the proposal, Prayas said that while calculating true-up requirement for fiscal 2008-09, the MSEDCL has conveniently ignored revenue surplus of Rs 470 crore in 2001-02 and Rs 241 crore in 2006-07 which was considered by Merc in the provisional true-up for 2008-09. “This error itself leads to inflating tariff increase requirement by Rs 690 crore!” Prayas stated.

The energy group pointed out that MSEDCL should be asked to adhere to the distribution loss reduction target of 4 per cent fixed by Merc for 2009-10. “The…More

TOI : PUNE: The internet has given musicians of all genres the opportunity to work independently of record labels and its potential as a means of communication and networking must be exploited in order to promote Indian musical forms, said vocalist Shubha Mudgal on Saturday.

To this end, her company Underscore Records, will hold a seminar called Sangeet Aapka Sangati Internet Ki’ from 10 am to 1 pm on June 21 at hotel Sun n’ Sand.

The event, the first in a series of seminars, workshops and conferences to be held by Underscore Records over the next three years, aims to promote cultural pluralism in India through music and is supported by the Ford foundation.

Also present on the occasion was noted tabla player Aneesh Pradhan, also Mudgal’s husband, who said: “This is a campaign to empower the vivid forms of Indian music as the music industry provides little or no support to many of its genres.”

Mudgal added: “For instance, qawwali may be a much-loved musical form but it is difficult to procure a recording in a music store. Similarly, there are various genres, including folk music, kirtans, natya geet and ghazals that are increasingly being hidden from today’s audiences. This is where the internet can help. For, the musician can directly upload and sell his music through a variety of programmes, without a middleman.”

The seminar will be conducted by Parimala Inamdar, an expert in educational technology design and research, who currently holds the post of assistant professor and head, design lab, Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems, NIIT.

Inamdar added that it was only a matter of time before the musicians adapted the technology to their requirements and reached out to music-lovers.

The seminar will focus on four areas: first, how the net can be used as a means of communication via email, various instant messenger services and social networking sites;…More

TOI : PUNE: The announcement of a 20 per cent water cut is likely to hit citizens hard, but the civic administration is ready to go ahead with its plan to curb water wastage by introducing a metered water system on a pilot basis.

The civic water department has framed a proposal to introduce the system on a pilot basis in select areas to keep a check on unscrupulous use of water and ensure.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) water department head Pramod Nirbhavne said that the metered water system seemed a solution to all water distribution problems and would be extended to other parts of the city only when its usefulness is proved. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has kept mum about revenue of around Rs 290 crore earned from the zero load-shedding model in Pune, Navi Mumbai and Vashi in the tariff proposal submitted to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Merc), that will come up for public hearing in Pune on June 29.

Although it has omitted the Rs 290 crore revenue, the MSEDCL has, however, not forgotten to claim extra money for purchasing “costly power” for the zero load-shedding model, Shantanu Dixit, a member of Prayas energy group, said. He pointed out that consumers in Pune, Navi Mumbai and Thane have been paying a reliability charge over and above the tariff to cover the cost of buying costly power.

The revised zero load-shedding model has been in place since April 2008 and it was agreed that the cost of 325 MW of extra power needed will be paid by the beneficiaries the consumers. This charge on the consumers is known as reliability charge.

“If we calculate the number of units on which the reliability charge is levied, we can estimate the income to be Rs 290 crore for the financial year 2008-2009,” Dixit said, adding that the zero load-shedding model was also being implemented in Baramati.

He said that the reliability charge is 48 paise per unit for Pune, 43 paise for Thane and 35 paise for Navi Mumbai and Vashi. The reliability charge was charged on 4,200 million units (MU) in Pune, 1,550 MU in Thane and 581 MU in Navi Mumbai and Vashi.

Sajag Nagrik Manch founder Vivek Velankar has demanded an inquiry in the matter. “If the income from the zero load-shedding model is not shown, then the total income of the MSEDCL looks less. It helps in demanding a further increase in the tariff,” Velankar said. Print Emai…More

TOI : PUNE: Shrinking open spaces and the need to preserve recreation places for children in the city has resulted in the birth of the Balbhavan movement, thanks to the untiring efforts of its founder, Shobha Bhagwat.

Balbhavan is a recreational centre for children in Pune set up by Bhagwat, popularly known as Shobhatai. The aim is to provide children between the ages of 3 and 12 with joyous moments they don’t find at school or home due to lack of space, among other reasons. “We have been quite successful in fulfilling our aim. More than 500 students come to our ground near Sarasbaug. And we now have almost 100 such centres across Pune,” says Bhagwat.

The Garware Balbhavan was formally opened on September 1, 1985, although the process began in 1979. “It was the brainchild of P S Palande, former municipal commissioner, who wanted to make Pune a children-friendly city and communicated the idea to Abasaheb Garware, a city-based industrialist,” says Bhagwat. Garware got interested in the idea and got land from the civic body to build the centre.

Recalling how she became associated with the Balbhavan, Bhagwat says, “I had written a book on parenting called Apli Mule’ which Garware had read. When he started the Balbhavan, he got in touch with me and I was more than happy to take on the responsibility.

“We started with 1.5 acres of land given to us by the corporation. The infrastructure, which consists of a 4,000 sq ft hall, was built by the Garware Trust. Even today, it is run by the trust in collaboration with the corporation,” she adds.

At Balbhavan, learning is imparted through recreational activities like camps, exhibitions, picnics, theatre and various competitions like dance and music. It also has eco-clubs and literary societies for the young minds. Nature walks and festivals make the children conscious of their surroundings and keep them anchored…More