The Brave Pedestrian

28 March 2016: An activist friend named Abbaas Naqvi (9892000098) wrote in October 2012 about BMC's modus operandi of defending illegal constructions. Abbaas wrote from his experiences in Malad P-North Ward of BMC/MCGM, where he and other activists (such as Shahnawaz Shaikh 9867768070) were trying to get municipal officials to take action against illegal constructions (especially TV studios) sprouting in the area. Activists are fighting an uphill battle against BMC officials who take undue advantage of their official position. People are losing hope because authorities take no action against errant officials, even when written complaints and evidences are submitted. Civic officials are defeating the town planning by abetting illegal constructions violating Development Control Regulations. No-Development zones are goldmines for officers dealing with unauthorized construction. Below, I am reproducing Abbaas‘ writings. As I am convinced that this is largely factual, I take full ...

23 March 2016, Mumbai: While browsing through my old emails, I found the following letter drafted by some of my fellow activists to the powers-that-be a few years back, when Prithviraj Chavan was Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Sitaram Kunte was the Municipal Commissioner. Methinks this letter is as relevant today as when it was written, back in December 2013. Activist friends like Abbaas Rizvi, who have been working to thwart the encroachment mafias in Mumbai, tell me that the issues that this letter points out are still as bad as ever. And so, I am reproducing this letter here for everyone to read, and hopefully to copy-paste onto their own letterhead, sign and send to the Chief Minister and our civic bosses.    To Hon’ble Chief   Minister of Maharashtra,   Mantralaya   Chief Secretary of Maharashtra,   Mantralaya   Principal Secretary-I, Urban Development Dept   Municipal Commissioner, BMC Head Office, Mahapalika Marg. ...

Mumbai, 5th March, 2016: Last week, one of RNA builders' thousands of cheated flat-purchasers sent the builder a legal ultimatum, and started taking steps for going to court after discovering that their promised 17th floor flat in RNA Regal, a project in Kandivali West, is the proverbial pie-in-the-sky! In February 2011, Sandeep Kothari and Apeksha Khabiya, a non-resident couple based in Doha-Qatar, booked a spacious 17th floor flat in RNA Regal, based on the builder's promise that they would get possession within three years. The couple planned to return to India to live in this spacious 1365 sq. ft. dream house. After paying nearly Rs 30 lakhs up front as initial booking amount, the couple was kept in the dark by RNA Corp which fed them a steady diet of outright lies during the three-year waiting period. Every time the couple phoned RNA Corp, they were informed that the project was making satisfactory progress. In the end, the couple's rude awakening consisted of not on...