Pigs Are Making A Comeback!

B.V. Shenoy, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, writes

For more than a year, pigs had all but disappeared. I do not know if this was true for all of Mysore, but at least in Yadavagiri, there were very few, if any, on the streets. But now they seem to be making a comeback. Groups of 10-15 pigs are becoming common. Unless MCC takes immediate action and nips this problem in the bud itself, we will be soon having thousands of pigs roaming the streets posing a serious public health hazard.

Clear Thinking Is Required On The Bus Stand Problem

J.L.Nagaraj Urs, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, writes


It is reported in the media that a massive sum has been given under the JNNURM scheme to build a new bus stand in Mysore City. How this money can be put to good use is being discussed in the papers. But when one sees statements issued by responsible officials, serious doubts arise whether the money will be well-spent.

Based on grounds of cleanliness, beauty and safety, earlier administrators with great foresight had taken steps to ensure that no buildings came up within 50-75 m of the Mysore Palace. As years rolled by, this foresight was forgotten and buildings started cropping up one by one in this area, destroying cleanliness, beauty and safety. The present bus stand is one such building. It would be good to remove it.

There is a serious case pending before the High Court about the Palace property, including this land. When there is a non-trivial case pending before the courts, it is not a sign of wisdom to continue having a bus stand there or rebuild it there.

Also the Mysore Palace has been declared a heritage monument and it is doubtful if building a new bus stand here is legally permitted. It may be remembered that to celebrate the centenary of Banumaiah Educational Institutions a few years ago, a magnificent building was proposed on their land just to the west of the Palace, but MCC refused permission citing heritage protection.

Transferring the bus stand to People's Park is also problematic. When MCC proposed to build a Public Library in People' Park a few years ago, Mysore Grahakara Parishat filed a writ petition before the High Court citing the law which prohibits any such construction in a land declared as park land. MCC withdrew its proposal and so the writ became infructuous. But is is still alive and in this situation, attempting to build another building in this area is an open invitation to contempt of court. Again it is not a sign of wisdom.

Officials have said that public opinion will be collected on the best location for the bus stand. But the public surely lack the experience and farsightedness required for such a decision. In fact, such experience and farsightedness is most probably lacking even among MCC officials. Identifying questions such as how much will Mysore grow in the next 40-50 years, what will be the requirements at that time, what is the best way to fulfill those requirements, what are the the pros and cons of locating the bus stand in various places,etc. and coming to a good decision after analyzing them is a job which requires the vision and farsightedness of a Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar or M. Vishweshwariah. It can not be done by ordinary people.

In the debate on the bus stand, the concerned officials seem to have ignored some points. It is certain that traffic congestion will become unbearable if we have just one central bus stsnad for a city as big as Mysore. Therefore, instead of a single central bus stand, it may be better to have a few mini bus-stands in various localities, especially in the outer parts. The public will benefit from such a system and excessive traffic congestion will also be avoided.

OBITUARY

Mr. S. Ramakrishna, an active member (and Executive Committee member from 1995 to 2001) of Mysore Grahakara Parishat passed away on 19-1-2009. He was 77.

Sri Ramakrishna had great interest in roads and traffic. He served as both member and chairman of the MGP subcommittee on traffic. He also served on the roads subcommittee of the Mysore Agenda Task Force. He was also the Chief Traffic Warden of Mysore. He had raised donations worth nearly one crore rupees from industries in Mysore towards providing road signs, dividers, cat's eyes, reflectors, etc. and to plant trees along the entire length of the ring road.

Sri Ramakrishna also served in various service organizations of Mysore such as Lions Club, Chamundi Children's Home, Accident Victims Relief Fund and Sri Ramabhyudaya Sabha Charitable Trust.

Apartments: An Interesting Supreme Court Ruling

P.M.Bhat, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, writes,

Mysore is fast becoming a city of apartment buildings. In fact this is true of most cities in the country. Horizontal growth of cities is not keeping pace with the rapidly increasing urban population and this has given a fillip to apartment construction.

The vast majority of these apartments are built on sites meant for houses. The site owner makes an agreement ("collaboration" or "joint venture" agreement) with the builder under which the land is handed over to the builder and the site owner gets a certain number of finished apartments in return. If the builder does not keep his end of the agreement, can the site owner sue him for deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act? As a corollary, if a third party buys a defective apartment, can he sue both the builder and the site owner for deficiency in service? In a recent judgment (III (2008) CPJ 48 (SC)), the Supreme Court has answered these questions and ruled that the builder is completely responsible for such deficiency in service.

The case under consideration had gone through the District Consumer Forum, the State Consumer Commission and the National Consumer Commission. All these courts had concluded that since it was a joint venture, the builder and the site owner were on equal footing. So the site owner can not sue the builder for deficiency in service and in corollary, when a third party sues for service deficiency, both the builder and the site owner are liable. But the Supreme Court overturned these judgments. It said that the agreement may have been called a collaboration or joint venture, but in reality, there are no provisions for shared control of interest and shared liability for losses. It said that a true joint venture "requires a community of interest in the performance of the subject matter, a right to direct and govern the policy in connection therewith, and duty, which may be altered by agreement, to share both in profit and losses". Thus joint ventures are essentially partnerships. But in the so called joint ventures of site owners and builders, the site owner gets a certain number of finished apartments in exchange for his site, but he has no control or participation in the management of the venture. The Supremem Court declared that such an agreement, even though it may be called a joint venture by the signees, is not a joint venture as understood in law. So if there is any deficiency in construction, the site owner can sue the builder under the Consumer Protection Act, for deficiency in service. As a corollary, a third party who buys an apartment can sue only the builder for deficiency in service.

Thank You, MCC, But....

The water main which takes water from the Yadavagiri High Level Reservoir to Bannimantap was leaking badly at the intersection of Vivekananda Road and 3rd Cross, Yadavagiri. Repeated complaints to MCC produced no results. When our letter on this problem appeared in the media, action was immediate. We thank MCC for its action, but this matter raises some worrying questions.

1. Why is it that MCC does not take action on such problems on its own? These problems are not occurring in some remote corner. They are in plain sight of thousands of people, some of whom are bound to be MCC employees. Can they not get the problem fixed by their colleagues? Do they not feel that it is their city and their problem? Why do they not take any action unless some citizen brings it to their attention?

2. Elder citizens of Mysore who lived during the reign of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar recount stories about how officials (and even the king himself) regularly toured the city identifying civic problems and rectifying them immediately. Does anyone in MCC do this?

3. Why is it that complaints by citizens either oral or in writing produce so little result? It was only when our complaint was published in newspapers that action was taken.

4. The leak has been repaired now, but what about the mound of road debris about two feet high that has been left in the middle of the road posing danger to traffic? See Photo2 in Attachment. This seems to be a common feature of MCC work. About 200 feet from this spot is a repaired manhole. The debris from that work has been blocking half of busy Vivekananda Road for more than two weeks now. Is debris clearance not part of the job? One can see trenches dug all over the city remaining unfilled, posing a threat to life and limb. One also sees silt that is cleared from storm water drains remaining on the road till rain again washes it back into the drain.

MCC To Follow The Law Concerning Property Tax

P.M.Bhat, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat writes

A delegation from Mysore Grahakara Parishat met MCC Commissioner K.S. Raykar recently and apprised him of violation of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act in the implementation of SAS scheme for property tax by Mysore City Corporation. The delegation consisted of President Maj.Gen.(Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, Treasurer P.M. Bhat and S.A. Prasad. The Revenue Officer of MCC, Ms. D. Bharathi also attended the meeting. The Commissioner, who revealed that it was he (while posted in Bangalore) who drafted the relevant amendments to the KMC Act, agreed with MGP's contention and promised to instruct the concerned personnel at all MCC ward offices to follow the law strictly.

The MGP delegation pointed out the following violations of the law.

Despite the fact that Sec. 109A (amended in 2005) of the KMC Act clearly states that the same property tax collected in 2005-6 should be collected in 2006-7 and 2007-8, MCC collected enhanced property tax in 2007-8 based on guideline property values revised effective from 24-7-06. Property tax rates were also enhanced from 0.3% to 0.6% in 2007, again in contravention of Sec. 109A of the KMC Act.

According to this Sec. 109A, property tax stands enhanced by 15% for 2008-9 and this enhanced value will remain unchanged till 2011-12 when it will again be enhanced.

If MCC follows Sec. 109A strictly, one does not have to do any calculation at all on the tax form. The property owner can submit a copy of an earlier year's filled and paid tax form and that will fix how much he/she has to pay this year. No fresh calculations are necessary (unless the building is altered).

Sec. 109A gives power to the state government to introduce the 15% enhancement earlier than three years. But it can only advance the enhancement date. Using revised property values as the basis for tax calculation, as was done in 2007, is not permitted.

Sec. 109A also gives power to MCC to increase the enhancement rate (at the end of every three years) from 15% subject to a maximum of 30%. But it has to pass a resolution at the council meeting. MCC has no power to increase the tax rates. So the increase from 0.3% to 0.6% introduced from the beginning of 2007 is illegal.

Draft Amendment to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory (Fees) Regulations, 2004

A letter written by MGP president, Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd) to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission

Subject: Draft Amendment to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory (Fees) Regulations, 2004

Sirs,

1. If the work at KERC involved in processing Power Purchase Agreements is not commensurate with the fee charged, then the fee has to be increased. We have no objection to raising the fee from Rs.1,000/MW to Rs.5,000/MW for conventional fuel-based plants as proposed in the draft amendment.

2. However, we strongly urge that the fee for Power Purchase Agreements in respect of nonconventional and renewable sources of energy including cogeneration should not be raised from Rs. 500/MW to Rs. 5,000/MW as proposed in the draft amendment to the KER (Fees) Regulations. In the context of global warming and consequent climate change, it is accepted that carbon emissions are to be reduced. Since the electric power sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of all global carbon emissions, nonconventional and renewable sources of energy which do not contribute heavily to carbon emissions require to be encouraged very vigorously to reduce carbon emissions and hence reduce global warming. So we strongly recommend that the fee applicable to Power Purchase Agreements of nonconventional or renewable sources of energy including cogeneration be retained at Rs.500/MW to encourage investors in such generation stations.

Leaking Water Main

B.V. Shenoy, Member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat writes

The water main which takes water from the Yadavagiri High Level Reservoir to Bannimantap and surrounding areas is leaking badly at the intersection of Vivekananda Road and 3rd Cross, Yadavagiri.

The leak started more than two weeks ago and is getting worse every day. It poses a threat to public health since bacteria and other contaminants can get into drinking water during periods of negative pressure. Also the road is getting severely eroded from the leaking water.

Repeated complaints to MCC have not produced any results. We hope MCC wakes up soon and attends to this growing problem.

Kudos to MCC For Prompt Response

A few days ago, we had complained about the improper way manholes on roads are being repaired by Mysore City Corporation. We had given two examples (Vivekananda Road and Hunsur Road) in which the repaired manhole covers were about six inches above the road surface and hence posed a threat to traffic.

Within 48 hours after our complaint appeared in the media, Mr. Ananda Krishna, a junior engineer in the MCC Zone 4 Office came with a group of workers and got the manhole on Vivekananda Road redone so that its cover is flush with the road. He and his team are to be congratulated for responding quickly to a public safety problem.

It is hoped that they will be equally efficient in removing the debris from the repaired manhole soon so that they pose no hindrance to smooth flow of traffic.

Unprofessional Manhole Repair

Mysore City Corporation is on a manhole-repairing spree. Several damaged manholes all over the city are being repaired. MCC is to be commended for waking up to this serious problem.

Photos show the work in progress on Hunsur Road (in front of CIIL) and Vivekananda Road, Yadavagiri (near SBI).

But there are a couple of problems with the repair work. Firstly, it is taking too long. In both the examples above, work was started a month ago and is still not complete. Obstructing traffic flow and posing danger to vehicles for this length of time is not acceptable.

Secondly, the manhole covers were flush with the road surface before the repair was undertaken, but now they are about six inches above the road surface. Creation of ill-designed road humps by such unprofessional work will pose a danger to vehicles for a long long time. This problem should be rectified immediately.