Photos and Captions, February 2011

(B.V.Shenoy)

To mark National Consumer Day (24-12-10), MGP organized a Jatha from K.R. Circle to DC's Office where a memorandum urging immediate action against food adulteration and contamination of drinking water was submitted.

(Vasanthkumar Mysoremath)

At the National Seminar on Toxicology held in Mysore on 4-12-10, C.V. Nagaraj gave an invited talk on poison adulterants in food.

Responding to MGP's urging, MCC COmmissioner has issued a notice to the staff of Mysore City Corporation instructing them to keep the identity of whistle-blowers confidential.

(Sri Shaneswara Vidyasamsthe)

At the 20th anniversary of Sri Shaneswara Vidyasamsthe in T.K.Layout, Vasanthkumar Mysoremath of MGP (2nd from left) was the chief guest. He spoke on the consumer movement.

Complaint to Council of Architecture

This is with reference to the letter "Apartment Buyers Beware" which appeared in Star of Mysore of 23-1-11. In that letter Sri. K.N. Krishna Prasad has suggested that complaints against architects who bend the rules and defraud consumers should be filed before the Council of Architecture.

Such a case has been filed, but the results are not encouraging. One may recall that Siddhartha Youth Association held a press conference on 16-4-06 and accused the then MCC Commissioner, A.B. Ibrahim and the Deputy Director of Town Planning Kempaiah of issuing a CR on 16-3-06 to Brigade Splendour apartment building on Lalit Mahal Road even though the building had not yet been completed and several building bylaws had been violated in the portions that had been completed. The press conference was widely covered in the local media, but MCC did nothing to correct the lapse.

But the Council of Architecture, New Delhi which is a statutory body set up to regulate architects in the country issued a show cause notice to Asima Shahid (of Venkataramanan Associates, Bangalore), the architect who had given the certificate on 2-3-06 based on which MCC had issued the CR to Brigade Splendour. In the certificate, Ms. Shahid had stated that the construction of the building had been COMPLETED under her supervision and that no building bylaws had been violated. She had also stated that the residential building was fit for use and had requested MCC to issue the CR. But reports in the local media in Mysore had made it clear that the building was not complete even on 16-4-06, the day of the press conference.

After conducting hearings on the matter (in which the architect failed to appear despite notices from the Council), the Council gave its verdict on 25-11-10 in which it held the architect guilty of professional misconduct under Regulation 2(1)(viii) and (x) of the Architects (Professional Misconduct) Regulations, 1989 for issuing incorrect architect's report for the building. As punishment, it cautioned the architect "with further direction to ensure that this act is not repeated."

It is very surprising that the Council just cautioned the architect, especially when she did not appear for any of the hearings and did not submit any statement of defence or of contrition. In the past, the Council has revoked architects' licences for professional misconduct. In 2009, it revoked for a period of one year, the licence of a well-known Delhi architect, Hafiz Contractor for appearing in a commercial (But this order was stayed by the Delhi High Court since the Council had not issued a show cause notice to the architect and afforded him a chance to defend himself). Is appearing in a commercial more serious misconduct than giving a false certificate?

B.V.Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Is One More Expensive Survey Needed?

Rajiv Chawla, Commissioner of Survey, Settlement and Land Records of Karnataka Government recently announced in Mysore that all properties in Mysore will be surveyed under the Urban Property Ownership Records (UPOR) project to make a GIS database.

Mysore City Corporation has recently completed, at great expense, the survey of all properties in Mysore and the creation of a GIS database. Why are two arms of the state government spending huge amounts to do the same job twice?

MUDA has its own records of properties in Mysore. These records do not agree with MCC records. In all probability, the UPOR database will not agree with either of these. Then we will have 3 mutually conflicting databases which will create confusion all around.

The survey under UPOR project has been farmed out to a private operator under the Public-Private Partnership model. Recent experiences with this model (Voter Photo ID, MCC property survey, Aadhaar card, etc.) does not inspire one with great confidence that the job will be well done. This is because the private operator hires people with no experience in doing this type of work and these novices are given three days training and sent to do the job. That is why so many mistakes happen. People are still trying to get errors in the their Voter photo ID and MCC property data corrected. Problems with Aadhaar cards are just now trickling in.

C.V.Nagaraj, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Filling Tyres With Nitrogen

Getting tyres filled with nitrogen is the latest automotive fad. Vendors of nitrogen are promising longer tyre life, less frequent refilling, lower fuel consumption and more comfort. They also point to aircraft and racing cars which use nitrogen in their tyres. Lured by these claims, thousands of automobile owners are getting their tyres inflated with nitrogen for Rs 25-60 per tyre. But are these claims really true?

When one checks expert opinion (here and here ), it appears that these claims are either not true or misleading.

Using nitrogen gives longer life to tyres in principle because nitrogen does not corrode rubber, but tyres would be worn out before this benefit can be realized. Nitrogen also requires less refilling, but if the cost of nitrogen is factored in, this is not a big advantage. If tyre pressure is maintained at the recommended pressure, nitrogen does not reduce fuel consumption or give a more comfortable ride. The reference to aircraft and racing cars is misleading. Modern aircraft fly at about 30000 feet where the surrounding temperature can be as low as -60 degrees. If aircraft tyres are filled with air, the moisture and carbon dioxide in the air freeze at these low temperatures and this will greatly decrease the tyre pressure. The reduction in the tyre pressure due to freezing of moisture and carbon dioxide and ice chunks rolling around in the tyres are dangerous when the planes land. Cars running on streets do not have this problem and so nitrogen offers no benefit. Similarly, race car tyres have to be filled in in the shortest possible time and this can be better done with nitrogen stored in high pressure cylinders than with pumping air with mechanical pumps. Ordinary cars again do not have this problem.

The three largest tyre companies in the world, Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear support the use of nitrogen in tyres only because nitrogen-filled tyres retain pressure for longer periods. They do not claim any other benefits from nitrogen filling. As said earlier, if the cost of nitrogen is factored in, this is not a big advantage.

In the US, nitrogen filling is a tremendously profitable business taking into consideration the low cost of equipment and nitrogen compared to the cost at which nitrogen filling is done. So many experts feel that promotion of nitrogen is just a marketing gimmick.

Automobile users are advised to look carefully at arguments on both sides of the issue before going regularly for nitrogen filling.

P.M. Bhat, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Welcome Move By MCC

If anyone complains to any government department on a violation of the law, the department usually issues a notice to the offender saying that such and such a person has complained against him. Disclosing the name and address of the complainant to the offender frequently results in threats to the complainant. Therefore, many people, even if they notice a violation every day and are affected by it prefer to keep quiet rather than face threats. This is one of the main reasons for the ever increasing number of violations of the law.

Such a situation existed till now in Mysore City Corporation. When people brought to the notice of MCC staff violations (such as building bylaw violations, encroachment of public land, stray dogs and cattle, etc.) which the staff should have noticed by themselves and taken action, their names were released to the offender and the complainants made to suffer. MGP had raised this issue with many MCC Commissioners, but no one took action. But the present Commissioner of MCC has reacted favourably and issued a notice to his subordinates. Copy of the notice is enclosed as an Attachment. It says

"The public give complaints to MCC about violations of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, especially, violations of building bylaws. When such complaints are received, it is necessary in the interest of good administration to maintain secrecy and you are hereby instructed not to disclose the name and address of the complainants. Any violation of this instruction will be considered seriously."

This action of the MCC Commissioner is welcome

Laws protecting the identity of persons who complain against violations of the law exist in all developed countries. Even in our country, such a bill (Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making The Disclosures Bill) was introduced in the parliament on 26-8-10. If the bill is passed and becomes a law, all government staff must keep the identity of persons complaining against law violations a secret, otherwise they will be punished.

Dr.T.N. Manjunath, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Apartment buildings and Completion Reports

Every proposed building in Mysore must get its building plan approved by Mysore City Corporation before construction can begin. MCC is supposed to verify that no building bylaws are being violated in the plan before issuing the building licence. After construction, the building has to obtain a Completion Report from MCC, otherwise, they can not be occupied (according to law). The CR is supposed to act as a guarantee that the building has been constructed without deviating from the approved plan. The architect of the building has to certify that the building has been built according to the plan and MCC is supposed to verify this certificate before issuing the CR.

CRs are especially important to apartment builders. Most apartments are sold before they are constructed and so the buyers have to depend on the building plan to decide whether to buy or not. That is why CRs are important. They are a certificate issued by MCC that the apartment has been built without deviating from the building plan.

But there are innumerable instances in which the building deviates significantly from the approved plan, but the architect has certified that there is no deviation from the plan and MCC has issued a CR without verifying the architect's certificate. Therefore, buyers have to be aware of the fact that a CR from MCC is no guarantee that the building has been constructed according to the approved plan.

In a recent judgment (given on 10-2-09), the National Consumer Commission upheld the order of the Mysore District Consumer Forum ordering Brigade Developers Pvt. Ltd. to pay damages for such deviation from the plan of an apartment building.

P.M. Bhat, who had bought an apartment in the Brigade Retreat building constructed on Adi Pampa Road, V.V.Puram, by Brigade Developers had complained that the approved plan for the building showed that the height of the ceiling from the floor as 2.85 m, but the actual height was only 2.65 m. This violated not only the approved plan but also the National Building Code of India 1970, which mandates 2.75 m as the minimum ceiling height. Bhat had complained that the builders had made illegal profit by reducing the height of the floor. The Forum agreed that this was a deficiency in service and ordered Brigade Developers Pvt. Ltd. to pay the complainant Rs. 25,000 to meet the financial loss suffered by him due to this substandard construction. The Forum awarded an additional Rs. 75,000 compensation to the complainant noting that "...the complainant and his family members are forced to reside in such building for their entire life with lesser ventilation. This defect and deficiency can not be removed by any means." The architect of the building had certified that the building had been built according to plan and MCC had issued a CR without verifying the accuracy of his certificate. Consumers like P.M. Bhat ended with substandard apartments because they trusted the architect's report and the CR issued by MCC.

Now it appears that apartment builders and the architects are getting bolder. They are certifying that apartment buildings have been built according to plan much before the building is completed and MCC is issuing Completion Reports to these buildings even though they are nowhere close to completion. Therefore, prospective buyers of apartments should not rely on CRs, but instead carefully inspect the apartment to make sure it is built according to the sanctioned plan.

There are also cases in which additional floors have been built after obtaining the CR. These floors are obviously illegal. Therefore, buyers have to carefully compare the sanctioned plan, the CR and the actual construction to make sure they are not buying an illegal apartment.

An interesting case in which an architect gave a certificate of completion to an apartment building in Mysore which was still being built and got caught has come to light recently. One may recall that Siddhartha Youth Association held a press conference on 16-4-06 and accused the then MCC Commissioner, A.B. Ibrahim and the Deputy Director of Town Planning Kempaiah of issuing a CR on 16-3-06 to Brigade Splendour apartment building on Lalit Mahal Road even though the building had not yet been completed and several building bylaws had been violated in the portions that had been completed. The press conference was widely covered in the local media, but MCC did nothing to correct the lapse.

But the Council of Architecture, New Delhi which is a statutory body set up to regulate architects in the country issued a show cause notice to Asima Shahid (of Venkataramanan Associates, Bangalore), the architect who had given the certificate on 2-3-06 based on which MCC had issued the CR to Brigade Splendour. In the certificate, Ms. Shahid had stated that the construction of the building had been COMPLETED under her supervision and that no building bylaws had been violated. She had also stated that the residential building was fit for use and had requested MCC to issue the CR. But reports in the local media in Mysore had made it clear that the building was not complete even on 16-4-06, the day of the press conference.

After conducting hearings on the matter (in which the architect failed to appear despite notices from the Council), the Council gave its verdict on 25-11-10 in which it held the architect guilty of professional misconduct under Regulation 2(1)(viii) and (x) of the Architects (Professional Misconduct) Regulations, 1989 for issuing incorrect architect's report for the building. As punishment, it cautioned the architect "with further direction to ensure that this act is not repeated."

It is very surprising that the Council just cautioned the architect, especially when she did not appear for any of the hearings and did not submit any statement of defence or of contrition. In the past, the Council has revoked architects' licences for professional misconduct. In 2009, it revoked for a period of one year, the licence of a well-known Delhi architect, Hafiz Contractor for appearing in a commercial (But this order was stayed by the Delhi High Court since the Council had not issued a show cause notice to the architect and afforded him a chance to defend himself). Is appearing in a commercial more serious misconduct than giving a false certificate?

B.Vaikunth Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

ಮಾಸಲು ಬಟ್ಟೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಕಿತ್ತು ಹೋದ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಸೇವೆ

(Please click here for the English Version)

ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಸ೦ಸ್ಥೆಯ ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಗ್ರಾಹಕರಿಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಉಡುಗೆ. ತಾ: ೧-೧-೧೧ ರಂದು ಮಾರ್ಗ ಸ೦ಖ್ಯೆ ೨೫೫ನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಸಮೀಪದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬರದನಪುರ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗೆ ಹೋದಾಗ ಅನುಭವಿಸಿದ ದಾರುಣ ಕಥೆ. 

ಬೆ: ೯ ಘಂಟೆಗೆ ವಾಹನ ಸ೦ಖ್ಯೆ ಕೆಏ-೦೧-ಎಫ್-೭೭೮೮ನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿದಾಗ ವಾಕರಿಕೆ ಬರಿಸುವಂಥ ವಾಸನೆ ನನ್ನ ಮೂಗಿಗೆ ಬಡಿಯಿತು,ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾಗಿ ಗಮನಿಸಿದಾಗ ಹಿ೦ದಿನ ಆಸನಗಳ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಮಣ್ಣು ಹರಡಿರುವುದು ಕಾಣಿಸಿತು. ಅದರ ಅರ್ಥ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರಿ೦ದ ಆಗುವ ಅನರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ನೀವೇ ಊಹಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ. ತಕ್ಷಣ ಇಳಿದು ಅದರ ಹಿ೦ದಿದ್ದ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಾಹನವನ್ನು ಹತ್ತಿ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಆ ವಾಹನವೂ ಹೆಚ್ಹು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಕೊಳಕಾಗಿದ್ದುದು ಕಂಡು ಬಂತು ಮತ್ತು ಅದು ಯಾವಾಗ ಹೊರಡುವುದು ಎನ್ನುವ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೊಡುವವರು ಯಾರೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ವೋಲ್ವೋ ಅಥವಾ ಮ್ಯಕ್ರೋಪೋಲೋ ಎಂದಿಗೂ ಓಡಾಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎ೦ಬುದು ಬೇರೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರಿಂದ ತಿಳಿದು ಬ೦ತು. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ೭೭೮೮ ನ್ನೇ ಹತ್ತಬೇಕಾದ ಅನಿವಾರ್ಯವಾಯಿತು. 'ಹಿರಿಯ ನಾಗರೀಕರಿಗೆ' ಮೀಸಲು ಆಸನವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಓರ್ವ ರೈತ ಬಾಂಧವ ಮೂಟೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕೂತಿರುವುದು ಕಾಣಿಸಿತು. ಖಾಲಿ ಇದ್ದ ಆಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂಗಿಗೆ ಕೈವಸ್ತ್ರವನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದು ಕೂತು ಕಣ್ಣು ಹಾಯಿಸಿದಾಗ ಕಂಡ ದೃಶ್ಯಗಳು. ಕಿಟಕಿಗಳ ಗಾಜುಗಳು ಒಡೆದಿದ್ದವು, ಗಾಳಿ, ಧೂಳನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ರಟ್ಟುಗಳನ್ನು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು, ಗಾಜುಗಳು ಧೂಳು ಮತ್ತು ಯಾರೋ ಮಾಡಿದ ವಾಂತಿಯ ತುಣುಕುಗಳು ಒಣಗಿ ಅಂಟಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದುದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿತ್ತು, ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಸಲಾಕೆಗಳು ಮುರಿದಿದ್ದವು ಮತ್ತು ಅವುಗಳು ಮಾಡುವ ಸದ್ದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ದಾರ ಕಟ್ಟಲಾಗಿತ್ತು, ಆಸನಗಳು ಹರಿದಿದ್ದವು, ವಾಹನದ ತುಂಬ ಧೂಳು ತಾ೦ಡವವಾಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು, ನಿರ್ವಾಹಕ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ವಾಹನ ಚಾಲಕರದ್ದೆ ದರ್ಬಾರು, ಹಿ೦ದಿನ ಬಾಗಿಲು ಮುಚ್ಚಲಾಗುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಪ್ರತಿ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರನ್ನೇ ಬಾಗಿಲ ಮುಚ್ಚಲು ಚಾಲಕರೇ ಆಜ್ಞೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಅನಾನುಕೂಲತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರ ಎಂದು ಸಹ-ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರನ್ನು ವಿಚಾರಿಸಿದಾಗ ಅವರುಗಳು ಬಿಟ್ಟ ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರೇ ಅವರ ಅಸಹಾಯಕತೆಯ ಪರಮಾವಧಿಯನ್ನು ತೋರಿದಂತಿತ್ತು - "ಬೇರೆ ಗತಿಯಿಲ್ಲ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ನಮ್ಮ ಕಣ್ಣೀರನ್ನು ಒರೆಸುವವರು ಯಾರಿದ್ದಾರೆ?" ಎಂಬ ಮಾತುಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ನನ್ನ ಕಣ್ಣೂ ತೇವವಾಯಿತು. 

ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಅಸಮತೋಲನ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸಮಂಜಸತೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಗಿಸುವ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ವೈಫಲ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಸುವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿ ತರುವ ಬದಲು ಅವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಆಗರವನ್ನಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಮತ್ತು ಅಧಿಕಾರ ವರ್ಗಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಮ್ಮ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಸಿಗೆಯಾಯಿತು. 

ಏಕೆ ಹೀಗೆ - ಒಂದು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ (ವೋಲ್ವೋ, ಮಕ್ರೊಪೋಲೋಗಳು - ನಗರ ನಾಗರೀಕರಿಗೆ ರಿಯಾಯಿತಿ ದರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಓಡಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ಭರಿಸಲಾಗದ ನಷ್ಟ ಆಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಹ) ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಸುಣ್ಣ (ಕಿತ್ತು ಹೋದ ವಾಹನಗಳು - ಮಾಸಲು ಬಟ್ಟೆಯ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಗ್ರಾಹಕರು ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಬೊಕ್ಕಸ ತುಂಬುವವರು).

ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ: ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಗ್ರಾಹಕರು ಸೆಟೆದು ನಿಲ್ಲುವ ಕಾಲ ಸನಿಹದಲ್ಲಿದೆಯಾ?

ವಸಂತ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಮೈಸೂರು ಮಠ, ಮೈಸೂರು ಗ್ರಾಹಕರ ಪರಿಷತ್