One consumer in MCHI panel is meaningless

One consumer in MCHI panel is meaningless
Apropos of ‘VAT issue: Buyers lost in calculation’ (Sep 12), my view as an advocate is that one consumer (flat buyer) member in the so-called MCHI committee will be meaningless when all the other members are builders. So, the suggestion is that the committee should have an equal number of flat-buyer representatives (not necessarily post holders from managing committees of societies but just flat owner members) and its chairman can be a retired high court judge/state consumer commission judge who delivers generally in favour of flat owners. Today, corruption is the name of the game played by builders/developers in nexus with bureaucrats and politicians. If the sales tax department was sensible enough, it should have issued a method of calculation and a standard tariff for flats costing from Rs5 lakh to Rs1 crore. The purpose of VAT is to locate where the sellers and buyers evaded indirect tax liabilities. There are detailed studies on VAT all over the world and that can be taken advantage of by the Centre and the state government alike. Kudos to DNA for bringing sensible stories to readers provoking them to share their thoughts.
—G Balakrishnan, Navi Mumbai

II
The Lodha builder is not the only cavalier and customer unfriendly developer in this regard. Similar nonchalant and arrogant demand letters have been reportedly being served by other developers too, including the self-proclaimed prestigious Vijay Associates (Wadhawa) builders to their hapless customers. Obviously, these are trigger-happy kind of characters who shoot from the hip without looking into the merits of upholding the customer’s interest. I fully endorse the point made by the positive thinking Shirish Deshpande. Even the office bearer of MCHI, Boman Irani, who is my friend, and others, have to apply their minds more diligently and consider the fact that they are earning their fortunes from customers and they cannot afford to dig the roots of their own foundation by being ugly and non-remorseful to their ‘Annadaata’.
—NK Gupta, Navi Mumbai

ISRO makes us proud
This has reference to ‘India launches 100th space mission successfully’ (Sept 10). The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has come a long way since the launching of its first satellite Aryabhatta. The Aryabhatta was a dream project which came off in 1975. It is indeed a tribute to ISRO scientists that after Aryabhatta was launched by a Russian launch vehicle, India itself is now capable of launching foreign satellites into space. The polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV), which was first launched in 1993, revolutionised India’s space programme and launched as many as 52 satellites into space, of which 26 were foreign ones. India’s geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV), launched in 2001 after initial hiccups, has had two successful launches. ISRO’s satellite systems INSAT and IRS are too well-known. ISRO, which initially thrived on other countries’ largesse for funds is now in a position to generate its own due to its exemplary launching vehicles which even countries like France and Japan look up to. ISRO has already successfully undertaken the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 which gave exhaustive knowledge on moon’s lunar water after being launched in 2008. Its next aim is its second moon mission and the ambitious Mars mission which is not a distant dream at all for the dedicated band of ISRO scientists. In its nearly 44 years of existence, ISRO has made India proud by its scintillating and educative space missions. The organisation has elevated India to a new pedestal from which the country can never look back.
—Ganapathi Bhat, Akola

Saina, a real hero
This has reference to ‘Greatly moved by Saina gesture’ (Sept 12). Badminton ace Saina Nehwal’s gesture of giving Rs2 lakh to Paralympics medal winner GS Nagarajegowda is commendable. It is a shame on our self-serving super rich cricketers who have never shown such noble gestures. At the most, they give away items from their used playing kit for charity auctions. Saina surely does not earn as much as Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni, but she has shown that she has a much bigger heart than these national icons. A few years ago, Saina’s coach and the former All England champion P Gopichand had also refused to act in an advertisement of a soft drink as he considered such drinks hazardous for people’s health. On the contrary, our cricketing heros have never left a single opportunity to earn money through promotions of such things. The question now is whom should we consider real heros?
—Sanjiv Nigam, Mumbai

India is sinking!
This has reference to Aditya Sinha’s article ‘India Sinking’ (Sept 9).  In my children’s schools, I constantly hear parents (including us) wanting to “export” their children out of India for good. I hear the same at my workplace and whenever we meet folks over cocktails and dinners. The urge to see one’s children having a better life is the strongest instinct anybody can have and that’s what parents in India are thinking at the moment. The way we all professionals are educating our children here — on ethical behaviour, morality, not to be corrupt — means we are only readying them for failure in this country, a country that has degenerated into only following corruption, dividing itself in terms of vote banks and perpetuating dynastic rule! In effect, we are no different than Arab countries, where dictatorial families have ruled, captured and controlled every aspect of state resources. The Arab nations have at least created facilities of good infrastructure, schools, water, power and roads. India indeed is sinking; there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel!
—Manish Prasad, via email

Petrol prices
The news item ‘Wary govt defers fuel price hike at last minute’ (Sept 12) is indeed music to the ears of the hapless aam admi who are hit by the prices of all essential commodities going northward. The decision of the Congress to take its allies on board before hiking the oil prices is a step in the right direction, albeit the decision of no hike in petrol prices will be short-lived. Hike in the price of petrol mostly hits the middle-class as they have petrol-driven two wheelers or low-end cars to commute and the affluent have high-end diesel driven limousines. It is common knowledge that diesel is highly subsidized and its price has not been revised for a long time. It is imperative to bring a uniform tax structure across the country to ensure oil prices are same throughout. Is anybody listening?
—HP Murali, via email