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Dengue, TB, cholera rise in Mumbai

Praja Foundation report on state of city’s health throws up some grim truths on public health care in the city.
by Nidhi Qazi

In a recently-released report on the city’s health, the Praja Foundation has found an increase in the number of dengue, tuberculosis (TB) and cholera cases, though there is a decrease in the cases of malaria.

Praja, founded in 1997 by a group of eight Mumbaikars, released its white paper on ‘The State of Health of Mumbai’ last week. The data is based on information gathered through RTI from municipal dispensaries, hospitals, State Government dispensaries and hospitals and other Government health care centres.

Nitai Mehta, Founder Trustee, Praja, said, “BMC needs to be complimented on reducing the increase in malaria cases drastically from the peak of 2010-2011 (over 78,000 cases) to less than 22,000 cases reported in 2012-2013. But there is little reason for complacency. Cases of dengue have shot up drastically. TB incidences are also on the rise. Deaths due to cholera have almost tripled from the previous year.”

The data collected from MCGM dispensaries and hospitals and State hospitals and other Government health centres shows that in 2012-2013, there were 4,867 dengue cases as opposed to 682 cases in 2008-2009. Last year, 36,417 cases of TB were reported from municipal and Government dispensaries and hospitals, of which 6,921 patients died of TB.

Additionally, cholera incidences have once again started increasing in the city. Nine deaths were due to cholera in 2012-13 against three in the previous year.

Milind Mhaske, Project Director at Praja, added, “From another perspective, if we had to depend on this data for the entire city, in 2012-2013, 1 out of 567 people in Mumbai suffered from malaria, 1 out of 2,555 people had dengue (last year 1 out of 6,617 had dengue), one in 341 people had TB and cholera hit 1 in 63,000 Mumbaikars! The ratio has been on an increase since last year for all major diseases.”

Andheri (East) leads in diseases among all the municipal wards. The ward (K/E) has shown highest incidences of malaria, dengue and TB. Kurla (West), L ward of the MCGM has the highest incidence of diarrhoea, almost double its nearest rival.

According to surveys conducted by Praja, over 70 per cent of Mumbai’s population visits private health care centres for treatment and 35 per cent visit municipal and Government dispensaries and hospitals.

But since there is no way to track any data from the privately-owned health care custodians, Mehta rues, “How can civic authorities frame any health care policy for our megapolis when it does not have access to health care data from the private doctors, clinics and hospitals visited by a distinct majority of our city population?” The reasons for the poor data-tracking vary from fear of income tax scrutiny to increase in paperwork to sheer apathy.

Mehta concludes, “The report on the state of health of Mumbai raises pertinent questions of grave consequences for the city that our policy makers ought to consider seriously and expeditiously.”

See the full report here.

(Picture courtesy ibnlive.com)

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Over 800 from Maharashtra still stranded in Uttarakhand

Maharashtra CM camps out at Dehradun to monitor relief efforts; about 475 tourists from State are still stuck at Badrinath.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Even as intermittent rains lash the area and the Indian Army fights the elements to rescue as many people as they can find, important politicos are making way to Uttarakhand to take stock of the numbers of their citizens still missing or not found.

Prithviraj Chavan meets Vijay Bahuguna at DehradunMaharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has been camping out at Dehradun since last night. This morning, his office gave out current information for Maharashtra, after Chavan had had discussions with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

As per official records, of the 2,949 Maharashtra tourists and pilgrims stuck in Uttarakhand following extremely heavy rains that caused unprecedented flooding, 2,100 have been rescued. Over 200 people from the State area are also reported to be missing. A total of over 10,000 tourists and pilgrims are still stranded, of which about 475 tourists and pilgrims from Maharashtra are said to be still stranded at Badrinath, where the current phase of rescue ops is underway. Bahuguna is said to have conveyed to Chavan that Maharashtra has provided ample help for the rescue operations. Last week, the Maharashtra Government announced a corpus of Rs 10 crore for relief and rescue at Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, heavy rains and fresh landslides hampered rescue operations today. “Only the army helicopters can access Badrinath in these conditions, since most roads have been washed away,” Bahuguna said. “The Badrinath valley is also quite narrow, so access is very limited. We are waiting for weather conditions to slightly improve before more reinforcements can be sent in.” Reports have also just come in that Uttarakhand will now allow rescue ops to be carried out by other State Governments.

(Pictures courtesy CMO, Maharashtra and www.indianexpress.com)

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Mumbai, Thane record highest rain in State

Today, June 10, has been the wettest day for Mumbai’s suburbs and city, and Thane district, than all of Maharashtra.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The rains reached Mumbai and Thane three days before expected time this year, on June 7. Before the monsoon started here in earnest, it lashed Pune, Ratnagiri and the State’s drought-prone regions.

Today, however, as Mumbai and Thane woke up to dark skies and sheets of rain that threatened to never stop pouring, the rest of Maharashtra was spared the battering. As per figures from the Revenue and Finance Department, Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai suburbs, Mumbai city and Thane recorded the highest rainfall figures in the State.

As per Government figures, Mumbai suburbs recorded 90.40 mm rainfall, while Mumbai city clocked in 81.10 mm. Meanwhile, Thane experienced the most amount of rain in the State today – 150.02 mm of rainfall.

The only other district to record high rainfall figures today, apart from these three, was Ratnagiri, which recorded 108.31 mm of rainfall.

In Mumbai and Thane, commuters experienced the usual troubles that are now synonymous with monsoon here – incredible road traffic, water logging at the usual low-lying spots, and train schedules thrown off kilter. There were numerous complaints of autorickshaws and cabs refusing to ply short distances.

Keep these numbers handy this monsoon:

BMC disaster control room: 108, 1916

MMRDA control room to report flooding: 022- 26591241 /26594176/8080705051

Mumbai Fire Brigade: 022-23076111

Autorichshaw and taxi complaint helpline: 1800220110

(Picture courtesy dnaindia.com) 

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Thousands lose their homes while the rain pours down

Several hutments were demolished recently at different spots in Mumbai. Where will these people go while rains lash the city?
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

khar east andolanThe monsoons have set in Mumbai and Maharashtra in earnest, at least three days before expected time of arrival. And while the monsoon brings its usual problems for the average Mumbaikar – water-logged roads, floating garbage, leakages in walls and erratic trains, for some Mumbaikars, this monsoon is going to test their survival skills.

On June 4, 2013, some slums in Mumbai were witness to demolitions via bulldozers and they also suffered their share of police brutality as they tried to save their homes. “Bulldozers mowed down houses at Ganpat Patil Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Indira Nagar and Adarsh Nagar. Around 250 houses were demolished at Ganpat Patil Nagar and more than 300 houses were broken down at Adarsh Nagar-Indira Nagar and Sanjay Nagar,” said an activist attached with the Medha Patkar-led National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM).

“As always, the police force was present in huge numbers and disrespectful to the protestors that included men, women, children and the aged. Even the pregnant ladies were not excused of high handedness. With the onset of the monsoon, these people’s vulnerability is increased as they have no roof over their heads and their belongings either crushed or lying here and there,” he added.

NAPM alleges that the demolition drive at Ganpat Patil Nagar was done under the pretext of ‘protecting mangroves’ as per the orders of the Bombay High Court, “which not at all had said anything about demolishing slums. The over enthusiasm shown by the local MLA of Shiv Sena – Vinod Ghosalkar – in demolishing this slum and evicting the families from the land exposes the nexus with the land mafia which wants to transform this locality into high rise buildings and towers. Even the Forest Department has informed that they do not want for demolition of slums but only protection of mangroves.”

At Indira Nagar, Adarsh Nagar and Sanjay Nagar, the demolitions were done to widen a nallah (sewerage line) in time for the rains; demolitions were carried out at the same spots last year for the same reason. Activist Siraj Ahmed, who was detained by the police for protesting the demolition, said that the nallah was never widened despite repeated demolitions.

“Most shocking and deplorable is the fact that in January this year, no less than the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Chief Secretary had promised to under take a survey of the these khar eastsettlements for the purpose of declaring them as slums and provisioning of basic amenities,” an NAPM release says. “Instead of water pipe lines and toilet blocks, they have sent bulldozers and police force. It seems that the slogan of ‘slum free India’ is to be realised by bulldozing the existing slums and not be upgrading or resettling them.”

(Pictures courtesy tehelka.com, khareastandolan.wordpress.com. Pictures are file images)

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Builder shooting case cracked in five days

Main accused plotted the crime while in custody; builder’s car was shot at after he refused to pay extortion money.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A Borivali-based builder, Rajaram Manjavkar, was threatened by goons from early May this year; the man who would call him identified himself as a member of the Chhota Shakeel gang and demanded Rs 2 lakh extortion money. Initially frightened, the 64-year-old Rajaram bided his time before going to the police. Things took a turn for the worse when his car was shot at in Borivali when he was on his way to work. Escaping unhurt, Rajaram finally took the matter to the Kasturba Marg cops on May 28.

Five days later, the police caught the three men who carried out the actual firing. They, in turn, gave details of Bachkana’s involvement in the crime. Bachkana is currently in police custody in connection with a crime in Belgaum.

How does one plot a crime when in police custody?

Bachkana is brought to Mumbai often in connection with court hearings for past misdemeanors. Last month, one of the three arrested men – Rajendra alias Raju Nepali – met Bachkana while the latter was brought to Mumbai, and gave him details of Manjavkar’s business. Raju stays near the Manjavkars and had been keeping a close watch on the latter’s current SRA building project. On learning about the builder’s projects, Bachkana advised Raju to extort Rs 2 lakh from him.

Raju made three extortion calls to Manjavkar, who blankly refused to pay up. When he last met Bachkana on May 27, Bachkana told him to bump Manjavkar off. Accordingly, Raju got two friends – Ali Rajendra and Dhiru Jadhav – to assist him in the crime. The next day, the trio shot at Manjavkar while he was in his car at Devipada, Borivali, but apart from shattering the glass windows and plugging bullets into his car doors, they could not get at the builder himself.

The investigation and the arrests were carried out by the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 12. “It has been a long time since gangsters have actually carried out a shooting in Mumbai,” said an official connected with the case. “The last such major case was the (Mid Day journalist) J Dey shooting. The team is happy that key persons allying with Chhota Shakeel have been caught.”

(Picture courtesy Afternoon Voice)

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Revenue loss of Rs 25,000 crore to Maharashtra?

An RTI query reveals that Maharashtra loses a staggering Rs 25,000 crore per year through corruption on land lease deals.
Shailesh Gandhiby Shailesh Gandhi

[Background: Four months after the Maharashtra State Government revised its rates for leased plots in the city, 149 occupants of such plots in Mumbai’s suburbs have begun receiving notices asking them to either start paying the revised annual lease rent – running into several hundred times what they have been paying so far – or a onetime occupancy fee (ie one-fifth of the plot’s Ready Reckoner value). They will have until the end of 2013 to choose either option. Some of these names include actor Shahrukh Khan and industrialists Azim Premji and Ratan Tata. Till now, they had been paying nominal rents up to Rs 2,500 per year.]

Would you believe that Maharashtra loses over Rs 25,000 crore annually because of carelessness/corruption, and this has not been exposed so far?

The recent scams which have been unearthed give me a feeling that we may actually be quite well off with enough resources. If the lakhs of crores of public resources being given away and snatched away by the few were to come to the public exchequer, we could be quite comfortable as a nation. I have been pursuing one such scam in Maharashtra in which I believe a few thousand crores of public money is being lost to benefit a few.

Maharashtra’s debt is about Rs 2.7 lakh crore, and we pay the interest for this. A State owns many resources on behalf of citizens. One of these resources is land. Governments sell some of the lands and give some on lease. The idea behind giving certain lands on lease is to basically have an inflation-proof investment and sometimes, to encourage  certain activities. Hence it offers lands on lease. It wishes to retain the land so that it may basically ensure that its revenue matches with the growth in inflation.

A lease is legal transaction which primarily lays down the area which is leased, purpose for which the land is to be used, period of lease, lease rent and certain other conditions. When the lease expires, it may be renewed with the lessor increasing the lease rent as per the market price which reflect the inflation in the intervening period.

When any individual or institution gives land or a property on lease and the lease expires, a fresh lease is drawn up at the prevailing market rates if the lessee wants to continue. This simple principle has not been followed in Mumbai and possibly in the State of Maharashtra. I have been told that this is true all over the country.  Some leases are renewed, while some are allowed to continue occupying the land at the old rates. What are the reasons for such irrational actions?

This may be due to carelessness or corruption.

From 2005 onwards

I had discovered this in 2005 and drawn the attention of the Chief Secretary to this in a letter titled ‘Arbitrariness and huge loss of public money in public lands given on lease’. I have now got the scanned copy of the file relating to this which has over 600 pages over the years, and has ended on a bizarre note. The Supreme Court in the 2G case has said, “In conclusion, we hold that the State is the legal owner of the natural resources as a trustee of the people and although it is empowered to distribute the same, the process of distribution must be guided by the constitutional principles including the doctrine of equality and larger public good.” The poorest man who may be starving is an equal and rightful owner of this land, and it is necessary that the appropriate revenue is obtained for him.

I looked at the list of leases of lands given by the two Collectors of Mumbai (obtained in RTI) and decided to calculate the worth of the lands where lease deeds have expired and unauthorised occupiers are allowed to continue.

Let me first share the route the Maharashtra Government has decided to adopt after eight years of confabulations: The Government has decided to offer the lands to the lessees at about 20 to 30 per cent of the value! I am shocked at this irrational action of the Government and think it is about time, citizens defend their revenue by telling the Government they will not accept this approach. The detailed calculations are given in the attached two excel spreadsheets. In the case of the information about leases provided by the Mumbai collector, in 103 cases there is no mention of the lease date and period of lease. Despite a specific query by me using RTI, the PIO has said they will need two to three months to provide this information!

How I arrived at my calculations

There are also other Government agencies like BMC which  have similar lands in Mumbai. My calculation estimates that there is an annual loss of about Rs 1,550 crore by Mumbai Collector  and about Rs 1,200 crore due to the Suburban collector, i.e. a total revenue loss of Rs 2,750 crore each year. The Government now proposes to give away ownership rights to the lessees for Rs 2,248 plus Rs 1,841 crore one time!

Citizens must protest before the Government dispossess us of our land and legitimate revenue. If we can get the Government to auction the leases in Mumbai and all over Maharashtra we could have a revenue stream of over Rs 25,000 crore each year. Citizens and media need to make the Government get the appropriate revenue by fixing lease amounts at current rates. Also this is a revenue stream which is a partial hedge against inflation, saving future generations from having to pay ever higher taxes. The revenue loss in Mumbai is around Rs 2,500 crores, without taking into account lands given by other agencies. The geographical area of Maharashtra is about 700 times that of Mumbai. It is most likely that the revenue loss on this account will be over 10 times that in Mumbai, ie. about Rs 25,000 crore. Is it likely that for the entire nation this figure may be upwards of Rs 2 lakh crore.

Shailesh Gandhi was the Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, New Delhi and is a noted RTI activist.

(Pictures courtesy www.firstpost.com, www.stockpicturesforeveryone.com)
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