After lot of insistence from couple of my friends, I am posting my experience during Ganapati Visarjan.
Can you imagine how much of non- biodegradable waste we generate especially during the festivals?
We a bunch of young group of around 10 people in the age group of 16-26 volunteered during the Ganesh festival to segregate the bio degradable waste from the plastic bags. Dnyana Prabhodini, an NGO, gave us an opportunity to volunteer for this work. Since the group was small we volunteered at MIDC (Dombivli) on the 2nd day and on the Gauri visarjan day. A small group among us also volunteered at Thakurli on the day of Gauri Visarjan.
Our task was to segregate the the plastic bags from the biodegradable waste. Biodegradeable waste can be used for the production of fertilizers. However with the presence of plastic bags, the production of fertilizers is not possible. The work performed on these 2 days helped us collect an astonishing 84kgs of plastic bags at these places of Ganesh Idol immersion.
Just imagine if the plastic bags collected on 2 days at couple of places is such a big number, what would be the plastic non-biodegradable waste that we will be generating all over the country. We should minimize the use of plastic bags or take efforts to segregate the degradable and the bio- degradable waste. If more people volunteer we can execute this job at different places rather than restricting this job to a particular place.
It is worth noting that if such small issues are not addressed at this point it will be very difficult to control it at a later stage.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Bribery
I have been thinking on corruption and bribe for many days now. I have discussed with some about who is responsible for corruption. These are my views on bribery and corruption.
There are 2 types of bribe offered-
1. Bribe paid to an official not to perform his/her duty.
2. Bribe paid to an official to perform his/her duty.
In the first case I feel the person giving the bribe is at fault and should be punished. This is known as reverse control. This is ther law in Israel.
In the second situation the person taking the bribe is at fault and hence should be punished. In other words in some situations the giver should be held responsible and in some situations the receiver should be held responsible and punished.
For example; If 'A' is not having a driving licence and is caught by the cop. Here the cop's duty is to fine him for the illegal act. In this scenario if A pays the bribe and gets away by not paying the fine then A should be punished rather than the cop. Here A is not allowing the cop to perform his/her duty. Therefore 'A' is at fault and should be punished.
Consider another situation where 'A' seeks permission for legal water connection. However he is asked to pay a bribe to get the work done which is the work of the officer incharge. In this case, the officer is at fault and must be punished. This is a case where bribe is demanded to perform the duty.
There are 2 types of bribe offered-
1. Bribe paid to an official not to perform his/her duty.
2. Bribe paid to an official to perform his/her duty.
In the first case I feel the person giving the bribe is at fault and should be punished. This is known as reverse control. This is ther law in Israel.
In the second situation the person taking the bribe is at fault and hence should be punished. In other words in some situations the giver should be held responsible and in some situations the receiver should be held responsible and punished.
For example; If 'A' is not having a driving licence and is caught by the cop. Here the cop's duty is to fine him for the illegal act. In this scenario if A pays the bribe and gets away by not paying the fine then A should be punished rather than the cop. Here A is not allowing the cop to perform his/her duty. Therefore 'A' is at fault and should be punished.
Consider another situation where 'A' seeks permission for legal water connection. However he is asked to pay a bribe to get the work done which is the work of the officer incharge. In this case, the officer is at fault and must be punished. This is a case where bribe is demanded to perform the duty.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ulhasnagar Skywalk Project
Continuing from the previous post.........
Little bit of search reveals tht estimated cost of Ulhasnagar Skywalk is Rs 35 crores for Length of 650m and 4m width. This makes the per metre cost close to 135000 which is again more than Bandra Worli sea link. Again this is much costlier than 13crore skywalk in Bandra.
One good thing about Ulhasnagar skywalk is that it has overrun by couple of months unlike Kalyan skywalk which has overrun by about 8months.
Little bit of search reveals tht estimated cost of Ulhasnagar Skywalk is Rs 35 crores for Length of 650m and 4m width. This makes the per metre cost close to 135000 which is again more than Bandra Worli sea link. Again this is much costlier than 13crore skywalk in Bandra.
One good thing about Ulhasnagar skywalk is that it has overrun by couple of months unlike Kalyan skywalk which has overrun by about 8months.
Kalyan Skywalk Project costlier than Bandra Worli Sealink
It is a strange fact but true that Kalyan Skywalk is costlier than Bandra Worli Sea link on a relative basis. On an absolute basis it is much costlier than Bandra skywalk.
the BWSL, with a length of 5.5 km or 5,500 meter and width of 32 meters (8 lanes), was built with a cost of Rs16.5 billion.
the BWSL, with a length of 5.5 km or 5,500 meter and width of 32 meters (8 lanes), was built with a cost of Rs16.5 billion.
When you equalise the costs of both the skywalk and sea link, the cost of skywalk turns out to be a mere 30% less than the sea link! Here are the calculations.
BWSL
Length 5,500x Width 32=176,000 sq m
Project Cost 16,500,000,000/176,000=90,909 (per sq m cost)
Bandra Skywalk
Length 1,300x Width 4= 5,200 sq m
Project Cost 136,300,000/5,200=26,211 (per sq m cost)
So the cost of the Bandra skywalk is about one third than that of the per sq meter cost of the sea link. Now let’s check the cost of Kalyan Dombivali skywalk. MMRDA is constructing this 1.4 km skywalk at a cost of Rs839 million. The width is same for all skywalks i.e. 4 meters. So here are the calculations...
Length 1,400x Width 4= 5,600 sq m
Project Cost 839,000,000/5,600=149,821 (per sq m cost)
And here are the comparisons of the sea link and skywalks:
Bandra Worli Sea Link Rs90,909 per sq m
Bandra sky walk Rs26,211 per sq m
Kalyan sky walk Rs149,821 per sq m
This means the Kalyan skywalk is more costly than that of BSWL!
Source: Suchetadalal.com
Source: Suchetadalal.com
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Budget 2010, Taxes and Charity
The budget of this year has brought a smile on the faces of tax payers especially the educated class more. However I feel that the government could have increased the basic exemption limit. Obviously the government would have thought about this and then decided to provide the tax breaks without tinkering the basic exemption limit.
Also we need to consider that a budget needs to be looked from a political angle and not only from social and economical angle. Finance Minister who announces the budget is a politician at the end of the day.
My point is that instead of directly increasing the slab from 5L to 8L, the government could have increased the limit to say 6.5L and increased the basic exemption limit. One of my friend who works for Citi bank made this point to his colleague who told him that if you dont like the 40K you save give it to me. This was a shock to me. There is no sense of belongingness towards the country. Taxes are a liability rather than an opportunity. We need to understand that its a contribution.
I was checking Give India site to make some donation and one of my colleagues told me that it seems I have excess money. I just smiled and said yes.
I have heard people give excuses like why should we pay taxes we dont get benefit out of it. The money doesnt reach to the bottom of the pyramid. Politicians gulp the money,etc... Now there will be savings in terms of tax which means now the same people who gave excuses should find opportunities on their own to do charity and reach to the down trodden people. In other words next year we should see a surge in the donations made by people ideally.
I have been saying this time and again that it is not about money whether you do make a difference but its about willingness to influence a change. I sincerely hope that in times to come we cut down our ambitions (read as greed) and work towards reducing the inequality in the society.
Also we need to consider that a budget needs to be looked from a political angle and not only from social and economical angle. Finance Minister who announces the budget is a politician at the end of the day.
My point is that instead of directly increasing the slab from 5L to 8L, the government could have increased the limit to say 6.5L and increased the basic exemption limit. One of my friend who works for Citi bank made this point to his colleague who told him that if you dont like the 40K you save give it to me. This was a shock to me. There is no sense of belongingness towards the country. Taxes are a liability rather than an opportunity. We need to understand that its a contribution.
I was checking Give India site to make some donation and one of my colleagues told me that it seems I have excess money. I just smiled and said yes.
I have heard people give excuses like why should we pay taxes we dont get benefit out of it. The money doesnt reach to the bottom of the pyramid. Politicians gulp the money,etc... Now there will be savings in terms of tax which means now the same people who gave excuses should find opportunities on their own to do charity and reach to the down trodden people. In other words next year we should see a surge in the donations made by people ideally.
I have been saying this time and again that it is not about money whether you do make a difference but its about willingness to influence a change. I sincerely hope that in times to come we cut down our ambitions (read as greed) and work towards reducing the inequality in the society.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Family
I ask a question to many people- Given an option will they pay taxes and the typical answer I get is NO. " Why should we pay taxes without any benefit?" In other words we dont understand that the "haves" have a responsibility towards the "Have- nots".
Going by the same logic why should anybody earn for their family because what is the benefit obtained by earning the money for the family. The problem is our myopic definition of life and family. The point I am making is why cant we program our brains to think beyond a few set of people as family. Family is our primary responsibility but not the only responsibility. Even better lets broaden the definition of family.
We have not liberated our minds. We are yet to get independence from the narrow minded thinking.
Going by the same logic why should anybody earn for their family because what is the benefit obtained by earning the money for the family. The problem is our myopic definition of life and family. The point I am making is why cant we program our brains to think beyond a few set of people as family. Family is our primary responsibility but not the only responsibility. Even better lets broaden the definition of family.
We have not liberated our minds. We are yet to get independence from the narrow minded thinking.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Global Warming
An initiative by Art of Living and Times Foundation.
To: Airline Corporations
Global warming has reached alarmingly dangerous proportions and governments all over the world now are taking measures to contain it. It is our collective responsibility to join in these efforts in all our capacities to save our precious planet.
A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Everybody today is aware that the environmental cost for producing a meat-based diet is monumentally higher than a vegetarian one. These costs have escalated to enormous proportions and now pose as very disturbing details.
Additionally, more and more people are increasingly becoming aware of the unhygienic and cruel practices involved in producing meat. Apart from the horrible treatment given to animals reared for meat, they are also injected with harmful chemicals and hormones to add bulk to their bodies, which show strong signs of being poisonous for human consumption. Consequently, health agencies are also recommending people to reduce meat consumption.
It has been established that if a small fraction of the population brings down the meat consumption, by even a little bit, it will do wonders for the environment. Leading researchers all over the world have started recommending a vegetarian diet. Therefore, we would like to solicit your support in declaring all flights meat free. Such a policy change would not only benefit the airline industry, by cutting cost and increasing profit margins, but also the environment and is both economically prudent and ecologically responsible.
It has become imperative that all of us attend to this issue. We, therefore, request all Airways to serve completely vegetarian meals during flights. To increase awareness among people, we have launched a massive signature campaign in support of this drive.
We look forward to a positive response from you.
Warm Regards,
The Art of Living India & Times Foundation. If you believe that this makes sense please voice your opinion.
click to add your voice to this initiative
To: Airline Corporations
Global warming has reached alarmingly dangerous proportions and governments all over the world now are taking measures to contain it. It is our collective responsibility to join in these efforts in all our capacities to save our precious planet.
A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Everybody today is aware that the environmental cost for producing a meat-based diet is monumentally higher than a vegetarian one. These costs have escalated to enormous proportions and now pose as very disturbing details.
Additionally, more and more people are increasingly becoming aware of the unhygienic and cruel practices involved in producing meat. Apart from the horrible treatment given to animals reared for meat, they are also injected with harmful chemicals and hormones to add bulk to their bodies, which show strong signs of being poisonous for human consumption. Consequently, health agencies are also recommending people to reduce meat consumption.
It has been established that if a small fraction of the population brings down the meat consumption, by even a little bit, it will do wonders for the environment. Leading researchers all over the world have started recommending a vegetarian diet. Therefore, we would like to solicit your support in declaring all flights meat free. Such a policy change would not only benefit the airline industry, by cutting cost and increasing profit margins, but also the environment and is both economically prudent and ecologically responsible.
It has become imperative that all of us attend to this issue. We, therefore, request all Airways to serve completely vegetarian meals during flights. To increase awareness among people, we have launched a massive signature campaign in support of this drive.
We look forward to a positive response from you.
Warm Regards,
The Art of Living India & Times Foundation. If you believe that this makes sense please voice your opinion.
click to add your voice to this initiative
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