Elusive builders delay consumer cases Sunday, October 21, 2001
BY SANJAY PANDEY, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Elusive builders, made respondents in cases related to quake-damaged buildings, were delaying the disposal of a large number of cases filed before consumer courts by staying away from hearings.
Cases filed before the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission and the District Consumers Forum in February-March this year against builders, seeking compensation for collapsed buildings during the January 26 quake, are being frequently adjourned due to the absence of respondents.
"We cannot disclose the details of cases to be filed against builders as they might go underground and would not respond," said a Consumer Education & Research Centre (CERC) official pleading anonymity. CERC is planning to file at least seven cases on behalf of flat owners of an apartment which collapsed during quake in Ambawadi area. Known for their 'speedier redressal' of cases, the consumer courts would take some time for quake-related cases in order to prove the basic facts, say legal experts.
"As far as my case is concerned, respondents have acknowledged the summons and are also appearing before the court but there are a lot many cases where builders have gone incommunicado," says A O Chudgar, a practising consumer lawyer, fighting a case against a builder on behalf of his father whose house collapsed in the quake.
There are more than 50 cases pending with the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission seeking claims for quake-related building damages and another 25 cases are lying with the forum. Apart from these, some 500 cases have been received by the city civil courts for compensation for quake-damaged buildings.
While the slow progress of quake-related cases in civil courts was understood on account of heavy backlog, the non-appearance of respondents is prolonging the disposal time in the consumer courts. "In a majority of the cases, notices have not been received by respondents as most builders are in jails or have gone underground," says Rajiv Mehta, another consumer lawyer, who is fighting at least 15 cases against a public-limited construction company for deficiency in service.
Complainants, mostly flat owners, are now considering to approach the commission to pray for an ex-parte disposal of the cases. "But going for ex-parte disposal would leave ample scope for the respondents to approach the appellate court for quashing the orders citing various reasons for his absence from the hearings," adds Mehta.
Most of the cases have been filed on the ground that builders handed over defective dwelling units, not in compliance with the national building code. The builders were also held liable for offering defective products to customers in most of the cases filed.
"Still consumer courts are a better alternative to redress grievances as they act faster and require a bare minimum expenditure unlike civil courts," says Naynaben Shah, a consumer lawyer. According to her, more and more people should approach consumer courts as they consume less time and do not charge the court fee too.
Experts see another hitch in the disposal of quake-related cases as complainants have to prove the negligence on the part of the builders. "Builders can easily argue giving natural calamity as the reason for the collapse of buildings," comments a lawyer, adding that cases would take a longer time than usual for disposal.
While cases in consumer bodies are lingering on, nobody from the state has till now approached the National Consumer Redressal Commission, which has a jurisdiction of accepting cases beyond Rs 20 lakh. A CERC official said, "Not many respondents are willing to approach the commission due to the high cost involved in litigation to fight a case."
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Bharuch :: Brown sugar seized at Bharuch Sunday, October 21, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Bharuch district police seized a consignment of 1.84 kg brown sugar and arrested four persons from Rajasthan from a hotel on the Vadodara-Bharuch highway late on Thursday night.
While drug trafficking appears to be on the rise in the state consequent to the Afghanistan crisis, the police believes that the amount seized was a sample "meant to be tested at the destination to confirm the quality and decide on the delivery of a subsequent consignment," Bharuch SP M D Antani said.
The four persons arrested are Jameel Ahmed Kader Khan Chitta who runs a PCO and a transport contract in Ajmer, Kamruali Ishtiaqali who runs a perfume business in Uttar Pradesh and enjoys 'access' with the drug contacts, Abdul Gaffar Hafiz Abdul Quayyum who runs a bookstore in Ajmer and was heading for Ahmedabad on a personal errand, and the driver and owner of the Tata Sumo, Surendrasingh Chhotusingh Rajput.
According to Antani, the police had stationed a watch on the highway after an alert was sounded on the increase in the drug-trafficking business. The four persons who had brought the sample from Rajasthan, were seen moving about suspiciously near Shama Hotel between Karjan and Nabipur on the highway, and were intercepted by the local crime branch around midnight.
The sample would have fetched them about Rs two lakh after delivery, the destination of which is yet to be determined. The price of the brown sugar is estimated at Rs 2 crore in the international market. The accused, in their early twenties, have been taken on remand till October 27.
Chemical factory workers die: The Odhav police registered a case of accidental death after two workers died after inhaling poisonous fumes in the factory premises of Jay Chemicals in Odhav area. The workers, Guddubhai Shivprasad Chamar (27) and Rajbharti Sitaram Parmar (22), residents of Ranchhod Desai ni chaali, had lifted a 50 litre can filled with a chemical used to make dyes when poisonous fumes suddenly erupted from it and they faced breathing problems.
In all, three workers were affected and were rushed to the Shardaben Hospital where these two succumbed.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Notices to engg colleges on NRI seats Sunday, October 21, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: The state government has threatened a number of engineering colleges with serious action for not admitting students on seats converted from the NRI category to payment seats.
The Directorate of Technical Education has issued show cause notices asking why they should not recommend to the All India Council for Technical Education to cancel their affiliation. Prominent among these colleges are those run by the Charutar Vidya Mandal at Vallabh Vidhynagar.
Trusts like the Mandal are waiting for all litigation to be cleared on the NRI issue at the Gujarat High Court, while officials at the Centralised Degree Admission Committee (CDAC) say the admission process cannot be stopped at they have received no such order or stay from the court.
In another unusual case, the K M Shah Dental College, Vaghodia in Vadodara refused to accept fees from students on the grounds that they did not have the original no-objection certificate. Enraged officials at the CDAC have been telling the college for the last three days that they can't demand the NOC and yet the fees have not been accepted. Admissions are expected to go on till November 1.
Police Flag Day today Sunday, October 21, 2001
BY SANJAY PANDEY, TIMES NEWS NETWORK
AHMEDABAD: Even as the Gujarat Police celebrates yet another Police Flag Day on Sunday , the fund for the welfare of the ex-police personnel remains unused six years after its creation.
"Serving policemen are taken care of by the Police Welfare Fund but nobody cared for the retired policemen till a fund for them was created," says S N Sinha, ex-DGP, Gujarat Police. But Sinha rues that the purpose of creating the fund was defeated due to its non-utilisation since it was created in 1995.
The fund was set up to collect donations from the public on the occasion of Police Flag Day on October 21 to commemorate the sacrifices of policemen who laid their lives while on duty throughout the country.
The fund has swollen to over Rs 70 lakh from donations collected during the successive Flag Days but has been unused due to the 'indecision' by director generals of police, Sinha added.
The indecision was due to 'open' definition of the fund and lack of interest from DGPs, too, towards ex-policemen's cause. Over the years the government increased the price of tucking a flag on the donor's chest from Rs 1 to Rs 10 mopping Rs 15 to 20 lakh every year, but utilisation of the fund has yet to find its way.
Non-utilisation of fund for retired policemen was going the same way like the Police Welfare Fund for serving policemen which has accumulated to several crores over the years. "During British era respective district superintendents of police used to redress the grievances of retired policemen during their visit to police stations but later on everything vanished into thin air," says B K Yadav who retired as assistant commissioner of police.
The fund was also unique in the country as for the first time a separate fund was created for ex-policemen on the government's initiative.
Sources in the directorate general of police disclosed that a meeting of retired policemen has been convened on October 25 to discuss ways to spend the accumulated amount.
"Suggestions from the district headquarters and range DIGs have already poured in and would be discussed on October 25", a top member of the DGP's office said.
"There is an immense difference between problems of serving policemen and those of retired ones," says G R Prajapati, General Secretary of Gujarat ex-policemen Association and a retired police inspector adding that the association is ready with a list of suggestions to discuss in the meeting.
The association is in favour of group medicare scheme for retired policemen and providing succour to families of some 50 odd policemen who died in the January 26 quake.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
Bus overturns near Anjar, killing 4 Sunday, October 21, 2001
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
GANDHIDHAM: Four persons died on the spot when a mini-luxury bus overturned near Ratnal village of Anjar taluka. The bus was coming here from Bhuj.
The Arzu Travels bus toppled down twice and landed into bushes by the roadside - one km from Ratnal - when the driver lost control, at 10 p.m. Four persons died on the spot. Their names are not known yet. It is learnt that they were from one family.
Of the 30 injured passengers taken to hospital at Anjar, two are unconscious. Some are being shifted to the Bhuj government hospital. DySP P L Mal rushed to the spot and arranged to shift the injured to hospitals.
News Source : The Times of India [India's best Newspaper]
