View: The dead deserve a better sendoff, surely

Civic bodies which are supposed to regulate the dimensions of a city’s growth, including what land ought to be used how, also have the responsibility of detecting and curbing flouting of norms, says Mahesh Vijapurkar. It is heartening to see a Bangladesh court ordering that all movable and immovable assets of the owner of the illegally constructed building that collapsed in Dhaka be seized ‘immediately’. That court also directed that all registrars across the country be ...

Who are the politicians who either build illegal housing or protect them, or worse, secure compliance from the civic officials who wink at the contraventions? More importantly, where is the blacklist of builders who have indulged in rule-breaking as a business practice so that the buyers can avoid their projects, asks Mahesh Vijapurkar. Mumbai’s metropolitan region with its several cities is now in the vortex of a serious crisis and home owners don’t know which way to look. They ...

This horrific event brings to focus, yet again, those who made it possible for incomplete flats to be sold and occupied — private architects, brokers, civil engineers and other civic and police authorities. But the real question is who should be ...

The real estate business thrives on creating excess spaces beyond the permitted building codes, short-changing the buyer, and even opting for poorer quality of material. This finds an enthusiastic resonance among the officialdom. Flouting rules is part of the business model, says Mahesh Vijapurkar. If there is one sector that reeks of illegalities and fosters corruption, it is real estate in India. No city is devoid of this venality. Bigger the cities, scarcer the land and higher the demand for ...

A legislator can invoke privileges only if prevented from performing his obligations as an elected representative. Breaking speed limits on a sea link or brandishing a weapon against a business rival is not one among such obligations, says Mahesh Vijapurkar. Ganpatrao Deshmukh, is a veteran opposition leader in the Maharashtra assembly, there since 1962 but for a gap between 1995 and 1999. He is most respected among his peers in politics. He was appalled when some members performed a maha arati ...

The move by Mumbai airport to have the drop-off point for autos at a distance from the terminals reeks of class distinctions, says Mahesh Vijapurkar. Competitive airline business and the cheap tickets have democratised flying. When Captain G R Gopinath started his Deccan Airlines, he had the entire population as his target. He often spoke of the one billion Indians as his market. He, one assumes, also thought of the cheap-ticket flyer coming to the airport in an autorickshaw. Apparently the ...