Sunday, April 25, 2010

Freedom at Midnight

On August 15th 1947 as the clock stuck twelve a.m Jawaharlal Nehru made a powerful speech exhorting India to wake up to the new world.

To quote Nehru said "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of Inida and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity."

On similar lines in the wee hours of April 26th, 2010, BCCI suspended Lalit Modi thereby singling out Modi as the single individual responsible for all the scandals which IPL is a part of.

On one day India attained freedom, on another the party of the powerful have tried their best to severe off their right hand hoping that this surgical procedure will be the best option under the given circumstances.

Everybody knows the levels of corruption in Indian politics and business. As followers of real estate we have seen massive amounts of speculative capital being parked in lands all over the country. There is no accountability since the law-makers and law enforcers are in cahoots with each other.

This is the India we awake to every day. The sooner we realize it the better it is. It is not going to get any better. Modi was made the scrape-goat since he got too big for his own shoes. The Indian political system operates at more nefarious level then even the Bhai's. I have no sympathy for Modi however I am convinced that he people against him are 10x more deep in the muck which Modi finds himself in.

Now imagine if a commission was setup to examine the land-holdings and source of funds of the builders.

That scandal will make Lalit Modi look like King Harishchandra.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sundas Bhai, Sundaaaaas Bhai , Sundaaa Bhai, Sundaaasss Bhai............

I will keep saying what the hell is your problem. HA HA HA....

Anonymous said...

As Indians we all are corrupt in our minds. We never want to follow a legal or ethical route towards success. We always take unethical and illegal shortcut.
That is why all the people holding the market or right position can play with us.
Just think when we go to builder, they have a section called as "Legal", for which they charge anywhere between Rs 5000 to Rs 30000. When asked what is it the first answer is for the paperwork. I was amazed to know that paperwork costs so much. But when I probed little more into it the builder said this is the money they need to bribe in the registrar office.
Now tell me if builder has everything legal then why he needs so much of bribe to be given? Indirectly by paying him that money, we are bribing the registrar. No one protests against it as everyone is in hurry to buy the house.
Fact of the matter is no one from government office asks a bribe to a common person. I have experienced this in Passport and RTO, Pune offices. But you have to go there in person and follow their process. But if you go through the agent, not only he will take same amount of time but will loot you for your ignorance.
So lately I started feeling like it is not the government servants who ask for the bribe but it is people of the country who think for any kind of government work you have to pay bribe.
Has anyone tried the registrar office? I bet they won't worry if you have the right paperwork. And they will give you the list of the documents needed if you ask them.
Lowest IQ

Anonymous said...

I think like stock market the discussion on this blog is going sideways. Anyway what else we can do till the prices fall?

Anonymous said...

@Lowest IQ

Without bribe nothing moves. The officials make you to run to post and pillar thus wasting your time. It is better to pay some bribe to get the work done rather than getting frustrated.

Bribe is essential part of our life. Knowing this, the govt keeps the salary levels very low so that the officials are forced to accept bribes.
Bribe amounts are proportional to the post held by the government officials.
I have personally paid a large amount to a magistrate to settle a civil case in my favor. Judiciary, police, civil servants, cusom officials .... all are corrupt.
The reason why we are all corrupt is that our religion/culture condones it.

Anonymous said...

Jayant @7.15, DhlmAn @12.47 Previous Post

As I already mentioned I bought in a resale so INR 3100 is an all inclusive rate - MSEB, Club, Parking. Paid only Registeration & Stamp Duty over and above this which you guys know but just mentioned.

Infact I paid this rate coz its an excellent product, should classify as a Premium Property and would rank at number 1 in the vicinity. Rates in the surrounding areas were hovering around INR 2600 - 2800 all inclusive for under construction and 2800 - 3000 for ready possession properties when I bought last year.

I think the problem with many is they will plan and strategize, do a lot of research if they are buying the lastest LED Flat Panel TV, nothing wrong with that but when it comes to buying a house they become gullible. I have seen many getting influenced and making impulse purchases. Mostly by the crafty Builders and their teams who hallucinate buyers. The poor innocent buyer gives into their spells as he envisions his dreams getting fulfilled. Enough of this consumer mindset thing for now but here's something more interesting to my story.

I began looking seriously at Pune from an Ad in a leading Bombay Newspaper for Paranjpe Magnolia in June'2006. The rates quoted were INR 2600 then and I loved their layout, had heard only good things about Paranjpe but I had some personal financial issues so could not make any commitments there. It got sold out and then began looking at Camellia and Crystal Gardens but never liked them so much. Also, at the back of my mind I wasn't ready to commit as I believe in - Maal deekhao, Paisa lo.

Come April'07 I got interested in Palash 1.0 but again it was just starting construction. Then I went around sight-seeing and saw Kumar Shantiniketan - how could people pay INR 3000 base rate to the most crappy layout is what I left that place feeling. There was just around 1 1/2 building constructed if I remember right and I thought living there we could know each day what ingredients went in cooking the daal at our neighbours place in the adjacent building.

I had looked at Park Street Sapphire Park as well in April'07. Rates quoted were INR 2700 - 3100 base plus a lot of extras; some of it was Greek for me. Liked their phase I Ruby Park in ready possession but rates were high. All in all felt that this was going to turn out to be a concrete jungle. What's the point of having and paying for a 60 X 20 feet swimming pool with a significant portion of the 800 families and their kids would also want to jump in; a clubhouse where I will have to wait for 2 hours in the queue to await my turn on the Treadmill/Elliptical.
So gave up on that.

And to answer your last question - I had been saving for a few years so I could have easily paid even 50% of the property down but have invested in Agricultural and NA Land in other places(values quadrapuled so far in 3 years). Land with 7-12, fencing, clear titles, etc etc.
I too don't believe in Paper Salaries, read CTC. I believe in hard currency, the one that gets deposited in your bank at the end of every month - that is what your salary is. I am not stretching myself at all on the EMIs.

I had written two pieces on this blog early last year urging all serious buyers to think through and zero-in on their dreams. Hope that many gave it a serious thought.
Cheers,
NT (Neutral Territory)

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:22 AM

I cannot agree with you. If we accept bribe as a part of life then we are not going to create the right platform for the inclusive growth.

People who have money may be able to pay the bribe but what about those who don't. What about their rights?

Also the sixth pay comission has set the payscale right and govt officials are getting very good salaries.

Our previous 2 generations neglected this issue and accepted as part of life. That is why we are suffering, if we also accept it then the next generations also will carry the burden. We need to stop this somewhere and we can start with 'I'.

But I cannot change someone else's attitude towards this, until the other person realizes.

For the benefit of this blog lets not carry on this discussion any furthur as the topic of this blog is different.

Lets agree to disagree on this matter.

Lowest IQ

shailesh said...

Taiwanese solution to soaring house prices: don't have kids

We have to learn some sobering lessons from Asia or the future's bleak.

IN TAIPEI the other day, a crane drove up to the front of the Parliament building. It lowered a man sitting in a plastic container shaped like a house, and suspended him in the air in a protest against the high price of real estate. Through a microphone, he urged onlookers to rise up against high housing prices, declaring: ''People without homes, slaves to property, stand up!''

It is not only in Australia that young people have seen their dreams of home ownership evaporate as house prices boil. Throughout east Asia, a crisis is building as cashed-up investors who fled the sharemarket in 2008 moved their money into real estate, sending prices soaring.

China, in the midst of a full-scale housing bubble, has now done so. After real estate sales revenue jumped 75 per cent in a year, its state council last week hit investors with tighter rules. Banks are now forbidden to lend investors more than 50 per cent of the sale price (in Australia, 100 per cent is common). Investors must now pay a premium of at least 10 per cent above the normal interest rate, while first home buyers receive a discount. New loans are banned to investors who already have one property. And there is talk of a tax on rental property ownership.

rajni said...
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