Latest news with #Pimenta
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Home buyers left in the dark as MahaRERA blocks details of project under abeyance
Mumbai: Home buyers and advocates are unable to view details of projects kept on abeyance on the MahaRERA website. When some attempted to view details of a project on the website, a message is displayed stating the project is kept in abeyance and the bank account is frozen. However, all vital details, such as completion date, occupancy certificate, approval status, and past orders, are inaccessible to home buyers. Lawyers claim that without public access to essential details, such as Form 4, project approvals, and prior MahaRERA or appellate orders, home buyers will be prevented from availing legal remedy. However, MahaRERA officials have said that the home buyer can write to the regulator seeking details of their project, and the same would be mailed to them. "A home buyer approached seeking to register a complaint regarding a project since there was a delay in the handover of the flat with OC to my client. When I was trying to access all details of the project, including the orders passed by MahaRERA regarding the project, which would enable me to cite the orders in my complaint, a message on the website said that the project is kept in abeyance. All orders regarding a project are normally displayed on the website, which is for the benefit of the home buyers," said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta. Pimenta has written to the state housing department highlighting the issue and pointed out that Section 4(2)(l) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) mandates the developer and the regulator to make available all project-related information to the public. Pimenta stated that MahaRERA froze the project but failed to preserve access for prospective complainants. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai A MahaRERA official pointed out that details of lapsed projects are available. "Details of only those projects, which have been kept on abeyance, are not available on the website. We can provide the same if a home buyer writes to us. Projects are kept in abeyance when the project becomes non-compliant, including not updating progress and status of the project. After a notice is issued, sufficient time is given. Thereafter, the registration is temporarily suspended, and their website is blocked, besides their bank accounts too are frozen. We also ensure no registration of units is carried out in the project. We are not providing any details of the project kept in abeyance in the interest of the home buyers," said a MahaRERA official. The Watchdog Foundation demanded that the MahaRERA portal should resume public access to all non-sensitive details of the project while retaining any regulatory freeze.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
50 animal births & 25 deaths at Byculla zoo between Apr '24 and Mar '25: RTI
Mumbai: Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Gardens and Zoo in Byculla recorded 50 animal births and 25 deaths, according to information received through a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by activist Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation. Among the 50 births, additions included three Humboldt penguin chicks (two males and a female), 12 cockatiels, and several spotted and barking deer. The zoo also reported births of Rhesus macaques, Indian flapshell turtles, and a painted stork chick during the year. On the other hand, the 25 recorded deaths include six spotted deer, three Indian flapshell turtles, two budgerigars, and individual losses of larger species — sambar deer, an elephant, and a striped hyena. The zoo also lost a newborn painted stork chick in the same period. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai The data is part of a larger six-year report of animal births and deaths at the zoo sought by Pimenta under RTI, showing long-term trends in zoo animal health and breeding success. Between 2019 and 2025, Byculla zoo recorded 286 animal births and 275 deaths. The worst period was year 2020–21, when the zoo recorded 14 births against 59 deaths, which could be due to pandemic-related challenges. A senior BMC official said works are ongoing to ensure improved animal welfare at all levels, which can be seen in the number of visitors. In the past five years, over 1 crore have visited the facility, shows civic data.
New Straits Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Hawaiian trio Kulaiwi reconnect with 'separated' legacy through music
KUCHING: Hawaiian trio Kulaiwi are activists who see their music as a way of remembering and recording information for the future generation of native Hawaiians. The award-winning trio, comprising Lehua Kalima Alvarez, Shawn Kekoa Pimenta and Pono Fernandez, had been described by a music critic as "blending song and storytelling with hula to honour Hawaiian culture and ancestry". Pimenta said their songs and hula dances aimed to reconnect native Hawaiians to the aina (land). "The way for us to reconnect is through music and hula," Pimenta said in the artistes' interview on the second day of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in Santubong near here. Kulaiwi is another group making their debut in this 28-year-old festival. The group's name literally means "the land where our ancestors' bones are buried". Pimenta said by making the reconnection, native Hawaiians "can go back to our ancient chants, the music of our ancient people to rediscover what it means to be connected to aina, or land". He said native Hawaiians had been separated from their culture for so long, and so music and dance were a very important way for them to not just learn by reading, but to experience as well. Pimenta, from Kaneohe on the windward side of Oahu island, said Pono, Lehua and him took great pride and care of everything that their ancestors had left for them. "And we strive to continue that legacy of our language, our culture through our songs and through our hula. "We wouldn't be able to have those deep connections if it weren't for music and dance." Pono summed it as a way of remembering, a way of connecting to the past and a way for them to be a bridge to the future. "So the songs that we write, the hulas that we dance today that our peers have created will carry on so the future generations will understand the links." Pono, like Pimenta, is also from Oahu while Lehua is from Hilo. Kulaiwi released their album Native Lands in 2022, featuring 15 tracks comprising original and classic songs. At the 45th annual Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts in 2022, they swept the Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Hawaiian Music Album of the Year and Hawaiian Engineering of the Year awards.
Hindustan Times
21-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Forest dept inspects Bandra Fort's ‘unauthorised' renovation
MUMBAI: The historic Bandra Fort, also known as Castella de Aguada, has allegedly suffered significant and potentially irreversible damage due to unauthorized repair and renovation work carried out within the sensitive Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ-IA), according to a complaint filed by Watchdog Foundation, an NGO. Concerned citizens and heritage conservationists have been raising the alarm over violations that have allegedly compromised the structural and historical integrity of this 17th-century landmark. Following up on the complaint, the forest guard in Versova carried out a panchnama of the Grade I heritage structure and visited the site on Friday to inspect for CRZ violations. Concerned citizens alleged that the renovation work being carried out at the Bandra Fort is turning out to be detrimental to its structural and historical integrity. Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who was present at the site, told HT that the fort's walls were plastered with cement and paint instead of basalt stone, marring the heritage look. 'This complaint was made four months back but a site visit was done by the forest department and Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee today (Friday) to inspect the CRZ violations.' Built by the Portuguese in 1640, this iconic watchtower, overlooking Mahim Bay, once served as a strategic outpost for Portuguese naval operations. It has since become a symbol of Mumbai's colonial history and cultural richness. A previous conservation initiative was spearheaded in 2003 by the Bandra Bandstand Residents' Trust under the leadership of former member of parliament Shabana Azmi. It successfully stabilized the structure and prevented further erosion-related damage. That project followed internationally accepted conservation principles and aimed to preserve the fort's authenticity. However, recent unauthorized renovations have undermined those efforts, said Pimenta. 'Walls have been plastered and sections of the structure repaired using methods deemed inappropriate for a Grade I heritage site. According to heritage regulations, no work – whether development, redevelopment, or even cosmetic repairs like plastering or painting – can be undertaken on such protected sites without explicit, written approval from relevant authorities, including the Mumbai Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), the Heritage Conservation Committee, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the BMC,' added Pimenta. According to Pimenta, the unauthorised renovation work, including plastering and structural modifications, has altered the original character and materials of the fort, compromising its authenticity. He alleged standard conservation protocols were ignored, resulting in the loss of significant architectural features that form the fort's historic identity. 'Such violations not only constitute a breach of legal protections but also represent a grave cultural and civic failure. Experts warn that if such practices continue unchecked, Mumbai risks losing other irreplaceable heritage landmarks to similar negligence.' The forest guard in Borivali told HT that while prima facie there were no violations and a detailed report on the visit will be submitted next week.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
‘15 RTI pleas, protests & a long legal battle'
Mumbai: Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, upon learning of Kurla's Hotel City Kinara fire that killed eight in Oct 2015, said they promptly decided to hold a dharna outside the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible. Despite being threatened with arrest for holding the protest, they proceeded with it, joined by grieving parents. "Subsequently, we submitted 15 to 20 applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking extensive documentation from the licence department and the buildings and factories department of the BMC, Mumbai fire brigade, HPCL, and other relevant agencies. Equipped with substantial information obtained through the RTI Act, we filed a formal complaint with Maharashtra Lokayukta, seeking compensation for the bereaved families. We also organised protests at Kurla, and held a dharna at Azad Maidan, demanding a CBI inquiry," said Pimenta. In a gesture reminiscent of Munnabhai MBBS, he said they left flower bouquets along with 'Get Well Soon' placards outside the home of the then municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta. In Feb 2017, the Lokayukta granted a compensation of Rs 1 lakh. Pimenta said they then approached Bombay High Court. "We are deeply gratified by the recent judgment and would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to senior counsel Naushad Engineer and his team, as well as advocate Jayesh Mestry, who appeared pro bono in support of this just cause."tnn
