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Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delay in declaration of CET results draws criticism
PUNE: The Sajag Nagrik Manch has strongly criticised the Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell for the delay in declaring the results of engineering, pharmacy and agriculture entrance exams. In a letter addressed to higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil, the organisation has called the delay 'unacceptable' while highlighting the inefficiency of the CET process. This year, the CET was conducted online between April 19 and May 5 however the results are going to be announced only on June 16 after a gap of nearly 40 days. Vivek Velankar, president of the Pune-based citizens' group compared this timeline with that of the results of Class 12 Maharashtra board exams wherein 14 lakh students appeared and results were declared within 55 days. 'In contrast, the CET, which was held online for barely 7 lakh students, is taking over 40 days for result declaration. This is a puzzle no one can solve,' Velankar said in the letter. He pointed out that the neighbouring state of Karnataka is handling the process more efficiently. 'Karnataka's CET was conducted between May 10 and 25 and the results will be out on June 7 in just 13 days,' the letter stated. Velankar also raised concerns over multiple errors in the CET question papers this year. 'There were at least 40 mistakes in the question papers, which is shameful in itself,' he noted. He said that the delay in declaration of CET results would in turn delay the admission process with professional colleges beginning their academic year as late as mid-August. Calling the entire situation very unfortunate, Velankar demanded immediate action in terms of urgent processing of CET results and admission timelines. Meanwhile, Akshay Randive, a student, said, 'It's already June 4, and yet the dates keep getting extended again and again. The CET cell helpline tells us to contact the CET office, but no one answers the calls there.' Abhishek Dubey, another student, said, 'This year, there were around 40 mistakes in the CET question papers which is already frustrating. Now, the delay in results is adding to the stress and making me more anxious by the day.'
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Water bills soon for residential property owners in PMC limits
Pune: Property owners in PMC limits may soon receive water bills based on their consumption as the civic body proposes to start distribution of the bills on a pilot basis. The civic administration has finalised the areas for the pilot initiative where works for the have been completed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The remaining areas would be chosen based on response to the first phase. MJ Pradeep Chandran, the additional commissioner of (PMC), said, "A new proposal for better implementation of water metering services has been drafted. It will be implemented after due approvals." PMC officials said water supply zones in the city where over 90% of water meters have been installed would be selected for the pilot project. A PMC official said 141 such zones had been finalised under the project, with around 80 zones having more than 90% water meters. Currently, only commercial properties with meters are charged bills based on monthly usage. Residential properties receive a one-time water charge in property tax bills. The new proposal being finalised would include residential properties in the metered water supply system. Citizens said that though they welcome the decision to install water meters, the system should be implemented properly. "The administration should ensure equal treatment for people from societies, big taxpayers, and slums as far as collection of tax is concerned. The experience is not good as far as property tax is concerned. Common citizens are made to pay tax, but defaulters are allowed to benefit from amnesty schemes," said Shantanu Inamdar, a Kothrud resident. Ashwini Pathak of Bavdhan said that the administration should ensure that citizens receive adequate water. "Many housing societies depend on tankers as enough water is not available to them. If the administration is going to charge for water from property owners, they must get enough water and not rely on tankers," she said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to activists, the administration must also assure good quality water supply with adequate pressure. "The administration had announced that it will provide 24x7 water supply while implementing the metered system. But it is not talking about its assurances and forcing people to install meters and charge them accordingly. The administration is sending a wrong message by threatening those with legal water connections," said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch. PMC officials said that the pilot project's data showed that water consumption is more than normal. The usage is nearly three times more in some cases. The need for metered water supply has been emphasised because of undue use of water. As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) has been suggested as the benchmark for urban water supply. For rural areas, a minimum service delivery of 55 lpcd has been fixed under Jal Jeevan Mission, which may be enhanced to a higher level by states. Last week, PMC had told property owners to cooperate in installation of meters, stating that "their water connections will be snapped without any prior notice" if they don't cooperate. Water meters are being installed for 24/7 water supply project. The installation of meters has faced obstacles due to various reasons, including opposition from locals. A shortage of chips also impacted production of water meters. Civic records showed that water meter installations began eight years ago, and over 70% of the target has been met. Around 1.8 lakh water meters have been installed so far. Pune: Property owners in PMC limits may soon receive water bills based on their consumption as the civic body proposes to start distribution of the bills on a pilot basis. The civic administration has finalised the areas for the pilot initiative where works for the 24x7 water supply project have been completed. The remaining areas would be chosen based on response to the first phase. MJ Pradeep Chandran, the additional commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, "A new proposal for better implementation of water metering services has been drafted. It will be implemented after due approvals." PMC officials said water supply zones in the city where over 90% of water meters have been installed would be selected for the pilot project. A PMC official said 141 such zones had been finalised under the project, with around 80 zones having more than 90% water meters. Currently, only commercial properties with meters are charged bills based on monthly usage. Residential properties receive a one-time water charge in property tax bills. The new proposal being finalised would include residential properties in the metered water supply system. Citizens said that though they welcome the decision to install water meters, the system should be implemented properly. "The administration should ensure equal treatment for people from societies, big taxpayers, and slums as far as collection of tax is concerned. The experience is not good as far as property tax is concerned. Common citizens are made to pay tax, but defaulters are allowed to benefit from amnesty schemes," said Shantanu Inamdar, a Kothrud resident. Ashwini Pathak of Bavdhan said that the administration should ensure that citizens receive adequate water. "Many housing societies depend on tankers as enough water is not available to them. If the administration is going to charge for water from property owners, they must get enough water and not rely on tankers," she said. According to activists, the administration must also assure good quality water supply with adequate pressure. "The administration had announced that it will provide 24x7 water supply while implementing the metered system. But it is not talking about its assurances and forcing people to install meters and charge them accordingly. The administration is sending a wrong message by threatening those with legal water connections," said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch. PMC officials said that the pilot project's data showed that water consumption is more than normal. The usage is nearly three times more in some cases. The need for metered water supply has been emphasised because of undue use of water. As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) has been suggested as the benchmark for urban water supply. For rural areas, a minimum service delivery of 55 lpcd has been fixed under Jal Jeevan Mission, which may be enhanced to a higher level by states. Last week, PMC had told property owners to cooperate in installation of meters, stating that "their water connections will be snapped without any prior notice" if they don't cooperate. Water meters are being installed for 24/7 water supply project. The installation of meters has faced obstacles due to various reasons, including opposition from locals. A shortage of chips also impacted production of water meters. Civic records showed that water meter installations began eight years ago, and over 70% of the target has been met. Around 1.8 lakh water meters have been installed so far.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Water bills soon for houseowners in areas with 24x7 supply
Pune: Property owners in PMC limits may soon receive water bills based on their consumption as the civic body proposes to start distribution of the bills on a pilot basis. The civic administration has finalised the areas for the pilot initiative where works for the 24x7 water supply project have been completed. The remaining areas would be chosen based on response to the first phase. MJ Pradeep Chandran, the additional commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, "A new proposal for better implementation of water metering services has been drafted. It will be implemented after due approvals." PMC officials said water supply zones in the city where over 90% of water meters have been installed would be selected for the pilot project. A PMC official said 141 such zones had been finalised under the project, with around 80 zones having more than 90% water meters. Currently, only commercial properties with meters are charged bills based on monthly usage. Residential properties receive a one-time water charge in property tax bills. The new proposal being finalised would include residential properties in the metered water supply system. Citizens said that though they welcome the decision to install water meters, the system should be implemented properly. "The administration should ensure equal treatment for people from societies, big taxpayers, and slums as far as collection of tax is concerned. The experience is not good as far as property tax is concerned. Common citizens are made to pay tax, but defaulters are allowed to benefit from amnesty schemes," said Shantanu Inamdar, a Kothrud resident. Ashwini Pathak of Bavdhan said that the administration should ensure that citizens receive adequate water. "Many housing societies depend on tankers as enough water is not available to them. If the administration is going to charge for water from property owners, they must get enough water and not rely on tankers," she said. According to activists, the administration must also assure good quality water supply with adequate pressure. "The administration had announced that it will provide 24x7 water supply while implementing the metered system. But it is not talking about its assurances and forcing people to install meters and charge them accordingly. The administration is sending a wrong message by threatening those with legal water connections," said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch. PMC officials said that the pilot project's data showed that water consumption is more than normal. The usage is nearly three times more in some cases. The need for metered water supply has been emphasised because of undue use of water. As per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd) has been suggested as the benchmark for urban water supply. For rural areas, a minimum service delivery of 55 lpcd has been fixed under Jal Jeevan Mission, which may be enhanced to a higher level by states. Last week, PMC had told property owners to cooperate in installation of meters, stating that "their water connections will be snapped without any prior notice" if they don't cooperate. Water meters are being installed for 24/7 water supply project. The installation of meters has faced obstacles due to various reasons, including opposition from locals. A shortage of chips also impacted production of water meters. Civic records showed that water meter installations began eight years ago, and over 70% of the target has been met. Around 1.8 lakh water meters have been installed so far.
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
A year after filing PT3 forms, many property owners await 40% tax sop
1 2 3 Pune: Many property owners who submitted PT3 forms last year are still waiting for their 40% tax discount. PMC officials have attributed the delay to issues like incomplete documentation and pending administrative resident Manasi Kulkarni said people were made to run from pillar to post to fill the forms last year. "But the discount has not been reflected. Now, we have been left hanging in balance about our property tax payment," she said.N N Deshpande, a resident of Bavdhan, said the administration should make the system of submission and cross-verification easy. "An online system should be in place to file the application. That way, it could be tracked online. We came to know about the issues with the tax discount after a year when the new bills were published. Such a delay is frustrating," he Paranjape of Sinhagad Road said the administration should also set up a system to reach out to people and update them about the tax status. "There is no update from PMC on our form submission. We keep checking if the discount has been applied or not. A simple SMS and email giving detailed information about the actual tax and discount must be forwarded to those who are seeking the discount," he said."The citizens can approach the local ward offices or property tax head office and check why the tax discount is not reflected. If all the due process is followed, the changes should be applied in the bills," said a senior official of PMC's property tax claimed that the administration was unable to provide clarity about the changes in the tax amount. "The property tax bills are creating confusion. The owners should get a clear idea about the exact bills and how much discount has been offered. Despite repeated reminders, the administration has not made the changes," Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens' group, said. Pune: Many property owners who submitted PT3 forms last year are still waiting for their 40% tax discount. PMC officials have attributed the delay to issues like incomplete documentation and pending administrative resident Manasi Kulkarni said people were made to run from pillar to post to fill the forms last year. "But the discount has not been reflected. Now, we have been left hanging in balance about our property tax payment," she said.N N Deshpande, a resident of Bavdhan, said the administration should make the system of submission and cross-verification easy. "An online system should be in place to file the application. That way, it could be tracked online. We came to know about the issues with the tax discount after a year when the new bills were published. Such a delay is frustrating," he Paranjape of Sinhagad Road said the administration should also set up a system to reach out to people and update them about the tax status. "There is no update from PMC on our form submission. We keep checking if the discount has been applied or not. A simple SMS and email giving detailed information about the actual tax and discount must be forwarded to those who are seeking the discount," he said."The citizens can approach the local ward offices or property tax head office and check why the tax discount is not reflected. If all the due process is followed, the changes should be applied in the bills," said a senior official of PMC's property tax claimed that the administration was unable to provide clarity about the changes in the tax amount. "The property tax bills are creating confusion. The owners should get a clear idea about the exact bills and how much discount has been offered. Despite repeated reminders, the administration has not made the changes," Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens' group, said.
