A System which Injures the Conscience is Criminal

“Passion for Courage — A Winners’ Creed”, by Brig Sarvesh Datt Dangwal (retd), will be released tomorrowTribune News Service

Dehradun, June 21
Very few books in recent years have as inspirational a theme as the “Passion for Courage — A Winners’ Creed”, which has been written by Brigadier Sarvesh Datt Dangwal (retd).
The book will be released at a special function in Dehradun on June 23 by Lt. Gen. Hira Ballabh Kala (retd), former Army Commander of Western Command.
It is primarily a collection of articles, talks, letters sent and received during his 37 years career in the Indian Army.
Dangwal was commissioned into the Garhwal Rifles (the 4th Battalion) on November 14, 1971, and received his baptism by fire along with his course mates during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.
In his initial years as a Major, during his posting as a Physical Training Officer at the Indian Military Academy he found himself in the eye of a storm.
A Gentleman Cadet of the Technical Wing drowned during training and authorities showed it as an “accident” without negligence on their part.
Major Dangwal, knowing otherwise, informed bereaved father of true circumstances that led to the tragedy. He was later accused of briefing unauthorised person.
“How could the unfortunate and grieving father be an unauthorized person,” he says, recalling those events with much anguish.
What happened subsequently is a long story, told lucidly through a series of articles that Dangwal wrote during his career.
The book narrows the yawning gap between the precept and practice, and lays down cardinal truths for a functional leader.
“The challenges of leadership are met only when our own conscience is put on trial by fire and we choose between right and wrong,” says Dangwal.
Dangwal played a major role in the success of the 4th Military World Games held in Hyderabad in October 2007 as the Chairman of the Games Technical Conduct Committee. For this, he was decorated with the Vishist Seva Medal (VSM)

If you want to predict the future, make it

FEAR BUILDS ITS PHANTOMS

Notwithstanding the spate of scams which have spilled out in the recent past into the public domain, the NDA job scam has mobilised opinion within the serving and veteran community of the Armed Forces and the Army; about the pathetic level to which rectitude and probity has nose dived in the official conduct of senior officers; to a new low in all times. I did a story on what was reported by the news media about this latest of scams in the ‘Cradle for Leadership’, but with a different perspective drawn from my knowledge about things as they obtain and experience in the Army. The essence of the story is the ‘wheel within a wheel’ type of situation which prevails, wherein, the perpetrator of the wrong is inveigled into doing so by the authority which is essentially there to prevent it from happening. This did receive a large response from the brotherhood to which we belong and all were unequivocal in their condemnation of the incident and urged me to continue with the good job of writing forthrightly and in a sledge hammer style to make my point. It can well become a forerunner to many more such stories and writings, which castigate and haul the guilty over the coals, with a single point agenda of cleansing the System of muck, and more muck   A former commandant of a premier officer’s training establishment in Mhow, who was aware of the desire of students to do well in their career courses and achieve above average grading; probably much beyond their ability and capacity to do so by fair means, exploited this tendency by euphemistically ‘stealing the affections of a brother officer’s wife’. Not only this, acts of financial impropriety of all dimensions, big and small, are done under the umbrella of official protection provided by the superior officer, who is placed in the military hierarchy to ensure that it does not happen. Most important inquiries that are conducted in the Army, which are meant to investigate into financial bungling and material misdemeanours, are manipulated at the behest of the convening authority, to dilute the quantum and degree of the wicked deeds. Unless a senior officer has been blatantly stupid or else has rubbed someone in the organisation on the wrong side, the chances of his misdeeds getting discovered are very remote. The market forces have equally seized the officer cadre in the Forces and in an attempt to keep up with the Joneses, they too have yielded to the glitter of lucre.

The Annual Confidential Report (ACR), initiated on officers is an effective and worthy instrument to evaluate individual competence, ability and potential for growth within the organisation. Any suggestion to do away with this practice is considered detrimental to the interest of the Forces and its leadership, because, there is none better, as of now, to replace it with. Be that as it may, the reporting system is also hemmed in by the fact that, the ACR is initiated and reviewed by superiors and humans, in a linear manner. This is where the problem is, given the culture which has besieged its officers in the wake of the economic liberalisation, material affluence, growing middle class and falling values; where success is pedestalised in society, irrespective of the means to it. Rank in the Forces is a symbol of this societal success, which has become the Holy Grail for most ambitious officers to get, at any cost. Along with career growth in the Forces which is identified with rank, are the accompanying privileges that attend upon seniority and status. Moreover, the political leadership in the country which is mired in gross acts of venality and impropriety lacks the quality to inspire and enthuse; instead providing an alibi for acts of unrighteousness at most levels of public life and which most unfortunately includes the Forces, too. But, howsoever corrupt the politicians, bureaucracy, corporate world, lower functionaries in the civil administration and the judicial system may be; it can never be used as an argument to justify and reason growing corruption and lack of probity and rectitude in Service life and living.  

The likelihood of something unwelcome happening is an unwelcome emotion which consumes the young leadership of the Forces, more so when it approaches the transition stage from a junior to a middle rung leader; just about to grow in rank and become a commanding officer. The three essentials of leadership, which adorn an officer’s personality being character, competence and courage are judged by his superior and reported on. The cumulative assessment of the reports, among other inputs, becomes the basis for promotion and growth. For the two traits of character and courage, the assessment is personality oriented and subjective, to a very large extent. While physical courage is tangible and can be assessed objectively, it is the moral courage, the sine qua non of character which becomes an unfortunate casualty in the being of a competent officer who rightfully nurtures an ambition to grow and get promoted. Competence is seen and evaluated on the basis of course results, examinations passed, nominations for higher learning, instructional tenures and execution of command at the ground level. Therefore, this is largely empirical and quantifiable in its perception and not much scope remains for its manipulation, except in manoeuvring to obtain an improved course grading than what is deserved, and improve one’s profile to accrue qualitative advantage thereof. The military values imbibed by the young and junior officers, their degree of military motivation and proclivity to live a clean and upright life, slowly starts metamorphosing into something quite distant and at variance with their ideal in an insidious manner, till such time the damage to their personality is complete, irreversible and self justifying. The lure of rank, privilege and lucre sacrifices character at the altar of success and greed.  All such General and equivalent ranked officers, who have gained notoriety on account of their venal actions in the recent past, travel through a similar path of expediency than righteousness. The transformation is what produces a long list of such officers who disparage the reputation of the Forces and do discredit to its image.

The choice therefore, for a young and junior officer who has not as yet been bitten and contaminated by the poison of corruption, is to make a solemn commitment to himself, to seize the first opportunity which comes his way to stand up against any wrong that gets done , and more so that of his superior. Because, it is only then that he will be able to overcome the phantoms which are more fearsome than reality itself. And, reality when calmly analysed and its consequences willingly accepted looses much of its negativity and terror. I am sure, the young and junior leadership of the Forces abhor murkiness in their life and living, which is contrary to the high ideals with which they join the Military; and which gets idolised in the credo of their respective pre commission training establishment of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.  So, if you want a better future for the Forces and the Country, ‘make it by choice and not by chance’.   

‘The Rebel with a Cause’

Brigadier (retd) SD Dangwal

+919410900051

   

He Will Haunt The Army For Long

Is The Former Chief of The Indian Army an Honourable Man?

While democracy in India is maturing and settling down, governance leaves far too much to be desired and achieved. In such times, VKSingh the former Chief of the Indian Army, emerged for the naive and the credulous, a crusader and champion of the people’s dormant aspiration, as the first serving General to  take the government to court on an inane issue and expose rampant corruption in the procurement of arms, ammunition, equipment and military hardware. His unequivocal allusion to a bribe of Rs 14 crore being made to him by a recently retired Lt Gen, for pushing through a tranche of 600 Tatra trucks for use in the Army, was shocking and painful.

Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, a NDA squadron mate and a senior, who was alleged to have made the offer of the bribe, went ballistic on the fact and accordingly sued a clutch of very senior officers in the Integrated HQ of Defence (Army) on charges of defamation. The court of the Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi, on 20^th July 2012 granted bail to the Vice Chief of the Indian Army, a Lt General, a Maj General, a Lt Col and the former Chief Gen (retd) V K Singh, on a bond of Rs 20,000 each. There could not be a greater ignominy for an Army who’s Vice Chief, Lt Gen and Maj Gen presented themselves in a court and requested for bail. This is what Gen (retd) V K Singh has brought the honour and dignity of the Army to; by having its Vice Chief and the Director General of Military Intelligence to be granted bail. An unprecedented event, in the glorious history of the Army.

In the matter of the date of birth controversy of Gen (retd) V K Singh, he grandstanded for his honour and integrity; but forgot to uphold the honour of the institution which he headed, by dragging its Minister to court, then.  And now, regardless of the damage which continues to be done to the Army’s image, the shrewd VK Singh is completely immune to the disgrace which he has brought upon himself and the serving Vice Chief and other General rank officers. So much, for this man’s concern for the image and reputation of the Army. What is the example which this man has set for the officers and men? Who at one time were tricked by his machismo and bravado to confront authority and revered his daring to do so. But today, when he is on the outside bereft of his authority, quite akin to the King and the Pawn  going into the same box after the game, the covers from his various shenanigans to beat and cheat the system will slowly get removed  with the passage of time. Truth has an uncanny manner of coming to the fore and in the numerous matters which are under the scanner: even though the Raksh Mantri in a display of sagacity wants to bury and forget the past, will spring up when the time comes for it to emerge.

I for one have always maintained without any ambivalence, that Gen (retd) V K Singh is far from an honourable man; because honour to me is steeped in being selfless and which he never was, while in service.

Brigadier (retd)nS D Dangwal

+919410900051   

  

Technical Support Directorate

‘Honey’ Trapped

When, General (retd) V K Singh, on assuming office created the Technical Support Directorate (TSD) cell in the Chief’s Secretariat in 2010, it was with a purpose. Quite alike, the Goebellian adjunct in the Fuhrer’s Reichstag, in Deutschland. To monitor, evaluate and plant information which the Chief could be exclusively privy to, and use to his advantage by either neutralising the bureaucratic interface and inch closer to his superior or else snoop on those remnants in the offices of the MoD and the Army HQ, who were favourably disposed towards his predecessors. This assumption is predicated upon the circumstances in which he assumed office and the commitment which he had made about his disputed records concerning his date of birth. The now infamous ‘Adarsh’ housing scam had just burst open into the public domain and senior officers were involved. The case was handed over to the CBI and VK Singh, much to his delight had made himself free from exercising any leverage in the matter, to influence investigations in support of the impugned fraternity. He had breezed into South Block, with a declaration of restoring the moral health of the Army, which had taken a beating in the recent past, with ‘Sukhna’ and ‘Adarsh’ topping the laundry list of scams. He had made enemies for himself and as such loyalties could be suspect from within. To forestall any move which could likely jeopardise his well conceived plan; to get acceptance of his date of birth as recorded in his matriculation certificate and thus ease out of the embarrassment of reneging on his commitment as given earlier, V K Singh was extremely careful to trust none with his modus operandi.   It was with this self serving agenda that he created the TSD cell and brought his favoured officer from the Military Intelligence Directorate to head and run it.

When the officer’s statutory complaint, regarding the acceptance of his date of birth in his official records as recorded with the AG’s branch, and as made to the Raksha Mantri was rejected, the officer’s shrewd and daring mind went into an overdrive; with the express intent to carve out a stratagem, with which to first arm twist the government and later to embarrass its minister. This was the time when the story about ‘off the air interceptors’ and’ troop movement as a cover up ‘to pre-empt the government from taking any action against him, when he was to file his petition in the Supreme Court, started to roll out into the public domain. The TSD was the hot bed of all spooky doings, which was working overtime to put VK Singh a step ahead of his own ministry, in the matter of his date of birth controversy. With the Supreme Court not giving into the officer’s prayer , the most obvious and considered choice left to a man of his honour and integrity, was to resign and leave. But, he did not do so, only because there were many footprints of his scheming mind, which had to be obliterated from the canvas of the scheming laboratory in the MSD.

In an unprecedented move, the government made the announcement about the Chief designate, three months in advance and this brought the present Chief Gen Bikram Singh into the picture, much before it was expected. The TSD therefore, which I am certain and sure must have been under the scanner of many, but could not be touched since it enjoyed express patronage and protection of V K Singh then, could not be cleansed of its dubious activities owing to the government’s declaration about the Chief designate. As any decision, now involving any structural change in the HQ would also require the approval of the Chief designate too.  There is far too much which is under the wraps within the TSD and its director ‘Honey’. Therefore, now that the net is closing and may even become the noose to catch the guilty; the pressure on ‘Honey’ must be unbearable and the probability of being discovered becoming likelier. The officer suddenly falling sick and getting admitted into the Psychiatric ward of the Base hospital in Delhi cantonment, is a consequence of the drubbing which he has been and is subject to, and rightly so, because the wheels of justice roll slowly but surely and grind those who are guilty.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051   

A Letter to some Journalists

Dear Friends,

We were a case of, from the ‘frying pan into the fire’; our pre commission training in the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun cut short by the imminence of the 1971 Indo – Pak war, which midwifed the birth of Bangla Desh, from the geographical confines of East Pakistan.  Our batch christened itself as the Born to Battle course, which has the proud honour of having on its rolls the late 2^nd Lt Arun Khetarpal, PVC, who was martyred in a bloody tank battle in Jarpal, Shakargarh Sector.There were others too, who made the supreme sacrifice for the honour and glory of the country. This makes us very special and our camaraderie is exemplary.

  We have a Google group aptly called born2battle, through which mates keep in touch and share the same spirit of friendship, brotherhood and mutual trust as when we initially came together as a course. This remains an excellent platform for most of us to also share our acquisitions, musings and writing, on various subjects of interest; in keeping with our individual likes and facility. I for one have reading as a hobby and a penchant for writing, essentially on issues which impact and influence leadership in general and military leadership in particular. My desire was given a tangible expression, when soon after my superannuation from service in 2008, I self published a book titled Passion for Courage – A Winner’s Creed and had it released in Dehra Dun on 23 Jun 2009.

The book is a collection of my writings, on my views on matters and issues as they obtained then and continue to do so, even now. Most of what is in the book was also published in various institutional and in house journals and magazines, contemporaneously. The purpose for publishing this work was primarily to reach out to the young and junior leadership of the Armed Forces and the Army in particular, and provide them with encouragement and hope to serve and live with the courage of their convictions, irrespective of the consequences thereof. More so, the work being an honest effort; without any factual air brushing to make it appear and read more righteous than what it actually is, was born of my personal understanding of what I imbibed from my family, school, training and service career. It advocates functional leadership, premised on the three pillars of character, courage and competence.

It is with the intent and desire to read, reflect and write on what is closest to my heart, that we purchased an apartment in a community housing complex; Arborea Luxury Homes, just off the Rajpur road and in proximity of Rajpur village. The complex is picturesquely located at the Mussoorie foothills, which remain perennially verdant with trees and bushy undergrowth. The environment is relatively free of pollution, traffic and the noisy hustle bustle of town living and city life, and provides a conducive feeling for indulging in one’s creative talent. My wife shares this sentiment with me and occupies herself with her hobbies of painting, reading and music. It is in these surroundings, that among my other interests of walking, yoga, Sudarshan kriya etc, I have been very active in writing and blogging in my URL passionforcourage.blogspot.com, on contemporary matters of interest.

I wish to send to you a few of my stories/features/articles, for your reading, so as to share another view point which may be different from what you have heard or else written about. These are as follows -:

a)     On Gen (retd) V K Singh

b)     On Suresh Kalmadi

c)      On corruption in the Country

d)     On corruption in the Army

With Very Warm Regards,

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051

Olympic Series

Olympics – 2000 Sydney

Fifty one nations won at least one Olympic title, and eighty National Olympic Councils went home with at least one medal, setting a new record that offered proof – if proof were needed – of the global nature of the final Games of the century.

The end of the century and the millennium, Sydney offered a Games full of records: there were close to two hundred nations present (eighty of which won medals), more than 300 events, 10,500 athletes, 16,000 media staff and almost 47,000 volunteers. The purpose built Olympic stadium was the biggest yet, seating 110,000.

Despite this vast scale, the Games were perfectly organized, and restored the confidence of an Olympic movement shaken by the poor organization and mercenary drift of Atlanta, growing concern over doping, and the corruption scandal surrounding the attribution of the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City. Sydney was the breath of fresh air that sport desperately needed. It was as if the waters of its magnificent harbour had redeeming, purifying powers. Put more prosaically, Australia, whose population contains the largest proportions of people practising sports of any country on earth, a nation in which sport is a kind of religion, was a safe bet for a movement in desperate need of good news. Sydney provided it in good abundance.

At the edge of world, the uncertainties of the recent past paled beneath an eternally blue sky. In an extraordinary atmosphere of celebration and sporting achievement, Steve Redgrave, Marion Jones, Inge De Bruijn and Leontien Van Moorsel were among the heroes of the Games – not to mention the vulnerable, talismanic, inspirational Cathy Freeman, whose victory in her home nation had resonances beyond the confines of sport.

Jones, like a Whirlwind

She won Gold medals in 100, 200 and 4x400 meters and bronze in the long jump and 4x100 meters. Marion Jones fell to her knees in front of the clock. Her amazing lap as part of the American 4x400 team was an incredible piece of running and left the 110,000 spectators astonished. She had already successfully competed in the 100 and 200 meters, been through qualifying and the final of the long jump, winning Bronze, and had run the 4x100 meters, but in this her final race, the 24 year old finished her lap in a time of 49.4 secs (manual timing) and allowing the US team to win the race, adding a third Gold medal to her collection. She began her 400 meters leg cautiously, like somebody unaccustomed to the race; as her last 4x400meters had been long back when she was in school. This did not prevent her from assuring victory in Sydney by passing the baton to La Tasha Colander – Richardson with a considerable lead. Her trainer, Trevor Graham, was not surprised by his performance and said ‘I know what she is capable of. I am convinced that if Marion had trained for the 400 meters, she could break the world record’. That belongs to Marita Koch with a time of 47.60 secs.

Representing For Two Nations

Cathy Freeman won for Australia and the Aboriginal community. The pact between modern sport and nationalism has its ambiguities, and sport, including the Olympic movement, has sometimes struggled to contain the very nationalistic fervour it has fostered. Cathy Freeman carried the hopes of two nations into the 2000 Games: those of the host country, Australia, and those of the Aboriginal community into which she had been born. Already the first indigenous athlete to win a medal in an individual event by taking Silver in the 400 meters in Atlanta, subjugation, disenfranchisement and white supremacy were not theoretical ideas to her. Ever since Sydney had been allotted the Games at a Monte Carlo ceremony in 1993, Cathy Freeman’s life centred on the women’s 400 meters final at the 2000 Olympics. Freeman celebrated her victory in the 400 meters by trailing two flags behind her on her victory lap: one for Australia, the other for the aboriginal people of Australia: a double triumph for this inspirational athlete.

Savon: The King of the Ring

Cuba’s heavyweight star won his third Gold medal in as many Games, equalling the record of Laszlo Papp and his late fellow Cuban Teofilo Stevenson. In 1986 as the great Teofilo , Cuba’s three times Olympics heavy weight champion from 1972 to 1980, worked towards his final world title, he sparred with an exciting eighteen year old Felix Savon. It was the handover from one legend to the next. Stevenson had been the most impressive boxer since Cassius Clay, although the two men never met: Stevenson even turned down US $ 5 million to fight Ali, sticking to his revolutionary convictions. Savon first entered the Cuban sports system as a rower, although when he won a salsa contest on Cuban Television, his father insisted he was born to be a dancer. That was before boxing coaches spotted him as a fourteen year old, and in 1986, four years after his first bout, Savon won his first world amateur championship. It was the first of a record breaking six world amateur titles. Savon retired from boxing with a career total  of 592 victories against 17 defeats, after sixteen years at the summit of amateur boxing.

Gebrsalassie, Small But Mighty

Haile Gebrsalassie retained his 10,000 meters title after a memorable duel with Paul Tergat. He carried with him: the joy of movement, the joy of competition, the joy of simply being alive. His, more than any other was the peaceful face of sport. He had a cartilage problem and ever since 1993 when he had won the title of world champion at the age of 20, he had not felt so nervous before a competition. In the final, Tergat of Kenya was his main rival. Gebrsalassie, the 10,000 meters world record holder, with a time of 26: 22.75, knew every last centimetre of suffering involved in the race. The 2000 Olympic final was a dazzling event, building up slowly over some twenty seven minutes at an even more remarkable pace. With nothing between them after twenty four laps, the two men were destined for a battle over the last 400 meters. And that is how they found themselves, side by side on the final lap of the Olympic track, desperately searching for that final scrap of energy. Tergat rounded the final turn in the lead. Then there were just under 100 meters to go, and there was still a story of two men, completely different in stature and style, making the final effort, after which there would be nothing more to give. For a long time, for a very long time, Paul Tergat ate up the ground with his huge strides, which seemed to carry him inevitably towards victory. But all the time, Gebrselassie with his shorter, faster steps, like those of a sprinter, closed in inexorably on the Kenyan. The crowd rumbled and bellowed, and finally broke into a deafening roar as Gebrselassie threw himself at the line. Only a photograph could separate the two men. The electronic timing system separated them with just nine hundredths of a second after the 10 km duel.

Redgrave Reigns Supreme

Winner in the coxless fours, the British oarsman took his fifth Olympic title in five Games. Rowing is a noble sport: when the competition is over and the medals ceremony comes around, this proud discipline tears all its participants equally. There is no grand podium to place Caesar above Pompey. The medal winners all stand on the same plane – the platform of honour. Normally. However, at the medal ceremony for the coxless fours a chink appeared in this egalitarian protocol. The medals are traditionally awarded in the order in which the oarsman sit in the boat. Not this time; and the flouter of was none other than Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth, a former Olympian herself and a member of the IOC, who gracefully sidestepped convention to honour the third oar in the victorious boat; a certain Steve Redgrave.

The Torpedo

Two Gold medals and two world records in the space of an hour: the Australian got everything right on his first day at the Olympics. After an ankle sprain in October 1999, Thorpe continued to swimming length after length, even with his leg in plaster, and came back with an arm action to match his criminally good leg action.

Pieter Van den Hoogenband, VDH, Master of the Waves

Unable to improve on the world record he set the night before, VDH, still took Gold in the 100meters, deposing Aleksandr Popov. The Olympic 100 meters freestyle final has produced great champions: Weismuller, Schollander, Wenden, Spitz, Montgomerry, Gaines and Biondi. This time Russia’s Popov was attempting to make history by becoming the first man to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the event. Victory would have capped eight years of almost uninterrupted dominance in the sprint. The tension was palpable. This time no emotion showed on the faces of the favourites:Popov, the titleholder, VDH the world record holder, and Klim the former record holder. VDH became the first to hold Olympic titles and world records in the 100 and 200 meters since mark Spitz in 1972.

 The Games In Brief

Opening Date                                  15 September 2000

Closing Date                                    1 October 2000

Host Nation                                      Australia

Nations Represented                       199

Athletes                                            10,651 (4,069 women)

Sports                                                29 (25 open to women)

Events                                                300 (132 open to women)

Games Officially Opened By              Sir William Deane,    Governor of Australia

Olympic Flame Lit By                         Cathy Freeman (athletics)

Olympic Oath Read By                        Rechelle Hawkes (hockey)

IOC President                                      Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP)

North and South Korea walked out under the same flag, while East Tmor took part under the Olympic IOA banner (Individual Olympic Athletes).

PS -: matter researched from the archives of the Olympic Museum in Laussane.

Brigadier S D Dangwal

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Mafia In Real Estate In Uttarakhand

WANTED – A REGULATORY AUTHORITY IN REAL ESTATE IN UTTARAKHAND

Preamble

About ten years back when Uttarakhand was carved out from the geographical territory of Uttar Pradesh and Dehra Dun designated its Capital, there was a flurry of real estate business and construction activity which continues to remain and prosper. The large swathes of mango / litchi orchards and agricultural land in the municipal limits and adjoining villages respectively, were converted into residential / commercial property by the MDDA, putting a premium upon land and making property prices sky rocket. The city of Dehra Dun became a haven for real estate sharks and to accommodate the growing demand for more dwelling units and commercial infrastructure, property owners inked joint development agreements with developers and builders to meet the requirement. The elsewhere present housing / living culture of residential apartments embraced the city and multi storied residential complex sprung up in and the periphery of Dehra Dun. The landscape of the city is changing fast and the open spaces of yester years have become concrete monstrosities. The price for non sustainable development. This comes at a cost and impinges upon a symbiotic relationship with nature, affecting the quality of living. The city will fast be bursting at its seams with an implosion of burgeoning concrete infrastructure, necessitated by the trappings of State Government Offices, making its presence in the midst of residential / commercial areas. To make matters worse, the narrow width roads which earlier catered to the needs of the town and its modest manageable traffic are now in a state of virtual chaos, making movement of vehicles and their parking a cause of much anxiety. Road rage, which earlier was an unknown emotion to Doonites, has now grasped public psyche to throw up untoward behavior by people, at grave cost to the safety and dignity of its senior members, who are its distinguishing feature. Human life is either maimed or lost in road accidents, caused due to rash and negligent driving on the peripheral roads, on a frequent basis. The shortage of traffic police to control and regulate the speeding cars and motorbikes, makes matters more difficult and macabre.  

Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd

It was in this ground reality that M/s Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, a company having its registered office at K-1 Green Park Main, New Delhi, went into a joint development agreement with about ten land owners south of village Tarla Nagal on Shastradhara – Mussoorie Diversion road, to build and develop a community housing project, Arborea Luxury Homes. The project is beautifully located on a commanding piece of land overlooking a rivulet and in proximity of the Sai Baba Temple on Rajpur road. Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has an envious reputation in the development and building of commercial and residential structures and has to its credit lacs of constructed floor space successfully completed, mainly in the National Capital Region of Delhi. Moreover, the Managing Director (MD) of the Company, being a man of conviction, who abides by the dictum of business best practice and is under girded by an ethical attitude remains the company’s USP . With an assurance such as this and the MD’s reputation as promulgated in the marketing brochure and website, a testimony of honesty and uprightness in business dealing, prompted and encouraged many an unsuspecting buyer to invest in Conscient Infrastructure’s maiden housing venture in Dehra Dun, thoughtfully named Arborea Luxury Homes.

Arborea Luxury Homes

The project which started in 2008 is still incomplete, even as owners / occupants moved in commencing from March 2011. The complex which has 12 towers of four floors each with two apartments on a floor and in two categories viz Premium and 3 BHK comprises 96 apartments. Of these, about 35 have been taken possession of and about 25 are presently occupied. The property which was exorbitantly priced at its launch in comparison to the then prevailing market rates, is slowly emerging to be a damp squib, given the problems the owners are living with every day. There are major design and construction flaws which are an architectural and workmanship blunder respectively, making the presumptuous claims of Conscient look pathetic, to say the least. It defies one’s common sense that in a place like Dehra Dun where monsoons are intense and remain for four months, no sunshades have been provided over the windows and the balconies. Thus, making the carpet area of the apartments vulnerable to rain water, and causing tremendous inconvenience to the residents. In addition, the water proofing of the buildings is suspect and probably sub standard. Not only that, the sliding glass windows and doors and kitchen door and window have not been provided with fly proofing arrangements, which precludes air circulation, when these are closed to prevent flies and mosquitoes from flying into the apartment from the outside. The living space gets suffocating and unhealthy. The standard of plumbing is a nightmare and seepages from concealed pipelines are an eternal problem which the residents have to contend with on a regular basis. Moreover, the drain in the dry / utility balcony is perpetually choked and the slope in the bathrooms is inadequate for water to flow out on its own. And this primarily because of the cost cutting shenanigan of the architect by providing insufficient thickness to the flooring, which does not enable sufficient circumference pipes to be embedded and a slope to be given. The stupidity is compounded further by not providing a trap door to clean and clear the choking kitchen drain, thereby necessitating the breaking of the concealed drain chute, every time a blockage occurs. The quality of the material used in the modular kitchen is probably of the lowest end in the market and remains an apology for it. A clear case of commitment deficit. The energy consumption of most occupied apartments was inordinately high in January 2012 (varying between Rs11, 000 to Rs 5,000), leaving a big question mark on the integrity of the electric meters and the associated equipment, including the soft ware installed for the purpose. Given the construction design of the apartments and an all glass look, security assumes an added importance in the complex. However, this seems to have been either ignored or else overlooked, as the staircase to the apartments is easily accessible from the side of the ground level planter, even while a biometric access door has been provided to control and restrict unauthorized entry from below. Inanity, at its best. It could not have been more comical than this, when one learns that though there are power points for a TV connection in all the rooms, one can watch only one channel at any one time, even on different set top boxes. Invest on 3 to 5 TV sets to watch only one channel programme. Brilliant!

In an ingenious move to force the maintenance services to be provided only by a business partner of Conscient, M/s Massoorie Himalayan Resorts Pvt Ltd (Mco), the owners were / are forced to sign a Maintenance Agreement on a non judicial stamp paper, bequeathing this right to it. The monthly maintenance charges which are very steep Rs 3,400/- per month, leave the owners with very little choice in the matter. It is needless to speak about the quality of the service provided for the money charged, as it is lamentable. The security service engaged by Mco is inadequate and professionally challenged, keeping the residents in a state of perpetual anxiety about their well being. The arboriculture of the complex is in keeping with the poor understanding of what it implies and one gets to see a surfeit of palms planted all over in a drab monochrome, of only green.

The commitment made by Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd in the Allotment and Maintenance Agreement are far from fulfilled and leave much to be desired. Some of these, which require a mention, are -:

a)      Clubhouse with pool table and card room, spa with steam, top of the line gymnasium, swimming pool, wi fi internet connectivity are not ready and functional, as yet

b)      Provision of cafeteria, mini convenience store, kid’s play area, not earmarked and ready as yet

c)      The Sale Deed is largely imbalanced and needs a major redrafting, to make it just to the owner

d)       The Clearance Certificates / NOC from the Electricity, Water Works, PWD and Fire  Fighting Departments are not provided

e)      The approved MDDA plan has not been provided and it seems that violations obtain. The stilt parking has been modified in some cases to include servant’s quarters, which is probably unauthorized

f)         The land being bhumidhari, the power of attorney which has been given by land owners to some others, who are not blood relatives, is not valid under the UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act, and as adopted by the government of Uttarakhand. Hence, any Sale Deed which has been registered is also invalid.  

High Handedness of Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd

The owners of apartment(s) in Arborea Luxury Homes, convinced that they had been short changed by the grandstanding claims of Conscient, decided to form a duly registered Resident Welfare Association (RWA) to represent their interests, collectively. Having done so and formed a Society under the rules as encapsulated in the Society Registration Act 1860, the RWA wrote to Conscient and tried to engage with them in a spirit of mutual understanding and bonhomie, to engage and resolve the existing issues, to the satisfaction of all. This evoked a rather imperious response from them and they refused to recognize a duly registered Welfare Association. It is indeed a travesty of our business ethics that there is no regulator in the real estate sector who can intervene and initiate punitive action against defaulters. While the consumer and civil law courts exist, they are very time consuming and the compensation which accrues to the deponent / aggrieved party is not commensurate to the angst it causes to the aggrieved party.

Therefore a stratagem which can be effective in such cases is to hurt the builder / developer and in the instant case Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, by making holes in their acclaimed public reputation and bringing them to a state of commercial / reputation grief. When the word goes around that a builder / developer has not delivered on what was promised during the Agreement, their professional standing takes a beating which they can ill afford.

When people get wise about the various subterfuge, which this breed of people employ in marketing their product and at the outset inveigle the buyer with false promises of delivering quality , will there be a possibility of things improving and getting better for the customer / consumer. The courts of Uttarakhand may well sit on judgment of such cases, wherein the customer in the real estate sector has been unjustly cheated by builders / developers, who continue to make huge sums of money at the cost of the naïve and credulous buyer. The media must support the cause of the buyer who has always been at the receiving end of such intriguing and unfortunate transactions. Those who are planning to buy property in the various Housing Societies, which have sprung up and are coming up in Dehra Dun in the future, need to be wary of what they are getting into. Be rest assured that all the allotment and maintenance agreements which are required to be signed by the buyer are disproportionately loaded in favor of the builder / developer and would require legal intervention for redressal?

The Future

Should the issues as have been raised herein, be addressed and resolved by Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Arborea Luxury Homes can approximate the splendor of its name and style. The Resident Welfare Society of the housing complex will untiringly endeavor to make the Company see reason and urge it to fulfill all that it promised to its trusting and wet behind the ears buyers, who trusted the MD about his pronouncements regarding the credentials and reputation of his Company. Given the geography of the resident housing complex, it will continue to remain the cynosure of all eyes in Dehra Dun and we sincerely hope that things will take a turn for the good, to value add to this real estate, in due course of time.