Having multiple flats in NCR was a dream come true. We were eagerly waiting for our 36 months to get over so that we get possession.  Months changed to years but the wait was never ending. We started discussing with others who were in a similar boat. A lot of agitation was brewing. People were restless. Why not, we invested our entire life’s savings in those housing societies which were now standing barren. Slowly communications were reducing and there seemed to be no hopes of what was called a possession letter. Newspaper news like these were shaking our hearts and rattling our thoughts. We didn’t know what to do. We realized that there was no other way but to go to the courts and ask for relief. Ask for our Flats. Once the court orders, the builder will have to give our flats. So, we started off. To file in NCDRC we were forming groups.  We spoke to hundreds of people who were loosing hope. We told them that we also are in a similar state and while we are troubled, we should not loose hope. Thus we formed groups to file cases against the builder companies to get early possession and compensation for the delay. In the process, I spoke to young and old. Those who were young were angry. The older and more experienced ones were scared. One Lady went to the extent of telling me, ” Beta, please don’t file case against the builder, else he will not give us our flats”. An Uncle broke down while telling me, “I have invested my whole life’s savings. I took out all my provident fund savings to buy this house and it is now stuck. I do not have money to pay Emi and rent both.”. Multiple people said they want to sell off and recover their money. But who will buy a stuck property. There were No Takers.  One person called to check if the builder will give their money back. Innocent people, cheated badly. They have no way to go. These are only some of the examples, which shook us. It s not that the owners of those big building construction companies are not aware the impact it will have on their customers. Distressed people, took to streets and peace marches were done. The kind of mental agony that we consumers were exposed to, (apart from the financial and physical stress)  was unparalleled. And so we at ASAR Initiative, took up to helping people who were in a situation similar to us. For detailed clarification, request you to please consult with your lawyer. We can only share the experience of what  we have faced. Richie – 98604.65660. Read More at: Activities At Asar Will We Ever Get Our Houses ? The Plight of Men and Women – Cheated by builders NCDRC 12(1)b or 12(1)c – which one to go for ? Cheated By Builders ? What Next ? How do Consumers get justice Bought your Flat. Did U get Delivery ?

The more you try to understand, the deeper it gets. For the benefit of those who would like to have a preliminary information. There are various sections under which one can file their complaint in NCDRC. 12 (1) A – Direct complaint at NCDRC 12 (1) B – Through society (Since the value of the complaint has to be greater than Rs. 1 Cr) 12 (1) C –  class action suit – one person can file and result applicable to all 12 (1) D –  Government files a case Out of these, generally there is a tiff between flat owners as to whether 12 (1) B is better than 12 (1) C. Let us look at it one by one : If a complaint is against a builder under Section 12 (1) (c), i.e by an unregistered group of persons, it can be filed only on behalf of or for the benefit of all buyers who have the same interest and grievance against the builder. It cannot be filed seeking relief for the benefit of only some of the buyers. Read more at The Logical Buyer’s blog: NCDRC’s full bench judgement on Section 12 (1) (c) of the Consumer Protection Act. The Challenges with the 12 (1) c are inherent in the process associated with it :1. Since it is for the benefit of all – it is very difficult to form a group. So even if a person does not join the group / doesn’t pay – he will get the benefit of the case filed.2. The interpretation of this case is that people having same interest will get benefitted. This is not very clear whether same interest or similar interest is same thing. This can be challenged in Supreme Court and our case can be hung again. This is ambiguous and clarity is not there.3. The process is that you have to get permission of NCDRC to file case – MANDATORY STEP4. Then a public notice is to be sent to everyone – so that they are aware and accept the case being filed – this takes a huge amount of time – This is a Mandatory Step.5. There is no clarity as to how much needs to be waited after the notice. What if I challenge in the court that the case is not applicable to me. Only after this the process will start.6. This procedure is much slower as compared to 12 (1) B. That is why :The Best way is to go through 12 (1) B because of the inherent problems of the 12 1 c.CLEARLY – Even if I do not become the part of the case and do not pay the lawyers fees in case of 12 1 c – I will still get the benefit of the filed case.And the process is very slow, ambiguous and can be challenged because of ambiguity.It would thus be wise to explore 12 1 b option – which is much safer. This is the one which is being taken up by many lawyers in JP, Lotus Panache, Amarapali, Supertech etc cases. While we were forming our group, someone suggested, that there are decided cases where 12(1) c has benefited people but it has always been challenged by builder because they wouldn’t want to settle with many people. They also have the option of settling with that person and the entire 12(1)C suit then weakens up. This looks like a practical difficulty in getting implementation done.So in short it’s safe to file case as a society, where no one person can influence the case in an adverse direction. Also, Filing a Criminal Case has many aspects. When we file an FIR / EOW case, the officials will do their study and build a case and arrest the builders / parties implicated. Now when this happens, the opposite party get troubled definitely. But the main point – We want our Flats – for which we have been fighting the case is – EARLY POSSESSION & COMPENSATION FOR DELAY This does not happen in criminal case.  In Other cases of Amrapali, Supertech etc., the relief that the buyers have found is through the 12 1 b. They have got reasonable compensation and possession orders. For detailed clarification, request you to please consult with your lawyer. We can only share the experience of what  we have faced. Richie – 98604.65660. Read More at: Activities At Asar Will We Ever Get Our Houses ? The Plight of Men and Women – Cheated by builders NCDRC 12(1)b or 12(1)c – which one to go for ? Cheated By Builders ? What Next ? How do Consumers get justice Bought your Flat. Did U get Delivery ?  

We paid the full amount. Expected date of possession – 36 months from the date of booking. Some Booked in 2010, some in 2011 and some in 2012. Its 2019 now. There is no indication of our flats being given.  The buildings are standing tall, no one is there. not even the workers. The builder doesn’t reply.  All we are told is they will deliver in the next six months. More than Six years have passed and we are still listening to this excuse. This is a regular feature with the NCR builders. They took all our money and years later, no news on deliveries. If you are one of the troubled buyers, Have faith. There is Hope. Our Judicial system is supporting us. Buyers need to come together and fight it out with unity. There are various options available to us as consumers. Some buyers filed a case with the State Consumer Forum. This is an individualistic approach. Once we form a group, our strength increases multi folds. We need to come together so that our collective value of the flats are more than Rs. 1 Cr. This enables us to go to the NCDRC – the National Consumer forum directly. We can file a case with the Economic Offence Wing (EOW). File an FIR with the police. File a Case in RERA (Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016) With multiple options at our disposal, we are bound to get justice some way or the other. For detailed clarification, request you to please consult with your lawyer. We can only share the experience of what  we have faced. Richie – 98604.65660. Read More at: Activities At Asar Will We Ever Get Our Houses ? The Plight of Men and Women – Cheated by builders NCDRC 12(1)b or 12(1)c – which one to go for ? Cheated By Builders ? What Next ? How do Consumers get justice Bought your Flat. Did U get Delivery ?

A Dream come true for most of us, when we ushered in all of our life’s savings to buy a flat in our name. A Flat which will remain with us a full lifetime. A Flat which we can call ours. According to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the first and most important need is Physiological. Air, Water, Food, Shelter, Clothing are the basic necessities of life and this is the first thing we secure so that we can focus on other needs in life. Safety comes next. In order to feel more secure to move ahead in life, we wish to secure a house or a property which will enable us to stay safe in case of unforeseen circumstances. This is what we are talking about here. It is for this that we save our entire lives and give all we saved to get our dream home. A lot of finance businesses thrive from the fact that they get commission and levy hefty charges on various property transactions. Still, we give away all we saved for this one thing. Someone gives their life’s savings, Provident fund savings, borrows money from friends and family, takes all the money their parents saved and so on, just in a hope that they will get their dream shelter. What they didn’t foresee is that the people who were providing these services are also human and can default. Which they Did. Years of waiting, and not receiving their flats, brings about a lot of frustration, tears and sadness. To an extent many of us give up that they will be able to see their property in their lifetime. For detailed clarification, request you to please consult with your lawyer. We can only share the experience of what  we have faced. Richie – 98604.65660. Read More at: Activities At Asar Will We Ever Get Our Houses ? The Plight of Men and Women – Cheated by builders NCDRC 12(1)b or 12(1)c – which one to go for ? Cheated By Builders ? What Next ? How do Consumers get justice Bought your Flat. Did U get Delivery ?

A Consumer has a right to approach the consumer forum in case he feels that s/he has been harassed or exploited by the sellers. Thus various courts are established at District, State and National Level to sort out the disputes between the consumer and the seller. The District  Consumer Forum (District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF)) allows us to approach the court in case the compensation value of upto Rs. 20 Lakhs. This means that the product or service or disputed amount should be within the above said amount. In case the value of the product or services goes beyond 20 lakhs but is below 1 crore, we can directly approach the State Consumer Forum ( State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC)). What happens when the contested value of the product / service goes beyond 1 Crore? The consumer has an option of directly going to the National Consumer Forum ( National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC)). Let us assume that we approached the District forum for settling our dispute and after a long set of proceedings which may take multiple months sometimes, we get an order in favour of ourselves. The Seller or service provider may file an appeal in the higher court which may again take multiple months to get sorted. Let us assume that the middle court also ordered in our favour. The Seller or service provider again files an appeal in the National forum, again stalling the case for multiple months. In this entire process, we realize that we end up spending time, effort and resources to get compensation for the product or services we paid for, whereas the seller or service provider stalled the case to buy time. It is thus beneficial that  if there are multiple people fighting for the same cause (for example in case of builder not giving possession to multiple people), we come together and file a case as a group, where the collective value goes beyond 1 Crore, thus saving us, time efforts and resources, All. For detailed clarification, request you to please consult with your lawyer. We can only share the experience of what  we have faced. Richie – 98604.65660. Read More at: Activities At Asar Will We Ever Get Our Houses ? The Plight of Men and Women – Cheated by builders NCDRC 12(1)b or 12(1)c – which one to go for ? Cheated By Builders ? What Next ? How do Consumers get justice Bought your Flat. Did U get Delivery ?

WHO statistics reveals 0.007% of world’s water is safe for human consumption. This water is to be shared among 7 billion people on this planet. Water is scarce only because it is unevenly distributed on earth’s surface. The water that is available for human consumption is not safe because of varied types of discharge are made by industries into our water sources without proper treatment and recycling. In other cases, water in rural areas is made unhealthy by the agricultural waste, bathing and bio waste generated by the cattle. On an average 1 in 8 people in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water and this number reduces to 1 in 4 in cities. But The Biggest Consumers are the Biggest Sufferers– The Farmers. Why Should We Care ? We stay in cities, we pay our taxes and get as much water as needed. There is no reason for us to be worried or be a part of any such initiative which saves water or water sources. We need not go far to search for the answer. Singapore is all ready to provide 30% for their water needs by desalination of sea water. Cape town, the most affluent city in South Africa, is going to see Day Zero in July. For years, a shutdown of this magnitude in such a cosmopolitan city had been almost inconceivable. But as overdevelopment, population growth, and climate change upset the balance between water use and supply, urban centers from North America to South America and from Australia to Asia increasingly face threats of severe drinking-water shortages. What can we do ? – Government, Non Govt Organizations and other agencies are taking initiatives to revive our water sources, replenish the water table and cleanse them to keep them healthy. Many agencies are pursuing research on how used water can be purified and made fit for human consumption. But this problem cannot be solved by them alone. It is for each one of us to be aware and do our bit in contributing to solve this monster problem glaring at us in the face. What we can do is more than just a drop in the bucket, especially when everyone does the same. Lets start by conserving what is visible. Fix Leaks – It is said that 30% of New York’s water consumption – 36 mn gallons – is leaked due to old leaking pipes every day. We can at least fix our leaking taps. 1 drop per second makes it to 30,000 gallons per year. Would you not like to contribute to that? Curb Bad Habits –A bath tub uses 70 gallons and a shower 10-25 gallons of water. Running taps, bathing in shower for more than few mins are all luxury which we humans cannot afford anymore. What is important is that we bring awareness in each activity that we do. Along with that we need to make others around us aware. Do your Bit. Act responsibly. By your actions and words, educate your family, educate your domestic help so that abuse of water stops. Just because we get it easily does not mean the world gets it too. Doesn’t mean that we will keep getting it for the times to come. Water, water, everywhere. But not a drop to drink! – true to this paradox, this single crisis can hit us the hardest in the near future. April 2018

I had heard from my domestic help about her neighbor, who was facing extreme issues at home. She had told me how her few months old child kept crying all day and how there were loud noises of fights coming from the neighborhood at night. I used to wonder. One evening, my domestic help was unwell and I was visiting her to take her to the doctor. I heard the child crying next door. The incessant crying was painful to the ears. I asked my maid as to what was the reason for this. She told me that this girl’s husband used to drink alcohol and beat her up. This guy never gave money for the household expenses and the mother and child, used to go hungry most of the times. I went to see this girl, a very timid looking girl, still recovering from the duel that had happened sometime back. She told me that she was not getting any household work to do because she had a small child with her. I Saw Suffering. I Saw a woman being ill treated. I wanted to do something … I wanted to call the police ! I was thinking why doesn’t someone do something about it ? How can a simple person contribute to the society in the most nimble way. The thought didn’t seem to go away from my mind. My friend and I had been making few gifting items at home during Diwali. Items like Diyas and Torans, which we used for gifting to friends and family. The numbers were really small and were primarily executed as a hobby in spare times. The situation brought the idea of making more and selling, to generate revenue, eventually evolving into a micro enterprise. We spoke to the girl, offering her work to learn how to make these items and then we shall market them with all our might. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. – Chinese Proverb She Agreed. With her three-month-old child, she initially started coming over to learn for an hour. Her child used to be fed and put to sleep and she could peacefully do her work. Slowly she became more comfortable and the time span started increasing. Once we taught her how to make something, she also had the option to take the raw material home and work at home. This brought in a lot of flexibility. She was dedicated and gave her 100% to work. Thus by Creating opportunities in an agile way, bringing in flexibility in the way of functioning, transformation of one household was happening. Earning to fend for her child gave her the lost self-respect, and she was much more confident to go out into the world. We put up a stall in our area and she was behind the stall, seeing the impact of her efforts. Apart from the salary that she had received for her efforts, a portion of the profit was shared with her. The happiness on her face, was priceless. With the earnings she received, she fend for her family with self respect. She bought a sari for herself. Happiness to her and Satisfaction for me. Bringing in flexibility in the way of functioning has brought smiles to those around us. Being sensitive and sensible has helped bring good to the society. Giving Is easy, but doing so with Sensitivity and Care is an art! October 2017

When we were young, we did not have electronic media to distract us in our favourite pastime – Reading !! What is true is that the fast paced life and rapid growth of electronic media made available and accessible to us, is making reading as a – not so enticing activity. Particularly when we have audios and videos available for what we want to read, or know. Especially the young ones, who should be the ones enjoying the literature and stories the most, are the ones who are deep diving into the video world. It is because of this that their writing skills, are being affected along with the adverse impact on the otherwise incredible advantage in knowledge, vocabulary and understanding of life, which carries through college and into life. From reading, the brain also benefits from a good workout when our intelligence is called into action, as is greater concentration. Reading is a habit which is dying off very fast. To encourage big and small all to read more, ASAR distributed hundreds of bookmarks, all hand made, to all those we met during diwali. Hope that this encourages us to read more and more !! October 2017

Wanting to contribute in our small ways, Asar went to Aapla Ghar and gave away Rakhis for children and elderly there. Based at the foot hills of Sinhgarh fort, it hosts children and elderly and takes care of them. APALA GHAR, a NGO managed by LATE VAIBHAV PHALNIKAR MEMORIAL FOUNDATION, established in 2001 by Shri Vijay Phalnikar and Mrs. Sadhana Phalnikar in memory of their only son Vaibhav who died of cancer, started in a small way by providing free ambulance service for the benefit of economically backward section of the society. Today they are able to successfully manage all their projects only by generous donations in cash/kind from our well wishers. It is truly motivating to see the kind of love and affection Aapla Ghar is providing to the members and the close knit family that they have. The good deeds done by us, will take care of us in our further lives. Not Even Death can wipe out our good deeds. September 2017

This Rakshabandhan was exceptional at Asar Initiative. The volunteers of Asar Initiative were bubbling with joy at Sindhutai Sakpal Orphanage in Manjari. Sindhutai Sapkal, affectionately known as the “Mother of Orphans”, is an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for her work in raising orphaned children in India. Volunteers of Asar carried 800 Rakhis for children there. Having known that there are multiple orphanages that Sindhutai Sakpal supports, we went with full preparation. Tying Rakhis to the members of the Manjari home, gave us more happiness and satisfaction than probably what could be achieved with thousands of good ideas. The Smallest Good Deed is Better than the Grandest Intention !! September 2017

This Season brings more Joy and Happiness to all around us. The economy is all set to grow, there is hope in the eyes of all our associates and they want to learn more and more. The good that’s happening around is that more women and Young College girls have been approaching us to Learn and Earn. Interestingly, new ideas come up, they themselves point out to improvements and new products. Very keen and willing, our team is growing ! Also, We start Posting online. Our Facebook page is active and has our products available to be ordered. Our First Upload on a merchant site for sale is also available here. Along with them, the children of some of these women also come to see whats happening and try their hands on out of curiosity. Its interesting how keen they are to know whats happening and what we can make out of the material thats kept in front of them. Asar should very soon be launching children’s workshop, to make them more creative and interested in the festivities and colour of life. So, while their mommies work, these children can play around and have fun too ! June 2017

We are more than a year old now. Thanks to those who have motivated us, guided us and helped us bring about the efforts in bringing about those changes to the society. Sustainable development comes from the fact that we are consistent and self reliant organization. Our principle is to earn that due respect in the society by earning our own bread and butter. Getting grants and working under the guidelines poses a challenge and the main purpose may get lost under that assumption. This is precisely what we are teaching our associates as well. It may be challenging in the beginning, but eventually become a long run stable model of operation. October 2016

Rakshabandhan is a harbinger to the festive season. It brings in lot of festivities in the form of Ganesh utsav, Navratri, Dusshera, Karwachowth and Diwali. This gives another opportunity to learn and showcase the skills in the form of various artifacts. Painting of Diyas for Diwali, Colourful Kundan Rangolis, floating rangolis, Gift boxes for chocolates, muffin candles, Gel candles are some of the many items that are being taught and created. It gives immense pleasure seeing how learning happens when there is an internal craving for it. October 2015

Sales is the function of the organization which brings in revenues and allows it to continue its work. The revenues will come from the fact that buyers buy and contribute to the cause which has been started. IT companies in Pune supported the cause by allowing the stalls at their canteen spaces. Among those who supported were Capgemini, KPIT Cummins and Steria. It was a great beginning! November 2015

Being together, brings confidence and enhances learnability. The young women associated with Asar decided to put up a stall in July ’15 at Pashan to display and sell the products made for the occasion of Rakshabandhan. They were happy and excited to have handled this activity. July 2015

  Learning to make Rakhis was made fun by doing it together with friends. It was an interesting experience to learn how to make Rakhis for children, brothers, for bhabhis and make roli chawal packs to go with it. In the process cross cultural learning also happens. Decoration of Thalis and boxes to go with it added more colour to the workshop.