A Transparent RERA ?

Mumbai Mirror ( 24  Jan  ) carries following news :

“ MahaRERA asks promoters to fully disclose legal tangles “

 

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/maharera-asks-promoters-to-fully-disclose-legal-tangles/articleshow/62626983.cms

Extract :

While hearing a complaint against a Pune based builder for promoting a project that is embroiled in a legal tussle, the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) has ruled that it is not enough for developers to mention legal disputes pending before courts in their Legal Title Report, but the information should also be clearly mentioned in the Litigation Details section on their registration page on the agency’s online portal.

Advocate Nilesh Gala of Law Square, appearing for Kumar Builders, argued that the details pertaining to various litigations were mentioned in the Legal Title Report uploaded in the promoter’s MahaRERA registration, and therefore mentioning it in the Litigation section may not be necessary

Citing Section 4 (2) b of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), Chatterjee said the Act clearly mandated that the promoter should disclose all litigations pertaining to the project being registered with MahaRERA.

“They should also be disclosed in the section meant for the same so that people can easily access the information. Merely mentioning the same in the Legal Title Report will not suffice.

Moreover, the number of apartment which constitute 1/6th share and regarding which the Respondent is restrained from selling, alienating, encumbering or creating any third party rights, should also clearly be disclosed,” he said in the order.

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I have not read Section 4 (2) b of RERA , but I hope it does cover all the aspects of “ DECLARATION / UNDERTAKING “ ( reproduced below for ready reference ) that I had suggested in my blog / email :

SELFCERTIFICATION FOR BUILDERS ?  [  04  Nov  2015  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2015/11/self-certification-for-builders.html

DECLARATION / UNDERTAKING :

" I declare that I have read each and every notification / regulation , listed   in respect of items mentioned above

I further declare that I explicitly agree to abide by these regulations

I am aware that Occupation Certificate will not be granted if my completed project is found to be in violation of any of these notifications / regulations

I will not allow any person / entity to occupy any part of this premises , until and unless , Municipality issues to me , the Occupation Certificate

If Municipality finds any violations , I agree to rectify the same before applying for a fresh Occupation Certificate

If Municipality is not in a position to issue Occupation Certificate due to any

violations which simply cannot be rectified , then I will demolish the said building / project / structure  on my own and before such demolition , refund with interest , payments collected from the buyers

The plot of land is free from any encumbrances / litigations

I am not in default of any loans taken from any bank / individuals

I will not accept any payment in cash , nor make cash payments

I absolve the Municipal Corporation of any liability arising out of non-completion of my project 

I agree that my Building Permit Application and my Registration Application details , be made accessible to public on your web site , along with full details of my past / current projects and full details of my balance sheet / bank borrowings  " 

24  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Aadhar : Dawn of Realism ?

In my following blog, I had summarized the arguments by the advocates of the petitioners and the observations of the Supreme Court, in the current hearing on the validity of Aadhar :

Aadhar: Supremely Satisfying ? 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/aadhar-supremely-satisfying.html

Since then there has been some more arguments and observations , as follows ( Eco Times / 24 Jan ) . Some more will be heard today :

Adv Shyam Divan ( for the petitioners ) :

·         The whole Aadhaar network was to be used for everything and everybody. 

·         In a democratic framework governed by the Constitution, a citizen should have the option of protecting himself by refusing to share crucial information about himself with anybody and everybody. "A citizen should have the choice of providing alternative means of identification," he said, especially if spread of the information exposes him and makes him vulnerable.

·         The silos of information, which includes biometrics being collected under Aadhaar, may not per se be violative of a person's privacy, but aggregated today would enable the state to profile every citizen's life, making India a surveillance state. He said a citizen's right to privacy included the right to lead a dignified life. This includes the right to keep one's intimate affairs to oneself. In addition, he should enjoy the right to be left alone and the right to retain his identity from cyber  attacks. Seen in this backdrop, the state can only take away his privacy by a law for a legitimate state interest, which must pass the test of reasonableness.

 

·         He pointed out that both in the pre-statute period and the days following the law, there was no rigour to the Aadhaar enrolment process. The quality of data being collected under self-certification was also questionable, he argued. The government could also, if it chose, erase the Aadhaar data and denude any citizen of all his civil rights under the Constitution, he argued. "The programme, in its invasiveness, reach and the amount of control it will give the state, militates against an open, liberal, democratic society.

·         It is the State’s responsibility to protect citizens from both non-state and state actors

Adv Kapil Sibal added :

Yes, we are in a networked world. We have to share information….. To what extent should private entities be given personal data and to what extent do we protect ourselves ?

================================

Observations by Supreme Court :

·         Are such fears valid in a networked age when citizens have to part with data at every stage to avail services ?

·         If the Aadhar scheme were to be declared legal can it be used for all purposes or only for limited purposes ?

·         All of our data is anyway with private entities. So, does the interpolation of Aadhar Number make any difference ?

·         Could the concern and the danger of a personal data leak could be avoided if there is a declaration that “ personal information collected would only be used for the purpose for which they are collected “ ?

May be it is too early to say : Perseverance  Pays

But I do get a feeling that the Hon Judges of the Supreme Court found time to read my following emails ( sent on : supremecourt@nic.in  ) :

AadharFact : Privacy Fiction ?  [ 19  Jan  2018  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/aadhar-fact-privacy-fiction.html

 

PRIVACY: A Lost Battle  [  15  Jan  2018  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/privacy-lost-battle.html

 

AadharVirtual ID Compromised ?  [  12  Jan  2018  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/aadhar-virtual-id-compromised.html

 

DataProtection without Data Privacy ?  [  08  Jan  2018  ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/data-protection-without-data-privacy.html

 

My  Take  :

·         Aadhar is Inescapable

·         Modifications / Improvements must continue

·         Privacy  is an Illusion

24  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

 

 

 

Simultaneous Polling

Once more , two days ago , PM Shri Modi had strongly urged all political parties to reach a consensus in respect of holding simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and all the State Assemblies

Shri Modi added that besides saving money and manpower, holding state and Lok Sabha polls simultaneously would save time and not come in the way of taking important decisions, which the government cannot do once the model code of conduct comes into effect.

Modi said Rs 1,100 crore was spent in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and this expense went up to Rs 4,000 crore in 2014. This expenditure excluded the money spent by candidates and political parties.

( Source :

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-reiterates-need-for-simultaneous-ls-assembly-polls/articleshow/61812465.cms  )

I am a strong supporter of this idea and my thoughts on the subject of Electoral Reforms are summarized at :

PollReforms : Time for a Consensus 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2017/08/poll-reforms-time-for-consensus.html

But I never imagined that the following Mobile App  which I had suggested some 5 years ago for facilitating simultaneous polls , would find a perfect technological solution in BLOCKCHAIN  !

VotesApp  / 

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/12/votesapp.html

I have been hearing ( but , not understanding ) about BLOCKCHAIN for past one year, in the context of its application for mining / trading in Crypto-Currency – which to me, appears something very sinister !

Now comes the news that BLOCKCHAIN technology can vastly facilitate MOBILE-BASED VOTING !

If so, EC ( Election Commission  ) should ,

·         develop VotesApp by end of Feb 2018

     [  https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2012/12/votesapp.html   ]

·         give a demo to political parties in March 2018

·         conduct a parallel run ( along with EVM-VVPAT ) for Karnataka State Election in May 2018

·         Publish the results of both methods in June 2018

Those who have any doubts re suitability of BLOCKCHAIN technology in voting , may want to refer to :

https://www.rsaconference.com/writable/files/About/application_of_blockchain_technology_in_online_voting.pdf

When designing a new voting system, a core tenet would be to remove all need for “trust,” and place strong emphasis on open verification of the process and the votes. A similar problem was addressed with digital currency such as Bitcoin and Etherium.

On the blockchain, each group of transactions is hashed together, along with a hash of the previous block, and the entire blockchain would be publicly accessible.

Using a blockchain for digital voting could record both voter and candidate ID, as well as the time. The voter IDs are a public / private key pair, not traceable to a voter’s identity.

https://followmyvote.com/online-voting-technology/blockchain-technology/

Another application for blockchain technology is voting.

By casting votes as transactions, we can create a blockchain which keeps track of the tallies of the votes.

This way, everyone can agree on the final count because they can count the votes themselves, and because of the blockchain audit trail, they can verify that no votes were changed or removed, and no illegitimate votes were added.

https://www.thebalance.com/how-the-blockchain-will-change-how-we-vote-4012008

Among the startups that followed in an attempt to build upon the Blockchain to create a secure voting system was a Virginia-based company called FollowMyVote.

There is a common misconception that voting cannot be done online in a secure way.

https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/plymouth.pdf

Security of digital voting is always the biggest concern when considering to implement a digital voting system.

With such monumental decisions at stake, there can be no doubt about the system’s ability to secure data and defend against potential attacks.

One way the security issues can be potentially solved is through the technology of blockchains.

23  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Reconstruct Fingerprint from Template ?

  

If that is possible then it may also be possible to reverse the process ( of generation of Random Number ) and uncover the REAL / ORIGINAL Aadhar Number from UIDAI web site generated RANDOM NUMBER ?

In my blog ,

 Aadhar Virtual ID  Compromised  ?

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/01/aadhar-virtual-id-compromised.html

I wrote :

Now , not being a mathematician or a software geek , I have following stupid questions , which , I hope the experts ( including those of UIDAI ) may want to answer :

·         Are VIRTUAL ID numbers generated using some Random Number Generator ( such as PRNG =  Pseudo Random Number Generator / TRNG = True Random Number Generator ) ?

·         Do both types of Generators depend upon some software algorithm ? ( - a somewhat deterministic logic )

·         Considering the Aadhar Virtual ID requirement ( viz : generation of data encryption keys ) , is it more likely that UIDAI is using TRNG ?

·         If , given a starting number ( original / real Aadhar Number ) , TRNG generates a “ linked “ RANDOM NUMBER , is it possible to REVERSE this process ?

·         Using BIG DATA  /  DATA ANALYTICS  /  Artificial Intelligence /  MACHINE LEARNING etc , can one figure out the ORIGINAL / REAL Aadhar Number , from its counter-part Virtual Number ?

Over a period of  few months , it is likely that the servers of those Agencies , may have billions of  sets of linked “ Real Numbers / Virtual Numbers “

   

Could such a large enough database ( if some hacker can lay his hand on it ) , be enough for a software geek to design a Neural Network ( backward propagation / forward propagation ) , to reverse the process ?

I am tempted to believe that such a scenario is entirely possible !

Hindustan Times ( 21 Jan ) carries following news :

“ Biometric databases a Challenge to Aadhar “

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/existence-of-other-biometric-databases-may-pose-new-challenge-to-aadhaar/story-nv12eC1qypTVnSaLboc5cN.html

Extract :

From database to fingerprint

Biometrics are protected by encryption and by condensing fingerprints into templates obtained by using software to extract unique features of a given print.

But encrypted data needs decryption keys, which may be leaked if a database is accessed by multiple users.

Templates do not offer total security either.

“There was a misconception that a template cannot be inverted, but that is not true anymore,” said Anil Jain, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University. “ It is possible to use a template to reconstruct a fingerprint to a high degree of accuracy.”

The reconstructed fingerprint, Prof. Jain has shown, can be used to build spoof fingerprints that fool most biometric readers.

I do not expect anyone from UIDAI / IT Ministry to comment on this possibility of “ Process Reversal “ but I do hope they continue to improvise Aadhar

23  Jan  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs