Nitin Gakari : Ambitious / Impatient / Young / Angry ?

Shri Nitin Gadkariji has all of these very desirable qualities – desirable for a Minister

Proof of Ambition :

After being appointed as Transport Minister , he said :

I got an opportunity to work on road transport...this time, I have decided to plant 125 crore trees, as much as the country's population, along the roads in the next five years,” said Nitin Gadkari.

"I am thinking to work on creating roadside amenities in a big way and 2,000 such amenities would be set up.

Work has started on the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway and 12 other expressway projects will be completed in next three months," he said.

[ source : https://www.news18.com/news/auto/nitin-gadakri-plans-to-plant-125-crore-trees-build-40-km-road-everyday-2169883.html  ]

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That ambition translates into planting 25 crore trees on roadsides, EACH YEAR !

That means, 25 crores from June 2019 till May 2020

Proof of Achievement ?

None to my knowledge !

 

All I get to see on TV is, migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometers on roads with hardly a tree to provide cool shade – walking under open Sun, in temperatures of 42* C – sometimes bare feet !

Sometimes, with a 5 year old child in tow !

Of course, no one could blame Shri Gadkariji for NOT having envisaged CORONA crisis in June 2019 when he announced his AMBITION

Dear Shri Gadkariji,

It is never too late to start – especially on a journey to save the environment, by planting trees

Now, it does not help to ( endlessly ) keep analyzing :

“ What went wrong ? Why did we fail to achieve our target of planting 25 cr ( 2500 lakh ) trees in 365 days ? “

It is better to ask :

Ø   What can I do to plant 6.8 lakh trees PER DAY  ( 2500 lakh in 365 days )  ?

Ø  How did Ethiopians succeed in planting 350 million trees in 12 Hours ?

[ source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/ethiopians-plant-350-million-trees-in-12-hours-to-fight-drought/articleshow/70459596.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst  /  31 July 2019  ]

Answer :

As repeatedly urged by our PM Shri Modiji :   Take help of Technology

Here is that technology :

  
These drones will plant 40,000 trees in a month. By 2028, they’ll have planted 1 billion 

Extract :

But to restore forests that have already been lost, the drones can work more quickly and cheaply than humans planting with shovels.

Flash Forest’s [contact@flashforest.ca ],

tech can currently plant 10,000 to 20,000 seed pods a day; as the technology advances, a pair of pilots will be able to plant 100,000 trees in a day (by hand, someone might typically be able to plant around 1,500 trees in a day, Ahlstrom says.)

The company aims to bring the cost down to 50 cents per tree, or around a fourth of the cost of some other tree restoration efforts.

165 trees were planted in three minutes with the use of a single drone.

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My take :

Ø  Forget about what Ahlstrom says ( 1500 trees / person / day – manually )

Ø  Let us assume only 10 trees / day / MGNREGA worker – manually )

Ø  Let us assume that we deploy just 1 cr ( out of 11 cr ) MIGRANT workers for such tree-planting along the roads

Ø  That means 10 cr trees / day ( remember, Ethiopia’s 35 cr / day ? )

Ø  So, Shri Gadkariji’s target of 125 cr trees in 5 years, can be achieved in just 12.5 days !

Ø  Each MGNREGA worker gets paid Rs 200 / day

Ø  Hence planting one sapling will cost , Rs 20 / -

Ø  So, 125 cr sapling planting will transfer ( DBT ) , Rs 2,500 cr to migrant workers !

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

Related Reading:

Ø  These Tree-Planting Drones Are About To Start An Entire Forest From The Sky

 

Ø  https://tanksgoodnews.com/2019/12/09/badass-drone-fires-seed-bullets-into-the-ground-to-plant-trees/

Ø  https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/b-c-trio-hopes-to-revolutionize-tree-planting-industry/

Ø  https://thewonderfuloutdoors.com/one-man-152-million-trees-planting-trees-with-drones-in-canada/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork 

with regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  16  May  2020

Street Vendor Loan Scheme

In her press briefing yesterday, Smt Sitharaman announced Street Vendor Loan Scheme, as follows :

Ø  The scheme will be announced / launched within one month

Ø  It will cover 50 lakh street vendors from all over the country – rural + urban ( approx. fig given by States )

Ø  Each vendor will be eligible for a “ working capital “ loan of up to Rs 10,000

Ø  Total allocation = Rs 5,000 crore

Ø  Digital payments will be incentivized through monetary rewards and enhanced working capital credit would be made available for good repayment behavior.

[ source :

https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/where-and-how-to-apply-for-the-rs-10000-special-credit-for-street-vendors-announced-by-government/592099  ]

RELATED NEWS :

Ø  Shri Vijay Rupani [ CM-Gujarat ] announced yesterday a similar scheme as follows , with formalities likely to be completed in the coming three months :

#    Loan amount = Max Rs 1 Lakh that carries a tenure of three years [ total of Rs 5,000 crore ]

#    Small traders, street-vendors and small professionals in the state.{ approx. 10 lakh entities }

#   This loan would be available at 2 per cent annual interest while the remaining 6 per cent

    interest would be borne by the state government

#   The beneficiaries would also get a moratorium of six months and would not be required to pay

    either interest of principal amount during this time

#   Loan will be available via written application at co-operative banks, district banks and credit

    co-operative societies. 

[ source : https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/gujarat-extends-interest-subsidy-loan-for-small-traders-street-vendors-120051401194_1.html  ]

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Of all the “ Relief Steps “ announced by Smt Sitharamanji , over the past 2 days, I believe this, by far , will have the greatest far-reaching / universal impact

I am assuming :

Ø  Terms will be same as in case of SHISHU scheme of MUDRA , viz :

Shishu – Loans up to a limit of INR 50,000 with interest being 1 per cent/month or 12 per cent/annum. The repayment period for such loan is up to 5 years 

For the sake of easier understanding, let us assume :

Ø  Loan amount = Rs 10,000

Ø  Interest Rate = 12 % per year ( 1 % per month )

Ø  Loan period  =  1  year [ no moratorium ]

Therefore , amount re-payable every month :

Ø  Loan Principal amount ……….. Rs   833

Ø  Interest amount ………………    Rs   100

Ø  Total per month…………………  Rs   933  [  total per day = Rs  31 ]

Now consider the following :

Ø  There are nearly 3 lakh hawkers in Mumbai, and according to conservative estimates, each pays anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 100 in hafta every day.

Ø    This means up to Rs 1.5 crore in cash changes hands every day to protect the businesses that have taken over Mumbai's streets.  /  Nov 22, 2017

              [ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/rs-1-5cr-hafta-changes-hands-daily-to-allow-street-   

                hawking/articleshow/61745661.cms ]

This means, on an average, each “ Unlicensed Street Vendor “ ends up paying a “ Daily Hafta “ to the police, of say, Rs 50  { 3 lakh vendors paying Rs 150 lakh }

But ( I suppose ) , as soon as he gets that Vendor Loan of Rs 10,000 , in essence , the government accepts him as a legitimate vendor and he gets a RIGHT ( official permission ) to sell on the streets

In other words, he becomes a LICENSED vendor , who need not pay daily hafta to police !

That means :

Ø  By re-paying Rs 31 per day { Principal + Interest } , he avoids hafta of Rs 50 per day { Daily saving of Rs 19 }

Ø  Annual saving of Rs 6,945 for each vendor ( round off to Rs 7,000 )

Ø  Saving of Rs 3,500 Crore per year for 50 lakh vendors !

{  I don’t think FM will talk about this SAVING in  to-day’s press briefing  !  Politically incorrect ?  }

     Implications :

Ø  Once the Scheme gets launched and loan-recipient vendors realize that they need not pay DAILY HAFTA to police, there is a good possibility that 500 lakh persons come forward to become STREET VENDORS

  

    What should be the contours of the Scheme ?

     In my following earlier blogs, I have outlined its working :

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BMC proposes : Hawkers will dispose ?                                                    [  26  Feb  2020  ]

Extract :

            #  Grant a hawking license to all 3 lakh hawkers ( and all want to become “self-

   

               employed “), on following terms / conditions / methods :

           #  Entire Mumbai City will be a “ Hawking Zone “ ( why not equal sharing of

              inconvenience by all Mumbai residents ) excluding vicinity of hospital / schools

              Pitch-slots to be allotted on ALL the footpaths of all the roads of Mumbai

               

          #  Hawkers will declare themselves “Self- Employed”, by registering so on BMC web

              site

          #  BMC will issue to them , a hawking license – a plastic card

 

             with, photo, name, gender, birth-date, address, mobile no, Aadhar No, PAN etc .

            Card will be embedded with a pre-paid / rechargeable FasTag , which will

           automatically transfer to BMC’s bank account, LICENSE FEE, as mandated

        #   On hawker’s Smartphone ( with BlueTooth / NFC / Biometric ), BMC will

            install a Mobile App [ HawkWalk ? ], which can read the FasTag in the plastic card

            and display ( 24x7 ), exact location of that hawker on a DASHBOARD in the

           Central Hawking Control Room of BMC (  much better than rigid Sensor anklets on

           feet ! )

      #   If a hawker uses mobile payment app BHIM for accepting payments against his

           sale , 5 % of each SALE PROCEED will get automatically credited to his

          monthly License Fee.

         This great incentive will accelerate DIGITAL PAYMENTS and help organize this

         totally “un-organized “business sector

      #   BMC is planning to use a GIS ( Geographic Information System ) based on

           compiling “ PITCH DIMENSIONS “, using “ Latitude “ and “Longitude “ for each

           SLOT to be allotted , on a given footpath . This is, not only a very cumbersome

           process but also difficult to understand

           I strongly recommend that BMC consider a GIS-based service in HAWKWALK

           mobile app, by integrating it with an appropriate API from ,   www.What3Words.com

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

Unlocking Lockdown : Calibrated – Gradual                                                [  04  April  2020  ]

 

Extract :

     Governments should liberalize / encourage “ self employed “ hawkers / vendors to go from door-to-door, with whatever goods they may be selling( eg: Veg. Vendors )

  

     They may be encouraged to form a SOCIETY, and launch a portal where people can register their needs

 

     Currently, in Mumbai alone, there are estimated 3 lakh hawkers ( of which, only

     12,000 are licensed )

 

      Most of them spread their ware on footpaths.

 

      Govt should come out with a scheme ,

 

      whereby they vacate the spaces on footpaths and load their stuff onto hand-carts (

      6’x3’ wooden platforms mounted on 4 bicycle wheels, called RENKDI or LAARY )

      which are a familiar sight all over India.

 

      Corporate ( FMCG and others ) will be happy to donate such carts to the

      government ( costing approx. Rs 1,000 each ), if they are allowed to host their

      product-advts on such carts, permanently.

 

     This ( advt ) could be a 12” wide steel sheet along the 18 feet periphery of the cart

 

     Government may gift / donate such carts to footpath-occupying vendors, and track

     their movements through their Mobile Phones . 3 lakh carts will cost Rs 30 crore but

     these will roam 1500 km of Mumbai roads / streets, delivering good at door-steps.

     Mountain goes to Mohamed !

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

     Social Distancing : Safest – Surest Method ………………………………………[  21  April  2020  ]

 

    Extract :

 

     What we need to do – and do it fast , before 3rd May when , possibly lockdown gets lifted – is :

           #  Massively scale-up this miniscule tribe of Renkdi-wallas ( from a few hundred to a few lakh )

         #  Make them carry all types of essentials / rations / foods / milk ( not merely vegetables / fruits )

         #  Organize them ( by official online licensing ) and allot them specific streets / societies

        #  Direct 60,000 + housing societies of Mumbai, to provide parking space to a government-designated Renkadiwlla

            ( for specified hours )

       #  Allow online E Com retailers ( like Amazon – Flipkart – Swiggy – Zomato- Big Basket - Grofer etc ) to tie-up with

           such “ Government Licensed  Home Delivery Vendors “.

       Their Name / License Number / Mobile Number / Street – Housing Societies allotted

       etc., must be published on the web sites of these E Com retailers

       

       Mobile App of an E Com Retailer , while accepting an Online Order, will mention the

       full details of WHICH VENDOR will make this HOME DELIVERY , indicating

       approximate time of delivery

       

      All payment will be through mobile wallet embedded into the E Com retailer’s Mobile

      App . There will be no cash payment upon delivery

      

         #  While granting online VENDOR LICENSE, government shall sympathetically consider :

#   Migrant Workers stuck in a city ( estimated 35 lakh in Mumbai alone )

#   MSME factory workers who have lost their jobs

#   Domestic servants who are sitting idle at home ( irrespective of govt pleading, no

     home- owner is likely to pay them wages for April )

#   Construction workers who have lost their jobs

#   In Mumbai , existing 3 lakh hawkers who ply their trade from slots on footpath

 

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Dear Madam Sitharamanji,

 

No doubt, officers of Finance Ministry would want to make some changes to the STREET  VENDOR  SELF-EMPLOYMENT SCHEME , as proposed by me above

 

Since Street Vendor Licenses are granted by local municipalities / gram panchayats , it is essential that they too, get a chance to “ Comment “ on my proposal

 

I urge you to forward this email to all State Chief Ministers , requesting them rush their comments to you by 30 May

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com   /  15  May  2020