MSEDCLsays the spike in bills is linked to the exceptionally hot summer, which led to greater use of air-conditioners, coolers and refrigerators

Kalyan: Nationwide protests against smart electricity meters have reached the Kalyan-Dombivli belt, with many consumers alleging their monthly bills have increased three to five times despite no major change in household power consumption.While residents want an independent technical audit of the newly installed meters, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) maintains the higher bills are due to increased summer consumption and the more accurate recording of smart meters.Residents of Runwal Gardens, Dombivli, claim their monthly bills have, on average, risen from Rs 2,000-2,500 to Rs 8,000-10,000. Ahmed Salman Imtiaz’s bill jumped from Rs 3,000 in Feb to Rs 14,000 in Apr. “We installed an AC in Apr, so we had expected a higher bill, but this was steep,” he said. The family consciously reduced AC usage thereafter, “yet my June bill was Rs 17,000”, Imtiaz said.Rajesh Warekar said his monthly bill, usually around Rs 800, shot up to Rs 9,910 after he rented out his house. “But my tenant insists his usage doesn’t warrant such an amount,” he said. Sanjeev Tripathi, who earlier paid around Rs 2,000 during summers, said, “In June, my bill was Rs 9,860. MSEDCL should reinstall the old meters.”Opposition to smart meters has been building in Mumbai since BEST began installing them in south Mumbai in 2024. During the recent assembly session, minister of state for energy Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, responding to queries over 11,000+ complaints from Pune, said it was incorrect to attribute higher bills to smart meters.However, even consumers with conventional meters in Kalyan-Dombivli have reported steep increases this summer. Dombivli resident Lakhi Shaw said his bill rose from Rs 2,000-2,500 to nearly Rs 7,000, while Kalyan resident Ashok Pawar’s bill rose to Rs 6,000-8,000.Opposition to the rollout is becoming intense, with installation teams allegedly assaulted in some localities. Political parties, including the ruling Shiv Sena in Kalyan-Dombivli, have staged demonstrations demanding the rollout be suspended until consumer concerns are addressed.The issue escalated last week when a consumer allegedly attempted to set himself on fire at the MSEDCL office in Vasai. The staff intervened in time. The consumer told TOI he received a bill of around Rs 14,000 after a smart meter was installed despite no change in household consumption.MSEDCL, however, remains firm that the spike is linked to the exceptionally hot summer, which led to greater use of air-conditioners, coolers and refrigerators. Officials also said many ageing electromechanical meters had slowed down over time and were under-recording consumption.“Smart meters record electricity consumption more accurately, including low levels of power usage that older meters often failed to capture. In several complaints investigated by us, defective internal wiring and electricity leakages inside consumers’ premises were contributing to higher consumption,” an MSEDCL official said.Kalyan division chief engineer C R Mishra cited departmental data to support the utility’s stand. “Our analysis shows that among 11.76 lakh consumers who continue to use conventional meters, electricity consumption in June increased by 28% compared with June 2025,” he said.Among 5.53 lakh consumers whose conventional meters were replaced with smart meters, consumption rose by 22%. “Similarly, 3.43 lakh consumers who already had smart meters before June 2025 recorded a 25% increase in electricity usage this June,” Mishra said. He added that if smart meters were over-recording, only that category would have shown abnormal increases. The analysis also found many middle-class households crossed the 300-unit monthly consumption threshold, pushing them into higher tariff slabs.While social activists blame privatisation for the push towards smart meters, MSEDCL says they provide transparent billing by recording actual consumption and allow users to monitor hourly, daily and monthly usage. These meters can help detect power theft, identify faults quickly and reduce transmission losses.(Additional reporting by Somit Sen)

The HC had earlier in Feb observed that in general, builders were “exploiting loopholes’’ in law and frustrating orders of refund passed by MahaRERA

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday observed that a pending case of refund under RERA over delay in a Chembur project “discloses an extremely sorry state of affairs with the collector’s office. The HC division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said decrees passed under the MahaRERA are not being executed scrupulously by the collectors’ office, though mandated under the law.On July 10, the HC issued notices to the collector of the Mumbai suburban district and a tehsildar to show why no action is attracted under the Contempt of Courts Act for failing to abide by its July 8 order and furnish details sought of a builder’s assets.The HC also appointed a court receiver over a flat in a Khar building to secure the interests of Sneha Tejwani in her plea for refund of Rs 1.5 crore with interest.The HC had earlier in Feb observed that in general, builders were “exploiting loopholes’’ in law and frustrating orders of refund passed by MahaRERA. The HC had even directed the state advocate general to assist the court in formulating measures to prevent those defeating the salutary provision of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), which entitles buyers to a refund with interest on withdrawing from delayed projects. The AG Milind Sathe had, among other points, suggested a 25% security of project cost at registration.In 2016, a 550 sq ft flat for Rs 1.65 crore was booked in a project undertaken by builder Niraj Kakad Construction on Sion-Trombay Road in Chembur, her counsel, Neeta Jain, with advocate Mahesh Kukreja, submitted. Tejwani paid Rs 1.5 crore, and possession was due in Aug 2017. But, for certain reasons, the work stopped. In 2019, through her father as her constituted attorney, she invoked her rights under RERA to withdraw from the project. She sought a refund with interest. In 2020, the MahaRERA directed the builder to give her the refund with 10.4 % interest. The builder unsuccessfully challenged the order up to the HC in 2022, but with the recovery process still pending with the suburban collector, Tejwani’s lawyers said she was restrained from petitioning the HC in 2024 for directions.The HC had sought disclosure of assets from the builder. But on July 8, the HC said the builder “attempted to take the court for a ride’’ as he did not disclose all entities where he had financial stakes. The HC thus, on July 8, directed the collector to personally verify and inform on July 10 how many legal entities the builder has interests in. On July 10, initially there was no reply, and in the second half, after the govt pleader sought time, a tehsildar filed a reply which the HC said “undermined’’ the court’s authority. Besides, it lacked the details sought.The buyer’s lawyer said a flat in Khar (west) belongs to the builder and may be attached. The builder’s counsel, Karl Shroff, said there was no agreement on that flat as yet. The HC, in its order, saying, “be that as it may,’’ to secure the refund amount, directed the HC receiver to take physical possession of the Khar flat by July 13. The court posted the matter to July 17 on govt pleader Anjali Helekar’s request.

A Dawoodi Bohra family enjoys Yemeni food and its iconic coffee

After a walk down the wide streets, shopping and eating piping hot payas, naans and kebabs, sitting down for some Yemeni coffee can be a nice way to wrap up the outing.Located near Raudat Tahera, the iconic mausoleum housing revered tombs of Dawoodi Bohras’ spiritual leaders Syedna Taher Saifuddin and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in Bhendi Bazar, is a small coffee shop that resembles a piece from Yemen in West Asia of the Arabian Peninsula. Besides coffee, it also serves a mission.Its wooden window frames, stained glass engravings, rustic look of the walls, ceiling and floor, poems in Arabic calligraphy decorating a wall with English translation eulogizing coffee, all help transport you to a Yemeni home.Part of an upliftment project to help Yemeni farmers give up growing qat or khat, a plant whose leaves locals consume as a recreational stimulant, and cultivate coffee instead, the establishment brews hope.Concerned at the deleterious effects of widespread consumption of qat among Yemnis, late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai or spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohras, suggested coffee plantations replacing qat. Haraz, a mountainous region around 90 kms from Yemen’s capital Sana, was initially chosen for the pilot project.“Here farmers were told about harms of qat to their health and economy (the plantation consumes plenty of water and drains resources) and benefits of coffee cultivation. In a few years, the locals’ health improved and economy boomed,” says Shabbir Jabeli, a member at the Aqeeq Haraz Bunn, the company which runs the coffee shop as part of the upliftment project for the Haraz farmers. Jabeli adds that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current spiritual head, has blessed the project as it weans Yemen’s farmers away from harmful qat and provides a healthy and profitable alternative cash crop, the Yemeni coffee, considered one of the best in the world.Since Bhendi Bazar is being redeveloped into a clean, traffic-free, infrastructurally rich locality by SBUT, this coffee shop connects the Dawoodi Bohras to Yemen which remained seat of the Dawat (community headquarters) from the time of the first Dai for nearly four hundred years. The spiritual leadership had moved to Yemen following the collapse of the Fatimid rule in Egypt in 1171.How did Bohras’ bond with Yemen grow? The 23rd Dai Syedna Mohammed Ezzuddin appointed Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin as the 24th Dai in 16th century in India, which marked the shift of the Dawat from Yemen to India. With Syedna Jalal Shamsuddin (25th Dai), the headquarters firmly established in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. After moving to many cities in West and Central India, the Dawat eventually settled in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the late 19th century.If Dawoodi Bohras have such a strong bond with Yemen, this coffee shop which also serves several authentic Yemeni dishes, helps strengthen the ties. The café manager Taha Petlawdaawala orders some of the dishes for us. Soon comes shafoot, a savory, chilled yogurt-based salad layered with spongy, fermented flatbread and spicy green herbs, bint al-sahn (daughter of the plate) Yemeni pastry, lahsa, a rich creamy egg dish cooked with spiced tomato base and a Yemeni stew.“Lahsa is a breakfast staple served hot with warm pita and flatbread,” explains Ibrahim Ismail Furniturewala, the chef who studied Culinary Arts in Singapore. “I have read up the recipes, watched videos and prepares authentic Yemeni cuisine,” claims the chef. “We have another branch opposite Al Jamea Tus Safiyah, the community educational institution, in Surat.”With the joint’s popularity growing, it attracts both Bohras and non-Boharas. “As I sat there, sampling authentic Yemeni dishes and drinking coffee which came with dates, I thought I was hosted at a Yemeni home. The ambience is very appealing with its sofa, low tables and an adjoining gift and souvenir shop making the experience memorable,” gushes local MLA Amin Patel after a recent visit.

Mumbai: One hundred days’ worth of freshwater supply in volume — that’s approximately how much rainwater landed on Mumbai in the first week of July. Enough, for those inclined to measure it differently, to fill 166,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.It’s a hot irony that the city continues to face a 10% municipal water cut, and hundreds of Mumbaikars were forced to wade where they ought to have walked. In neighbouring Palghar district, floods marooned people for three to five days without electricity or drinking water.Of the estimated 386-445 billion litres of precipitation Mumbai received within its municipal limits, an estimated 85-90% was surface runoff — between 332 and 400 billion litres washing out to sea. But only after forcing people to reckon with it on the streets first.Every monsoon, people demand better flood management, and the govt recently came up with a Rs 13,000-crore ‘sponge city’ plan that promises to soak up rainwater through bioretention parks, detention-infiltration tanks and permeable pavements.Rainwater harvesting (RWH) — the collection, storage and use of rainwater that would otherwise be lost as surface runoff — has long been viewed as a water conservation strategy. It is now also being championed as a decentralised flood mitigation measure. A network of thousands of such systems across the city could soak up water in situ and prevent runoff from accumulating in low-lying areas.“Water percolation and flood prevention are two faces of the rainwater harvesting coin,” says Rashneh Pardiwala, founder-director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), which has installed more than two dozen RWH systems across Maharashtra, including at fire temples in Mumbai and Pune.Inquiries have doubled in the past three years — none, though, for flood mitigation, which Pardiwala hopes will change.“It’s when water is allowed to percolate directly into the ground — because you can never have a larger tank than the ground itself — that RWH works as an anti-flooding mechanism,” she says.A 2024 paper in the journal Water Supply titled ‘Mitigating flash flooding in the city: Drain or harvest?’ recommends treating RWH systems not just as solutions to water scarcity, but as mechanisms that reduce urban flooding by preventing runoff from accumulating on streets and easing the load on drainage infrastructure — a load that has grown considerably heavier in recent years.Gripped by a grey rush to concretise its land surface, Mumbai lost 81% of open land, 40% of its green cover and 30% of its water bodies between 1991 and 2018. At the same time, monsoon patterns are becoming increasingly erratic, with rainfall concentrated into shorter, more intense bursts. In July alone, a single week brought 1,000 mm of rain — more than the month’s typical average of 768-920 mm — compounding the risk of flash floods when heavy rain coincides with high tide. With natural percolation zones closing up, decentralised RWH systems are a solution that holds water.In 2002, BMC directed new buildings on plots larger than 1,000 square metres to install RWH systems, and in 2007 extended the rule to 300 sq m plots. Yet, there is no data on how many operational systems actually exist in the city — most eventually fall into disuse, experts say. A request to BMC for this data went unanswered.Several institutions and residences, however, went it alone — and discovered downstream benefits they hadn’t anticipated.The Armed Police Headquarters of Mumbai city police in Naigaon started out trying to address water scarcity, which in 2017 impacted nearly 2,000 residential family members who stayed in the police lines. A series of trenches, nearly 3 km long, was dug along three parade grounds and connected to nine borewells. The system improved water supply — but it solved another problem too. “Every monsoon, the main parade ground would get slushy, making it difficult to conduct parades,” says Aswati Dorje, additional director general of police for the Prevention of Crime Against Women and Children, Maharashtra. With excess rainwater draining into the trenches, the grounds held up to the drills.It was Dorje who introduced Maharashtra police to rainwater harvesting, commissioning CERE to install the first system at Naigaon through CSR funding. Impressed with the results, she had another installed at the Maharashtra Police Academy in Nashik — where rainwater flowing off parade grounds was damaging adjacent roads. The system solved both problems.Floods on the Andheri-Kurla Road at Chakala were never of biblical proportion, but that didn’t stop Fr Gerard Rodricks, parish priest of Holy Family Church, from wanting to reduce them. “We’re on a hillock, where water would gush down to the road, taking mud with it. We saw it as wasted water — so 10 years ago, we installed trenches at the bottom of our property, laid with stone, gravel and charcoal, to allow water to percolate into the earth,” he says. They haven’t measured the impact on groundwater levels, but Fr Gerard considers the work done if the neighbours’ wells are fuller for it.“Traditionally, rainwater harvesting has focused on storing water for future use, while flood management has relied on quickly draining excess water away. Climate change demands that these two objectives converge,” says Prerana Langa, CEO of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) India. AKAH plans to install grass pavers — which enhance rainwater infiltration and reduce waterlogging — in Chandrapur and Mira Bhayandar after the monsoon.The Archdiocesan Office for Environment Mumbai is making the same argument. Its first YouTube video on the subject, launched last week, advocates deconcretisation as a way to harvest rainwater at scale: “Keep at least 30% of the area surrounding your building permeable,” says Rudolph D’Souza, recommending perforated concrete blocks for driveways, gravel-filled trenches as soak pits, and ring wells in flood-prone areas.Pardiwala believes incentives are key. “The govt should reduce property tax by 10-15% for those who practise RWH. That will create millions of little recharge pits across the city.” (In 2014, BMC announced a 5% property tax rebate for societies that implement RWH.)Each recharge pit, notes rainwater harvesting consultant Ajit Gokhale, can prevent some measure of water from reaching the road. But he warns that rainwater harvesting must work in tandem with other flood mitigation measures. “Appropriate drainage systems and the restoration of water’s natural path of movement are also essential — the upstream-downstream relationship that construction has blocked must be restored,” he says. “Rainwater harvesting cannot mitigate floods on its own, especially when water accumulates from larger areas into smaller areas and rainfall exceeds 15 mm per hour, because of soil/sand-limited absorption capacity.”Yet, Gokhale saw RWH’s flood mitigation effect at work more than 20 years ago at St Catherine’s Home in Andheri. The shelter’s gate, set at the estate’s lowest elevation, was regularly flooded during the rains. The watchman at the gate was his proof. Before the system was installed, he told Gokhale, he had spent 15-20 monsoon days standing on a chair because of water accumulating around his post. After it: two.(Inputs by Chittaranjan Tembhekar)