Compensation

Government takes convenient stand where required about Air India – denies ownership of liabilities

The Government has always had ownership of the national carriers, Air India, and Indian Airlines, and after their merger, the combined entity. In all this time, while private airlines (some of them) have been going from strength to strength, the national airline has been run down to such a condition that if the airline was a private company, it would have been closed down a long time back. So, from time to time, the Government has been pumping in money into what has essentially been a loss making concern, and that too, with a huge quantum of losses. In fact, in some of the Nira Radia tapes, it has been alleged that the effort to ensure that the airline does not recover is part of a deal made with private airlines and the former minister Praful Patel. If that was the case, then one can say that the Minister has succeeded tremendously. Right now, the National Carrier is in such a condition that unless it is given funds by the Government, it cannot run even on an operating level, forget about its plans for spending huge sums of money to buy new planes.
However, at a time when the Government has total control of the airline and has been the primary reason for the terrible condition that the airline is in, it is conveniently shirking its responsibility when it comes to some of the liability that the airline has. This is especially bad when it is considered that these are liabilities in the area of back wages and wage arrears. So, when there is a court case filed by retired cabin crew asking for their wage arrears, the Government has declined to take any responsibility for these liabilities (link to article):
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Another Bhopal Tragedy – Oil spill off the Bombay coast

August 7 morning saw the biggest ever oil spill in India as MCS Chitra collided with MV Khalijia 10 km off the Mumbai coast with the former tilting precariously and leaking oil into the sea. An estimated 500 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea and about 250 containers, some carrying hazardous chemicals and pesticides got hurled overboard. This accident is having a ripple effect; not only affecting the flora and fauna in and around the coast but also causing losses to local fisherman with a ban being imposed on fishes. Even the export market is taking a toll as an estimated 24,000 ships are stranded due to the oil spill.
Several aquatic species and sea birds have been found dead along the Mumbai coast, as a result of the oil spill off Mumbai. The formation of thick layer of poisonous oil in the seawaters has inflicted a distressing blow to the biological equilibrium by rendering fishes, turtles and other species immobile due to the caused high viscosity. Many sea birds whose diet comprises aquatic species have consumed oil which has adversely affected their digestive tracts. Mangroves along the coast have also been damaged and it is asserted that only few of them will be able to regenerate. “Cleaning up process in on but it would take around 45 days”, said the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
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Consumer forum finds for person not given shop by builder

Dealing with builders has always been a problem. A lot of people have smooth interactions with builders, and have got properties (whether these be residential or commercial) without any issues; however, it is also true that in many cases, especially in tough times when builders face problems in terms of funding, or being to complete projects, that builders get even more difficult to deal with. For a buyer, there is a huge nuisance in being able to know the current status, or to get the invested money back, or to get the completed property. In such cases, appealing to the police, or going to consumer forums is one way, such as happened in this case (link to article):

As per the brochure, the respondents had also promised to handover the showroom’s possession to the complainant within a period of 2 years. Following this, Rs 23.30 lakh was paid by Ess Enn corporation. However, it was alleged that despite repeated requests, the respondents did not give any timeframe for handing over the showroom’s possession.