MHADA flats - tribal category "scam"

this story is quite ironical - builder allegedly makes 200 applications for MHADA homes under the scheduled tribes reserved category - and then has filed a police complaint against the 185 tribals who did not get allotted MHADA flats and encashed the refund pay order, which was sent to them - full story below.

HT article

Opening an account / Documentation

This morning I went to a leading private sector bank to open a DEMAT account in my wife's name - as background, we have had a joint account with the bank for over 12 years and I have a DEMAT account in my name. The branch is located close to my home and managers have visited my house several times to get papers signed in the past. As part of the documentation process, they asked for proof of ID (which is fine - she has several acceptable proofs of ID) and also wanted a proof of address. I explained that no utility bills were in her name - all in mine - but I could give a letter confirming that we lived together (along with a marriage certificate). Her Voter ID is registered at her parents home as is her Driving License. The bank said what about a bank statement confirming the address ? I said yes, we had this - in fact a statement issued by their bank. But then they asked was she the first or second holder ? I said joint - she could individually sign so first or second should not make a difference. They said no - if second, then it would not count. I tried to explain that if they were OK with the statement (her bank details as much as mine) being sent to a particular address, then they should be OK with the DEMAT statement going to the same addresss. They said no. I also tried to explain that they could confirm by physically coming over to the home which is 3 mins away. They said no - confirming through a personal visit did not count, but that I could open a bank account in her sole name which would sort out the problem.
But then how would she confirm the address for that ?

BBC world debate - Housing the future...

...A show that was aired recently on BBC - as a part of the World Debate series.

Staggering statistic / estimate -

The UN estimates that 4,000 new houses must be built every hour to meet global demand. A billion people currently live in slums – with 25 million a year set to join them.

The show is available at -

http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/ProgrammeMultiFeature.aspx?id=196