Dance of Democracy, Tyohar.... yes ..these are the buzz words we have been hearing for quiet a few months now – in the run up to the National General Elections. As Apartment leaders - to build a truly participative democracy in India – we all must encourage all eligible residents in our communities to vote and make an informed decision during the elections. BAF GC & AARAMB team has been working overdrive and helping resolve various issues on voter enrolments as well as motivating residents to come out and VOTE IN LARGE NUMBERS. We do trust that all apartment BAF leaders as well as MCs are taking this further to each and every resident in their apartments.SO RESIDENTS OF APARTMENTS OF BENGALURU GO VOTE ON 18TH APRIL 2019. 

What is the Fire Risk Assessment campaign and how will it benefit my apartment? Will BBMP do away with SWM cess for apartments finally? Is your apartment being refused the CFO renewal for STP operations? All this and more in this month's NewsLetter!

As build up to the BAF AGM 2019, do ensure you do not miss out on news and discussions that calls for participation in cluster leadership or  focused teams (RERA/KAOA, Lift licensing, Water Meters etc.), by reading the newsletters. 

The theme of this month's newsletter is cluster & residents engagement. Please share the newsletter with all your residents and answer the quiz & puzzle to win exciting prizes.

There is a Quiz & Scrambled Words in this newsletter in which all BAF Member Apartments are eligible to participate. Each member association can send in one (& only one) submission with your answers through email to info@bafonline.org.in. Please mention your Apartment Name / Membership No. in the email.

Find encapsulated news items where BAF made an impact, like initiating rooftop solar and pushing for SWM Cess waiver. Also, be it transformer servicing, BWSSB providing extended amenities to those deprived or new payment platforms for utility bills, each of us will find something to relate to and take it up for resolution, if not resolved already!

Be it another increase in BESCOM tariff, rooftop solar articles featuring BAF, various notices being served to apartments , property guidance value increases or stray dog menace - all issues affecting us and which featured in the news last month, is captured.

And this was yet another month of various RWA AGMs. It was indeed heartening to hear from many members how a slot was allotted in the AGM to talk about achievements of BAF and the benefits to member communities for being a part of BAF. Let the good word travel and may we grow from strength to strength!

July 2018 has been yet another month of great action and achievement for all of us. Right from BESCOM STP / Fire load tariff resolution to departments like BESCOM, Income Tax etc. inviting BAF to hear RWAs 's point of view on various issues, providing platform to redress grievances and seeking support to communicate about various citizen services offered by them. Kudos to many cluster councils for their various achievements. If any of your initiatives at cluster level need to get featured in the Newsletter editorials, do write in to us along with published newspaper articles, if any. We will make sure it gets featured and is a source of motivation & inspiration to all. Yes, we all can become part of the solution, rather than being on the fence or within. 

Happy reading - the July 2018 Newsletter! Feedback and suggestions welcome!

Team BAF

BAF had its first Cluster Council team meeting on Jun 3^rd 2018– to provide framework for cluster formation. Meeting was attended by almost 80 members & there was representation from all clusters to take this initiative forward.

BAF Team is proud of all member communities who voted in large numbers on May 12th 2018. Many communities saw their voter turnout at record high numbers – force multiplied - as compared to previous elections. However members also realise that there is still huge scope for improvement by ensuring every eligible member is enrolled. We now hope this process for each member community continues and that by next elections we can see 100% enrolments as well as voting within member communities. 

Thank You for your participation in the Political Debate and AGM event on 22nd April 2018! More details and impact of that will follow in next edition. Lets focus on May 12th elections and how to ensure we keep all our larger community motivated to participate in democracy, and ensure our charter is met, irrespective of who wins or loses. IF WE VOTE IN LARGE NUMBERS – it will IMPACT! 

WE REQUEST EACH OF YOU TO ATTEND THE POLITICAL DEBATE AT CHOWDIAH MEMORIAL HALL IN MALLESHWARAM ON 22^ND APRIL AT 10.30 AM TO SHOW OUR STRENGTH TO THE POLITICAL CLASS! Issues affecting apartment residents have been covered in the Apartment Residents Charter already circulated to the political parties. 

Welcome to another month of action with BAF. Before we get into all that – Wishing all women at BAF a Very Happy International Women’s Day in March!. And All the very best to the children for their exams. Please do share this newsletter with your children too.

BAF Unity Meet on January 20th 2018 was an event to remember! 217 members, from a mere 80 in April 2017! –Is a mark of great momentum – A WARM WLECOME TO ALL NEW MEMBERS! With 250 + participants, the event was a great success. We are en-route to building a strong movement of apartment residents’ community – with members who are fully aware of their civic and community rights and responsibilities. The Governing Council of BAF would like to thank all members for their support and participation in the Unity Meet

The Governing Council of BAF would like to wish you a very happy and prosperous new year 2018! Surely the year did end successfully for BAF and we hope to sustain the same momentum in 2018! 

You would by now be aware of the huge victory that we were able to achieve with regard to the retrospective STP rule in older apartments. On the back of the BAF Apartment Rally held on 2nd December 2017, in which more than 10,000 apartment residents came out on to the streets, including member and non-member associations, the Government of Karnataka (GoK) invited BAF to make a presentation on STPs on 14th December 2017.

Welcome to the seventh issue of the BAF Monthly NewsLetter. Predictably, this issue is dominated by the Apartment Rally organized by BAF on 2nd December, which was a huge success with more than 10,000 people participating. Of course, other news relating to apartments is covered too! Please read on!!

A very Happy Festival Season from BAF team to all its members! Dasara, Deepavali, Halloween, Rajyotsava, Children’s day, Christmas - am sure - will herald happy cultural times in your communities! As you hobnob & network – do communicate on various apartment issues through word of mouth during this time.

Welcome to the fifth issue of the BAF Monthly NewsLetter. This is a compendium of interesting activities relating to apartments. Please do share this with all your residents so that we increase the awareness levels.

Welcome to the fourth issue of BAF newsletter! Hope members have been finding this newsletter useful and sharing it with the larger community in their complexes. 

We are happy to release the third issue of BAF Newsletter! In line with directions emphasized in BAF meet on 17th June 2017, 

We hope you enjoyed reading the first issue of BAF Newsletter last month. The Governing Council of BAF and a few other members have been talking to their respective communities on issues affecting apartments in common, and we have been able to generate good rapport and support for our causes. The need for wider reach of the BAF newsletter was emphasized during our BAF meet on 17th June 2017. When we all meet next for any of the BAF meetings, we do hope there will be more “ayes” for having circulated

the BAF Newsletter to our larger community! BAF members are welcome to contribute with their articles as well by writing to info@bafonline.org.in  

Dear Apartment Resident, Welcome to the first edition of the newsletter from Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF). The newsletter is a compendium of articles that appear in the media, relating to apartments as well as other relevant civic issues. The newsletter will help keep you updated on the latest events, happenings & issues of interest to the apartment residents’ community. This is our humble initiative to build awareness among the apartment residents on relevant civic & social issues. And it is imperative that we all participate collectively at apartment and community level on such issues. Lack of awareness and inaction is no longer a luxury – given the social and environmental impact, costs, rationale and possible passing on the buck by various civic agencies. There have been increasing incidences of fire on lake bed, of lake frothing and toxic foam in the air, starting from across different lakes in the city. Lake pollution is legacy problem from over a decade ago, which has continued unabated without adequate resolution by civic and planning agencies, as our city has grown rapidly. This goes to show that the extent of the problem is far higher than what was originally thought. This perhaps resulted in the STP laws of 2006. Now, as responsible, law abiding apartment residents, if we have installed STPs, let us ensure that the STPs are functioning properly and if not, the sewage generated is safely let out into underground sewer drains. If you are facing any challenges with STP installed in your apartments do write to info@bafonline.org.in for support. BBMP has initiated to distribute free saplings to citizens, with an intent to make the city more green. We urge you to make use of the opportunity to get those saplings from BBMP and plant them in your community. BBMP has made a special provision of bulk buying for resident welfare associations. BBMP extending the property tax deadline for 5% rebate till 15th June, 2017, is good news! Please do make use of the opportunity to pay your property tax on time as well. Finally, despite rains arriving in Bangalore, the city is still facing a severe water crisis and Cauvery water supply has been extremely erratic. We urge all apartment residents & other citizens to use water very judiciously. It not only makes civic sense, it makes commercial sense too with tanker water becoming more & more expensive. BAF will shortly be coming out with a paper on water conservation techniques & systems, which hopefully can help you utilize our most precious resource in the most efficient way possible. Until the next edition, it is bye from us! 

With Warm Regards,

Team BAF