All concerned who are holding an immovable property within the demarcated boundaries of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) need to pay the PROPERTY TAX to the authorities on per annum basis.

Citizens who willingly or unknowingly have been defaulters not paying up the requisite house / property tax have a golden opportunity in hand till 31/12/2009 wherein the liable defaulter's penalty as well as the impending interest amount on the penalty and/or the outstanding may be waived off by the MCD, subject to certain terms and conditions.

People desiring to avail the property tax amnesty scheme 2009-10 of the MCD / Delhi Government must adhere to the last date of 31 December 2009 to reap the benefit of this 'one of a kind scheme'.

Those who are yet to file their MCD property tax submissions for this year or previous years, and desiring to submit their property tax online / offline availing the MCD amnesty scheme 2009-10, should hurry as only a couple of days are left now. For related instructions as how to proceed to file your MCD PROPERTY TAX check out our previous post or visit the related MCD Delhi Government websites following the direct weblinks given herewith below this post.

• Related BnM post(s): MCD Property Tax | Delhi MCD Property Tax Online Submission | FAQs about MCD Property Tax
• Related post tags: Delhi-NCR | PropertyTalk | NewsOfUse
• Related links of use: http://www.mcdpropertytax.in | http://mcdonline.gov.in

Ask us in case you also have any query relating to civil engineering, architecture, building design & construction, interiors, etc.
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Related Blog Post: [Delhi-NCR]: MCD Property Tax  |  Filing MCD Property Tax Online  |  FAQs about MCD Property Tax
Related stuff of interest: Municipal property tax in India  |  Indian wealth-tax, Indian gift-tax and Indian expenditure-tax

                   

In continuation to the ongoing 'Go-GREEN' series that this favorite weblog of yours (which essentially deals with common man's day to day civil engineering related issues, doubts and queries), the editors' desk here at BRICKS-n-MORTAR (BnM) today feels privileged to bring about and share a unique social initiative and success story called 'SULABH' that has become a benchmark for not only India, but also for the rest of the world.

Started way back in 1970 by a social activist named Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak (Ph.D., D.Litt. Sociologist, Social Reformer and Environmental Sanitation Expert), SULABH has been working since then with the same dedication, vision, aim and mission of transforming India of the yesteryears  to:

A healthy and hygienic India, free of the practice of defecation in the open and faecal pollution of environment. A society free of untouchability, social discrimination and prevalence of the sub-human practice of manual cleaning of human excreta. And to educate and motivate the people, sensitize policy makers and functionaries and promote activities and programmes of the Govt. and as well as the people, to achieve Sulabh’s vision in the foreseeable future.

The founder of SULABH, the flagship social activity arm of the India based NGO - 'Sulabh International Social Service Organisation' (SISSO), was one among the chosen 31 "Heroes of the Environment" for the year 2009 by the Time Magazine, which conferred this prestigious title under the category "Scientists and Innovators."

Among all the social campaigns like the 'climate change' and 'save the world' and other similar summits across the world of the yesteryears' as well as today's, this initiative of SULABH stands out on its own in true Gandhian legacy who non-violently fought for the rights and cause of apartheid and social equality for all.

Today, the world best knows 'The Sulabh International Social Service Organization' as "a non-profit social organization working in the field of sanitation (human excreta disposal and solid waste management), environmental pollution control, waste-water treatment and disposal, biogas generation and production of compost fertilizer, liberation of scavengers from the demeaning task of manual cleaning of excreta, vocational training & rehabilitation of scavengers and their wards, health & hygiene promotional activities, empowerment of women and other weaker sections of the society, research & development and human resource development."

Organizations like SULABH must be given all the support and appreciation for contributing their invaluable bit towards 'A BETTER WORLD... A REAL GREEN WORLD' in so many ways. And for all these better reasons and more, BRICKS-n-MORTAR awards their 'GO-GREEN AWARD 2009' to 'The Sulabh International Social Service Organization' and its entire team. Carry on the good work, SULABH, and keep people like us inspired for the good-green-cause.

Suggested related links and stuff to read about:
- All about 'Sulabh International Social Service Organisation' (SISSO)
-  Sulabh's Aims and Objectives
-  Sulabh's Museum of Toilets

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'Vote Earth' is WWF’s campaign to combat the climate catastrophe. The noble endeavor highlights- "If you choose Earth over Global Warming, make it official by casting your vote."

The campaign needs large scale public participation, and the initiators seek to have everyone mindful's help in making the campaign a success and meaningful for the sake of mother Earth.  
BRICKS-n-MORTAR too support the cause and insist all its readers, followers and subscribers to support the cause.

Visit www.voteearth.in and join the community. People of rest of the world may join respective communities in their respective countries/ world regions.

Find Team BnM's small initiative in this regard at:

Vote Earth | What you can do for planet - Vote Earth http://www.earthhour.in/voteearth

EarthHour's (Vote for Earth) social media links:
Facebook Orkut Flickr You Tube Twitter

The ongoing 'green talks' at the world's largest summit till date on climate change and damage control (Officially called the United Nations Climate Change Conference) being held from Dec. 7 to Dec. 18 at Copenhagen are slowly and steadily becoming a classic cacophonous case of "Who'll Blink First?", with none of the parties engaged in the so-called dialogue willing to give in to the others' demands.

Go green

Inside the Bella Center at Copenhagen, the venue of the year 2009 climate summit, where hundreds of world leaders and/or their respective representatives along with thousands of delegates from over 190 countries are gathering for the largest climate summit in history, trying to attain a common ground following desperate talks, endless debates, high drama and eclectic atmosphere galore.

The developed nations are hell-bent in getting the 'draft' painted their way with no particular (harsh) commitments on their part in the years to come; while the rest of world (G77 countries + African countries + Others) are jostling their way to keep the draft of the Kyoto protocol also in place alongside which can take care of their sustained economic growth provisions while committing on the cutting the carbon commissions as well.

As the summit's deadline is nearing, more and more chaos and differences are arising. Seems, it would take more time for peoples' representatives of this world to be aboard a common ground for working together towards the betterment of mother earth.

Go greenSo, what does it all mean to common people like you and me?  Nothing significant in immediate terms one may say...  BUT perhaps could be existence threatening in distant future of the coming generations.

No matter if the talks work out or fail for now, do pledge to contribute your small yet-so-very-important bit by adhering to at least a few of these eco-friendly methods and habits, like:

• conserving energy to whatsoever extent possible
• reducing wastes and carbon emissions at personal, official and social places
• contributing for the sake of recycling things, wastes, etc.
• using energy efficient appliances and accessories
• constructing buildings and infrastructure using the 'green buildings' norms
• taking all those possible steps which can make your existing homes, offices, surroundings, etc. as eco friendly as possible
• imparting knowledge and common know-how to physical and virtual communities around you
• starting groups and action committees at whatsoever level... big, medium, small; which can spread the good work
• run campaigns to let others also follow your example
• and, foremost, CHANGE YOURSELF into a real eco-friendly entity. As it is said so very commonly...  charity begins at home. SO START AFRESH and MAKE THAT CHANGE  :-)

Do share with us what other steps can common people like you and me can adopt to contribute our bit. Share your story with us and our readers if you have one. BRICKS-n-MORTAR would feel privileged to share this noble cause on this e-community too.

Suggested related links to ponder upon:

• Copenhagen Climate Summit: What You Need to Know
• Copenhagen Climate Council
• Official website of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
• Greenpeace.org
• CarbonFund.org - CALCULATE your own carbon footprints
  

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B-n-M's Q&A | December 2009 | (Series#1)

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Q: How do you hang a heavy mantle without cleats or corbels?  
A: First things first --- Any member that is to be hung (erected) must either be supported at end and/or in-between at least one place for stability and fixing purposes. 

The only other way to hang a heavy mantle, unsupported otherwise elsewhere than at the ends, is to fix it with the help of suitable anchor fasteners available for several reliable makes like Hilti, Fischer, etc. The structure to be hung must be fixed with suitably designed end plates in structural steel, which then can be anchored on to the receiving surfaces (ends).  

Q: What materials do you need to make a truss?  
A: To start with, let us first explain in very simple terms to all our readers as what a 'TRUSS' is.  

A truss is a structural member that is fabricated by means of joining various suitably designed members of desired parameters like length, section, material, weight, end connection system, etc. into a grid type shape. A truss usually takes advantage of the strength of triangular shaped units that are joined together by different means.  

The most common building materials that are used for fabricating trusses are structural steel sections, seasoned wood, hollow or solid pipes, bamboo, etc. The selection of the material essentially depend upon the load factor, type of use, material availability, etc. In some of the cases, even a combination of more than one material can be used.  

The most common type of trusses used in construction purposes are:

• King post truss
• Queen post truss
• Bowstring truss
• Attic truss
• Pratt truss
• Lenticular truss
• Gambrel truss
• Hip truss
• Fink truss
• Flat truss
• Howe truss
• Inverted truss

The most common uses / places where trusses are erected are:

• Roof supports
• Bridges
• Sheds
• As permanent beam supports (as against formwork)

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FLOOR PLANNER --- Basic Steps and Tips --- [ PART-2 ]

In the previous post (Part-1) of this series, we introduced you to the useful web utility 'FLOOR PLANNER' which is a fun and easy way to create FLOOR PLANS, LAYOUTS, ELEVATIONS, ISOMETRIC and PERSPECTIVE VIEWS of one's generated plans by way of user's imagination, creativity and useful web-tools.

In this part of the series (Part-2) here, we are sharing the very basics of HOW-TO-USE this utility and simple commands that shall help bricks-n-mortar readers in readily using the utility.

STEPS TO START WITH

• Log in to the FloorPlanner website
• Create a user ID and choose the Level Type (free version or professional version)
• Manage and customize your account details for giving it a personal touch while sharing later on.

GETTING ACCUSTOMED WITH THE 'DASHBOARD' & STARTING OFF

• Head to the 'Dashboard' section post registering personal details
  
• Start off with your very first plan with the easily navigated tools section.
• Draw scaled or un-scaled plans in 2D option
  
• Add customized furniture, colors, furnishings, etc. whatever you desire and like.

SAVING THE PLANS & VIEWING IN 2D / 3D

• Once you are through with the plan and it is ready with all your imaginative planning, save the plan with simple command actions.
• Once saved, you can view it in multiple angles, isometric / perspective views.
• You can even see the different elevations and rotated views.

SHARING YOUR SAVED PLANS WITH THE WORLD

• If you desire so, the saved plans can be shared with the world as well your networks using the inbuilt 'share' button.
• You can choose to either keep your plans public or private
• You can even get the respective HTML code for your plan which can be embedded on to your blog or website.

Hope you enjoy making dream floor plans of your dream home with this utility. Do share your plans with us. We may even post a few of best of them here on this blog.
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Related tags : Utilities-n-Softwares
Related posts :

• Plan, Design and Model your Home, Interiors, Layout, etc. with FLOOR PLANNER web utility -- (PART-1)
  
• About Google LatLong blog
• Autodesk on a Mission to Build a Strong Student Community in India & Worldwide
• Google's "SketchUp" - A useful architectural 3-D models generating software

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Design, plan and model your home -- all by your ownself --- [ PART-1 ] 

Floor Planner is a simple yet so-very-wonderful utility available online to the amateurs as well as the professionals that let the users create and share their imaginative ideas in the shape of easy to build FLOOR PLANS, LAYOUTS, ELEVATIONS, ISOMETRIC and PERSPECTIVE VIEWS of one's creations.

The interface of the web utility is very simple and user friendly. The users can simply put in use its point-and-click & drag-and-drop tools, and can make house plans and elevations/sections in minutes. The best part is that the created plans can be saved and shared online in digital format while also allowing users to replan, modify, edit and rearrange their own plans as many times as they desire.

The utility is free to use for beginners and hobby-mongers which allows them to create up to 5 design files based on a single floor plan. Professionals and advanced users can however avail services of their premium versions at nominal costs as compared to other similar products available on web and market.

Floor Planner also runs a blog of their own where utility as well as community updates are available.

In the next part of this post, team bricks-n-mortar shall bring to you the very basics of HOW-TO-USE this utility and simple commands that shall help bricks-n-mortar readers in readily using the utility.

Related tags   : Utilities-n-Softwares

Related posts :

• About Google LatLong blog
• Autodesk on a Mission to Build a Strong Student Community in India & Worldwide
• Google's "SketchUp" - A useful architectural 3-D models generating software

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