Monday, August 31, 1998

• Conspiracy behind oil adulteration: forum

MUMBAI : Alyque Padamsee, film personality Kabir Bedi and daughter Pooja (flanked by her husband) at the "shradhanjali" for danseuse Protima Gauri Bedi, who was killed in a landslide at Malpa, in Uttar Pradesh, at their Versova residence in Mumbai on Sunday. — PTI

PMK, MDMK should explain stand: Swamy
CHENNAI, Aug 30 — The Janata Party President, Dr Subramanian Swamy, today said the three AIADMK partners — PMK, the MDMK and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress — should explain why they had changed their stand regarding extending support to the Vajpayee government.

S. Court’s ruling on dishonoured cheque
NEW DELHI, Aug 30 — The Supreme Court has ruled that though a cheque during its validity period can be presented to a bank a number of times, its repeated dishonouring can make the payer liable for prosecution only once.

Striking teachers’ plea to minister
NEW DELHI, Aug 30 — The All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations today urged Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi to enter into dialogue with representative bodies of the striking teachers to settle their demands, including UGC pay scales.

Defence training may be made must for students
NEW DELHI, Aug 30 — It is proposed to make civil defence training compulsory for school and college students to equip them to handle emergencies, says Director-General of Civil Defence and Home Guards M.K. Shukla.

Bill on education ‘being readied’

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (PTI) — The Law Commission is preparing a Bill to provide “compulsory and free” education in the light of a 1993 Supreme Court judgement holding that every child has a fundamental right to free education till the age of 14 years.

Expressing shock over the state of primary education in various states, Law Commission Chairman Justice B. Jeevan Reddy lamented in an interview to PTI today that the government’s attempt to pass a Bill inserting Article 21A in the Constitution to carry out the apex court judgement had been unsuccessful so far.

He said owing to the neglect of primary education, hundreds of government schools in the country including Andhra Pradesh, were recording zero per cent pass results in the Senior Secondary Certificate examinations.

“It was shocking for me to learn during my visits to Andhra Pradesh that government teachers in the schools either did not perform their teaching duties or employed proxy teachers, comprising mostly villagers who were not qualified at all to teach,” Justice Reddy said.

He said it was high time the government set its mind on improving educational facilities for children and enhanced the quality of teaching as the problem had assumed “serious proportions”.

Justice Reddy said after Independence the government had neglected primary education, which was of fundamental importance. While expenditure for primary education had been reduced that for higher education had increased.

Justice Reddy said there should be a law to obligate the government to examine the reports of the Law Commission and take action within a time-frame.

He said the 15th Law Commission which, was constituted in 1997 with a three-year term, had produced or was in the process of completing nine reports.

The reports related to amendments to Section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, amendments to the All-India Technical Education Act, amendments to the Industries Development and Regulation Act, the working of the various tribunals, review of the obsolete laws and amendments to existing laws under part one of the Constitution.

Justice Reddy said the commission had submitted the draft Bill on statutory status to the Central Vigilance Commission by suggesting amendments to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act as well as FERA. A report on amendments to the civil procedure code was being finalised.

He said the commission was examining the Sick Industries Relief Act which had become outmoded in an age of liberalisation and foreign competition. The government was now following a blind theory of reviving sick industries without going into the reasons behind the sickness and this was being done at the cost of the public exchequer.

Justice Reddy said there was no mechanism in the present Act to find out whether the industries reporting sick had done so deliberately to avail concessions.

In fact under the Act even Sales and Excise Duties were not recoverable from industries that got themselves declared sick.

As a result of this situation public funds were being put to misuse and there was a slid in the industry.

The commission had suggested amendments to the Industries Development Act to clear confusion about the mutual jurisdiction of the central and state government regarding production and control of industrial alcohol. “At the moment, there is a lot of room for duty evasion as the state had power to levy duty only on potable alcohol,” he said, adding as a result the industries could evade state duty by diluting industrial alcohol to make country liquor.

Justice Reddy said another issue which was engaging the attention of the Law Commission was the Hire Purchase Act enacted in 1972 but which was yet to be enforced.

Though the government had issued a notification in 1972 to bring it into force, a strong lobby of financiers had prevailed on the government to postpone the date of enforcement. Consequently, the government issued another notification postponing the enforcement and further went on to cancel this second notification.

Panel on Constitution ‘next month’

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (PTI) — Home Minister L.K. Advani has said that a commission to review the Constitution is likely to be set up next month and basics for the exercise are all ready.

“The government is at the moment actively considering setting up a commission to have a second look at the Constitution. I think it may not be long. In fact, it would be soon, may be in September itself,” he said in an interview to “Home TV”.

He said “The basics are all ready. It’s a question of going to the Cabinet and the government approving. And the commission would report back in a limited period”.

Answering to questions, the minister said the proposed commission would not be barred from including any subject except the basic structure of the Constitution.

Mr Advani said the basic structure of the constitution had been identified and established as the concept of democracy rather than any particular form thereof, according to a release by the private TV channel.

“That has been identified by a series of court judgements. They have said that democracy is the basic structure but not parliamentary democracy or this or that system of democracy. Just democracy per se,” he said.

To a question if the credibility of the government had suffered as a result of differences with allies, Mr Advani said: “The credibility of the government is still intact though the image has been affected”. “Also, the image has not been affected as much as to affect its credibility and, therefore, there is hope. If the credibility had been affected then it would have been a real matter of worry”.

While criticising the government, he said two factors should be borne in mind — first that it is a coalition and not a BJP government and that the arithmetic in the 12th Lok Sabha had an impact on the government.

“Even if it had been a single-party government or even suppose the BJP strength had been preponderant, say around 220 or 230, the fact that it would nevertheless have been a coalition comprising parties which may not wholeheartedly agree with all that the BJP thinks is right....,” he said.

Describing his relationship with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as “perfect relationship over decades”, he said speculation of a rift between him and Vajpayee was “absurd”.

Observing that they consulted each other “almost daily”, Mr Advani said: “When anything strikes me I ring him up or see him. Similarly, he also phones me very often.”

The Home TV interview programme, which has run unbroken since May 20, 1996, will go off the air on August 31, according to a TV channel release.

Categorically denying any differences with his party, Mr Advani said: “There are many in the country and many outside also who are not happy with this government. The Press is somewhat hostile”.

Maintaining that the government had performed “reasonably well”, he said: “I would not call it spectacular except with reference to a couple of achievements. But otherwise it has performed well. When I refer to specifically a couple of achievements I have in mind Pokhran and the Cauvery which are really major breakthroughs and major achievements of the government”.

On the government’s attitude towards its allies, the Home Minister rejected the view that it was too accommodating and too tolerant.

“I don’t think we have been too accommodating. Also, the arithmetic of the Lok Sabha makes it imperative for the leader of the coalition to be accommodative,” he said.

On handling of AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha, he said: “One can always think of very many alternatives but in the given situation I think by and large the government’s response has been appropriate”.

Decline in fresh dropsy cases: govt

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (PTI) — The death toll in the dropsy epidemic in the Capital jumped to 30 even as the Delhi Government claimed a decline in the number of fresh cases.

The Delhi Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, said only three deaths were reported in the past 24 hours and that the remaining four were reported late from the ESI and St Stephen hospitals.

"Only 126 more patients with symptoms of the deadly disease were admitted to city hospitals in last 24 hours as against 200 yesterday", Dr Vardhan said adding that though it was too early to say that the epidemic was dying down, "things appear to be settling down on all fronts".

He said the government, which had already filed cases against seven companies, would file cases against 10 more in the Designated PFA (Prevention of Food Adulteration) Court tomorrow.

The minister said experts from Lucknow’s Industrial Toxicological Research Centre had almost completed testing of all oil samples and were expected to submit their report to the city government soon.

Meanwhile, health secretaries of all states and union territories will meet here tomorrow to review the dropsy situation including steps taken to check adulteration of mustard oil. Union Health Secretary K.K. Baksi will preside over the meeting.

The health secretaries will also discuss measures taken to monitor movement of oil tankers, testing of oil samples, prompt medical care to patients and enforcement of the PFA Act against erring manufacturers, an official press note said.

The Cabinet Secretary has already asked four mustard oil producing states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi to take adequate preventive measures to check the rise of epidemic dropsy.

The Union Health Secretary has also written to state chief secretaries asking them to keep a vigil on the quality of mustard oil sold in the market.

Conspiracy behind oil adulteration: forum

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (UNI) — The Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, a collective of some well-known agricultural scientists, economists, farmer leaders, environmentalists and policy makers, sees a definite conspiracy behind the large-scale adulteration of mustard oil.

“It has all the ingredients of an economic espionage. A careful examination of the timing of the outbreak of dropsy epidemic in Delhi and the neighbouring areas clearly brings out the hidden motive. For nearly six months now, the government has been under tremendous pressure to import edible oils and oilseedes, especially soyabean” forum president Devinder Sharma said.

The government has finally decided to allow the free import of oilseeds, including one million tonne of contaminated soyabean from the USA.

Interestingly, the soyabean import is the first major consignment of genetically engineered seed and also brings along five weeds and 11 viral diseases, he alleged.

PMK, MDMK should explain stand: Swamy

CHENNAI, Aug 30 (PTI) — The Janata Party President, Dr Subramanian Swamy, today said the three AIADMK partners — the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) and Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) — should explain why they had changed their stand regarding extending support to the Vajpayee government.

“I am not questioning their right to change their stand, but they have to explain either publicly or to the AIADMK front why they have changed it”, he told a press meet here.

(PMK leader S. Ramadoss, MDMK leader Vaiko and TRC leader Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy had said they would continue to support the BJP-led coalition government even if the AIADMK withdraws support).

Saying he was “surprised” by their change in stand, Dr Swamy said at the August 13 meeting with AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha, all the front constituents had decided to leave the question of continuance of support to the BJP-led government in the hands of Ms Jayalalitha. She was authorised to take an “appropriate decision at an appropriate time”.

However, within a fortnight, they had changed their stand, he said.

Asked whether he was aware of the reasons for the three front leaders changing their stand, Dr Swamy said “let them explain first. Then I will tell the reason”.

Queried when he himself had criticised the BJP despite being a member of the AIADMK-led front, why was he expecting an explanation from the three, Dr Swamy said democratically, it was agreed to leave the decision to Ms Jayalalitha. Even if they wanted to change their stand, they could have sought a meeting of the front and explained the reasons.

Nevertheless, Dr Swamy said, he would meet Ramadoss soon to find out the reason.

Asked what he was going to do about it, Swamy said he would abide by whatever decision Jayalalitha took.

S. Court’s ruling on dishonoured cheque

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has ruled that though a cheque during its validity period can be presented to a bank a number of times, its repeated dishonouring can make the payer liable for prosecution only once.

A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice M.K. Mukherjee and Justice D.P. Wadhawa harmonised Sections 138 and 142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and said: “The combined reading of the two Sections leaves no room for doubt that cause of action arises — and can arise — only once.”

Section 138 says an offence is committed if a cheque is returned unpaid and the drawer of the cheque (payer) fails to make the payment within 15 days of receiving a registered notice from the payee, demanding payment while informing him about the dishonouring of the cheque.

Section 142 says a court can take cognisance of a written complaint stating the offence within a month of the expiry of the 15-day notice period bringing to drawer’s notice dishonouring of the cheque.

The Bench said: “We are of the opinion that the two provisions can be harmonised, with the interpretation that on each presentation of the cheque and its dishonour a fresh right — and not a cause of action — accrues in his (payee’s) favour”.

The Bench said: “He (payee) may, therefore, without taking pre-emptory action in exercise of his such right under Section 138, go on presenting the cheque so as to enable him to exercise such right at any point of time during the validity of the cheque.”

“But once he gives a notice under Section 138, he forfeits such right for, in case of failure of the drawer to pay the money within the stipulated time, he will be liable for the offence and the cause of action for filing the complaint will arise,” it said.

The court made it clear that “needless to say, the period of one month for filing the complaint will be reckoned from the day immediately following the day on which the period of 15 days, from the date of receipt of the notice by the drawer expires”.

Striking teachers’ plea to minister

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (UNI) — The All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations (AIFUCTO) today urged Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi to enter into dialogue with representative bodies of the striking teachers to settle their demands, including UGC pay scales.

However, a delegation of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and some teachers met the HRD Minister and submitted a memorandum suggesting ways for improving the higher education system, including the creation of an Indian education service. They also expressed dismay at the ongoing strike.

The AIFUCTO and the Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association (FEDCUTA), spearheading the agitation, were still awaiting invitation from the minister for negotiations to resolve the issue.

Defence training may be made must
for students

NEW DELHI, Aug 30 (UNI) — It is proposed to make civil defence training compulsory for school and college students to equip them to handle emergencies, says Director-General of Civil Defence and Home Guards M.K. Shukla.

Stating that the concept of civil defence (CD) was “misunderstood”, the senior IPS officer said that CD was no longer activated only in war time but was also used for rendering rescue and relief services during disasters.

The frequency with which natural and man-made disasters strike the country — be it the Bhopal gas tragedy, bomb blasts in the capital, railway accidents or the recent Malpa landslide and Uttar Pradesh floods — it was important to train the civilian populace to help itself better in times of crises.

Thus, going by the motto “catch them young”, the directorate had proposed to train school and college students and those studying in technical institutes in basic civil defence methods like emergency rescue, first aid, fire prevention, precaution and the like.

“This would be a simultaneous process of awareness building and practical training and also inculcate a spirit of discipline and camaraderie in the youth”, he added.

The Health Ministry had already made a beginning and lessons in “disaster medicine” or emergency relief medicine formed part of the MBBS curriculum.

Mr Shukla regretted that though civil defence volunteers were called upon to play a role in almost every kind of emergency, their numbers had been going down. While the authorised strength of the civil defence was 865,000 volunteers, the present number was less than half at 414,000.

The Director-General of Police (DGP) recalled that there was a time illustrious people like Morarji Desai and Giani Zail Singh were volunteers of the civil defence and Home Guards.

The shortfall in recruitment, Mr Shukla felt, was not due to a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the people but because the authorities had, perhaps, lagged somewhere in pursuing it vigorously.

Keeping in view the changed role of civil defence and the fact that state governments could summon these volunteers in times of natural and other disasters, Mr Shukla said the directorate had also proposed an amendment to the 1968 Civil Defence Act to incorporate civil protection also.

This would be an enabling provision to entitle civil defence volunteers to protection and compensation while on deployment in such situations.

The proposal was under consideration of the union Home Ministry, under which the Directorate of Civil Defence functions, he added.

At the annual meeting of the Joint Planning Staff Committee of Civil Defence last week, attended by representatives of about 20 ministries, speakers stressed the need to revive the directorate’s mobile emergency relief columns, which were disbanded in the late 1980s.

The two columns stationed in Calcutta and Delhi, called the Mobile Civil Emergency Force (MCEF), were used as a quick-reaction mechanism to rush help whenever a disaster struck at some place.

LPG-powered rocket
NEW DELHI: A rocket that uses cooking gas as a propellant has been developed by Russia, the Russian news agency Ria Novosti has reported. The two-stage booster rocket called Riksha-I that operates on liquified natural gas (methane) “has been specially designed for commercial launching”. The 64-tonne, 25-metre tall rocket having a diameter of 2.4 metre “can launch payloads of up to 1.7 tonnes to a 200 km orbit at an angle up to 12 degrees”. — PTI

IT officer caught copying in exam
JAIPUR: An Assistant Income Tax Commissioner was caught copying in the law examination of Rajasthan University on Saturday. The woman was appearing in the first year of law examination when she was caught copying by a flying squad, the police said. A case under the Anti-Copying Act was registered against her. — PTI

Hindi litterateur dead
NEW DELHI: Noted Hindi litterateur Rattan Lal Sharma (65) died here on Sunday following a heart attack, family sources said. He is survived by a son and a daughter. He was presented the “Lifetime Contribution Award” for Hindi literature in 1996 by the then Prime Minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda. He was associated in an honorary capacity with Delhi University, guiding research students. — PTI

Delhi to go unleaded
NEW DELHI: With an unenviable distinction of being the fourth most polluted city in the world, Delhi is all set to make a transition to unleaded petrol from Tuesday as part of measures to contain air pollution. All petrol pumps will market only unleaded petrol from September 1 as per the Supreme Court directions with most of them already having phased out the leaded fuel. “We want to ensure that a major lethal substance (lead) is out of air,” says Dr Dilip Biswas, Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board. — PTI

NHRC sets up action group
NEW DELHI: In a bid to strengthen the drive against bonded labour, the National Human Rights Commission has set up a central action group to evolve effective monitoring and statutory machineries both at the Centre and in states for abolition of the scourge. The group would delineate clearly the work to be undertaken by the commission in terms of the orders of the Supreme Court and provisions of the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act and other related enactments. — PTI

50 hurt in stone-pelting
NASIK: More than 50 industrial workers, including 18 policemen, were injured in stone-pelting during a “jail bharo” andolan by the Centre for Indian Trade Union at the local Golf Ground on Saturday. The police said trouble broke out when the agitating workers tried to open the front gate of the Golf Ground, which had been sealed by the police and started pelting stones. The state Reserve Police Force, deployed in the area, resorted to a lathi charge to control the rampaging mob. — PTI

Woman sentenced for killing children
NASIK: A labourer woman was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her two children and later making an attempt to commit suicide. Delivering the verdict here on Saturday, the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr U.K. Hanuvate, also ordered the accused, Radhabai, to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. The police said she picked up her two children and threw them in a well. She also jumped in the same well but was rescued by neighbours. The children, however, drowned. — PTI

Petition on DCI head dismissed
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the Centre’s decision on the sharing of tenure of president of the Dental Council of India on rotation. Challenging the decision on the basis of which Dr R.K. Bali was to take over as president in January this year, the DCI vice-president, Dr C.Bhaskar Rao, had filed the petition saying the arrangement of sharing the five-year term of office was bad and consequently the appointment was illegal and void. While declining Dr Rao’s claim to the post of president, Justice Usha Mehra said the sharing of the term had been unanimously agreed by the DCI and approved by the Health Ministry. — PTI