M A I N   N E W S

SC to hear Balco case
All petitions transferred to apex court

New Delhi, April 9
The validity of the controversial decision of the Centre to sell its 51 per cent share in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) to Sterlite Industries for Rs 551.5 crore will now be decided by the Supreme Court, which today transferred to itself all petitions on this issue pending before various high courts.

Allowing the Centre’s transfer plea, a Bench comprising Mr Justice B.N. Kirpal and Mr Justice Ruma Pal said “Having regard to the importance of the issue and the fact that similar issues are pending before different high courts at New Delhi and Chhattisgarh, we direct the transfer of petitions pending before the high courts to this court.”

Underlining the need for an expeditious decision on the issue of disinvestment, the Bench directed transfer of all records of the case from the two high courts to the apex court within four weeks and asked the Union Government to file its reply affidavit to the petitions within two weeks.

The Bench said the matter, after the transfer of the petitions, “will be heard by a three-Judge Bench.”

While the Balco Employees Union and Mr B.L. Wadhera had challenged the disinvestment decision in the Delhi High Court, a worker Suman Singh Kanwar had challenged the same before Chhattisgarh High Court.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney-General Soli J. Sorabjee contended that the disinvestment policy of the Centre, having a countrywide ramification, has been challenged in the petitions and it would be everybody’s interest that the apex court gave a ruling on this.

Mr Sorabjee said, “The main question involved in the petitions is what is the parameter of the judicial review in such cases and the apex court is best suited to lay down such a parameter,” he said.

The Chhattisgarh Government, which had severely criticised the Centre accusing it of taking an arbitrary decision, said it did not have any objection as to which court heard the matter.

Appearing for the state, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, however, said that in many cases the apex court had allowed the high courts to decide so that it had the benefit of the judgements of the high courts on the issue.

Mr Sorabjee, assisted by Solicitor- General Harish Salve, Additional Solicitor-General Kirit Raval and Advocate Maninder Singh, contended that unless the parameters of judicial review was decided by the apex court, for every disinvestment the process would be challenged before one or the other high court.

“Today it is Balco, tomorrow it might be Air India,” he said wondering “Is it not in everyone’s interest that the Supreme Court decided the issue.”

“We want an authoritative pronouncement on this issue in an expeditious manner,” he said, adding the high courts due to exigency of work may not be able to decide the case soon. PTI

Farmers, Akalis in dilemma
P.P.S. Gill
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 9
An observation of the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, made in his March 19 Budget speech, not only found an echo in what the Financial Commissioner, Development, Mr C. L. Bains today told Chief Agricultural Officers (CAO) but also seems to be coming true. The Finance Minister had drawn attention to the fact that the Punjab farmer was left in the “lurch’’ with erstwhile deficit states not ready to accept his foodgrains for one reason or the other even at the minimum support price (MSP). 

He said, the Punjab farmer and his friendly SAD-BJP government was today in a dilemma as to where this agricultural produce is to be marketed/disposed of. As a result of the plenty situation on the foodgrains front, the farmer was made to suffer at the hands of the middleman by forcing him to sell his produce at throwaway prices.To add to this pitiable plight of the Punjab farmer, the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) had come as another straw on the camel’s back.

Mr Bains explicitly told the CAOs, who met at Kisan Bhavan, to ‘’review’’ the prospects of the rabi crop and preparations for the next kharif, that at district training camps farmers be persuaded to ‘’get away’’ from paddy in view of the international market economies and competition as also the WTO operational since April 1. The farmers must be told they had no choice but to reduce the area under paddy and accept the realities, at least in the initial years. No doubt, the state had taken up the issue with New Delhi while reacting to WTO and AoA provisions demanding high tariffs, he added.

Going by this warning, the Director, Agriculture, Dr M. S. Sonar, told the CAOs it had been decided in principle to reduce the area under paddy in the next kharif season by two lakh hectares from 26.11 lakh hectares sown last year.

Dr Sonar told TNS that basmati would have a special niche in 24 lakh hectares to be sown under paddy, enhancing the basmati area from the present 1.06 lakh hectares to 1.25 lakh hectares. Punjab, along with Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, is one of the four states selected under the Centrally sponsored Basmati Pilot Project with an eye on exports. In Punjab, Gurdaspur has been selected as the ‘’model’’ district. The Department of Agriculture will ensure 56,049 quintals of certified, quality high-yielding paddy seed.

Mr Bains told TNS the Centre had been told that no ‘’diversification’’ would be possible unless supported by MSP, as in the case of wheat and paddy, and an assured market. Punjab Agricultural University has been told to focus on quality research evolving varieties that will be globally competitive.

The meeting discussed the area and production targets for, among other crops, maize, cotton, and sugarcane and reviewed the availability of inputs (seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, etc).

Another issue raised by the CAOs pertained to the shortage of “technical staff’’ in soil, seed, fertiliser and pesticide testing laboratories. Mr Badal, who also addressed the meeting, said with the ban on recruitment withdrawn, the shortage of technical staff would be met.

Dr Sonar said the area under maize would be enhanced to two lakh hectares from 1.64 lakh hectares last year and under cotton to six lakh hectares from 4.74 lakh hectares last year.

Referring to sugarcane, Dr Sonar said the focus would be not only on increasing the area to 1.70 lakh hectares from the existing 1.20 lakh hectares but also feeding the “deficit’’ sugar mills, at least eight out of a total of 22.