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| Wednesday,
April 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Banish hunger by 2007:
Vajpayee BDR use of force not justified:
BSF Normalcy restored to
Parliament Govt slammed
on Rail Budget Karunakaran withdraws resignation |
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Govt gives clean chit to Balco
deal North India in Parliament Bahuguna held, dam work resumes Ticket issue not touched: Cong
MPs CVC yet to clear ONGC chief’s
name No plans to change warrant of
precedence TDP, Cong demand policy for weavers
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Banish hunger by 2007:
Vajpayee New Delhi, April 24 The father of the Green Revolution, Dr M S Swaminathan, said Punjab and Haryana, which currently serve as the nation’s bread basket, may become ‘food insecure’ in another 15 to 20 years if adequate measures were not taken to harmonise economic growth and environment. “The mission of a ‘Hunger Free India’ needs the cooperative efforts of the Central and state governments, local self-governments bodies, non-governmental organisations and international agencies. We can indeed banish hunger from our country in a short time successfully by 2007,” Mr Vajpayee said while inaugurating a seminar on consultation on “Towards Hunger-Free India” here. He also released to books — Food Insecurity in Rural India: Atlas and Analysis and Enabling Development: Food Assistance in South Asia. This is the first time that food insecurity in India and South Asia have been analysed and it gives a comprehensive overview on the evolution of food based intervention in the region. He said there was need to ensure the Centre’s annual food subsidy, which has gone up five times in a decade to reach Rs 13,000 crore this year, was better targeted. The Prime Minister said decentralised buying and distribution of food will ensure that the Central subsidy can benefit more poor people than is the case today. Mr Vajpayee said the PDS implementation is not living up to the people’s expectation. The limited off-take in the states where the majority of our poor live, points to serious deficiencies in the administrative capability of the system. “Implementation of free food provided to school children under the mid-day meal scheme leaves much to be desired,” he said. Mr Vajpayee said we shall examine whether the surplus food stocks can be used in innovative ways — to promote female literacy programmes and attendance in schools. Dr M. S. Swaminathan said jobs and livelihood for all should be the bottom line of our economic and trade policies. “There is a need for serious attention to sustainability factors such as soil health, ground water management and crop rotation.” He said the new economy triggered by knowledge and information provides opportunities for new employment, particularly in the area of environment enterprises. We should take advantage of these opportunities and thereby avoid the further enlargement of genetic, gender and digital divide. “Success or failure in eliminating endemic and transient hunger will ultimately depend upon our success in ending both unsustainable lifestyles and unacceptable poverty,” Dr Swaminathan said. The Deputy Executive Director of World Food Programme, Mr Namanga Ngongi, said three different food based interventions — supplementary feeding, food for work and incentives schemes for girls’ school attendance — are to be promoted in the same area, in carefully identified and targeted communities. “It is the combination of these interventions that can make a difference in the lives of the poor people and particularly of women. Strengthening opportunities and options are the key to alleviating hunger and poverty. It is the key to a hunger free India,” he said. The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Pant, said the government was concerned about the fact that in spite of surplus production of foodgrains, we have still not been able to eradicate hunger. “It appears, perhaps, that the food procurement policy is itself becoming a vehicle for supporting high prices of foodgrains. The government, therefore, has to strike a balance between what is necessary for the welfare of the farmers and for the welfare of the consumers,” he said. Mr Pant said the poor in the country would benefit from low prices of food grains in the market, but if this came through unremunerative prices to the farmers, then the pace of future progress would necessarily be adversely affected. Therefore, we would have to tread a narrow path. |
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BDR use of force not justified:
BSF New Delhi, April 24 “Since the transfer of adverse possession land is connected with demarcation of the complete border in India and Bangladesh and the matter is pending with both the governments it is not justified on the part of the BDR to try to change the status of the area unilaterally with the use of force,” the BSF Inspector-General (G), Mr V.N. Rai, said in a statement here. He refuted the BDR claim that it had resorted to the extreme step of encircling the BSF outpost as the Indian force was constructing a road in Pyrdiwah within 150 yards of the international border. “This position is absolutely false as the road which the BDR is referring to is located at a place known as Lynghat which is about 6 km from the border outpost of Pyrdiwah,” he said. It is absolutely wrong on the part of the BDR to use the so-called road as an alibi for their adventure in Pyrdiwah, he said, adding, “in the real sense of the term it will be wrong to refer to the construction as a road as it is an old footpath between Lynghat and Lakhanchera.” Elaborating further, Mr Rai said the old footpath was about 5.5 km long and three feet wide. The Meghalaya Government had sanctioned Rs 50,000 to the headman of Lynghat for cementing work of the existing footpath from Lynghat towards Lakhanchera village. The cementing work of the footpath started on March 26 this year under the supervision of the village headman. The BDR patrol party objected to the same on March 26/27, stating that it was a new construction of road along the border and this was a violation of accepted ground rules. A Company Commandant-level flag meeting to resolve this issue was held on March 31 between the BSF and the BDR and the facts were explained to the BDR. The matter was amicably settled and they did not raise any further objection, Mr Rai said. |
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Normalcy restored to
Parliament New Delhi, April 24 The House passed by voice vote the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Rural Development, took up the Demand for Grants under the control of the Department of
Disinvestments, and applied Guillotine for the Demands for Grants of the remaining ministries. After a month-long deadlock over the Tehelka episode, normal functioning in the Lok Sabha was not tension free. Members of the Rashtriya Janata-Dal and the Samajwadi Party staged a walkout when the Demands for Grants for the Rural Development Ministry was put to voice vote. Replying to the debate, the Rural Development Minister, Mr
M. Venkaiah Naidu, informed the House that the Prime Minister would convene an all-party meeting to discuss ways to strengthen the local bodies including devolution of funds. Advocating an active role of the Panchayati Raj institutions in development programmes, Mr Naidu said the government was bound by the Constitution under which no state could be given certain rural development funds which failed to hold elections to the local bodies. While RJD members led by Mr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh staged a walkout protesting against denial of Rs 500 crore of funds to Bihar which had not held the local body elections in the stipulated period, Samajwadi Party members followed them expressing dissatisfaction over the Minister’s reply. Later, the House passed Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Rural Development totalling over Rs 11,000 crore by a voice vote. Earlier participating in the debate, the CPI member from Bathinda, Mr Bhan Singh Bhaura, said women working in fields should be given nourishment allowance during the time of pregnancy so that they give birth to healthy children. He said several youths in Punjab are not healthy as they were born undernourished. He said rural development has not taken place in Punjab as 90 per cent of senior secondary schools do not have principals, primary schools have no teachers and health centres have no doctors. He said the Punjab Chief Minister was shying away from holding a meeting of MPs to undertake road development in the state. He said like the MLAs who get to develop 20 km of road, the MPs should be given similar facilities. Congress member, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyer, was critical of the government’s track record, saying that the targets of the Ministry on Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development were in “wild contradiction” to that of the projections of the Planning Commission. Amidst Opposition remarks of “shame shame”, Mr Aiyer said the Finance Ministry had diverted Rs 530 crore allocated for the Swarna Jayanti Gram Swaraj Yojna to the Confederation of Indian Industry and other organisations. Members of other parties took up the need for providing basic common services like water, education, health and roads in the villages. Members also spoke about the need for providing power in the rural areas. |
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Govt slammed
on Rail Budget New Delhi, April 24 Initiating the discussion on the Railway Appropriation Bill, senior Congress member
S. B. Chavan cited several instances in his backward Marathwad region where projects sanctioned by the Railway Ministry had been awaiting execution for several
years. Mr Chavan drew the attention of the House to a specific rail project in the region where bhoomi pooja had been performed twice but the project had not started. He said this showed lack of sincerity on the part of the Railways to implement projects in backward areas. The member said though Maharashtra was one of the highly developed states in the country Marathwada constituting erstwhile Hyderabad region had remained chronically backward and it was only appropriate that the Railways give “fair treatment” to the
area. Mr Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) stressed the need for improvement of catering service in the Railways and availability of proper drinking water at all railway stations. He suggested
improvement in security arrangements on the trains. He said that anti-social elements forcibly occupied reserved seats. Congress member
K. Rehman Khan said the Railways should complete the projects it takes up. He said the Railways takes up a project of Rs 200
crore, spends Rs 20 crore on it and then abandons it. “There is no accountability for this expenditure,” he added. He said if a committee were to be appointed to assess the cost on the projects the escalation cost on various projects due to default of administration would tot up to a great sum. “I have no hesitation in calling the Indian Railways a sick unit,” he said. Commenting on the Railway Board, Mr Rehman said the Railway Board had been a monotonous
organisation. “Abandon the Railway Board. What is the function of the Railway Board?,” he
asked. Mr Rehman said there was a need for rethinking on Railway finances and resource
mobilisation. He drew the attention of the House to the fact that while 75 per cent of the traffic was once under Railway control the percentage had declined to 25.
Mr K. Ram Mohana Rao (TDP) urged the minister to provide a rail link between Delhi and Tirupati via
Shirdhi. Justifying the demand, Mr Rao said a lot of North Indians also visit Tirupati via
Shirdhi. Mr Ram Das Aggarwal of the BJP expressed his support to the Railway Budget and said a lot needed to be done to improve passenger services. He pointed out the targets set for projects for doubling of lines had not been met in
Rajasthan. The Congress MP Mirza Abdul Rashid said there was no doubt the Railways had united and strengthened the entire country but it had not been able to link Kashmir which “we claim to be our jewel” with the rest of the country.
Karunakaran withdraws resignation New Delhi, April 24 He conveyed his decision to Congress President Sonia Gandhi this evening. Mr Karunakaran said that all misunderstandings had been removed and that he would campaign for the UDF along with Mr
A. K. Antony for the May 10 elections to the Kerala Assembly.
UNI
Govt gives clean chit to Balco
deal New Delhi, April 24 “The sebi order also bars market access to only the companies named and not their joint ventures or subsidiaries,” Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said in the Lok Sabha in reply to the Demands for Grants of his ministry, which were approved by the House. Putting up a strong defence on the government’s disinvestment policies in the wake of criticism by the Standing Committee on Finance relating to disinvestment, Mr Shourie said it was not legally binding on the government to seek Parliament’s approval for every transaction of sale of
PSU shares.
PTI |
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North India in Parliament New Delhi, April 24 A Central share of Rs 310.23 lakh has been released to the state government for 1999-2000, the Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Mr Bandaru Dattatreya, informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. Under the Low Cost Sanitation Scheme (LCS) for Liberation of Scavengers, seven proposals were approved for 27 towns of Jammu and Kashmir at an estimated cost of Rs 17.08 crore. Central subsidy of Rs 7.26 crore had been sanctioned against which Rs 2.16 crore only has been released so far through the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), the minister said in the reply. A sum of Rs 10,06,01,000 were spent for conducting the census of 2001 in Punjab, Rs 9,40,63,000 in Haryana, Rs 2,63,83,000 in Himachal Pradesh and Rs 57,09,700 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mr I.D. Swami told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today. A feasibility study and preparation of detailed project reports of the four-laning of the Ambala-Kalka section of the NH 22 and Zirakpur-Chandigarh-Kiratpur section of NH-21 is currently being undertaken. The Punjab Government has set up an experts committee under the chairmanship of Dr
Y. K. Alagh to study the impact of the WTO on agriculture and industry. The committee is yet to submit its final report and in its preliminary discussions it has recommended that the Central Government should consult the state government before introducing domestic reforms and signing any international agreements, particularly those relating to agriculture, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr Omar Abdullah informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributorships at Nagrota-Suryan and Ranital in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh had been commissioned in August, 1998, and January, 2000, respectively. |
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Bahuguna held, dam work resumes Tehri (Uttaranchal), April 24 Giving details about the mass arrests, Mrs Radha Raturi, District Magistrate, Tehri, told The Tribune that the local administration came into action only after the orders of the high court. The High Court, Nainital, had earlier ordered the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the authorities of the Tehri dam for ensuring the construction work. |
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Ticket issue not touched: Cong
MPs New Delhi, April 24 The meeting was attended by seven of the eight Congress MPs from the state. Refuting reports in a section of the Press today that seats had been sought by them for their relatives, the MPs said the issue was not touched. They said the assembly elections were still some months away and there was no point of talking about the distribution of tickets at this stage. Talking to mediapersons here, the MPs, including Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, Mrs Parneet Kaur, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, Mr Balbir Singh, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib and Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, said the meeting took note of the “election campaign” launched by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and discussed ways to counter it. Hitting out at the Badal government, the MPs said the association of some members of the ruling party with persons active during the phase of militancy posed a danger to the peace of the state. Referring to Wasan Singh Zaffarwal, they said he had even issued an appeal in favour of the SAD candidate in the recently-held Majitha byelection. The MPs said the law and order situation in the state was bad and nine cases of kidnapping had been reported from Ludhiana in the recent past. Criticising the Badal government, the MPs said they were not being associated in the distribution of cheques for the schemes under the MPs Development Fund. They said though they had offered to cooperate with the Badal government on the issues concerning Punjab, the government had not responded. The Congress MPs also took exception to their not being made a part of the functions being organised to celebrate the bicentenary of the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Speaking about yesterday’s meeting, they said the broad political situation in the state was discussed and it was felt that efforts should be made to counter the aggressive campaign launched by the SAD-BJP combine targeting the disunity in the Congress. The dinner meeting was also attended by the party MP from Amritsar Mr R. L. Bhatia. The MPs said Ms Santosh
Chowdhary, an MP from Phillaur, could not attend the meeting due to personal work. |
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CVC yet to clear ONGC chief’s
name Dehra dun, April 24 According to Mr Johari Lal, Director (Presonnel) of the ONGC, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has forwarded the names of Mr Subir Raha of Indian Oil Corporation and Mr Chatterjee of the ONGC to the CVC for vetting. With almost a week left in the retirement of Mr Bora, the CVC is yet to go through the files of both these officers. Meanwhile, a few other aspirants for this top post, including Mr Johari Lal, Mr
R. C. Gaur, Director (Technical), ONGC, Mr Atul Chandra, MD of ONGC Videsh Ltd., Mr
S. N. Mathur Chairman, of IBP Ltd., Mr Nathu Lal Director, (Drilling) of the ONGC, Mr
V. K. Sharma, Director (Operations) of the ONGC, Mr N. Narasimhan, Director, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, are not happy with the selection procedure adopted by the PESB. Mr Johari Lal who is the seniormost officer in the ONGC after Mr Bora was not even called for interview while his juniors have been interviewed by the PESB. There are rumours among the top officials of the ONGC in the headquarters here that Mr Lal has lodged a complaint against the selection procedure with the President of India. But last evening, he told The Tribune that he had not written a complaint to the President. However, he was of the view that there should be transparency in the selection procedure of the CMD. An ONGC officer who was interviewed by the PESB has demanded that fresh interviews be conducted by forming a new list. The Cabinet Committee on Appointments had the right to reject the list of names referred to it by the PESB and call for a review. Another official of the ONGC said the interviews conducted by PESB were just eyewash. A close relative of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Ranjan Bhattacharya, is allegedly backing Mr Subir Raha’s selection as the new CMD. Even after being shortlisted for the interview, Mr Atul Chandra, MD, ONGC Videsh Ltd., was allegedly not allowed to appear before the PESB. |
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No plans to change warrant of precedence New Delhi, April 24 It was an executive order issued with the President’s approval and had no application in the government’s day-to-day business. As per Article 52 of the Constitution, the executive powers were vested in the President. He could exercise these powers directly or through his subordinate officers as per Article 53, it said. The warrant of precedence had no direct link to the Constitution and it was the President’s prerogative to issue it, based on conventions, practices and usages, said the Under-Secretary at the Home Ministry, Mr G B. Singh. The status to be accorded to a dignitary depended on a variety of factors and was usually indicated in the terms and conditions of his appointment, Mr G. B. Singh said in an affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court. He said the warrant, currently in force, was issued by the President’s secretariat on July 26, 1979. By and large, it remained the same with a few changes made after that, he added. The proposals for making changes or additions in the warrant are considered by the warrant of precedence committee which is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and includes the Home Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary as its members. Their recommendations are submitted to the Home Minister, the Prime Minister and the President for approval. Ultimately, the amendments are issued by the President’s secretariat. Over the years, the committee has kept in view the same principles and rules laid down by the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by practising advocate P. Kumar which said the ranking of high court judges in the warrant of precedence should move up. Solicitor General Harish Salve argued against the PIL’s maintainability and the Division Bench of the Chief Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice
D. K. Jain disposed it of.
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TDP, Cong demand policy for weavers New Delhi, April 24 The matter was raised through a Special Mention by Y. Lakshmi Prasad of the TDP, who pointed out that 37 weavers in Andhra Pradesh had committed suicides specially in the Karim Nagar area. This was due to the lack of employment and absence of government support, he said. He said the government should make efforts to upgrade the skills of weavers to improve their conditions. He was joined by Congress member Dasari Narayana Rao who wanted government to take a serious view into the matter and mooted that a one-hour discussion be taken up on the issue which was of concern to the entire House.
Badal to
address rally Sriganganagar, April 24 This was stated by the Rajasthan SAD chief, Mr Surjit Singh Kang, here yesterday. He said besides focusing on discussing the problems of the Punjabis settled in the state, the issue of inadequate water in the Gang
(Bikaner) canal and its resultant problems for the farmers would also be highlighted. |
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Tourism promotion Hanumangarh, April 24 |
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