Mumbai, August 20
The Maharashtra government has begun a crackdown on people hoarding foodgrains, sugar, pulses and oilseeds to profit from the crop failure resulting from deficient rainfall across the country.

Officials of the food & civil supplies department said stocks maintained by traders and wholesalers would be scrutinised and those holding more than the permissible amount would be penalised. "We have fixed a limit of 200 tonnes and stocks in excess of this amount would be seized," an official said.

Till now the department had been specifically targeting sugar wholesalers. A series of raids earlier this month across the state’s sugar belt in the west resulted in seizure of nearly 35,000 tonnes of sugar from traders.

Despite Maharashtra being the country’s largest sugar producer the commodity is being sold at more than Rs 28 per kilogram at retail stores.

The officials said so far only a small quantity of pulses like tuvar and oilseeds like til have been seized from hoarders.

Raids conducted in Mumbai on Wednesday night yielded a haul of 238 sacks of rice each weighing 50 kg. Two people were arrested under the Essential Commodities Act for diverting the rice from the public distribution system to the open market. The two were later identified as Ramesh Ghanchi, 28, and Raja Patel, 50.

With assembly elections due in October even political parties have begun their own crackdowns on hoarders. Earlier this week members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) descended on a godown in Khalapur outside Mumbai and took possession of tur dal and whole tuvar stocked there. According to party workers the godown owner was hoarding 40,000 bags of whole tur and 30,000 bags of tur dal.

However officials said they were still investigating if the godown owners had violated provisions of the Essential Commodities Act to hoard the pulses.

Dehradun, August 20
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Maj-Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd), who was removed by the BJP high command despite enjoying the support of the majority party legislators following stunning defeat of the party in the Lok Sabha elections, is a relaxed man nowadays but not happy with the turn of events leading to his removal.

Khanduri told The Tribune that the decision to remove him was taken at a time when the party was reeling under the shock and disbelief of the Lok Sabha results. “We were expecting to form the government with allies when such unexpected results came. There was a sense of disbelief and despair coupled with a sense of failure and helplessness. Some people wanted to fix the blame for the defeat on someone,” he said.

Enjoying his forced hibernation, Khanduri said he would not like to discuss the events leading to his removal as Chief Minister despite having the support of the party legislators.

Asked about the reasons for his removal, Khanduri said there were lot of justifications and explanations as central party observers twice talked to party legislators who were with him. Refusing to comment on the similar scenario in the Rajasthan party unit where party legislators are lined up behind Vasundhara Raje as leader of the legislature party in the state, Khanduri stated that he has come from Army background with a strong sense of discipline.

“I would not like to comment or talk about it publicly. I accepted the party decision humbly and would continue to do so even if the decision was not correct. It could be viewed as my weakness in politics or strength but I cannot breach discipline. I did not challenge the party decision,” he said.

Whether he resented the decision to remove him despite enjoying the majority support, Khanduri replied that he did put his views across to party leadership. There were allegations that more than dissidents from the state, there were pressure from a section of the party leadership to replace him.

Asked whether his removal and the dissidence in the party’s state unit would be discussed in the ongoing ‘Chintan Baithak’ of the BJP in Shimla, he said he had no idea. “But the party should discuss all these issues and take appropriate actions. There is always scope for improvement and party would do well. I am optimistic,” he added.

On his future plans, former Army General said he had entered politics to serve the people and would continue to do so. “I did not got time to implement my ideas due to recurrent imposition of model code of conducts as eight elections took place during my tenure of 27 months. But many of the schemes and developmental works initiated by me are bearing fruits like 108 emergency ambulance services, roads, special industrial package for hills and construction of hydel projects,” Khanduri said.

New Delhi, August 20
The Union Cabinet today approved setting up the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the Indian Missions in 17 countries to meet contingency expenditure incurred by them for carrying out various onsite welfare activities for overseas Indian citizens who are in distress.

The fund is aimed at providing several services. They are boarding and lodging for distressed overseas Indian workers in household/domestic sectors and unskilled labourers; extending emergency medical care to the overseas Indians in need; providing air passage to stranded overseas Indians in need; and providing initial legal assistance to the overseas Indians in deserving cases.

Other objectives include expenditure on incidentals and for airlifting the mortal remains to India or local cremation/burial of the deceased overseas Indian in such cases where a sponsor is unable or unwilling to do so as per the contract and the family is unable to meet the cost.

Overseas Indian workers duped by unscrupulous intermediaries in the host countries, runaway house maids, those who become victim of accidents, deserted spouses of overseas Indians or undocumented overseas Indian workers in need of emergency assistance or any other overseas Indian citizens who are in distress would be the main beneficiaries of the Fund.

The Fund will also be utilised to meet the expenditure for airlifting the mortal remains of overseas Indian citizens to India on the recommendation of the respective Heads of Missions.

New Delhi, August 20
The government today gave its approval for four more multipurpose cargo berths at Kandla Port Trust, Gujarat .

The approval was given at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

The project would be implemented at a cost of Rs 755.50 crore of which the estimated cost to the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) operator would be Rs 728.84 crore.

The estimated cost to the port would be Rs26.66 crore and the project would be implemented within a period of 24 months from date of award of concession.

The aggregate capacity of the four new berths would be eight million tonnes per annum for catering to 75,000 DWT parcel size vessels having draught of 14 meters.

It would also help in reducing the freight charges, boost the EXIM trade and would lead to creation of job opportunities The CCI also approved the implementation of the Rajmahal Opencast Expansion Project for the expansion from 10.5 to 17 million tonnes per annum capacity on partial outsourcing mode at an estimated capital investment of Rs.153.82 crore.

The project will produce 17 million tonnes of coal of grade F. coal produced will be supplied to the linked customers (mainly NTPC) to meet the demand on Rajmahal Coalfields.

New Delhi, August 20 
The Centre plans to draw up an action plan to salvage losses in kharif season and ensure higher crop coverage in rabi season with active participation of the states in a day-long meeting with the state agriculture ministers on “Managing agriculture in the context of deficient rainfall” on Friday.

 Chaired by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Rural Development Minister CP Joshi will be part of the deliberations. 

The country as a whole has recorded a deficit rainfall of 28 per cent as on August 16, which will have a definite impact on the production and productivity. 

Ten states - Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh - have declared drought, partly or wholly in the state. 

A total number of 246 districts have been declared drought-hit. Officials have been monitoring the progress of rainfall and sowing of kharif crops through meetings and video conferences and states have been passed on technical advisories on alternate cropping pattern and steps to be taken to reduce the impact of deficit rainfall.

 However, now there is a need for taking up area specific agro-climatic based schemes and programmes to assess the crop losses in the remaining part of the kharif season and try to compensate loss of production in kharif during the coming rabi season, officials sayThe Centre has already taken some steps.

 States have been requested to submit indent for additional quality of seeds for early maturing varieties and for alternative crops. Seeds of varieties more than 10 years of age have been allowed for distribution and demonstration by states.

 In view of non-availability of seeds of desired varieties, states have been allowed to use truthfully labeled seeds.

 As a part of a short-term strategy, the government has announced a diesel subsidy scheme on July 15, under which an amount Rs.7.50 per litre of diesel is approved for the districts where drought is declared or the rainfall deficit is more than 50 per cent as on July 15.

New Delhi, August 20
The government today accepted that effective implementation of NREGA with the aim of winning confidence of the common man was a challenge and it needed to be applied as an Act and not a scheme.

“Everywhere, including in Parliament, there are doubts in everybody’s mind that the way in which NREGA should function, is not happening. Job cards are not reaching the beneficiaries, sarpanches are supposed to make plans but that is not happening and funds for material components are not being used properly. It is a challenge in front of us to ensure that NREGA is implemented as an Act and not as a scheme. There is a difference between a scheme and an Act,” Minister for Rural Development C P Joshi said, addressing a high-profile workshop on NREGA today.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, a strong votary for NREGA, was the chief guest in the workshop, but did not address the gathering.

A highlight of the function was an announcement made by chairman of the Unique Identification Authority Of India (UIAI) Nandan Nilekani of a collaboration between UIADI and NREGA.

Praising NREGA as a phenomenal programme, Nilekani emphasised the need to connect the unique identification process with every job card holder under the NREGA scheme. “Linkages with UID is possible in job cards, muster roll and bank accounts of NREGA beneficiaries. The process would eliminate duplicate job cards, ghost beneficiaries while facilitating easy bank account opening, tracking the mobility of NREGA workers and ensuring a better monitoring of the system,” he added.

Sources say NREGA card holders may be the first to get the UID cards. UID numbers will be coupled with NREGA and urban development ministry-allocated employment cards as one of the first examples of its applicability. NREGA is also to be expanded to cover 27 projects. 

Jaipur, August 20
Even as Rajasthan assembly opposition leader Vasundhara Raje Scindia is set to meet BJP leader LK Advani and party chief Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on August 22, her supporters, who had become quite vocal even after the BJP’s parliamentary board asked her to resign, appear to have gone quiet after Jaswant Singh’s expulsion from the party.

According to sources, Raje’s meeting with Advani and Rajnath may bring to an end the crisis in the party’s Rajasthan unit. She is likely to raise the issue of reinduction of her key aides, Rajendra Rathod and Gyandev Ahuja, in the party as well as her “respectable” rehabilitation within the BJP’s national leadership. She may also insist on having one of her supporters being appointed as leader of the opposition in the state.

Rathod and Ahuja were suspended for their alleged “anti-party activities” on the eve of the BJP’s ‘chintan baithak’ (brainstorming session) in Shimla. The flames of dissension that soon erupted in Jaipur now seem to have died down with Jaswant’s expulsion rocking the party.

During the last couple of days none of the Raje loyalists made any statement indicating she was their leader or claimed they had the support of a particular number of state legislators. However, MLA supporting her kept trickling in at her house to hold discussions with their leader. It seems the BJP’s swift action against Jaswant has sent a strong message that the party would no longer tolerate any indiscipline, which is reflected in the conduct of Raje’s supporters.

Though Jaswant’s ouster might have driven Raje’s supporters to fall in line, at the same time they have heaved a sigh of relief as Jaswant was considered Raje’s bete noire in state politics. Many of them appeared jubilant yesterday, with one being forthright. “I totally agree with the party’s decision. It’s not merely about writing a book - he (Jaswant) had created a rift between Raje and the party high command during the previous BJP regime,” he said, pleading anonymity.

Now, with him gone, her detractors would have to zero in on some other leader to further their agenda in New Delhi. Also, she may get a bigger role to play in the party’s national affairs. Ironically it was Jaswant who had introduced her to Rajasthan’s political scene.

Mumbai, August 20
A case pertaining to 26/11 terror attacks has been registered in USA in which some Pakistani nationals have been interrogated, a FBI agent said in his testimony before a special court here today, but refused to disclose the names of persons quizzed during the probe.

The case has been registered in Los Angeles as six Americans had been killed in the attacks, the witness, whose name has been withheld, told special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. The investigations were still on and some Pakistani nationals had been interrogated. The US laws provide for initiating investigations in case of murder of American nationals outside the country, Nikam said.

The lone surviving gunman from Pakistan, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, smiled all throughout when the FBI officer deposed. The prosecution has alleged that conspirators in Pakistan had opened accounts with Callphonex, a service provider in New Jersey, in fictitious name of Kharak Singh to make telephone calls to terrorists through voice over internet provider (VoIP). Two installments were paid by Mohammed Ashfaq and Javed Iqbal via e-mail id kharak_telco@yahoo.com.

The witness, who is investigating the case registered in USA, said FBI has carried out probe on how the money was transferred from people in Pakistan to Callphonex owner through Moneygram and Western Union. The witness also said FBI had interrogated some persons in Pakistan and further disclosed that Yahoo Inc had provided information on the Kharak Singh's e-mail sent from Pakistan.

Nikam said the same e-mail was used by conspirators after the 26/11 attack to send a mail to a TV channel threatening that more such attacks would be engineered. The witness was the fifth US national to depose in the trial being conducted before the court here. The other four have indicated Pakistan's links to the November 26 attack. One of them said terrorists had used GPS to come from Pakistan, while another said they had used Yamaha engine purchased by a Pakistan-based firm to power the dinghy in which they arrived. A Nokia official said mobile phones sold to Pakistani dealers were used by terrorists. — PTI