 |
| Monday, September 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
HP to start
tele-medicine
Food
for work mooted AP to get 148 cr for flood relief Charges over ICWA takeover dismissed |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hearing on Nadeem’s plea today Sack sans notice period pay illegal Keep Karmapa out of Rumtek: IKKF Meeting today on Rajkumar kidnapping Lifers to spend
life in jail: SC Teacher assaults Vice-Principal Human rights’
importance stressed 
|
|
HP to start
tele-medicine NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — Himachal Pradesh will be one of the first states in the country to cover its entire population by tele-medicine. To be started by January 2001, the facility will enable people living in the remote corners of the state to avail, themselves of the opinion of medical experts in specialised hospitals in Shimla at the touch of a button. The state Health Minister, Mr J. P. Nadda, who was here to attend the Health ministers’ conference, said the facility would be simultaneously started in at least eight districts of the state. He said a demonstration of this facility had already been held. Once started, it would enable a government doctor in, say, a village of Dharamshala, to get opinion about his patient’s X-ray or CT scan from an expert sitting at the medical college in Shimla. The doctor would send the CT scan over the computer network to the expert who would then send it back with his advice. Apart from being almost instantaneous, tele-medicine would save a lot of time and money of the patients. At present, they have to repeatedly travel to Shimla and stay there for days to get expert opinion. Though tele-medicine has been introduced by a few top private hospitals in the metros, Himachal Pradesh would be the first state to take the facility to its residents living in the remote areas. The state has good telecom infrastructure and connectivity is easy even in rural areas. Talking to TNS, Mr Nadda said that the Health Department also has plans to launch a website wherein people would be able to access a wealth of information. Standard treatment guidelines, brought out by the Health Department to educate people about the line of treatment, would also be hosted on the site. Apart from the smart card scheme, under which each family in the state would maintain a record of the vaccination status and medical treatment of its members, the department has initiated new schemes, including the
Hospital Welfare Society scheme, and Quality Assurance Scheme. The HP Health Systems Corporation, set up last year, would be given Rs 75 crore out of the funds raised from the market for the development of the health infrastructure. The minister said the task force set up to prepare Health Vision 2020 document for HP would specify year-wise the health goals, ways to control water-borne diseases and viral and standard of service to be provided. Under the Essential Drug Policy, he said, the number of drugs to be purchased by the department had been brought down from 700 to 275. “The hospital authorities have been allotted some money to make additional purchases in case of exigencies,” he said. All district hospitals have been asked to display the list of available drugs for the benefit of the common man, he informed. Under the
Hospital Welfare Scheme, the collections made by a hospital would not be sent to the Treasury, but kept in a local fund whose spending would be decided by a team including zila parishad members. “The funds would be spent for the hospital’s welfare and delay in getting them would be eradicated,” the minister said. As part of the Quality Assurance Scheme, questionnaires were being given to hospital patients at random to know if they were satisfied with the service provided. |
|
Food for
work mooted NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — Food for work to promote developmental works and provision of two square meals for the destitute are among the suggestions mooted by the minister in charge of food, Mr Shanta Kumar, to tide over the problem of overflowing foodgrains and shortage of storing place. The minister has given the suggestions to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. Mr Shanta Kumar’s suggestions to freeze the annual hike in the minimum support price for wheat and rice and to make Punjab and Haryana fall in line with the rest of the country with regard to the mode of procurement of the foodgrains by the central procurement agencies were rejected by the Union Cabinet. Though Mr Kumar refused to comment on the reasons for the Cabinet decision, he acknowledged that the country’s food stock position was in a mess and something needed to be done to get over the problem. The minister’s efforts to procure rice from Punjab through the levy route have met with resistance from the state government. Mr Kumar hoped that the state would see reason in his suggestion as procurement through the existing custom milled rice scheme bred corruption, led to purchase of inferior quality paddy and put the burden of storage on the procurement agency. “When Andhra Pradesh can supply 55 lakh tonnes of rice through the levy route, why can’t other states do so”, he asked. On his suggestion to implement the food for work programme, the minister said Members of Parliament had been demanding an increase in the funds for the MP Local Area Development Scheme from the existing Rs 2 crore. Since the Finance Ministry does not have the requisite funds, one way out could be for the Centre to allot 10,000 tonnes of foodgrains to each MP, who in turn could use it to pay the labourers for developmental works in his or her constituency. Mr Kumar has also urged the Planning Commission to identify the destitute among the 33 crore people living below the poverty line so that they could be provided foodgrains at affordable prices or even free of cost. The minister said there was need for a clear food policy in the country and the government must do away with some measures which were initiated when the country was passing through a problem of scarcity. The minimum support price (MSP) instead of being a tool for the market intervention scheme has, for one, become a “maximum support price.” The annual increase in the minimum support price not only encourages farmers to stick to standard crops, but also saddles the Food Corporation of India with unmanageable stocks. For instance, Punjab has storage space for only eight lakh tonnes of rice but the government needs to procure around 50 lakh tonnes. The result is that foodgrains are being shifted to states where the offtake is absent or marginal. The Centre is spending around Rs 4000 crore as carrying costs on foodgrains over and above the buffer norms and the total expenditure on this account is around Rs 9,000 crore. The high minimum support price for foodgrains ensures that there is no scope for exports as international market prices are much lower than those of India. Mr Shanta Kumar said there was a need to balance the minimum support price given to various food crops. For instance, India imports a majority of its requirement of oil seeds. It would be better to increase the minimum support price of oil seeds rather that than of rice and wheat. |
|
|
AP to get 148 cr for flood relief NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (PTI) — The Centre will provide about Rs 148 crore to Andhra Pradesh as immediate assistance to help it tide over damage caused by the recent floods. While it decided to release about Rs 70 crore from the funds available with the Surface Transport Ministry for immediate upgradation of state highways, the balance available against the Calamity Relief Fund of around Rs 78 crore would be released after the state government opened a separate account for the State Calamity Relief Fund as directed by the Supreme Court. The decision was taken here last evening at a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries chaired by Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar. The Centre has already released Rs 100 crore as ways and means advance to tackle the prevailing situation in the state. The committee members noted that Rs 485 crore was also available under different programmes of the Ministry of Rural Development for Andhra Pradesh which could be utilised by the state government to upgrade the rural infrastructure which had been badly affected. The committee asked HUDCO to prepare a scheme of loans for the repair of 30,000 houses damaged by the floods. The committee asked the Ministry of Urban Development to immediately formulate a special scheme for undertaking extensive repairs and restructuring required in the drainage and sewerage system in the urban areas. It noted that Hyderabad and its surrounding areas had been badly affected. The committee urged the Defence Ministry to favourably consider the state government’s request for waiver of charges in respect of expenditure incurred by air sorties and other assistance provided for flood relief. It also decided to improve the flood forecasting mechanism and undertake contour mapping as a long-term preventive measure. |
|
Charges over ICWA takeover dismissed NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan today dismissed the allegations made by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) President, Mr Harcharan Singh Josh, about the Centre’s takeover of Sapru House here. ‘‘The Standing Committee of Parliament, attached to the Ministry of External Affairs, had unanimously recommended the takeover of ICWA on account of mismanagement,’’ a statement issued here said. The Standing Committee included senior MPs from all political parties, including a former Prime Minister Mr I.K. Gujral, former Union Ministers, Karan Singh and Natwar Singh. Mr Nilotpal Basu of the CPM had also met Jagmohan and urged him to immediately take over the ICWA, the statement said. Even employees of the ICWA had been requesting for the takeover, it added. The ICWA President, Mr Josh, had yesterday alleged that ICWA was being taken over because it was a ‘‘Congress-run institution and the government wanted to plant a saffron flag on it.’’ The Urban Development Minister further pointed out that the reorganisation and reconstruction committee, which he was heading, included senior representatives of independent, statutory authorities like the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, the Attorney-General of India and the Vice-Chancellors of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. Jagmohan said he had requested the CAG to carry out a special audit of the ICWA and also urged the two Vice-Chancellors to depute senior librarians to check the stocks of the library. ‘‘All these steps would bring out the truth,’’ he said. Jagmohan said that since yesterday he had been receiving congratulatory messages from many intellectuals and members of the academic community. He urged them to make public statements to give the correct position about what had been happening in Sapru House during the past 18 years. |
|
Hearing on Nadeem’s plea today MUMBAI, Sept 3 (PTI) — Music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee, facing extradition proceedings in London for his alleged complicity in Gulshan Kumar murder case, has filed a petition in Mumbai High Court challenging a lower court order which disallowed him to examine accused-turned approver Mohammed Ali Hussein Shaikh despite securing such a request from a United Kingdom court. The petition, filed by his counsel Majeed Memon, would come up for hearing before Justice Vishnu Sahai tomorrow. Nadeem is trying to examine the approver on a limited issue of the authenticity of a letter authored by him expressing his desire to become an approver. Mohammed Ali had retracted his statement earlier and filed a petition in Mumbai High Court seeking withdrawal of pardon which was refused on the ground that there was no such provision in Indian law. According to Nadeem, the approver is illiterate and does not know fluent Hindi. The letter purported to be written by him in the presence of jailor is penned down in the same language but is signed by the approver in broken Urdu. The examination of the approver on this aspect is being considered important because the Bow Street Magistrate, before whom the extradition proceedings were
initiated, had held that evidence of the approver was the only material against Nadeem. If Nadeem is able to prove that the letter was not written by the approver on September 25, 1997, to R.B. Mokashi, a “police-foisted” lawyer, the entire exercise of extradition against him may not sustain. Nadeem had moved the High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench division court in London challenging Bow Street Magistrate’s finding of a prima facie case against him. On Nadeem’s plea, Sir Machael John Burton, a judge of Queen’s Bench division of Supreme Court of England and Wales, in July had issued a letter of request to a competent judicial authority in India for allowing the music composer to examine the approver, his wife Banu Shaikh and daughter Shabnam on this issue of proving
authorship of the letter. With such a request, Nadeem had moved the Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court who directed Additional Sessions Judge H.S. Deshpande to comply with the request of a UK court. After hearing both the sides, the judge refused the examination of the approver on the ground that Indian law did not permit such examination before the trial. He also held that examination of approver at this stage would prejudice the trial. However, he allowed Nadeem’s counsel to examine the approver’s wife and daughter. Since his wife was feeble and old, the defence chose to examine on oath only his daughter. Nadeem is apparently not satisfied with this evidence and prefers to examine the approver. Hence he has filed an appeal against the lower court’s order turning down his plea. Nadeem has argued that the Sessions Court had confused itself between “prejudice to the prosecution” and “prejudice to the trial”. He also contended that the Sessions Judge was required to act as a mere recording agency instead of arrogating to himself the powers to adjudicate. |
|
Sack sans notice period pay illegal NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (PTI) — In a major ruling in favour of employees working on contract, the Supreme Court has ruled that non-payment of salary for the notice period would render the termination of employment illegal. Mr Prabhudayal Birari was appointed as Assistant Manager with Madhya Pradesh Commodities Trading Corporation Ltd on September 10, 1980, on a contract with the condition that his service could be terminated by giving one month’s notice or on payment of one month’s salary. Mr Birari’s service was terminated by an order dated May 11, 1981, with effect from June 11, 1981, but the termination notice was served on him on June 8, 1981, and he was relieved two days later without payment of one month’s salary. The trial court held the termination order to be void as it was passed without complying with the condition that either one month’s notice or one month’s salary would be given. The trial court order was set aside first by the District Judge and his order was upheld by the high court. Mr Birari appealed against the high court order in the Supreme Court. Upholding the trial court order, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Mr Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Mr Justice Shivraj V. Patil said the trial court was justified in decreeing the suit in favour of Birari as the termination order was made in contravention of the specific condition mentioned in the appointment order. Going a step further, the Bench ordered Mr Birari’s reinstatement in service after the appellant stated that he would not insist on payment of back wages. During the arguments, counsel for the terminated employee stated that when the order of termination of services was made in violation of the condition governing the services, it was void and the employee was entitled for reinstatement. Counsel for Madhya Pradesh State Commodities Trading Corporation Ltd submitted that, Mr Birari remained unauthorisedly absent for which he was terminated and added that at the best Mr Birari was entitled to only one month’s salary as he was a temporary employee. However, Mr Justice Patil, writing the judgement for the Bench, said the order of termination was bad in law as the specific condition for termination of employment was not honoured. The apex court said, “The judgements and decrees of the first appellate court as well as the high court are set aside and the judgement and decree of the trial court are restored with the modification that Birari shall not be entitled for any back wages.” |
|
|
Keep Karmapa out of Rumtek: IKKF NEW DELHI, Sept 3 — The International Karma Kagyu Forum (IKKF) has warned the Centre of “grave political turmoil” in Sikkim if the government acceded to the demand of the state Chief Minister, Mr Pawan Kumar Chamling, to permit entry of the “Chinese Karmapa” Ugyen Thinley Dorje into Rumtek Monastry. In a three-page joint letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, recently, the IKKF office-bearers claimed that the latest move by the Sikkim Chief Minister seems to ignore the religious sentiments of the majority of Kagyu followers in India, particularly in Sikkim. “If the Chief Minister’s demand is conceded by the Centre, then Sikkim will plunge into grave political turmoil due to serious law and order problems,” the letter said adding “we do not want blood-bath in Sikkim and neither do we want political instability in the sensitive border state.” Claiming that Dorje was not the authentic Karmapa for he was enthroned in Tibet in 1992 on the basis of a “patently forged letter of prediction produced by Situ Rinpoche in connivance with Beijing”, the forum urged the Centre to call for this “so-called letter of prediction” and order a forensic test. The letter also questioned the sudden shift in the stand of the Sikkim Chief Minister on the Karmapa issue. Mr Chamling had initially taken a neutral position and wanted to be guided by the Centre’s decision on this controversial issue. But of late he has changed his stand and once again renewed the demand for the “Chinese national’s” speedy passage to Sikkim, it said. “Mr Chamling called on the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, on August 3 and urged him to permit the Chinese Karmapa to visit Sikkim.” It also drew the attention of the Prime Minister towards the vociferous demand of a non-governmental organisation based in Gangtok, the Denzong Nang-Ten Sung-Kyob Tsogpa (the DNST), Sikkim for the immediate expulsion from India of the “Chinese national who is perceived as a potential usurper of the dharma throne of the late Karmapa, located at Dharma Chakra Centre, Rumtek, Sikkim.” |
|
|
Meeting today on Rajkumar kidnapping BANGALORE, Sept 3 (PTI) — As the five-week hostage crisis involving kannada film icon rajkumar continues with no signs of any breakthrough, the karnataka government has convened an all-party meeting tomorrow to discuss the kidnap episode. The Chief minister, Mr s. m. krishna, has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting in the morning to take stock of the situation arising out of the
July 30 kidnapping of rajkumar and three others by forest brigand veerappan. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the Supreme court staying indefinitely the release of 30 veerappan associates and the latest video cassette sent by the forest brigand. Mr Krishna yesterday said veerappan had raised no fresh issues in the cassette, but had only reiterated his demands. The cassette showed journalist-emissary r. r. gopal engaged in negotiations with the bandit to secure the release rajkumar and three others, he said. |
|
|
Lifers to spend life in jail: SC NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (PTI) — A convict who is awarded life sentence would have to be imprisoned for the rest of his life unless the government passes an order remitting the sentence to facilitate his early release, the Supreme Court has ruled. A Division Bench comprising Justice S. Rajendra Babu and Justice Shivraj V. Patil said whenever an offender was punished with “imprisonment for life”, a court could not release the convict automatically before the full life term is served. “Imprisonment for life means imprisonment for the whole of the remaining period of the convicted person’s natural life,” the Bench said. During the imprisonment period, a convict might earn remissions under the prison rules “but such remissions in the absence of an order of an appropriate government remitting the entire balance of his sentence the convict is not entitled to be released automatically before the full life term is served”, the Bench said. These observations came on a petition filed by a life convict, Laxman Naskar, who pleaded for his release on the ground that he had already been in prison for over 23 years and that under West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992, he should have been released after serving 20 years imprisonment. The court said “Solely on the basis of completion of a term in jail serving imprisonment and remissions earned under the relevant rules or law will not entitle an automatic release, but the appropriate government must pass a separate order remitting the un-expired portion of the sentence.” The court recalled that it had passed an order on February 15 this year directing the West Bengal Government to reconsider the cases for premature release of all life convicts who had approached the court earlier. The Government, pursuant to the direction, constituted a committee of top police officials of the state headed by the Home Secretary, for review of the cases. The court had also issued a guideline on the basis of which the committee could consider premature release of the life convicts. In the case of Naskar, the Jail Authorities were in favour of the release of the petitioner but the review committee rejected his plea for release. The reasons given by the committee were witnesses in the case feared early release of the convict; petitioner being 43 years of age was potential of committing crime; and the incident in relation to which the crime had occurred was the sequel of the political fued affecting society at large.
|
|
Teacher assaults Vice-Principal NEW DELHI, Sep 3 (IANS) — The Delhi police is looking for a teacher who beat up the woman Vice-Principal of a school because the latter refused to clear his bills. According to the police, Mr Naresh Kumar assaulted Vice-Principal Santosh Chaturvedi of Sarvodya School in northwest Delhi yesterday when he had gone to collect his salary. Kumar earlier taught in the school but was recently transferred to another government-run school. “He came to the school yesterday to get his last month’s salary. However, he had earlier collected some money for the school and had not deposited it back while leaving the school, Chaturvedi asked him to return it,” an area police officer said. “Kumar got angry when Chaturvedi asked him about the money. An argument ensued and which resulted in Kumar manhandling and assaulting her,” the officer said. Other school teachers, who heard her scream for help, rescued Ms Chaturvedi. However, Kumar managed to escape. The police said they had sent a team to his home in Sonepat in Haryana. Chaturvedi was beaten up so severely that she suffered a broken nose and had to be taken to hospital. |
|
Stop commercial
use
of tractors: HC NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (UNI) — The Delhi High Court has directed police and transport authorities to enforce a ban on plying of tractors being used for commercial purposes. Justice Manmohan Sarin said the police should act to enforce directions of the Supreme Court in this regard. His judgement came on a public interest litigation (PIL) which said tractor trailer are permitted to be used for agriculture purposes only. But they are being used to ferry bricks, stone dust, sand and other construction materials from neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. These tractors do not pay entry fee while crossing Delhi borders. |
|
Human rights’
importance stressed NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (UNI) — The promotion and protection of human rights is far too important to be the monopoly of the state or any particular section of society, Attorney-General of India Soli Sorabjee has said. It is a collective endeavour in which different sections of society have to play their distinctive role. In the endeavour of realising human rights for all, partnership with the civil society is not an option, it is a necessity, he said. The Attorney-General was speaking at a seminar on “Global solidarity: the way to peace and international cooperation” organised here last evening by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC). Referring to the efforts of institutions like the National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women and countless NGOs such as the Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Mr Sorabjee said the need of the hour was to replicate this national effort on the international scene. Dr Abid Hussain, former Ambassador of India to the USA, said no matter how effective and vigilant the civil services were, they could not guarantee the happiness and well-being of the people. |
|
12 hurt in
procession JAIPUR, Sept 3 (PTI) — Twelve persons, including three policemen, were injured during pelting of stones on Ganesha mahotsava procession in Rajsamand town yesterday, the police said today. Tension gripped the town after some people threw stones from their houses on the procession passing through their locality. Shopowners immediately downed shutters. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
