 |
| Monday,
October 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
IAF loses Rs 866 cr in crashes SC quashes HC’s order clearing Bangarappa JMM CM: Soren reminds NDA of promise MP in dilemma over SC verdict PM’s ‘sadak yojana’ gets final touches |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Paswan to float new
party on Nov 28 Jethmalani’s book
a ‘fiction’ PM back in Delhi
|
|
IAF loses Rs 866 cr in crashes NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — Indian Air Force lost 84 aircraft, most of them ageing MIG-21’s, in air accidents in the past five years causing a staggering loss of over Rs 866 crore to the exchequer, according to official estimates. Even as the Defence Ministry dithered over the induction of the Advanced Jet Trainers
(AJT), the losses mounted. According to provisional estimates, 34 pilots, mostly young flying officers, were killed in the air accidents, which involved as many as 60 MIG-21 aircraft over a period from 1996-97 to end of September this year. Besides, the MIG-21 fighters, other aircraft involved in crashes included some state of art Mirage-2000, MIG-29s, deep penetration Jaguars to MI-17 and MI-8 helicopters and transport planes. The MIG-21 aircraft has been likened to “flying coffins” by aviation experts, which has been strongly disputed by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A. Y.
Tipnis, who said that Air Force would have to keep the MIG-21 in its inventory till the end of the decade. “MIG-21s are high-demand aircraft seeking skill and response of the highest order from pilots,” Tipnis told newsmen recently. Most of the MIG-21s involved in crashes have been trainer versions used for imparting stage III training for young pilots and according to the Defence Ministry report these are approaching end of their technical life. With the Hawk deal to be finally signed by end of November after securing the final configurations of the trainer design, the AJT’s are likely to be inducted by March next year which could finally lead to MIG-21 trainer versions being phased out by end of next year. The report, quoting Air Force court of inquiry details, has revealed that most of the air crashes have been due to technical faults and substantial number of MIG-21 crashes have been attributed to pilot errors. A high-powered committee of flight safety on fighter aircraft accidents
(COFAA) constituted under the chairmanship of Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, which submitted its report recently had made recommendations involving
organisational, structural, procedural, training, technical and design changes in
MIG’s. The Air Chief Tipnis said that 55 out of these 84 recommendations of the committee had already been implemented and action on others were underway. The Air Chief said with new preventive measures in force, the accident rate had been progressively going down. He said accident rate had come down to 30 per cent level from the peak of 40 per cent in the late 80s and early 90s.
Tipnis feels that accidents rate would go down with inductions of the Advanced Jet Trainers and upgradation programme of the MIG’s finally taking off the ground. India signed a $ 626 million US deal with Russia in 1996 for upgradation of 125 MIG-21
bus aircraft, but the project slipped behind schedule as tie-up’s with third countries for advanced avionics and weapons system ran into hitches. The Air Chief said that most of these bottlenecks had been cleared and he was hopeful of the project coming back to schedule soon. Two of the MIG-21
bus have already completed upgradation and are currently undergoing flying trials in India. The rest of 123 MIGs would be upgraded at HAL in Nasik by 2004. Air force officials said the upgradation of the fighters involved installing state of art avionics and weapons platform in the MIG’s enhancing their strike capability and improve flight safety. |
|
SC quashes HC’s order clearing Bangarappa NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — The Supreme Court has erased a Karnataka High Court judgement discharging former state Chief Minister
S. Bangarappa and his then private secretary R. Suri Babu in a corruption case. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice K.T. Thomas and Mr Justice R.P. Sethi, in a recent order, said “We order that the revision petitions filed in the high court by the respondents would stand withdrawn and consequently the impugned order will stand erased”. The court passed the order after the respondents’ counsel submitted that he would withdraw the petition for discharge from the high court without prejudice to their rights to raise appropriate contentions before the trial court. The respondents sought to withdraw the revision petition after the
CBI assailed a single judge’s order discharging the two accused on various grounds and the Bench, during arguments, had expressed dangers involved for either side if it was to reach any finding on the contentious issues. The
CBI had filed the appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the single judge’s order discharging Bangarappa and Babu against whom the trial court had ordered framing of charges along with four others in January last year. The Bench clarified that if the trial court was to decide any question which had been dealt with in the high court order, the same should be decided as if no opinion had been given on that question. The Supreme Court said “The trial court will now frame charge against the respondents along with the other accused and proceed to take evidence in accordance with law and conclude the trial as expeditiously as possible.” Bangarappa and Babu, along with four others, were chargesheeted by the CBI under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and for criminal conspiracy under Section 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code. |
|
MP in dilemma over SC verdict BHOPAL, Oct 22 —The Supreme Court verdict on the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) puts the Madhya Pradesh government in an awkward situation. The verdict permits construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam
up to the height of 138 metres as recommended by the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) two decades ago. The Madhya Pradesh government will be bound to abide by the Supreme Court verdict even though it had been dissatisfied with the human aspects of the implementation of the Award by Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In fact, the Madhya Pradesh government has sought constitution of a fresh tribunal through a complaint made to the Union Government in March 1998. The complaint was made under Section 3 of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956. Madhya Pradesh had urged the Government of India to constitute a fresh tribunal for adjudication over the use, distribution and control of the waters of Narmada “as the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have failed to implement the award of the earlier Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal”. It stated that “the constitution of the tribunal, the state of Madhya Pradesh will present to the tribunal a full and comprehensive statement of its case supporting its contentions with relevant facts and legal submissions”. At the outset the complaint stated that “a water dispute has arisen between the state of Madhya Pradesh on the one hand and the respondent states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on the other hand over the use, distribution and control of the waters of Narmada”. The grounds cited in the complaint are: Gujarat has failed to address itself to the problem of resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of the project affected families (PAFs) of Madhya Pradesh, in Gujarat in terms of the memorandum of “understanding of August 25, 1981 between the two states. Besides, developments following the passing of NWDT award have focused attention on the hardships to the PAFs and created public awareness as to the need for preserving the environment and the ecology. The stand of the three states, according to the Madhya Pradesh government, “is untenable as, once the Dam is constructed, its height cannot be reduced even if, in the review after 45 years, it is found that a lower height is sufficient”. Even the NWDT award provides, in clause XIV, sub-clause 17, that “nothing contained in this order shall prevent the alteration, amendment or modification of all or any of the foregoing clauses by agreement between all the states concerned”. Gujarat has already (read by then) raised the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the effective height of the spillway to EL 81.5 metres (267 ft). The PAFs of Madhya Pradesh, corresponding to this level, have, however, not yet been properly settled by Gujarat. On the other hand, Gujarat, with the support of Maharashtra and Rajasthan, is pressing for further raising of the height of the spillway without making proper arrangements for the R&R of the PAFs of Madhya Pradesh. The raising of the effective height of the Dam further, in the present circumstances, will aggravate the difficulties perpetrated on the PAFs. The 79-page complaint gives details of the efforts by the Madhya Pradesh government to settle the disputes and says that its efforts “have proved fruitless due to the adamant attitude taken by Gujarat and the other two states. It will be futile to attempt further negotiations”, it says. “The government of Madhya Pradesh, therefore, requests the Government of India to proceed forthwith to take action under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act 1956, by constituting a tribunal under Section 4 of the Act for the adjudication of the water
disputes”. |
|
PM’s ‘sadak yojana’ gets final touches THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 22 (UNI) — Union Rural Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu today said final touches were being given to the Prime Minister’s “sadak yojana” aimed at providing road connectivity to the rural areas all over the country in seven years. Speaking at a meet-the-press programme here, he said the Finance Minister had already promised to provide Rs 2,500 crore from the diesel cess for this ambitious Rs 60,000 crore project. He said his ministry had also finalised a Rs 29,000 crore scheme to provide regular source of drinking water to all rural areas having a population of 5,000 and above before 2003. Under the “Annapoorna” scheme, all those above the age of 60 and not drawing pension would be given 10 kg of free rice, he added. Mr Naidu said the states would be advised to issue “pattadhar passbooks” with details of individual farmers, including the extent of land owned by the farmer. “My department is working on a model of the scheme,” he added. He said it was also proposed to give legislative teeth to the programme to enable the farmers to get credit from banks on the strength of the passbook. He had explained the scheme at a recently held conference of Revenue Secretaries of states. It would come closer to the “revenue card” scheme being implemented in Kerala. The Centre would provide funding to a certain
extent for the “pattadhar passbook” programme. Mr Naidu said the state government had also been asked to computerise the land records to ensure transparency. It was specifically suggested that thumb impression should be made on land records, instead of signature, so that the records would not be misused. To a question, he said he had assured Local Administration Minister Paloly Mohammed Kutty that politics would not come in the way of development and that due attention would be given to Kerala also. In this context, Mr Naidu referred to a recent letter written by CPM general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet to all BJP allies. But nobody had gone with the CPM because the parties knew that the CPM could not be trusted and that it would finally join hands with the Congress. |
|
Jethmalani’s book
a ‘fiction’ NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee today dismissed as a “fiction at its worst” a new book written by former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani attacking him and the Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand. Back from Mumbai after a knee surgery, Mr Sorabjee when asked to comment on Jethmalani’s book “Big Egos, Small Men” to be released tomorrow, said “At present, I am concentrating on my recovery from my operation. From what I have been told the book appears to be fiction at its worst.” Mr Sorabjee, who was operated upon by Dr Chittaranjan Ranawat at Breach Kandy Hospital, refused to comment further on the book which described him as one of the key conspirators in the sacking of Jethmalani as the Law Minister in July last. Meanwhile, Mr Jethmalani expressed surprise over the official documents authenticating the real age of Justice Anand being printed in media and said “Why these documents did not surface when they were required most — at the time of enrolment of Justice Anand as an advocate in 1964 and the hearing of this issue in the Madras High Court in 1991.” “It is the duty of a judge to see that truth prevails. Why did Mr Justice Anand not assist the petitioner in the high court in procuring the document about his age,” he asked. |
|
JMM CM: Soren reminds NDA of promise RANCHI, Oct 22 — With a call to the National Democratic Alliance to honour the promise made on the chief ministership of Bihar, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief, Mr Shibu Soren today made it clear that he was not willing to make a compromise on the issue. Addressing a rally here, widely seen as a show of strength by the JMM leader just days before the new state is to be formed on November 15, Mr Soren reminded the NDA leaders of the promise made by the alliance convener, Mr George Fernandes, when Mr Nitish Kumar had made his bid for Bihar chief ministership. “We were assured by Mr Fernandes that the Jharkhand Chief Minister would be from our party if we extended support to Mr Nitish Kumar,” the JMM leader said, while asking the NDA to specify if it was willing to honour its commitment. Though stern in his tone, Mr Soren did not talk about parting of ways with the NDA. Willing to wait till NDA formerly took a decision on the issue, Mr Soren, however, asked his followers to be prepared for struggles in future also. In case of the BJP not conceding the top political post to the JMM, the party was likely to sit in the Opposition rather than try and form government with help from the RJD and Congress. Charging both Patna and New Delhi with exploiting the resources of Jharkhand over the past 50 years, Mr Soren used hard words to further consolidate his constituency. Earlier, talking to TNS, Mr Soren said that future course of his party would be decided after getting response from the of NDA. “We could hold a meeting in a day or two to decide on the issue,” he indicated. Denying that any attempts were being made to win over their party MLAs, JMM leaders seemed hopeful of the NDA ultimately conceding their demand despite their having 12 MLAs against the BJP’s 32. “The logic of less numbers was true in case of Nitish Kumar also. When he could be supported by the BJP for Bihar chief ministership why not JMM for Jharkhand,” asked a MLA. |
|
PM back in Delhi NEW DELHI, Oct 22 —Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee returned here today after a 12-day stay in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital where he underwent a left knee replacement surgery on October 10. Setting aside protocol, President K.R. Narayanan and Vice-President Krishan Kant made a special gesture when they received Mr Vajpayee at the Palam airport. Barring the two dignitaries, no other visitor was allowed at the airport to receive the Prime Minister. Mr Vajpayee thanked the President and the Vice-President for the special gesture and drove straight to his Race Course Road residence. |
|
Paswan to float new
party on Nov 28 LUCKNOW, Oct 22 (UNI) — Union Communications Minister Ramvilas Paswan today said there was no question of continuing in the Janata Dal (United) and his new political party would be floated on November 28 at New Delhi. Addressing the “janshakti rally” sponsored by Uttar Pradesh Dalit Sena here, Mr Paswan said earlier the new party was to be formed during a national rally of the sena on November 23 but in view of the local bodies’ election in UP and starting of the month of ramzan from November 30 the date had been changed. Claiming that the JD(U) was a sinking ship and people were pressurising him to leave the party, the Dalit leader alleged the bosses of the party had reduced a national party to a regional one. |
 |
| 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 | |
