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Panel raps govt for slow progress in power reforms
Sonia wants job Bill to have Cong stamp
Ministers’ panel to discuss proposal
SC notice to Haryana for not declaring
Encephalitis kills 21 more
National Defence Academy to have new curriculum
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Indian, US commandos hold joint training
BJP seeks CBI inquiry into corruption cases in Manipur
SC admits Reliance appeal against TDSAT order
SC objection to Pappu’s improper language
Newspaper headline ‘breach of privilege’, says Speaker
Medha flays MoU on rivers
Sangeet Natak Akademi awards announced
Anupam Kher withdraws
case against Surjeet
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Panel raps govt for slow progress in power reforms
New Delhi, August 25 “The committee is perturbed to note that with three years into the scheme and the utilisation of around 50 per cent of the sanctioned funds, the ATC losses are still in the range of 40-50 per cent. In fact, in many cases commercial losses have gone up in spite of the increasing tariff every year and utilising the scheme funds,” stated the ninth report “Implementation of the APDRP” submitted in the Lok Sabha today. The APDRP is an ambitious programme aimed at strengthening and upgrading of power transmission, distribution systems and bringing about commercial viability and the increase of consumer satisfaction. Concerned over the rising oil import bill and energy demand, the committee also indicted the government for neglecting the vast potential of non-conventional energy sector. It has asked the government to provide separate budget for development of bio-fuel technology, more budget for the R&D in biomass sector and time-bound initiatives for standardisation of technology system for biomass power generation. The committee headed by Mr Gurudas Kamat expressed its dissatisfaction over the skyrocketing financial losses of the state power utilities amounting to Rs 20,623 crore during 2003-04 without counting subsidy. The achievements of private discoms, observed the report, are still worse; six out of 10 have losses above 40 per cent. It included private discoms of Delhi-NDPL and the BSES-which have exhausted around 90 per cent of their sanctioned funds. It asked the government to consider the exclusion of private distribution companies from the purview of the APDRP. Criticising the recent hike in power tariff in Delhi, the committee has asked the state governments to “contest cases relating to power tariff hike by private distribution companies on behalf of consumers.” The committee was perturbed over the present trend of fund allocation and very low utilisation by the states. As against the budget estimates of Rs 10,500 crore, an amount of Rs 6496.34 crore only has been spent during the first three years of the 10th plan. In case of power thefts, the report observed, the rate of conviction was very low. For instance, it said, “in Gujarat out 48510 cases only seven have been convicted whereas in MP out of 271094 cases not a single person has been convicted.” The committee expressed shock over the tendency of power utilities to pass on their T&D losses on the honest consumers. It asked the government to immediately take steps to check this practice, and introduce new rules or law if required. Meanwhile, the government today announced that it would set up a central monitoring system to monitor the progress of various ongoing power projects in the country. Speaking at the Consultative Committee meeting here, Union Minister for Power P. M. Sayeed said the introduction of Information Technology (IT), particularly, in distribution management, would go a long way in the overall growth of the power sector. |
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Sonia wants job Bill to have Cong stamp New Delhi, August 25 Aware that the
state governments could appropriate this Bill as their own since they
are responsible for its implementation, Congress President Sonia Gandhi
today announced that a series of functions would now be organised to
ensure the active involvement of the party in the implementation of this
programme. Addressing the general body meeting of the Congress
Parliamentary Party (CPP), she asked party members to be involved with
these functions since “social activism and political mobilisation”
would be crucial for the success of the programme. She made it clear
that all credit for the job guarantee Bill went to the Congress since it
was the only party which had included this promise in its election
manifesto. Mrs Gandhi also pointed to a hectic calendar for party
activities, saying that a meeting of Congress Chief Ministers would be
held next month, followed by the AICC’s plenary session. The dates and
venue for both these events were to be decided at a meeting of the
Central steering committee tomorrow. Although these events had been in
the pipeline for several months, it had become imperative to hold them
at the earliest since the party was to be involved in the implementation
of the job guarantee Act. She expects party cadres to ensure that the
message about the Congress party’s ownership of this programme
percolates down to the grassroot level. She said irrespective of the
constituency they represented, party MPs must take interest in the
implementation of the Act. Since party cadres would be required to be
“extra-active and extra-vigilant”, the Congress President hoped the
employment guarantee programme would prove to be the trigger necessary
to galvanise the party machinery in non-Congress states. She also
expressed satisfaction over the passage of the amendments to the Hindu
Succession Act and the Domestic Violence Bill which, she said, would
ensure greater gender equality. The Congress President reiterated the
party’s commitment to fulfilling the pledges made in the CMP, stating
that a number of legislations would be brought in the winter session of
Parliament. These included a Bill relating to the restructuring of the
KVIC, a Bill on social security for workers in the unorganised sector
and another on the prevention and control of communal harmony. As for
the women’s reservation Bill, Mrs Gandhi blamed the BJP for having
gone back on its commitment but maintained that efforts to forge a
consensus would continue. She urged the party cadres to gear
themselves for the coming Assembly elections in Bihar, Kerala, Assam and
Tamil Nadu.
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Ministers’ panel to discuss proposal on aircraft
New Delhi, August 25 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which met here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to forward the proposal to the eGOM, the setting up of which had been recommended by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Official sources said the CCEA, while deciding to form an eGOM, left the final composition of the group to the Prime Minister. The eGOM is expected to carry out further negotiations with the Airbus officials for the final price at which the aircrafts would be offered to the Indian Airlines. Sources said the eGOM was expected to complete the final negotiations with the Airbus within the next month, eventually clearing the way long-awaited fleet acquisition by the public sector Indian Airlines. The airline has specially been on the back foot in context with the competition with the private airlines, which have been acquiring new generation aircrafts leaving the Indian Airlines behind. The Indian Airlines Board had cleared the proposal for the purchase of 43 aircrafts in April 2002. The proposal had been pending with the government ever since then. It was approved by the Public Investment Board (PIB) and later by an oversight committee, headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) C.G. Somiah. Therefore, the reference of the deal by the CCEA to the eGOM marks progress of the deal to the final stages of decision making. The deal got blocked initially due to the change in government and price negotiations were held repeatedly since a significant time had lapsed after the Indian Airlines submitted the project report for purchase of 43 Airbus aircraft. Subsequently, further delay occurred since some MPs had questioned whether the IA was getting a good deal. The Finance Ministry had observed that a final round of negotiations should be held to bring down the prices. The Civil Aviation Ministry, while forwarding the file to the Cabinet Secretariat, had suggested that the CCEA either finalise the decision on its own or set up an eGoM. In case the second option was exercised, the eGOM should be given the powers to finalise the deal and authorise the placement of orders. The ministry had earlier proposed the setting up of an eGOM or a committee of secretaries for the final round of negotiations suggested by the Finance Ministry. The IA proposal to buy 43 airbus aircraft at a cost of $2billion (Rs 10,000 crore) had assumed political overtones since the USA was batting for Boeing, while the EU had thrown its weight behind Airbus. But while referring the issue to the eGOM, there was no mention of whether there would be any possibility of the Boeing making it way into the aircraft acquisition plan of the Indian Airlines. The IA acquisition project involves the purchase of 20 Airbus A321, 10 A319 and four A320 aircraft. While the Europe-based Airbus was chosen for the entire order, the IA had picked the CFM engines for all three categories of aircraft. It is understood that Airbus has indicated 85 per cent of the purchase cost could be financed through loans from the European credit agency. Once the sovereign guarantee from the government is in place, the IA could get even credit to the tune of 100 per cent of the acquisition cost. The Civil Aviation Ministry has urged the Finance Ministry to clear government guarantee for the project |
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SC notice to Haryana for not declaring HSSC results
New Delhi, August 25 Taking cognisance of a SLP, by three candidates, who had appeared in the selection test for the appointment of Social Education and Panchayat Officers (SEPO) but the results of the same was withheld due to the new government’s directive to the commission, a Bench of Mr Justice Y. K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice C. K. Thakker also issued notice to the HSSC, asking the respondents to submit their replies. Senior advocate Mahabir Singh, appearing for the three candidates, questioned the legality of issuing such a directive by the state government to the commission, which, he said was an autonomous body. The March 6, 2005, letter by the Chief Secretary (CS) of Haryana to the Secretary of the HSSC, annexed with the petition, said the “government has decided that the commission will not declare the results on the basis of interviews/exams conducted by them (the panel). Further, the commission is directed that it will not conduct any interview and examination against the pending requisitions till further orders.” Challenging the legality of the directive, petitioner’s counsel contended that the government had no power to issue such arbitrary orders to the panel, especially when various departments of the state government had sent requisitions to make candidates available to fill the posts of various categories. The petitioners quoting from the CS’s letter to the commission stated that the government itself had admitted that the requests for making candidates available for filling the posts had been pending with the panel. The petitioners, Mr Ram Niwas, Mr Rajesh Kumar and Mr Jagroop Singh, moved the Supreme Court after their petition was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order of April 29, 2004. According to the SLP, the HSSC had issued an advertisement for filling the posts of 32 SEPOs and consequently held the written examination on December 28, 2003, declared the result on November 30, 2004, and called the qualified candidates for an interview a month later on December 27. But the results were not declared in view of the elections in between and when the new government took over, it had virtually put a ban on declaration of the same, the SLP said.
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Encephalitis kills 21 more
Lucknow, August 25 A minor girl succumbed to the disease this morning at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) here. Scores of fresh JE cases continued to pour in at various hospitals across central and east UP, reports reaching at the state headquarters said today. At least 72 patients were admitted at Baba Raghav Das Medical College (BRDMC) in Gorakhpur since yesterday. The total number of JE patients treated or undergoing treatment at BRDMC stood at 613, followed by 57 at KGMU. The increasing death toll has made the state Health Department scurrying for cover with chief secretary Neera Yadav airdashing to Gorakhpur with senior officials recently to take stock of the situation. Earlier, Governor T.V. Rajeswar had also visited east UP and asked the Mulayam Singh Yadav government to take urgent steps to contain the menace. The disease has badly gripped Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Basti, Ballia, Deoria, Siddharthnagar, Sant Kabirnagar, Bahraich, Gonda, Azamgarh, Mau, Ambedkarnagar, Barabanki, Faizabad, Sultanpur, Balrampur and Hardoi districts. A report quoting Additional Director (Health) Dr D.P. Mishra from Siddharthnagar today said a total of 41 JE deaths occurred in the three districts of the division so far. It included 26 casualties in Siddharthnagar, 10 in Basti 10 and 5 in Sant Kabirnagar.
— UNI |
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National Defence Academy to have new curriculum
Pune, August 25 Realising the need for greater practical training, the NDA faculty has suggested confining of academics till the fifth semester of the six-semester graduate course for cadets. The idea is to make practical training the focus area of the sixth and final semester just before the cadets are ready to leave the NDA. The cross-stream subjects taught for imparting basic knowledge of practically every field to cadets, will now give way to teaching of contemporary topics pertaining to the three services of Army, Navy and Air Force as also inter-service disciplines, subjects of national interest and latest advances in science and technology. A comprehensive capsule on leadership will also be introduced to drill in leadership qualities in future officers while a month-long orientation course for new entrants is also in the offing. These changes are all a part of the ongoing exercise to review the entire curriculum of the academy and fine-tune it in consonance with the present-day needs. “Though the review is carried out after every 16 years, the fast-changing world around has prompted us to extend the curriculum review undertaken in 2003 to 2005 as well. With redundancy setting in fast in practically every field, given the rapid advances made in technology, it is being attempted again to ensure our cadets don’t get left behind. “We want them to keep abreast of all the changes happening in society and the world around them. That’s the mission of the academic committee set up to look into the matter”, says NDA Commandant Lt-Gen AK Chopra. Under the changes to be introduced, emphasis would be laid on imparting practical knowledge, though the academic standards would not be diluted. The focus of the review is to work out a curriculum that will broaden the outlook of the cadets and make them “physically strong, mentally alert and morally straight” as also contribute to building a well-rounded personality. Also happening within the confines of the NDA is a mini technology revolution wherein information technology is all set to enter the classrooms to “further improve the quality of instruction” in the two courses of science and humanities being taught at the NDA in collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, which awards degrees to the cadets on completion of the course. Further, to give direct access to the cadets on subjects of his interest originating at the NDA, the academy is also slated to have its campus area network to facilitate communication within its “family”. Realising the need to “acclimatise” the cadet coming from a civil background, the NDA will initiate a comprehensive one-month orientation course to enable his smooth transition to a cadet. “While cadets coming from army backgrounds are well-versed about the army discipline et al, those coming from civil backgrounds take time to adjust to the new way of life. This course will help the cadet set into the army culture and acquaint him with what is expected of him here”, adds Gen Chopra. It maybe recalled that the first review of the curriculum after the setting up of the NDA was done in 1955, then in 1971 and again in 1987. The last review was carried out in 2003. |
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Indian, US commandos hold joint training
New Delhi, August 25 Exercise — Vajra Prahar — was held in “the western theatre”. It was also aimed at providing the troops of the two countries with the “first-hand knowledge of each other’s weapons, equipment, operational techniques and organisation", said an Indian Army spokesman here. Over the past few years, the armed forces of India and the US have stepped up joint training programmes, particularly manoeuvres that will help them jointly tackle terrorist threats. India has also purchased special weapons and equipment for its commando units from the US. This exercise consisted of tactical manoeuvres, long-range surveillance techniques, special helicopter-borne operations, combat survival, combat shooting techniques and a friendship parachute jump. “With the successful completion of the exercise, military cooperation between the two countries has strengthened further,” the spokesman said. He quoted an American Green Beret commando as saying that the training programme was of a high calibre: “We train with most of the armies in the world, but it’s here we get equally trained,” the US commando said. Over the past few years, India has opened some of its top training facilities — usually off-limits to foreign military personnel — to the US armed forces that have trained in areas as varied as Jammu and Kashmir and a jungle warfare school in the northeastern state of Mizoram. |
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BJP seeks CBI inquiry into corruption cases in Manipur
New Delhi, August 25 Law and order had completely broken down and people were openly linking the activities of some underground outfits with state Ministers. “This is a serious issue and a thorough probe is needed into the cases of extortions, kidnappings, killings and forcible tax collection by the underground organisations,’’ they said. |
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SC admits Reliance appeal against TDSAT order
New Delhi, August 25 A Bench of Mr Justice Ashok Bhan and Mr Justice S B Sinha also issued notice to the Centre and Department of Telecom (DoT) on Reliance’s SLP, seeking their replies. The DoT had imposed the penalty, accusing the Reliance of illegally re-routing incoming international calls as local calls and causing huge revenue loss to it because there was a lot of difference on the conversion charges for local and international calls. TDSAT, in its judgement, had upheld the decision of the Union Government, holding that Reliance had violated the provisions of law. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Reliance, contended that an important question of law was involved in the case whether there was any legislative provision to impose such a penalty or it was only a contractual liability between two private service providers. Reliance, in its SLP, contended that call re-routing was a global practice among the service providers, which was resorted to by all telecom operators, including the MTNL and the BSNL. The company said it had not violated any law, as re-routing of calls was only a technical mechanism adopted by service providers all over the world. TDSAT, in its verdict, had even gone to the extent of saying that resorting to such practice even amounted to posing a threat to the country’s security. |
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SC objection to Pappu’s improper language
New Delhi, August 25 Since Yadav in his petition had alleged that due to “influence” of CBI and Supreme Court, AIIMS was not providing him proper medical
treatment, the Court asked how the treatment could be denied to him on its influence. A Bench of Mr Justice Ashok Bhan and Mr Justice S.B. Sinha told his counsel to amend the petition before it could be
accepted for hearing. In fact the order for his treatment in AIIMS was issued by the Court after he was shifted to Tihar Jail in the Capital from Patna’s Beur Jail for allegedly indulging in illegal activities there. However, the court directed the CBI to submit its reply to the application by Yadav on his allegation of improper treatment after the MP had amended his petition. |
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Newspaper headline ‘breach of privilege’, says Speaker
New Delhi, August 25 As soon as the House assembled, Mr Chatterjee said “it is a deliberate misrepresentation about what was said in the House by the Chair. I once again, if necessary at all, express my highest respect for the judiciary. To try to make misrepresentation of what transpired in the House is nothing but breach of privilege. Naturally, it will not be taken lightly in future.” “But I wish to say and I am sure the House will agree with me that nothing like that happened yesterday,” the Speaker said without naming the newspaper. The newspaper report had referred to yesterday’s discussion in the Lok Sabha on Supreme Court Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti’s observations on politicians taking exception to its verdict on reservation in unaided private educational institutions.
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Medha flays MoU on rivers
New Delhi, August 25 Talking to The Tribune from Mumbai late this evening, she said the way the link project was being rushed through was in itself a cause for serious concern. Calling it a violation of law, Ms Patkar said “ an MoU of a project of this nature is useless without the understanding of people who are going to be affected and displaced by its implementation. The non-Congress states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have agreed to go ahead, but people in Ken and Betwa river valleys have not been consulted or their consent obtained.” . In a letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ms Patkar and other noted environmentalists have asked them to reconsider the experiences of the past with large projects, stressing that studies on the
Ken-Betwa link project have shown that the link was either not feasible or planned on the basis of data that was badly outdated She also said that the interlinking of river project was proceeding without any regard to the assurance made by the UPA Government in its common minimum programme
(CMP) that the project would be reviewed with wide consultation. |
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Sangeet Natak Akademi awards announced
New Delhi, August 25 The other three artistes who will receive the awards are Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Chandralekha and Tapas Sen. The Akademi Ratna is the highest national honour in the field. Thirtyfour other artistes will be conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar at the function at Vigyan Bhavan. They include Punjabi folk musician Hans Raj Hans, Hindi playwright Swadesh Deepak, theatre and film personality Rohini Hattangady, Hindustani vocal duo Tejpal Singh and Surinder Singh, Mridangam player Madras A. Kannan, Bharatnatyam dancer
Nirmala Ramachandran, Kathak dancer Saswati Sen, Mohiniattam dancer Kalamandalam Sugandhi and Anuradha Kapur of the National School of Drama for direction. The awards were originally scheduled to be conferred on May 13 but called off following a controversy triggered by resignation of some Akademi members who resigned over “the autocratic style of functioning” of Sonal Mansingh, who was later removed as Akademi chairperson and replaced by Ram Niwas
Mirdha. |
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Anupam Kher withdraws case against Surjeet
Mumbai, August 25 Kher withdrew the case in a magistrate’s court after Surjeet’s lawyer Ram Jethmalani wrote a letter saying his client had no intention of defaming him. Kher had filed a defamation case against the CPM leader for allegedly defaming him in articles published in a party publication describing him as an “RSS agent” and alleging that he (Kher) had saffronised the Censor Board as its Chairman.
— PTI |
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