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CVC to probe allegations against CBSE chairperson
Pal tipped to be Indian envoy to Pakistan
Major boost for construction sector |
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Bina Ramani gets bail New Delhi, September 15 Socialite Bina Ramani, an accused in a cheating-cum-forgery case and a key witness in Jessica Lall murder case, was granted bail here today. — PTI
VHP to intensify Ram temple stir
Pope’s comments: BJP flays Vatican, RSS remains silent
Son is CM, but Koda’s father does not know
CMs’ conclave: FM likely to be in firing line
Mau MLA, 31 others acquitted
Arjun praises scientists, engineers
Convict pleads for freedom to marry
SAD seeks Amarinder’s resignation
Dr Naresh Chandra Misra is dead
Court order on priests for harassing devotees
Four militants get life imprisonment
Laura to host literacy meet
CEC chairs review meeting
JKLF activist to be freed after 16 yrs
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CVC to probe allegations against CBSE chairperson
New Delhi, September 15 Taking suo motu cognisance of the protracted probe, the CVC has begun investigating into the charges against Mr Ganguly, Comptroller of Examinations Pavnesh Kumar and former Director Academics G. Balasubramanian. “The CVC had forwarded anonymous complaints against the three CBSE officials to the ministry, which set up a committee headed by a former IAS officer to probe charges. After a preliminary inquiry, the case was put on the back burner. After several reminders to the ministry, the CVC has now taken charge of the inquiry,” sources said. It was mentioned that the one-man Sathyam committee, appointed by the HRD Ministry, had already put forth its preliminary findings. “The CVC has expressed displeasure that the ministry has taken so long to conduct the probe despite the seriousness of the charges against these officials,” sources said. The CVC had received anonymous complaints against the CBSE Chairman alleging that he misused his position and wrote foreword for several books brought out by a private publisher. “The complaints indicated that he favoured the private publisher, helped the son of a senior official in clearing some examination, made frequent foreign trips and had leaning to a particular political faction,” sources said. More grave are the allegations that indicate his involvement in the “question paper leaks” and “amassing assets disproportionate to his income”. “The complaints against Pavnesh Kumar and G. Balasubramanian are that they wrote books for private publishers under pseudonyms and made frequent visits to Gulf countries,” sources claim. Taking note of the nature of complaints against him, the ministry has turned down Pavnesh Kumar’s plea for extension. “Ganguly had forwarded requests to give Pavnesh Kumar an extension, but the ministry did not agree to it,” sources said. Ganguly himself has been given three-year extension. He joined the CBSE as its chairperson in 2000 and his tenure came to an end in 2005, but was given extension till 2008.
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Pal tipped to be Indian envoy to Pakistan
New Delhi, September 15 The Ministry of External Affairs’ grapevine has it that Mr Pal, an Arabic speaker, is the personal choice of Mr Menon for the pivotal job in Islamabad. Mr Pal belongs to the same batch as Mr Menon — 1972 — though he is a few months junior to Mr Menon. He has served as India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka and London, and also as India’s Deputy Permanent Representative in the United Nations. His superannuation is due in February 2009, five months before Mr Menon’s scheduled retirement. Mr R.K. Bhatia, currently Indian Ambassador in Mexico, may replace Mr Pal in South Africa. Mr Rinzing Wangdi, Secretary (External Relations) at the MEA headquarters, is being considered for ambassadorial posting in Mexico. It is understood that after Mr Menon returns from Havana along with Prime MInister Manmohan Singh on September 18, he would go to Islamabad for a few days to hand over the charge to the Deputy High Commissioner T.C.A. Raghavan. Mr Menon is expected back in the Capital around September 25 when his “overlap” period with outgoing Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran would start. Around that time a major reshuffle in the MEA is expected to be announced. It is being speculated here that Ms Veena Sikri, India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka and wife of Mr Rajiv Sikri who recently resigned as Secretary (East), is being considered for the post of Dean of Foreign Service Institute, a job which does not fall under the administrative control of the Foreign Secretary. Ms Sikri is senior to the Foreign Secretary-designate. Chief of Protocol Pinak Chakrabarti may be India’s new envoy in Dhaka. The Indian Ambassador in China, Mr Nalin Surie, a Chinese speaker, is tipped to return to the headquarters here and take over as Secretary (East). Insiders look at him as the next Foreign Secretary. Incidentally, the present incumbent, Mr Saran, as well as the Foreign Secretary-designate, Mr Menon, are both Chinese speakers. Ms Nirupama Rao, presently Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, may go to Beijing as Ambassador. Ms Rao, an Additional Secretary-level officer, has earlier served as Director (China) and Joint Secretary (East Asia). Indian High Commissioner in Singapore, Mr Alok Prasad, may be Indian envoy in Colombo. Ms Shashi U. Tripathi, presently Secretary (West) in the headquarters, may be shifted to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as Member. Mr N. Ravi, India’s Ambassador in Vietnam, may replace her as Secretary (West). Mr Menon has superseded 16 IFS officers. So far, only one, Mr Rajiv Sikri, has put in his papers.
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Major boost for construction sector
New Delhi, September 15 The new Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines, which came into force today have more or less given sweeping powers to states to clear construction projects of any value. The new guidelines have also exempted automobile industry and biomedical and fly-over projects from EIA. The guidelines, cleared by the PMO early this month, were signed by the Minister of Environment and Forests A Raja yesterday and notified by the ministry today. In all seven projects or activities have been deleted and 19 new added to the list, requiring prior environmental clearance. Henceforth, the construction industry will not have to look up to the Centre for clearance of its projects, a provision that was being strongly opposed by NGOs on the ground that states were not technically well equipped to assess the impact on environment of big construction projects. The changes, much to the builders’ relief, have been brought after intense pressure by states, though officials also add that changes have very much part of the agenda of the previous as well as the present government in the Centre. The construction industry had been seeking complete exemption from EIA guidelines, saying that it would hinder the growth of real estate. In the draft notification, there was a limit of 20,000 sqm built up area for projects not needing central clearance, but now all these limits have been withdrawn. The cost of the projects is also no more among the criteria for categorisation, meaning that even for mega projects, the builders will not have to look up to the Centre. The provision of public hearing before giving a go ahead to builders has also been done away in the final notification. As per the new guidelines, state level expert appraisal committee concerned will determine whether or not the project, buildings, constructions, area development projects and townships included, the project or activity require further environmental studies for the preparation of an EIA for appraisal prior to the grant of environmental clearance depending upon the nature and location of the project. The projects requiring an EIA report will be termed as Category B1 and the remaining projects termed into Category B2 not require an EIA. All townships and area development project covering an area more than or equal to 50 hectares or built up areas of more than or equal to 1,50,000 sq metres will be appraised as category B1. Any project or activity specified in Category B will be treated as Category A, requiring Centre’s clearance, if located in whole or part within the 10 km from the boundary of protected areas notified under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Officials say that the changes have been made to improve investments and quality of appraisal. “Keeping in mind the change in times, a change in the policy was also on the anvil…. The construction industry had been contending that it has to follow town planning acts and building bye-laws of respective states. Getting the environmental clearance from the Centre delays the project and escalates the costs further.”
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VHP to intensify Ram temple stir
New Delhi, September 15 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Singal announced that a two-day meeting of saints of the Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal (Central Advisory Committee) would be held from tomorrow in which important decisions regarding Sri Ram Janambhoomi would be taken. The meeting of the high-powered Committee of Sri Ram Janambhoomi will be chaired by Jyotishpeethadhishwar Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swami Vasudevananda
Saraswati. The meeting would also discuss issues such as the row over ‘Vande
Mataram’, terrorism, NCERT text books and conversions. Though Mr Singhal vehemently denied the intentions of the VHP to rally behind the BJP, there seems to be a clandestine attempt by the Sangh Parivar outfit to whip Hindu sentiments ahead of the crucial assembly poll in Uttar Pradesh. Commenting on the decision of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kalyan Singh’s decision to launch saffron party’s campaign for the coming polls from Ayodhya, Mr Singhal heaped praised on him for the full support he had extended to kar sevaks when he was State Chief Minister. “At least, he never said that day (December 6, 1992) was the saddest day of his life. Instead, he had told us that there would be no hurdles from his side,” the VHP leader said. The VHP had been, in the past, raising the Ayodhya issue ahead of elections and this time round there is a desperation in the Sangh Parivar outfit because if the BJP fades out from the Hindi heartland, it can spell doom for it too. The VHP has also proposed to organise the world Hindu Conference-III on the occasion of the next Ardha Kumbha at Prayagraj on February 11 to 13, 2007, around the time when elections in UP are likely.
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Pope’s comments: BJP flays Vatican, RSS
New Delhi, September 15 “We have nothing to say on what the Pope has said about Islam. It is up to the Muslims to react to his comments,” RSS leader Ram Madhav told The Tribune on telephone. At a press conference here, VHP Supremo Ashok Singhal also echoed similar views. To a pointed question, Mr Singhal, a staunch critic of the Vatican, maintained that he would have no agreement with the Pope on whatever he says. However, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi condemned Pope’s criticism of Islam and sought an apology. “The Pope should immediately clarify his position and if his reported statement is true he should apologise,” Mr Naqvi said. In a statement here, the BJP leader said the Pope should rather have told the Bush Administration to put checks on “US terrorism”. “Comments like this from a man holding such a key religious position are capable of creating hurdles in the way of world harmony,” he added.
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Son is CM, but Koda’s father does not know
Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), September 15 Madhu Koda’s father, 69-year-old Rasika, said “I am yet to speak to him to get confirmation (about his selection for the top post). But I am happy for him.” “I came to know about his becoming the Chief Minister from mediamen, who started visiting the village one after another. They took photos of my house and interviewed me,” Rasika, a retired IISCO labourer living in Patahatu village in West Singhbhum district, told PTI today. He, however, has a list of priorities for his son, who is set to make history by becoming first Independent MLA in the country to occupy Chief Minister’s post. The priorities are irrigation, telephone, drinking water and improvement of the Hatgamaria-Baraiburu Main Road which became a bone of contention between Koda and outgoing CM Arjun Munda. “I will personally pressurise my son to take up the job of repairing the road on a priority basis.” To a query, Rasika said he had been opposed to his son, eldest among three brothers and four sisters, taking up politics as career. “We wanted him to take up a government job.... However, he was more interested in politics.”
— PTI
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CMs’ conclave: FM likely to be in firing line
New Delhi, September 15 Lack of cheap credit has been identified as among the major reasons for increasing indebtedness among farmers which drives them to commit suicide. This and all other aspects of the country’s deepening agrarian crisis will be discussed at this year’s annual conclave of Congress Chief Ministers being held in Nainital on September 23 and 24. Having come under heavy flak for its inability to deal with this crisis, a worried Congress president Sonia Gandhi has especially chosen to focus on the agriculture sector at this upcoming meeting. Although the agenda of the conference has been extended to include internal security, the two-day deliberations are expected to devote significant time to different aspects of agriculture like farmers’ suicide, lack of rural credit, spiralling prices of seeds and fertilisers and the decline in the production of foodgrains and oilseeds as the Congress would like to refurbish its image as a pro-poor and pro-farmer party ahead of next year’s four state assembly elections. Identifying cheap credit as a crucial input for providing relief to the farmers in distress, the Congress Chief Ministers are expected to reiterate their longstanding demand that the Centre bail out cooperative banks by giving them a special relief package and waiving of their non-performing assets which would go a long way in reviving these sick banks. Cooperative banks, it is repeatedly pointed out, have a tremendous spread in the rural areas as compared to
commercial banks which are located largely in cities and towns. “If the NPAs of
commercial banks running into several hundred crore can be written off to benefit industrialists, why can’t the same privilege be extended to the cooperative banks....the amount here is not more than Rs.8000-9000 crore,” remarked a former Congress Chief Minister. It was pointed out that nearly 60 per cent of farmers’ suicides are due to indebtedness and it has, therefore, become imperative to address this issue. Opening up the choked cooperative banks, it was stated, would go a long way in providing relief to farmers who are forced to go to a money lender when they their local banks are unable to extend the necessary credit to them. While Chief Ministers have been pressing the Centre for a bail-out package, the Finance Ministry has said that if they wish to get relief from them, the states should sign an MoU with the Reserve Bank of India which would give it greater powers to monitor the functioning of the cooperative banks. This suggestion has met with stiff
resistance as most such banks are controlled by powerful politicians.
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Mau MLA, 31 others acquitted
Lucknow, September 15 According to District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Gupta, the 32 accused in the Mau communal violence case were released as the police could not furnish clinching evidence against them. Following a sustained campaign by the BJP and the local media, Mukhtar Ansari had surrendered at the Ghazipur court on October 25, 2005. Today’s decision comes on a complaint filed by Jitentra Yadav on October 18 last year. In the FIR filed under Section 302 of the IPC, Yadav had charged Ansari with killing his younger brother during the riots. He had also accused him of reportedly inciting communal violence that claimed nine lives. However, three days later on October 21 last year, the complainant had met Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav demanding action against the local police for forcing him to lodge a false case implicating Ansari of killing his younger brother Ram Pratap Yadav. Speaking to The Tribune, his MP brother Afzal Ansari had then said that Mukhtar had decided to surrender so that peace could return to Mau. “Normalcy in Mau had become synonymous with his arrest. No one was bothered if relief work was progressing or when the inquiry would commence. The decision to surrender was to preempt the designs of fascist forces like Mahant Adityanath Yogi”, Afzal Ansari had then said. Later, while still under custody, Mukhtar was implicated in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in the last week of November.
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Arjun praises scientists, engineers
New Delhi, September 15 He was speaking on the occasion of unveiling of technologies developed under the Technology Mission on Railway Safety on Engineers’ Day. Pointing out that India’s premier institutes like the IITs and the IIMs were the product of Pandit Nehru’s great vision, he said when the question of super computer came up, India decided to make its own computers. He applauded the Railways for doing its best to ensure safety, comfort and all other facilities. Minister of State for Railways Rangasamy Velu said efforts were being made by the ministries of HRD, railway and industries in developing new technologies for the safety of trains. Referring to fog instrumentation developed by engineers, he said the new technology would help in increasing the speed of trains. Arjun Singh also unveiled a display screen showing live status of some of the trains using SIMRAN technology (satellite imaging software for rail navigation system) developed by the IIT, Kanpur. The developments of the Railway Technology Mission had already attracted the attention of the Indian industry and railway technology researchers in the UK, South Africa, Germany and some other countries, it was mentioned.
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Convict pleads for freedom to marry
Mumbai, September 15 Recording his statement on the quantum of punishment to him after the designated court of Pramod Kode prounced him guilty of having planted an RDX-laden scooter in Zaveri Bazaar that killed 17 persons and injured 57 on March 12, 1993, Ghansar , a key hitman of absconding prime accused Tiger Memon, also pleaded that he has to look after his 75-year-old mother and 16-year-old sister. Marriage of the sister is also his responsibility, he further pleaded. Without denying the charges on which he was convicted, Ghansar , a mechanic, guilty of stuffing RDX in vehicles at Tiger Memon’s Al-Husseini building which were used to carry out 13 explosions in the metropolis, he said he neither had a criminal past nor had there been any complaint against him during the 13 years he has spent in the jail. He said if the court accepted his plea and released him on compassionate ground after setting off his 13 years in jail against sentence, he will be able to fulfil his responsibilities of looking after his old mother and make arrangements for his sister’s marriage. Ghansar was found guilty of conspiracy and murder as also under the provisions of TADA, various sections of the IPC, Explosives Substances Act, Explosives Act and Damage to Properties Act.
— UNI
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SAD seeks Amarinder’s resignation
New Delhi, September 15 The agitation was held in front of the office of Today Homes and Infrastructure, the builders of Ludhiana City Centre, which is in the eye of the storm after the alleged irregularities. “Every piece of evidence is recorded and provided in black and white. It is the biggest scam of its kind and warrants an independent inquiry either by the CBI or the DRI,” said party’s All-India General Secretary Onkar Singh Thapar, as protesters raised anti-Punjab Government slogans. The state’s main opposition party refused to accept the authenticity of the state government appointed probe committee. “The CM should resign on moral grounds, a neutral agency should look into the matter and the people of Punjab should be reimbursed,” demanded Avtar Singh Hit.
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Dr Naresh Chandra Misra is dead
Lucknow, September 15 In the early seventies he left a promising career as one of the few cancer surgeons at Sloan Memorial Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, to return to India and establish the discipline of surgical oncology in his alma mater - King George’s Medical College. For four decades he worked tirelessly to set up the division of oncology in the Department of Surgery at KGMC. He was the recipient of the Dr BC Roy National Award. Dr NC Misra Oration Award instituted many years ago is one of the most coveted awards in surgical oncology in India. The list of awardees includes the who’s who of field of oncology in the world. It was due to his contribution that super-specialty courses of M.Ch. in surgical oncology could be established in leading institutes.
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Court order on priests for harassing devotees
Kolkata, September 15 In the judgment, it also ordered that each day’s collections should be counted by the temple authorities in the presence of police personnel and the following morning, these collections be deposited in the bank. The judgment was made on the public litigation case filed by a voluntary organisation. It was alleged that a large number of devotees from different parts of the country and abroad had been harassed and tortured by the priests. The funds collected were also not properly accounted for, it had stated. The association of the priests, however, decided to make an appeal to the court for protecting their interests.
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Four militants get life imprisonment
Rampur (UP), September 15 Additional District Judge P.K. Mishra held Guru Kripal Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Rakeshpal Singh and Rana Pratap guilty for their involvement in terrorist activities in Terai belt of the state. All of them were arrested on April 8, 1991 after an encounter in which a police inspector was injured. Some arms and ammunitions, including AK-47, AK 56 rifles and bombs, were recovered from their possesion.
— PTI
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Laura to host literacy meet
New Delhi, September 15 The conference is being held a day before the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Director-General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura and UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education Peter Smith will also participate in the conference. A press note issued by UNESCO here today said the conference was aimed at encouraging greater international involvement and new public/private partnerships to support literacy efforts.
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CEC chairs review meeting
Chandigarh, September 15 The Chief Election Commissioner was accompanied by Mr S.Y.Qureshi and Mr N. Chawla, both Election Commissioners. Review of the electoral rolls and preparing the list according to the latest data was the most discussed topic. All the states in north zone and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have been asked to update the lists at the earliest. The meeting was attended by officers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.
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JKLF activist to be freed after 16 yrs
New Delhi, September 15 Farooq Ahmad Dar, alias Bitta Karatey, a resident of Shaheed Ganj, Srinagar, was directed to be released from Kthua Jail by a Bench of Mr Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Mr Justice D.K. Jain forthwith, allowing his petition. |
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