 |
|
|
Cabinet clears farmers’ debt relief fund
CPM to join next govt at centre
Armed groups of Terai begin talks with Koirala govt
Congress faces no trust motion in Andhra Pradesh
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bardhan re-elected CPI general secretary
‘WB most cruel to animals’
Cabinet panel okays five appointments
13 SIMI leaders arrested
Flood Relief
Rahul Gandhi visits wildlife sanctuary
UP needs expertise for disabled
Mumbai faces 1000-MW power shortage
Vandana to be kept in ICU
ASI to digitise Northeast relics
MNS pokes fun at Big B
Seek Interim Relief
M’rashtra’s chief poll officer jailed
Bulletproof vehicles for power plant staff
Scarlett’s body in Mumbai Aamir, Gowariker in chinkara row Two hurt as plane hits dog
|
|
Cabinet clears farmers’ debt relief fund
New Delhi, March 27 According to the decision taken at a meeting of the Cabinet today, the fund would be augmented by another Rs 50,314 crore in the next four years to compensate banks and other lending institutions on account of losses resulting from farm loan waiver scheme. The Rs-60,000 crore debt waiver scheme announced by finance minister P Chidambaram in the Budget for 2008-09 is to be implemented by June 30. The debt waiver and debt relief scheme will benefit three crore small and marginal farmers and one crore other farmers. In addition to Rs 10,000 crore earmarked in 2007-08 for funding the scheme, the government will provide Rs 15,000 crore each in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Rs 12,000 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 8,314 crore in 2011-12. An official spokesperson said that upon being granted the debt waiver or signing an agreement for debt relief under the One Time Settlement (OTS), the farmer would be entitled to fresh agricultural loans from banks. As per the scheme, all farm loans disbursed by banks and cooperatives up to March 31, 2007, to an estimated three crore small and marginal farmers will be waived. As per the scheme marginal farmers are those holding up to one hectare of land, while small farmers are those who have 1-2 hectare under their possession. Under the OTS scheme for other farmers, they will get a rebate of 25 per cent, if they pay the balance 75 per cent of their outstanding loan.
|
|
CPM to join next govt at centre
Coimbatore, March 27 This will be the main issue to be debated during the 19th party congress of the Marxist party, which begins here on Saturday and will be attended by around 800 delegates from all over the country. The draft political resolution of the CPM for the 19th party congress mentions about forging a third front but unlike the resolution adopted at the last party congress in 2005, does not mention anything about not joining the government at the Centre. In 1996, when the third front suggested the name of former West Bengal Chief Minister and Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu as Prime Minister, the CPM central committee after a fierce debate voted over the issue and the motion was defeated by only eight votes. Basu later described the party’s decision as a “historical blunder”. At the 2005 party congress, the CPM reiterated its stand and in clause 2.98 under the heading - Present Tasks - stated: “It is not possible to have a united front or alliance with the Congress. This is what determined our decision not to join a Congress-led government but to support it from outside.” This time the CPM seems to have realised its mistake, which the CPI did not commit in 1996 and nominated its veteran leader Indrajit Gupta as union home minister. In the draft political resolution for this party congress, under clause 2.99, the CPM mentions in details about wooing regional parties to form a “Left and democratic alternative”. It also stated: However, it is silent about the situation that might arise after the Lok Sabha polls and whether this time given the opportunity it will be part of the government at the Centre. The CPM insiders say a large section of party delegates from states like West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, where the party is in power, is likely to vote in favour of joining the Central government and take advantage of the situation. The Congress in 2004 had wanted that the Left parties join the UPA and be part of the Central government. The CPM turned it down but accepted the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker and nominated veteran parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee for the post. Accordingly, it has diluted the clause in its party programme, which stated that it would not be part of a government in which it cannot solely determine its policies in a special conference in Thiruvananthapuram in 2000.
|
|
Armed groups of Terai begin talks with Koirala govt
New Delhi, March 27 Both sides appear to be confident of sewing up a larger political deal that would go a long way in arresting the growing alienation between the Madhesis and the Nepal government.The groups are Madhesh Mukti Tigers (MMT), Terai Cobra, Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) and Samyukta Jantantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (SJTMM). India has huge sweepstakes in political stability in Nepal, a neighbour with which it has a 1,751-km-long open border. The international community, particularly India, is also fully backing the election process. It is in the interest of not only Nepal, but also the whole South Asian region, to have political stability in the country. These groups have formed a four-member team for the talks. Nepal’s minister for peace and reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel is the government convener for the talks. Representatives of all the seven parties of the ruling alliance are participating in the talks on behalf of the government. The ruling Seven Party Alliance (SPA) needs to be credited for their performance in bringing all the warring factions to negotiating table and finding an amicable solution despite great odds. The only factions to have held back so far were the armed groups of the Terai and this fault line in Nepal’s polity is being repaired with the these groups of the Terai region initiating the dialogue process with the government. Last month, the government had successfully reached a broad understanding with various political and ethnic groups in Terai, paving the way for the much waited Constituent Assembly elections. It is hoped that the talks with the armed groups will lead to a trouble free election. The April 10 election will be an important milestone in the long journey on the path of democracy in the Himalayan nation. The elections are likely to lead to a declaration of the Republic, ending the centuries-old kingship. It is also significant that the SPA worked for and achieved a larger ‘inclusive’ political set up, offering greater share of power and position for various historically marginalised ethnic groups, like the Madhesis, Taurus, Janajatis, etc. The elections, therefore, are expected to lead to political stability and a more ‘representational’ political set up in the country. The onus is on all the political and other parties to ensure that the election is held in a free and fair atmosphere, giving a chance to the people to exercise their franchise without fear or favour. The CPN-Maoist party, which has so far shown a greater understanding in reaching agreements with marginalised ethnic groups, seems to be apprehensive of their electoral performance. Their cadres are manhandling and abducting activists of the other political parties. Election campaigns of the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (NC) and other parties were being regularly disrupted and their candidates beaten. The statement of the CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda reflects his fears of not performing well in the forthcoming election. He said the Maoists “would not accept the results of the Constituent Assembly polls if his party lost”. He claimed that he has found a huge wave of public support for the Maoists and the Maoist victory was certain. He, however, ominously remarked that only conspiracies could engineer the Maoists’ defeat. Diplomatic observers here are of the view that Prachanda should know that in democratic elections, no party had ever lost if they enjoyed massive public support. As he is claiming that they have such a ‘huge wave of public support’, he should not really worry about the result. His statements only show his lack of confidence. It may be understandable as the Nepali Maoists are participating for the first time in the democratic elections, having come into the mainstream politics, through India-mediated talks. With all political parties and groups fully committed to the elections, Maoists have nothing to fear of any disruption or foul play in the polling.
|
|
Congress faces no trust motion in Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad, March 27 Seeking to expose corruption and failures of the Rajasekhar Reddy government, the TDP fired the no-trust salvo on the penultimate day of the ongoing budget session of the Assembly. As a result, Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy extended the session by two days to enable the House to take up the motion. Though the numbers do not favour the TDP, which has just 45 MLAs in the 294-member Assembly, the decision to move no-confidence motion is meant to corner the government on a wide range of issues, including the alleged corruption in irrigation projects, favouritism and nepotism in granting mining leases and industrial projects, price rise and farmers’ plight. However, the ruling Congress, which has an overwhelming majority in the House, is confident of facing the no-trust vote. “We are prepared for a debate on corruption or any other issue. The timing of the no-confidence motion clearly shows that TDP is resorting to a political gimmick,” legislative affairs minister K. Rosaiah said. TDP deputy floor leader T. Devender Goud, who led the party delegation to submit the no-confidence notice, said his party would expose the omissions and commissions of the government. “We know that we do not have required strength to dislodge the government but we want to highlight the all-round failure of this government,” Goud said. Though the TDP has been desperately wooing the Left parties for some time now, the CPI and CPM have showed no enthusiasm in supporting the no-confidence motion. The BJP, which has only two members in the House, has come out in support of the motion.
|
|
|
Bardhan re-elected CPI general secretary
Hyderabad, March 27 While 82-year-old Bardhan’s re-election was widely expected, what came as a surprise for the party leadership was the acrimony that marked the discussions over Telangana issue. The delegates from Andhra Pradesh were vertically divided over the statehood demand with speakers from Telangana region making out a strong case for taking up agitation for separate Telangana state, the members from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra region wanted the party to stick to the united state stand. In view of the sharp differences, the party leadership decided to “reformulate” the position mentioned the draft political resolution pertaining to Telangana.
|
|
|
‘WB most cruel to animals’
New Delhi, March 27 As per figures released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the maximum number of cases pertaining to cruelty to animals in the country have been reported from West Bengal. The state tops the list of
cruelty towards animals with more than 17,000 cases being reported during 2006-07. Incidentally, the state has also been topping the cruelty-to-animals chart in the past three years: 2004-07. During these three years, 40,000 animals faced cruelty at the hands of people in West Bengal. The second slot in the list has gone to New Delhi followed closely by Uttar Pradesh. During the past three years, 1389, 1572 and 1826 cases, respectively, were reported in Delhi. In the same period around 4,000 cases were reported from Uttar Pradesh -1541 cases during 2004-05, 1296 cases during 2005-06 and 1127 cases during 2006-07. As far as others on list, in 2006-07, 255 cases of animal cruelty were reported from Haryana, 79 from Kerala, 71 from Andhra Pradesh and 65 from Chhattisgarh. However, the number of persons convicted in these offences were highest in Uttar Pradesh followed by Delhi and West Bengal. As many as 4265 persons were convicted during 2004-05, 3338 during 2005-06 and 3037 during 2006-07 where as 1389, 1570 and 1838 persons were convicted in Delhi during same period. Ministry officails say that the government has made provisions to check such incidents. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, was enacted to prevent infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals. The Prevention of Cruelty falls in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and hence the appropriate law enforcement machinery are state government and local authorities. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, addresses all state governments to enforce provisions regarding cruelties to animals and book offenders suitably.
|
|
Cabinet panel okays five appointments
New Delhi, March 27 As part of the reshuffle involving IAS officers, the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Sushama Nath, secretary in the Sixth Central Pay Commission and a 1974-batch officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, as secretary, department of expenditure in the finance ministry, to fill the vacancy arising on the superannuation of Sanjiv Mishra. A 1972- batch officer of the Gujarat cadre, Mishra completes his extended term on March 31. Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974-batch officer of the Haryana cadre who is presently special secretary and financial adviser, ministry of home affairs, will take over as secretary, department of disinvestment in the finance ministry, relieving D. Subba Rao, finance secretary in the department of economic affairs, of the additional charge. The post vacated by Mehrotra in the MHA will revert to that of the level of additional secretary and financial adviser. Vishwapati Trivedi, a 1977-batch officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, who is presently joint managing director, National Aviation Company of India Limited in the civil aviation ministry, will take over as additional secretary and financial adviser in the ministry of home affairs. K.M. Acharya, a 1974-batch officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, who is presently special secretary, department of higher education in the human resource development ministry, will take over as secretary, ministry of social justice and empowerment, to fill the vacancy arising on the superannuation of Veena Chhotray on March 31. The post vacated by Acharya in the department of higher education will revert to its original level of additional secretary. Sangita Gairola, a 1977-batch officer of the Rajasthan cadre, will take over as additional secretary, ministry of social justice, in the post that would be vacated by Dr Sundeep Khanna (1972 batch) on completion of his extended central tenure on March 31.
|
|
13 SIMI leaders arrested
Indore, March 27 The crackdown by the Madhya Pradesh police, along with central security agencies, began in and around Indore last night and neighbouring Dhar district of the state during which top brass of the banned outfit was arrested. Among the prominent SIMI leaders arrested were Shibly Peedicaal Abdul, wanted in connection with Mumbai train serial blasts of July 2006, former SIMI chief Safdar Nagori and his brother Kamruddin Nagori, chief of the outfit’s operations in Andhra Pradesh, and Hafiz of Karnataka. Shibly is considered a prize catch as he is alleged to be part of the conclave which had met in Ujjain ahead of the Mumbai serial blasts that left over 180 people dead and hundred others injured on July 11, 2006. Police recovered weapons, money and some documents from them. Some of the activists were arrested from Pithampur in Dhar district, a few km away from an Army range. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “Weapons and computers have been found... from arrested persons. Investigations are on into SIMI’s plans to expand its network in the state.” Karnataka DGP K. Srinivas told PTI over phone from Bangalore that a team of policemen had been despatched to Indore to interrogate Shibly.
— PTI
|
|
Flood Relief
Chennai, March 27 Leaders of most of the political parties felt that the state government’s Rs 100-crore compensation package was not enough as many districts had been flooded and property also damaged. Though the exact damage to crops is being assessed by revenue and agriculture department officials, more than 1500 acres of crops are inundated. Horticulture crops, for which Tamil Nadu is reputed, and grape orchards, drumsticks and chilli cultivation along with paddy have been severely affected. According to unofficial estimates, around 80 per cent of crops damaged in the rain had not been insured. AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa has criticised the DMK government for miserably failing to respond to alleviate the undue sufferings of the people due to heavy rain leading to floods in many parts of the state.
|
|
|
Rahul Gandhi visits wildlife sanctuary
Mysore, March 27 The young Congress leader, who is on a virtual election campaign in the poll bound state, also stayed in the same jungle cottage--Cauvery Kuteera--where his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was put up some 30 years ago during a trip to the sanctuary near here. Rahul set out into the deep forest with six wildlife experts and his SPG personnel before dawn yesterday.
— PTI
|
|
|
UP needs expertise for disabled
New Delhi, March 27 An assessment about this deficiency figured during talks with experts in the ministry ofsocial justice and empowerment, at the launch of a health insurance scheme for persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation amd Multiple Disabilities. The health insurance scheme is aimed at addressing the health needs of a small percentage of the estimated 40 lakh citizens living with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities. According to experts, these four developmental disabilities are caused due to insult in the brain and central nervous system. Launched today by the minister of social justice and empowerment, Meira Kumar, the scheme will initially take care of one lakh persons with developmental disabilities in ten cities, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s constitutency, Rae Bareilly. It promises to improve the general health and quality of life of persons with disability. The scheme named ‘Nirmaya’ entitles beneficiaries in the age group of three months to 70 years, a cashless transaction in any of the 1,100 hospitals and nursing homes empanelled by the insurance company. This includes 400 hospitals in Chandigarh and Delhi.
|
|
|
Mumbai faces 1000-MW power shortage
Mumbai, March 27 According to information supplied to the Maharashtra government by the three power supplying agencies, they expect power shortage in the city to be between 900 and 1000 MW. Despite their best efforts to purchase power from other states the power utilities in Mumbai expect at least a 200 MW shortage. The power supply is short across the country and supplies from the ultra mega power plants being commissioned now will not be available for another three years at least, according to analysts. Load shedding or compulsory outage of power happens across Maharashtra though it has never happened in Mumbai. At present, power to Thane, Kalyan and the Vasai-Virar belt on the outskirts of Mumbai is cut off for about three hours every day and for about eight hours one day every week. The Maharashtra government is now leaning on the three utilities to shell out more money for power supplies from other parts of the country so that Mumbai does not face a blackout. Power users may be charged a premium during the summer months, state government sources say. However, a contingency plan put out by some of the utilities indicate that power may be cut off for about 30 minutes every day in Mumbai on a rotation basis.
|
|
|
Vandana to be kept in ICU
Agra, March 27 “Vandana was brought here last night and after observation it was learnt that the girl was in a sound state of health, besides having fever and some scratches on body,” S N Medical college spokesperson said today. However, she will be kept under observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for five more days, he added. While playing, Vandana had accidentally fallen into the borewell that was temporarily covered with mud at village Tehra of Saiya area. After battling for life for about 27 hours, Vandana was found sleeping on her mother’s lap this morning.
— UNI
|
|
ASI to digitise Northeast relics
Guwahati, March 27 A team of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, working under the project, is already on the job of tracing and documenting historical information engraved on pieces of stones and walls of relics found across the region. The project called ‘Digital Documentation of Protected and Unprotected Archaeological and Heritage Sites on Northeast India’ is being coordinated by Srimanta Sankaradeva
Kalakshetra, a leading centre for arts and culture located in Guwahati. “The project is expected to unravel many unknown facts about historical sites in the region as no such scientific study of this scale was carried out simultaneously in all the archaeological sites in the region. The study will also help correlation of these sites,” an official in Sankaradeva Kalakshetra said. The entire Northeast region has about 200 archaeological sites as listed either under the ASI or the respective state archaeological departments. Assam alone has 93 such sites. The documentation research team working in the project is now combing the region for unrecorded relics, if any. The final touch to the digitised information would be given in the Cultural Informatics Laboratory of central government that is known for its expertise in digital recreation of heritage and presentation through multimedia. The research team working in the project has already covered relics in Tripura and Meghalaya and is now working in Assam.
|
|
|
MNS pokes fun at Big B
Mumbai, March 27 Shortly after Bachchan announced that he wanted the land donated to farmers returned, the MNS put up banners poking fun at the actor. The caricature of Bachchan in silhouette complete with his long nose and trademark hairstyle had him saying: “Return my donation” in Marathi. Lest there be any doubt regarding who was being caricatured - a blurb indicated that the caricature was the superstar farmer. Today, Sandeep Deshpande, leader of the MNS’ students’ wing, said Bachchan’s act of taking back the land was against Indian culture. Bachchan had decided to donate the 20 acres of farmland he had purchased at Maval taluka near Pune by producing proof that he was a farmer. Under the controversial deal, Bachchan produced proof of ownership of farmland at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh to show that he was indeed a farmer. However, after the Bahujan Samaj Party under Mayawati swept to power in UP, the authenticity of Bachchan’s ownership of the land came under a cloud. Subsequently, Bachchan decided to donate the land to the farmers in the area. However, a Pune court went on to establish that the documents submitted by the actor was genuine and Bachchan then applied to withdraw the donation.
|
|
Seek Interim Relief
New Delhi, March 27 The demonstration was held under the banner of the Confederation of Newspaper and News Agency Employees Organisations, which also sought “proper” functioning of the Wage Boards.
Later, a five-member delegation of the confederation met Sonia and submitted a memorandum to her seeking expeditious declaration of interim relief.
The delegation, comprising confederation general secretary M.S. Yadav, Suresh Akhouri, N.K. Trikha, M.L. Joshi and Santosh Kumar, complained about the “tardy” functioning of the wage boards. Yadav later said the Congress president promised to look into the matter and ensure that the Wage Boards functioned properly.
— PTI
|
|
M’rashtra’s chief poll officer jailed
Mumbai, March 27 Reacting sharply to the assembly’s decision, Nand Lal told reporters, “This is a case of political vendetta because I did not bow to the Chief Minister’s pressure over delimitation of the Latur Assembly constituency.” Policemen in plain clothes took Nand Lal, a former IAS officer, from his office adjacent to the state assembly and took him to Arthur Road jail. The top state election official was handed over to the jail authorities, sources said. Earlier in the day, the assembly unanimously approved the report of the privilege committee headed by Chandrakant Chhajed (Congress) which was set up last year in the backdrop of Nand Lal’s belligerent stance against Deshmukh on the issue of delimitation of the Latur constituency from where Deshmukh hails. The panel warned Nand Lal of “even more stringent action” if he failed to cooperate with the committee in future. — PTI
|
|
|
Bulletproof vehicles for power plant staff
Guwahati, March 27 A state home department source informed that the Assam Government had decided to procure at least eight bulletproof vehicles for the movement of security personnel and also for transporting NEEPCO staff from their residence colony at Umrangsu to the Kopili project site through the vulnerable stretch of jungle road.
|
|
|
Mumbai, March 27 The body will be taken to the UK by early next week where her mother Fionna Mackeown plans to conduct a third forensic examination. Meanwhile, her lawyer Vikram Varma alleged that the Goa-based undertaker, who has been appointed to take the body to London, was not attending to Fionna’s calls.
|
|
|
Aamir, Gowariker in chinkara row Ahmedabad, March 27 A Chinkara, a Schedule I animal under the Act, was filmed in the 2001 superhit movie which was shot in Kutch district of Gujarat. Chief Juidicial Magistrate of Bhuj asked all the five to appear on April 15. The Gujarat Forest Departmentr had filed an FIR in the court against Aamir and others. — PTI
|
|
|
Bangalore, March 27 An Airlines spokesman said the aircraft hit a dog on the runway leading to the collapse of its nose wheel. Meanwhile the runway had been cleared of the stranded plane, paving way for the resumption of flights. — PTI
|
Major fire in Lucknow Clash in MP jail; many hurt Abducted child rescued Nishad disqualified from RS
|
|||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Videos
