New Delhi, August 25
The Congress-led UPA government has bought peace with the Samajwadi Party (SP) by acceding to its demand for the chairmanship of the parliamentary standing committee on power.

The ruling combine had been in a fix on finding the right slot for the SP which had listed petroleum, power and information technology as its choices. The government was wary of agreeing to any of these choices given the SP’s close proximity to the Anil Ambani-led corporate house, which has interests in these sectors. SP leader Mulayum Singh Yadav had taken up cudgels on behalf of Anil Ambani in the last budget session of Parliament by stalling the Lok Sabha and forcing the government to make a statement on the ongoing gas row between the Ambani brothers.

UPA sources admitted there was some hesitation in giving in to the SP’s demand as it will constitute a conflict of interest but it eventually gave in as it was a small price to pay to placate an angry Samajwadi Party which is extending outside support to the UPA government. This panel was headed by the Congress in the last UPA dispensation. The ruling combine is drawing solace from the fact that SP’s controversial and high-profile leader Amar Singh is heading the health ministry panel while the energy panel is to be chaired by Mulayum Singh Yadav himself.

The formation of the standing committees, which is a painstaking exercise given the pulls and pressures exerted by different parties and individuals, has been completed and a formal announcement will be made shortly. Since the chairmanships are decided on the basis of a party’s strength in Parliament, the Left’s share of posts has come down from three to two in the present dispensation. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Janata Dal (U), Trinamul Congress and the DMK are entitled to one post each while the Samajwadi Party will head two panels and the BJP will head six.

The Congress has picked all new chairpersons for all the nine committees it is heading with Oscar Fernandes replacing Janardhan Dwivedi on the panel on HRD ministry. Jayanti Natarajan will chair the panel on law ministry, Satpal Maharaj will head defence and TR Subbirami Reddy, will chair the environment ministry panel.

The BJP will head committees on home, external affairs and rural development along with commerce and chemicals and fertilisers. BJP’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha is the likely choice for the panel on external affairs while Venkaiah Naidu is expected to chair the committee on commerce.

The Left parties will retain the chairmanship of the panel on civil aviation and transport which will continue to be headed by CPM leader Sitaram Yechury. Having lost the chairmanship of the committee on railways because of pressure from its political rival railway minister Mamata Bannerji, the Left has been compensated with the chairmanship of the agriculture ministry. In order to avoid any run-in with its volatile ally, the Congress decided to play safe by conceding the headship of the rail panel to another ally, DMK leader TR Baalu. The Trinamool Congress will head coal and steel while the Janata Dal (U) will chair the committee on urban development ministry. 

Mumbai, August 25
The Maharashtra government has sent a representation to the Central government pleading for assistance to the tune of Rs 13,400 cr towards combating drought, officials said today. The decision to plead for assistance was taken as poor rains have virtually destroyed the kharif crop in Maharashtra, officials said.

Of the 352 tehsils in the state, 159 tehsils were declared drought-hit till last week. The figure has been raised to 221. Officials say that the final number could be raised even further since the monsoons are not showing any signs of improvement.

The state government is planning a number of measures in the drought-hit areas, including waiver of agricultural loans and power bills of farmers as part of the drought-relief programme.

The Agriculture Meteorology department, which monitors rainfall in the state, has confirmed that rainfall in parts of Vidarbha and Marathwada were below 40 per cent of the average in some places. On the whole, rainfall in the state so far has been between 60 and 80 per cent of the average, sources said.

Six districts of Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli, and Yavatmal received less than 50 per cent rainfall this year, officials said. Overall, 14 to 15 of the 34 districts in Maharashtra are facing water scarcity of varying degrees, according to sources. Only 24 tehsils in the state have received normal rainfall this year.

The politically sensitive Marathwada region is reeling under the worst drought in decades. Here the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine has been facing a tough challenge from the Shiv Sena. The ruling combine is thus keen on getting entire districts declared as drought-affected so that various benefits can be doled out.

Apart from sugarcane, cotton and soyabean crops have also taken a big hit.

The problem could extend to the rabi crop as well since dams in the state are below 50 per cent of their capacity. According to the water resources department the dams in the state are holding just 46 per cent of their capacity. If the rains do not pick up before the end of the monsoons in September things could get worse for the state, officials warn.

District collectors have been ordered to take charge of the dams and water will be released only for drinking purposes, officials said.

Chandigarh, August 25
The Ministry of Finance today issued the much-awaited orders for release of the second installment of arrears arising out of the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations to all Central government employees.

When the pay commission recommendations were implemented in August last year, the government had directed that 40 per cent of the arrears, along with the total tax due, were to be paid in the 2008-09 financial year and the balance to be paid in 2009-10. “It has now been decided that the remaining 60 per cent of arrears may now be paid to the concerned government servants,” orders issued today by the ministry’s Department of Expenditure state.

The first installment has already been paid to the employees. The commission’s recommendations are being implemented with effect from January 1, 2006 and employees were entitled to arrears arising out of the pay difference.

Significantly, in the case of employees who joined the Central government on or after January 1, 2004, arrears would be released only after the individual concerned has deposited his application form with the competent authorities for registration to the New Pension Scheme, the orders state. The ministry had also issued a memorandum in this regard on August 17. As in the case of the first installment of arrears, government servants would be permitted to deposit their arrears in the GPF accounts. Though not mandatory, the ministry has encouraged employees to deposit their arrears in their GPF accounts. 

Lhasa, August 25
More than 40 years after bad blood between India and China closed down the Indian consulate in Tibetan capital Lhasa, a Chinese foreign ministry official says New Delhi can re-open it any time it wants.

“India can set up a consulate in Lhasa,” said Jujian Hua, director at Tibet's Foreign Affairs Office. “That depends on India.” With the 13th round of border talks between India and China resuming in New Delhi earlier this month, Beijing is emphasising that it wants improved relations with its southern neighbour.

“The (resumption of) cross-border talks between China and India represents a great step in the relationship between the two countries,” Jujian said. “The two governments started communication several years ago in terms of trade and culture. The local government (of Tibet) has attached great importance to trade, culture and tradition (exchanges), including tourism.” According to him, tourism has greatly increased with more than 12,000 Indian pilgrims visiting Tibet this year to circumambulate Mt Kailash, the 6,638m Himalayan peak in Tibet's Nari province that is venerated by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains alike.

“Deepening the bilateral relationship really depends on India,” the official said. “Between friends, we should communicate more so that our relationship is strengthened. The central government of China and the Tibet Autonomous Region have a very positive attitude.”

However, the official rued that New Delhi has several times refused visa to Chinese delegates. “Several trade and cultural delegations (headed for India) didn't get visas,” he said.According to him, even a month ago, a trade delegation headed by the vice-governor of Tibet was refused visa by the Indian authorities.

Though officials stop short of spelling it out, the major irritant in India-China ties is the presence of the Dalai Lama and his ‘government-in-exile’ in India’s Dharamsala town.

China officially calls the exiled former ruler of Tibet a separatist and his ‘government’ illegal and it is clear that exchanges between the two governments could improve remarkably if India closes down the ‘government-in-exile’, just as Nepal closed the office of the Dalai Lama's envoy in Kathmandu four years ago. “The ‘government-in-exile’ is not in line with international laws,” says Angpu Gejyuan, vice-director of the Religion and Nationalities Committee.

“No government admits such exiled governments. China and India are two ancient civilisations. We want the Indian government to do that which benefits the relationship and friendship between the two countries.” — IANS

New Delhi, August 25
Even as the BJP is mulling over what to do with its firebrand leader Arun Shourie openly ridiculing the part and riling its leaders, it is simultaneously faced with virtual rebellion from another quarter that of its Rajasthan legislative party leader Vasundhara Raje.

Vasundhara, who was asked by the party high command almost a fortnight ago to resign from the post and move over to Delhi, has dilly-dallied and just not heeded to the call.

She has now summon her MLAs for a meeting in Jaipur tomorrow. The call is bewildering in the context of her meeting with LK Advani and party president Rajnath Singh last Saturday conveying the impression that she had now decided to heed the high comand, pack her bags and move over to Delhi.

But she has all along been reluctant and her latest move has only raised further suspicion whether she is to go along with Delhi’s directive or continue to defy it. She has an advantage thanks to her proimity to Advani, The parliamentary board while endorsing Rajnath’s decision to seek her resignation has also allowed her the leeway to take her own sweet time. And Vasundhara is utilsing this little window to perpetuate her regime in Jaipur endlessly.

But the high command appeared reluctant to precipitate any more crises. She had even denied that she has been asked to resign (Rajnath had stated this on record). But BJP sources downplayed this open defiance saying, “She is only demanding the respect due to a Maharani. After all she is a Maharani. They don’t realise she has to be treated like a Maharani and we want to give her full rope lest there be any cause of complain from her or her supporters later”.

In effect, the BJP is holding back its horses even as Vasundhara is speeding ahead with her plans to consoldiate her position in Rajasthan.

New Delhi, August 25
Influenza A-H1N1 toll climbed to 64 today, with the Health Ministry confirming four deaths today- one each in Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Out of 186 lab-confirmed cases today, Delhi has 41, Maharashtra 34 (Pune 24, Mumbai 4, Nanded 1, Latur 2, Jalna 1 and Nagpur 2), Karnataka 29 (Bangalore 22, Davangere 3, Belgaum 3, Shimoga 1), Gujarat 23 (Ahmedabad 16, Surat 3, Bharuch 1, Rajkot 1, Gandhinagar 1, Gandhidham 1), Kerala 16 (Trivandrum 10, Thrissur 2, Thirurangdy 1, Kassargod 1, Aluva 1, Calicut 1), Tamil Nadu 12 (Chennai 12), Andhra Pradesh 9 (Hyderabad 9), Uttar Pradesh 9 (Lucknow 4, Kanpur 3, Sultanpur 1, Bijnore 1), West Bengal 4 (Kolkata 4), Assam 2 (Dibrugarh 2), Chandigarh (1), Haryana 1 (Rohtak 1), Chattishgarh 1 (Raipur 1) and Madhya Pradesh 1 (Bhopal 1).

Of the new cases, nine have been imported and the rest indigenous. Uttar Pradesh reported 49 new lab-confirmed cases yesterday with Lucknow reporting 45, Kanpur 3 and Sultanpur 1. So far, India has tested 17,015 samples, 186 had been found positive.

New Delhi, August 25
Ahead of its national convention on Right to Food, the CPM today called for an inclusive, universal PDS that includes several items at affordable prices linked to the people’s capacity to pay. The party will adopt a resolution in this regard tomorrow, and list its priorities for the proposed food security law.

In a clear indication that they would resist the UPA’s proposed law in its present form, the Marxists today disagreed with coalition chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s proposal to give one ration card per joint family comprising adults and children who eat from the same hearth and reside under a common roof.

In a special publication on the subject on the eve of the convention to be inaugurated by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar tomorrow, the CPM said the government’s proposed food security law would cause greater food insecurity than exists today.

At the heart of the Marxist argument are two issues - ration cards and food grain quotas. If the UPA’s proposals were to become a law, ration cards will be cut, in line with the Congress president’s one card for one joint family idea. Currently, most states are giving ration cards either to nuclear families or even to individuals.

“If a joint family gets one ration card, it would mean a larger number of people sharing a reduced quota of foodgrains,” states the publication titled “For the Universal Right to Food Security.”

Voices are also being raised against UPA proposals that accord no place to Antodaya or APL sections. The food security proposals talk of ensuring 25 kg of foodgrains (rice or wheat) to all BPL families at Rs 3 per kg. The Centre has also sent a concept note in this regard to states, most of which are reluctant as the new proposals would spell the end of universal food schemes being run by some.

Strangely, the proposed law is only for BPL card holders, and allows only the Central government to determine the numbers every five years. States will have no rights to decide BPL numbers -- a provision that’s not going down well with states, which estimate BPL numbers at 10 crore as against the central estimates of 6.52 crore.

The CPM is also questioning the proposed law’s provisions to scrap the existing benefits for Antodaya beneficiaries. The proposals imply that Antodaya beneficiaries presently getting foodgrains for Rs 2 per kg will now pay one rupee extra for a reduced stock.

For both BPL and Antodaya card holders, the foodgrain quota will end up being cut by 10 kg - from 35 to 25 kg. The new proposals also make no provisions for APL sections, with the APL subsidy to be eliminated and the APL category to be cancelled altogether.

The proposals instead of strengthening food security will only help the government save Rs 4000 crore against food subsidies, states the publication which will become the basis for day-long discussions on the issue in the capital tomorrow.