New Delhi, April 2
A grand marriage, followed by an equally expensive honeymoon, and then the NRI husband leaves India while the wife keeps waiting for a visa which never comes. Though all this may never become a thing of the past, the government feels the problem of the growing problem of NRIs marrying women in India and then abandoning them could be contained to a large extent if states start implementing in right earnest guidelines proposed by the Centre.

Sources said the states have been advised by the Centre to enact legislations making registration of all marriages in India necessary. While most states have already passed bills to this effect, some states were yet to do so.

The government was also planning asking all women to declare their marital status on their passports as that might give them some kind of legal documentation in the event of their being abandoned abroad.

It was also looking at asking visa applicants to India, especially from Canada, the US and the UK, to state their marital status and having that attached in their passports.Studies carried out in India say nearly 50,000 women in India have been left behind by their overseas-based husbands. The problem was quite serious in states like Punjab, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. It’s quite rampant in the Doaba region of Punjab many girls have reportedly not seen their husbands after their honeymoon.

Other measures being contemplated include: tracking of cases through family courts, more effective serving of notices and summons and higher funding for defence in foreign countries to deal with problems faced by Indian women deserted by their overseas Indian husbands.

Efforts have also been made to rope in Overseas Indian Women Associations to help the Indian women in finding solutions to their problems. Sources said the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry has been constantly reviewing the problem faced by women deserted by their husbands and was actively coordinating with various other ministries like Women and Child Development and Law and Justice to find ways on the issue.

States have also been asked to pass on information regarding court orders against accused NRIs to emigration authorities to prevent such people from leaving India against court orders. Appropriate instructions were being issued to ensure that FIRs in such marriage disputes/problems were registered without delay.

The sources said there have been suggestions that India review its arrangements with countries such as Canada, the US and the UK to ensure that NRI men guilty of deserting or duping their Indian wives were dealt with under Indian laws.

Government has also received calls for making it compulsory a three-year probationary period, during which couples must live together, before foreign spouses could be granted permanent residency. 

New Delhi, April 2
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Ashwani Kumar has clarified that the investigating agency had probed the murder case of whistleblower Satyendra Kumar Dubey, a young engineer who worked with the National Highway Authority of India, from all angles, including the conspiracy theory arising from the victim’s allegation of corruption in NHAI.

The findings of the probe that Dubey was shot dead by three thieves on the night of November 27, 2003, as the victim had resisted their attempt had been vindicated by the trial court verdict sentencing them to life imprisonment, Ashwini Kumar told The Tribune, responding to a comment asking the agency to “come clean” in the case.

The director further clarified that the CBI had filed a separate chargesheet against senior NHAI officers on the basis of its probe conducted after it cam to light that Dubey had written to the Prime Minister and the NHAI Chief Vigilance Officer, highlighting areas prone to corruption and the need for taking corrective measures.

During the murder probe, the CBI had examined “a number of officials, contractors and engineers connected with the NHAI project,” besides close friends and brother of the victim to find out if Dubey had disclosed any threat to his life, particularly from contractors or mafia. The victim’s stenographer, peon and the driver were also examined. “However, no evidence came on record showing that Dubey was eliminated under any conspiracy,” the CBI chief said.

The trial court normally did not give life sentence unless the evidence was strong, he pointed out, contending that all this vindicated that the agency had done an “impartial, fair and professional investigation.”

Asked about the agency filing a closure report in the case relating to the delivery of Rs 15 lakh at the doorstep of a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the CBI head said the agency had no comments to make as the matter was still pending before the Special CBI Judge at Chandigarh.

However, CBI sources said the agency had not given any clean chit to the judge concerned. In fact, it had come out with evidence which was greater than the findings of the Supreme Court appointed three-judge committee that had inquired into the allegation.

Guwahati, April 2
Two mega hydroelectric power projects of National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) have come under the scanner of a House Committee of Assam Assembly that has recommended a temporary freeze on construction activity.

The House panel was constituted to study and examine the downstream impact of these two mega dams being constructed in upper ridges of Brahmaputra River in Arunachal Pradesh close to Assam boundary. Several NGOs have apprehended that the dams were being constructed sans proper assessment of downstream impact in populous Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Jorhat and Sonitpur districts of Assam valley.

The panel, in its report, has asked the NHPC, executing 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project, and NEEPCO, implementing 405 MW Ranganadi project, to carry out comprehensive scientific study on downstream impact.

The committee further suggested the NHPC to take into consideration the report of the expert committee, comprising technocrats from IIT-Guwahati, Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University, on downstream impact.

The committee also recommended that Assam government should play a proactive role to impress upon the Centre not to consider such mega hydel projects in geologically sensitive upper reaches of Brahmaputra River.

Earlier, the Assam government had requested the Union Power Ministry to ask the NHPC to carry out surveys and studies recommended in its report.

Lucknow, April 2
First currency garlands and now a temple. If all goes well, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Dalit icon Mayawati will soon have a temple dedicated to her! The brainchild of a Dalit lawyer, the temple is proposed to be erected some 300km from here in Natpura village that lies in the poverty-stricken Mahoba district of Bundelkhand, economically the most backward region in the state.

Only recently, BSP’s Uttar Pradesh president and Panchayati Raj Minister Swami Prasad Maurya had called Mayawati a “living goddess” who would continue to be weighed in gold and silver. He had said the party would continue to felicitate Mayawati with currency garlands. Maurya’s logic: Nobody asks for any explanation when crores are offered in temples across the country.

Extending the same argument, lawyer Kanahiya Lal - who is not a BSP functionary - wants to build the temple on his private land and said he was motivated to do so after the recent public outcry over the currency note garlands. “I wish to tell all her critics that we are all set to build a temple where her followers will be free to offer such garlands every day,” Lal said.

Comparing the public reaction to two similar events, Lal said, “Indira Gandhi was weighed in silver in Mahoba way back in the 70s. Then no one found it shocking. Let’s face it: just because Mayawati is a ‘Dalit ki beti’ people found the currency garland so offensive.”

Since the temple would be dedicated to a living person, he has been asked to seek permission from the person. “I would soon contact the Chief Minister for permission to go ahead with construction,” Lal said. 

Chandigarh, April 2
As the armed forces gear for operations in a network-centric environment, the army is setting up a cyber security laboratory to train and officers in establishing and maintaining security protocols for a conglomerate of signal and data transmission networks.

The laboratory is being set up at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE) at Mhow. The Army is looking for vendors who can provide the requisite hardware and software for the project on a turnkey basis.

Sources said the Information Technology (IT) wing of college already has a laboratory for network applications that would form the basis for the cyber security laboratory. MCTE functions under the aegis of the Corps of Signals, the Army’s nodal arm dealing with information warfare and communication networks. The college runs several courses related to IT and communication.

The Army aims to become a network-enabled force by 2012 and network centric force by 2017. Over the past few years, it has been conducting field exercises to validate its concepts to exploit information technology by integrating collection and analysis of real-time information into the decision making process. So far the Army is a long way off from being fully networked and, according to sources its internal intranet is so far reached down only to division level.

The threat of hacking and interception to communication and data networks, which depend on landlines as well as radio waves is very serious. There have been numerous instances in the past where networks have reportedly been hacked and sensitive information compromised. The most recent example is that of some computers in the Prime Minister’s Office and some other sensitive installations being compromised through malicious e-mails.

Hacking is used extensively by intelligence agencies and military forces to gather information of subvert networks. China, for example, is known to indulge in hacking and has an established cyber-warfare doctrine backed by a dedicated establishment pursuing its objectives. Elements in Pakistan are also known to be active hackers.

Sources said it was not just government networks that are targets, but also the private computers and e-mails of individuals occupying sensitive posts that fall prey to hackers as these can reveal valuable information.

As a precaution against hacking, the Armed Forces have established a protocol for using computers and networks in their establishments. As a rule, computers on the intranet are not linked to any computer used for accessing the Internet or connected with any outside network. Regular cyber audits are conducted to sanitise computers and networks.

Guwahati, April 2
Even as the Central government yesterday launched the Right to Education (RTE) law, the Assam government has come up with a Rs 4,000-crore plan for its implementation in the state.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said a blueprint of the plan had already been prepared. As per the estimates of the State Education Department, the state needs over 20,000 additional trained teachers in lower primary level and 5,000 more teachers in upper primary level. The state will have to build 30,500 more girls toilets and 20,000 more common toilets in schools.

Stating that it would be a ‘gigantic effort’ to ensure proper infrastructure, Gogoi informed that about Rs 4,000 crore would be required by the state for the next five years for the purpose, and expected that the Central government would help the state in that regard.

The government has decided to set up a new commission for elementary education in the state.

The CM said the government would reserve 25 per cent seats in well-performing private schools for meritorious students from the weaker strata of society.

New Delhi, April 2
With indiscreet bashing of Amitabh Bachchan by Congress leaders having almost backfired, the grand old party is now attempting a more tactful approach to target Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Akin to its plan of taking on BSP supremo Mayawati on her home turf through awareness rallies against her government’s “anti-people” policies, the Congress now intends to adopt a similar approach in Gujarat.

The party would kick-off a fortnight-long mass contact programme in the state on April 14. It would culminate with a rally either at Gandhinagar or Ahmedabad on May 1.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi are expected to be a part of this attempt by the party to spread awareness about the “anti-people” policies of the Gujarat government.

Notably, a few Congress leaders had thought that attacking Bachchan would win them pat from Congress president Sonia Gandhi, their effort instead was portrayed by party detractors as “personalised attack against the actor”.

Interestingly, for the indefatigable Gujarat Chief Minister, the Congress’ condemnation of the actor worked to his advantage. 

New Delhi, April 2
Dogged by controversies over his statements, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said he only wanted to change the Indian political culture, which does not welcome discussions, but he has been “brought down”.

“I have been brought down, but I am not going to make any bones about it,” Tharoor said, admitting that he could have been more restrained while putting his comments on Twitter. There were “elements in our society who rather revel in bringing down people as well”, he said.Tharoor said he wanted to change the Indian political culture, which sadly doesn't welcome discussions, but did not have rank, authority or the background to do so. Asked if there has been a problem understanding the vocabulary of Indian politics, he said, “Possibly. I am not denying that.”

“I only regret the visa tweet because of the nature of our political culture, which is not one sadly, where public discussion of issues is particularly welcomed,” he said. Tharoor had, in his tweets, raised questions about the proposal to make it mandatory for those holding long-term multiple entry tourist visas to take a compulsory break of two months after 180 days in India. — PTI

Lucknow, April 2
The Mayawati government today decided to recruit ex-servicemen to protect the monuments and memorials built in memory of the Dalit icons. Briefing the media about this decision, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh justified the decision by pointing out the repeated threats to the monuments in Lucknow and Noida from casteist and anti-Dalit forces.

The recruitment, which is expected to incur an annual expenditure of Rs 8-9 crore per year, would begin from tomorrow. It would be deployed within 2-3 weeks, he said.

Headed by an ex-army officer in the rank of a Colonel, the force would have about 1,200 ex-servicemen who will guard nine memorials and monuments in Lucknow and Noida.

Unlike the Special Zone Security Force Bill passed by the Budget session of the state Assembly, the new force will not have any special powers.

Clearly referring to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s threat to bulldoze the monuments if his party assumed power in the state, the Cabinet Secretary said in such a scenario it was the responsibility of the state government to put foolproof measures in place for the security of the monuments.

He also mentioned a bunch of court cases pending before the high court as well as the apex court challenging the existence of these memorials.

Giving details of the background to the Cabinet decision Singh said the Special Zone Security Force Bill passed by the state Assembly had been sent to the Governor on February 18 but till date it had neither received approval nor was it returned.

An ordinance on the same issue sent to the Governor on March 26 had also not been signed, pointed out Singh.

However, responding to a question he denied that the Cabinet decision to enrol ex-servicemen for the new force was any way related to the delay in getting the Governor’s assent to the bill and ordinance.

New Delhi, April 2
Northern states continue to cold-shoulder the minorities, with most of them firmly resisting the proposal to set up commissions for their welfare. And this, despite the Centre and National Commission for Minorities (NCM) repeatedly urging the states to provide a platform to minorities by constituting the commissions and arming them with statutory powers.

As of today, 14 of the 29 states in the country don’t have state minority commissions. Among the defaulters are Congress-ruled Haryana, and Rajasthan, National Conference-governed (a constituent of UPA at the Centre) J&K and BJP-ruled Himachal, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. Punjab, after much dilly dallying, constituted a commission for minorities this January. The state, however, did not give the commission statutory powers, which means its chairman and members won’t have fixed tenures and can be removed by the government’s executive order, it is learnt.

Interestingly, the NCM has no idea that Punjab has constituted a commission. NCM chairman Shafi Qureishi and member HS Hanspal, when contacted, said the state was yet to comply. Punjab’s stand until last year was that it had shelved the proposal to set up a commission. In a letter to the NCM then, under secretary, minority cell in state’s home department, Sukhdev Singh, wrote: “Minority communities in Punjab are facing no problems. The proposal for a commission has been shelved.”

But the state took a U-turn, but not for good, considering the just-constituted minority commission lacks statutory powers. Principal Secretary, Home, Punjab, AR Talwar today told TNS that the minority commission was non-statutory in nature. Punjab has 17.27 per cent minority population of Muslims, Christians and Jains.

Himachal is even more adamant in denying the minorities a forum. Documents accessed by The Tribune reveal the excuses the states are making to evade the obligation. Himachal last year refused to set up a minority commission, with state’s Principal Secretary, Social Justice, Prem Kumar, writing to the NCM: “The proposal was considered by the Council of Ministers and not approved.” He added that the state had a minority financing and development corporation under the chief minister and didn’t need another body. In Himachal, minorities constitute 4.44 per cent of the population. Haryana is no better, with the authorities maintaining before the NCM that the “magnitude of the minority problem in Haryana was not as large as in other states.” Haryana has 10.36 per cent minorities of Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. In a letter to the Centre recently, the state officials wrote: “Christians and Sikhs are not socio-economically inferior to other communities. Muslims are backward and are concentrated in Mewat where we have constituted a welfare board.” Haryana has often been accused of not giving Muslims a due representation in its institutions.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan continue to sit on the proposal of constituting a minority commission, though Jammu and Kashmir says it is considering the idea. The NCM recently circulated to states the Model Act for State Minority Commissions, asking them to set up commissions for proper monitoring of minority related central and state schemes and for grievance redressal by autonomous forums. Other defaulters include Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Assam, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Tripura, Kerala and Daman and Diu. 

New Delhi, April 2
India will play host to the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) to be held in Hyderabad this August. This was announced on Wednesday by Union Minister of Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan. Incidentally, this day happens to be the birth anniversary of French philosopher Descartes (1596-1650), who laid the foundations for modern mathematics.

Giving details, Chavan told the media that the ICM would be held between August 19 and 27.

This is for the first time in the 100-year-old history of the ICMs that the Congress is going to be organised in India and the third time in an Asian country. The 1990 Congress was held in Kyoto and the 2002 in Beijing. The first ICM was held in Zurich in 1897, and since then mathematicians have been meeting once every four years except during the world wars. Initially, it was a European affair and later the US and Japan joined in.

This year, almost 3,500 to 4,000 delegates from across the world are expected in Hyderabad for the conference. An added attraction to the event would be the Fields Medals, the highest recognition for mathematical achievement, that are awarded on the occasion. It is expected that this year an Indian-origin mathematician might bag the award.

One new feature of the Hyderabad Congress will be a special two-day meeting focusing on women’s contribution to mathematics. It is a tradition that ICMs are inaugurated by the top-most dignitary of the host country and the organisers have requested President Pratibha Patil to do the honours.

Talking about the government’s efforts to encourage youngsters to take up mathematics, Chauhan said the government will soon set up an International Centre for Mathematics.

He said the reason why mathematics, a subject that has great potential in today’s tech-savvy world, failed to inspire youngsters was the shortage of good faculty at both school and higher levels.

“There is a problem getting the brightest children to take up basic sciences, including mathematics. Basic sciences is not the first choice because of peer and parental pressure and also because the field is not considered a great career opportunity like medicine, engineering and management,” Chavan said, hoping that his ministry’s programme Innovation of Science Pursuit for Inspire Research (INSPIRE) will ensure a paradigm shift in the mindset.

Jaipur, April 2
Even as the Right to Education Act comes into force in the country yesterday, the Mid-day meal scheme, an ambitious scheme of the previous Congress-led regime under PV Narsimha Rao, has failed to attract children to government schools in the state.

Recently Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot admitted that 10 lakh children had dropped out of government schools in the state in the last five years. Official figures from the Rural Development Department reveal that the situation is far worse. The enrolment in primary schools stood at a whopping 1.01 crore in 2005-06. However, the decline set in the very next year, with the number dropping to 69.60 lakh, which is a drastic fall of almost 30 per cent.

Ever since, the number of students in primary schools is on the decline, dropping to 63.56 lakh in 2007-08, 62.13 lakh in 2008-09 and 58.55 lakh in 2009-10. Therefore, there has been an overall decrease of around 42 per cent in the number of children availing mid-day meals in the government schools over the last five years. The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan data also corroborates the fact that enrolment in government primary school is witnessing a downward trend. However, this is only one side of the story. The other side of the story is that there has been an increase in the number of children enrolled in private schools has gone up.

Though the Centre as well as the state government have initiated some measures to improve the scheme, only time will tell how far they succeed. The Centre has increased the cooking conversion cost for Class I to V from Rs 2.08 to Rs 2.50 per student per meal and for Class VI to Class VIII from Rs 2.60 to Rs 3.75 per student per meal. This came into effect on December 1, 2009.

Similarly, the state government in its recent Budget announced the construction of kitchens in 26,000 schools at the cost of Rs 128 crore. It has also decided to provide gas connection to 25,000 schools and utensils for serving food to 34,000 schools. Apart from it, 1.4 lakh cooks will be engaged in 70,000 schools at an honorarium of Rs 1,000 per month.

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Bharat Singh didn’t rule out the possibility of teachers inflating the figures of enrolment. “It is possible as their postings depend on it.” He said the previous BJP regime didn’t care to check these figures and now they were looking into the matter. 

The tiny northeastern state of Mizoram recently set a Guinness World Record for the “largest and longest dance”. A 10-minute performance of its colourful traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw, saw an astounding 10,736 dancers in 671 groups set a record in the heart of Aizawl.

A 10-minute performance of the colourful traditional bamboo dance, Cheraw, saw an astounding 10,736 dancers in 671 groups set a record in the heart of Aizawl. Photo: Bina Battacharjee

An audience of over 12,000 burst into claps and cheers as Lucia Sinigaliesi, adjudicator of the Guinness World Records, announced that the Mizo dancers had indeed made a new global record.

She handed over the certificate to Mizoram Art and Culture Minister PC Zoramsangliana.

The dancers, had converged from all over the hill state, danced along a 2.5-km stretch in the heart of Aizwal and the historic Assam Rifles ground as thousands of spectators danced along.

Chilli grenade

The Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) in the garrison town of Tezpur, Assam, has developed a chilli grenade. Made from ‘bhot jolokia’ - the hottest chilli in the world that generates 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units - the grenade will be very useful for armed forces engaged in low-intensity wars and riot control.

‘Bhot’ means something that has come from the hills of adjoining Bhutan 
while ‘jolokia’ is Assamese for chilli. ‘Bhot jolokia’ is grown in Assam 
and Nagaland, where it’s called 
‘Naga jolokia’.

In 2005, Paul Bosland proved that ‘bhot jolokia’ is the hottest chilli on earth. In 2007, it replaced Red Savina Habanero in the Guinness World Records because of its higher heat generation capacity.

Hormonal boost to quota bill

Researchers at the Women’s Studies Centre in Gauhati University believe that female hormones have a lot to do with politics and, hence, the Women Reservation Bill should see a smooth passage in the Lok Sabha.

Says centre director Archana Sharma, “Women are different from men not only biologically but also in their way of thinking. They can approach and handle a problem in a different way.” Her argument is based on the findings of a comprehensive research project initiated by the centre and it would be used to vouch for the Bill.

The findings of the ongoing study - so far conducted in one Assam district - reveal that a number of promising and young women members of local bodies and panchayats have brought positive changes in their functioning.

Sportsman spirit?

They might have taken a cue from reel but what followed was real. Four students of the premier St Edmund’s School in Shillong tried to set the school on fire on Sunday night after they were left out of the school soccer team. The police on Tuesday arrested the four boys, aged 15-16 years, and said they were under the influence of alcohol while committing the crime. The boys have confessed sneaking into the school at night, pouring petrol through the ventilator into the principal’s room and then throwing in a lit matchstick setting the office on fire. The boys, police said, were under the influence of alcohol while committing the crime.

Guwahati, April 2
A captured adult Royal Bengal Tiger, a highly endangered species, was today released in the wild of Manas National Park in Assam by the state forest department with help of experts from Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

Dr Rathin Barman of WTI said the tiger aged about 6 years was tranquilised by the WTI team in association with the Assam forest department staff at a village at Geleki in Sivasagar district of Assam three days back after the animal had killed two persons and injured several others in the village.

The big cat was then kept at WTI’s wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre near Kaziranga National Park and was released in Manas National Park this morning. The picturesque Manas National Park located at the foothills of Bhutan Himalayas has a Project Tiger running since 1970s. Its existing tiger population is estimated to be over 30.

The forest department and wildlife experts have remained clueless as to how the tiger strayed into a human settlement at Geleky near the Assam-Nagaland boundary as there is no known tiger habitat nearby.

New Delhi, April 2
The Union Home Ministry has increased the number of posts held by IPS officers in Punjab and J&K while carrying out a similar increase in such posts in 14 other states. Most of the states are either border states or are facing security issues.

In other words more number of posts will now be manned by men from the IPS cadre - that could be from those who were recruited through the civil service exam or those who become an IPS from the state cadre.

A formal notification was made on Wednesday by the ministry following a cadre review and the “special duty posts” have been increased. The last such review was carried out in November 2003 in both states. The IPS Tenure Policy was also notified. It was last revised in April 2000.

In case of Punjab, the number of posts will be now 94 instead of 79. This figure is the base number of posts allotted by the Centre. Over and above this formula will apply for adding posts to the cadre from the quota of state deputation, central deputation and leave reserve. At present, after these additions, the IPS cadre of Punjab stands at 144. After notification this is now expected to go up to 166. In case of J&K, the new base number will be 80 instead of the earlier 73 posts.

The other states where the posts have been increased are Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur-Tripura, Orissa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, besides the states where UT cadre officers are posted. In total, 287 posts have been increased across all cadres and following the addition of the laid down quotas an increase of almost 360-380 posts was expected.

It has also been decided that the mid-term review of the remaining 11 cadres consisting of 12 states would be taken up as per the revised norms and guidelines in the first quarter of 2010-11. As part of the strengthening of the Sardar Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, a sanction was issued for the construction of a 120-room senior officers’ mess.

Patna, April 2
All former Chief Ministers of Bihar would be given a lifetime security cover besides government accommodation on the lines of facilities being given to ex-Prime Ministers. The state government moved a Bill in the Legislative Assembly to this effect on Tuesday and the House okayed it. The Bill named ‘Bihar Special Security Group (Amendment) Bill 2010’ has provisions to give lifelong security cover to all ex-CMs on the same scale as provided to the serving CM. They would also be given a permanent government house in the state capital.

Piloting the Bill in the House, CM Nitish Kumar said the existing Bihar SSG Act had provisions for a security cover to ex-CMs only for five years after demission of office. The amendment had been facilitated keeping in mind the activities of terrorists and organised criminal gangs, the CM explained. 

New Delhi, April 2
Even before Congress President Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) gives its suggestions on National Food Security Bill (NFSA), taking clue the government has stepped in.

The bill has been sent back to the empowered group of ministers (eGoM), which will now re-visit the draft legislation of the NFSA, most likely on Monday.

The proposed blueprint of the NFSA, as cleared by the eGoM on March 18, has come under acute criticism from all quarters. Sources say even the Congress President is not happy with the “diluted version” of the bill, recently cleared by the group headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. She wants a more radical law and expectations are that changes may be incorporated in the draft legislation to ensure that provisions are raised to at least 35 kg food grain per family instead of 25 kg.

Congress’ poll manifesto had promised the entitlement by “enacting a right to food law that guarantees access to sufficient food for all, particularly the most vulnerable sections of society”, however, financial constraints, including attempts to cut down on the subsidy bill, seem to be the reasons behind the watered-down version of the bill.

There is also a debate on including all poor families under the ambit of the Food Security Law and not merely those categorised as below poverty line (BPL) as has been proposed by the draft Bill.

Considering the importance of the bill for the Congress and the fact that like the Women Reservation Bill, the NFSA also has Sonia’s personalised attention, after the eGoM decision it may later also be discussed by the party’s core committee.

Experts say the proposed draft is also a contempt of apex court’s directives on the issue.

While the draft legislation proposes only 25 kg food grain at Rs 3 a kg to BPL families, former Supreme Court Justice DP Wadhwa had recently recommended that every Indian with an income of Rs 100 a day be made eligible for official subsidies, including 35 kg of grain.

Even the country’s existing PDS provides more subsidised foodgrains, 35 kg per household, depending upon the category-APL, BPL and Antodaya.

A World Bank figure suggests that 80 per cent of India’s population earns less than $2 a day and Justice Wadhwa’s recommendation comes close to it, meaning that the net of the people benefiting from such a scheme should also widen.

However, by selecting only BPL families, the bill may exclude a large section of poor population. Contention also is that the bill does not fulfil the nutritional needs of people as the eGOM has restricted it to wheat and rice.

The UPA coalition is under fire over issues such as fuel and price rise. With its core voters being predominantly rural and poor, the Congress hopes the party’s poll promise will help boost its prospects ahead of Assembly elections in states like West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.