New Delhi, November 9
New Bills to set up a national academic depository to demat (dematerialise) education degrees on the lines of share certificates, another to constitute the National Identification Authority to issue UIDs and yet another to protect women at workplaces top the legislative agenda of the government in the Winter Session of Parliament which began today. The session will have 24 sittings until December 13 and will see the introduction of 23 new Bills, including three related to education. For consideration and passing, 23 pending Bills will be tabled. These include the controversial Women’s Reservation Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha on March 9 this year. Even at the meeting of leaders with the Lok Sabha Speaker this morning, the Left demanded that the Bill be placed during the session.

It had been listed for passing twice but to no avail, given the opposition of socialist parties SP, RJD and JDU. Also listed for passing this time is the Prevention of Torture Bill 2010, the amendment to Right to Education Act (to secure the rights of disabled children) and the Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010, which Congress’ own MPs had stalled in the Rajya Sabha’s last session. The LS has passed this Bill.

Among the important new Bills is the one to set up the National Identification Authority of India which will issue unique identification cards and the Bill to protect women at workplaces. Details of the Bills taken from the PRS Legislative Research show three education-related Bills listed for introduction this session. These include the draft law to dematerialise education degrees and certificates and hold them in a national depository just as share certificates are kept. The law will end the era of fake certifications in education besides making certificate-access easy for students.

The National Council for Higher Education and Research Bill, 2010, is also listed after the HRD Ministry ironed out differences with the states. The Bill will provide for an overarching regulator in higher education. The Council will have a full body with representatives from all states, which will have the power to veto the Council’s decisions in important matters.

Post US President Barack Obama’s visit, the Universities of Innovation Bill, 2010, has also been readied for introduction. Importantly, the other two major education Bills — Educational Malpractices Prohibition Bill and National Accreditation Authority Bill — will have to wait till the Standing Committee on the HRD submits its reports. As in the case with Educational Tribunals Bill where the committee made 15 recommendations (none of which were accepted by the HRD Ministry), the committee is learnt to have cited several objections to the pending HRD Ministry Bills. Among the Bills to be withdrawn is the controversial Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation Bill 2010).

New Delhi, November 9
The Environment Ministry probe into violations of green norms by the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai would continue irrespective of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan’s resignation.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today said action against the dubious housing society would be taken in the next two-three days as papers submitted by the state environment department and the Coastal Regulation Zone department clearly show that Adarsh has violated green norms. The ministry, in the meantime, is awaiting documents from the state urban development department to arrive at the final decision, which may be demolition of some of the levels or even the entire multi-crore property located on the prime location in the financial capital.

Even though Chavan today claimed he was absolutely clean, documents submitted by the state environment department deny having given clearance to the controversial housing society. Ramesh says from the documents submitted so far it was obvious that violations have taken place. The question now remains whether it was the state urban department that gave the final nod and if that is established then culpability of not just Chavan but also his predecessors in ‘mantralaya’ will become glaringly obvious.

Ramesh, who sought a report from Maharashtra government relating to violation of CRZ notification, 1991, on mandatory green norms required for construction of building, is clear that state urban development department is not authorised to give clearance.

"Let's see what they say in their reply,” he said.

Adarsh is built on a 6,490 sq mt plot in Colaba in the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) II. Initially promoted as housing for war veterans and widows, the building is in the eye of a storm for violating environmental and other norms and misuse the land granted to it.

While Chavan has became the first political casualty of the scam as he resigned from his post following a directive from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, more heads are expected to roll.

If it is established that green laws were indeed flouted then a harsh decision can be expected on Adarsh, especially with a proactive environment minister at the Centre and new-found awareness among general public on green issues.

The number of scrapped or delayed green clearance for hundreds of projects in the recent past, is a reflection of the country’s current proactive approach against environmental law violations.

‘Norms violated’

n Jairam says papers clearly show that the Adarsh society has violated green norms

n Papers submitted by environment department deny having given clearance to society

n Ministry is awaiting documents from state urban development department to take final decision

n While Chavan has became the first casualty of the scam, more heads are expected to roll

New Delhi, November 9
The CPM today said US President Barack Obama’s praises for India won’t serve the interests of Indians and that the Indo-US alliance he forged in his visit was “unequal”.

“It is unfortunate that Mahmohan Singh government has not even raised the issue of justice for the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy,” the party Politburo said in a statement.

The CPM said the joint statement issued after the visit indicated that the main agenda of the US was to open the Indian markets for its business and commercial interests and to draw India into a closer security and military relationship.

“In the backdrop of the deep recession and high unemployment afflicting its economy, the US is desperately trying to reduce imports and increase its exports worldwide. In the name of promoting food security and raising agricultural productivity, what is being pushed is the agenda of opening up Indian agriculture and retail trade for the profiteering of American MNCs like Wal-Mart and Monsanto,” a Left Front leader said.

The CPM warned that such moves would be detrimental to the interests of small and marginal farmers and unorganised retailers in India. The passage of the Seed Bill (listed for passing in the ongoing winter session of Parliament), which promotes the interests of the multinational seed companies and compromises the seed rights of Indian farmers, is high on the government’s agenda. The Left also slammed the UPA for not emphasising that India’s priority was for lifting the vast mass of people out of poverty, hunger and disease. “The Congress-led government has catered to the US business and strategic interests by accepting the self-congratulatory approach that Obama recognises India as a world power,” the statement said.

“What this means is a close defence and security relationship which will involve also buying US weaponry; falling in step with the US’ deceptive talk of human rights, democracy and nuclear non-proliferation. All these are a continuation of the Manmohan Singh-Bush joint statement of 2005 and 2006. India agrees to comply with the sanctions on Iran but will keep silent on Israel and its nuclear arsenal.

India is told to behave "responsibly" with regard to exporting democracy and human rights interventions by the US. 

New Delhi, November 9
The government today set up a committee to review the Ministry of Youth Affairs’ proposal to convert Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development, a deemed to be university at Sriperumbudur into Rajiv Gandhi Central University or National Institute of Youth and Sports.

The committee will examine the proposal and make suitable recommendations. It will include Prof Ved Prakash, Vice Chairman, UGC as the chief. Other members include D.T. Khathing, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Jharkhand; L.S. Ranawat, Director, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Member ex-officio; Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Boria Majumdar, Adjunct Professor, University of South Australia, Jaspal Sandhu, Dean Faculty of Sports Medicine, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Ashwini Nachappa, distinguished sportsperson.

The terms of reference of the Committee are -- to examine the feasibility of converting the existing institution deemed to be university to Central University/National Institute of Youth and Sports, make recommendations on the appropriateness of broadening the mandate of the institution to include sporting activities, particularly focusing on practice and research in the field of youth development and sports, make recommendations on the financial requirements of such conversion of the institute, suggest the template of the governing structure and to suggest the objects and powers of such a university.

The Committee is to lay down its own procedure and is expected to submit its report to the Government within two months. The UGC will provide secretarial assistance and logistics support to the Committee.

Chandigarh, November 9
The Army’s senior-most woman officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Department, the Army’s legal wing, is waging a battle for grant of permanent commission. Despite having qualified in the departmental exam for promotion to lieutenant colonel after 13 years of service, the Army wants her to appear for a department exam supposed to be written after about four years’ service.

Incidentally, the said exam was not required for woman officers when she was in the service bracket at that time and was made mandatory only in 2008. Based on a similar exemption granted to another woman officer, she had taken up her case for exemption for the lower examination with the authorities. She was granted exemption by the department in interests of career progression, but in October she received a letter from the Adjutant General, which was “evasive” and “indecisive” over the issue of exemption.

Faced with the possibility of having her claim for permanent commission rejected by the board that convenes to consider her case tomorrow, Maj Leena Gaurav has moved the Armed Forces Tribunal and the petition is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow.

Her counsel Lt Col PN Chaturvedi said he was seeking a stay on the proceedings of the board on the premise that the board may have forwarded certain incorrect information concerning her eligibility, which may adversely affect her case.

Colonel Chaturvedi contended that once an officer has qualified in a higher examination, there was no logic to sit for a lower level examination. Further, he contended that in March she was already granted a waiver for appearing in the entrance level examination. 

Jammu, November 9
A major tragedy was averted today when an alert pilot of Air India flight number IC-822 aborted the take-off on the runway here after noticing fumes emanating from one of the wheels. There were 142 passengers, including 98 Haj pilgrims from Jammu and Srinagar, aboard the Delhi-bound plane.

According to information, the flight had arrived from Srinagar and had to leave Jammu at 4.45 pm. As soon as the engines started and the plane headed towards the runway, a hydraulic pipe of one of the wheel assemblies burst, causing oil leakage, said a senior Air India official on anonymity.

As the oil spilled on to the moving wheels, dense fumes emanated, he said. “The alert pilot noticed them and immediately switched off the engines.”

The flight had already been delayed by about half an hour and the incident occurred at 5.15 pm. There was no injury to any of the passengers, who were later accommodated in different hotels of the city. They would be flown to Delhi tomorrow morning, he added.