Mumbai, November 14
A number of concessions granted to Mumbai's builders under the regime of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is coming up for scrutiny by his successor Prithiviraj Chavan, who took over the reins of the government recently.

According to sources, prominent builders in Mumbai had obtained a number of benefits from the state government's Urban Development Ministry, directly headed by Ashok Chavan himself in the past six months. Some of the most lucrative deals cleared by the former Chief Minister included permissions to construct taller buildings in lieu of public parking spaces in South and Central Mumbai.

This scheme allowed several prominent builders to construct multi-storeyed towers valued at several thousand crores of rupees. In all, builders in the most expensive parts of Mumbai managed to obtain clearances for constructing 87 lakh square feet of buildings in lieu of public parking spaces over the past three years.

Residential properties in many of these areas command a price of Rs 50,000-70,000 per square feet, say real estate analysts.

Just days before Chavan remitted office, the state government was negotiating with builders over the issuing of an ordinance that would have allowed buildings coming up in Mumbai's suburbs to have additional floors. The increase in floor space index cleared by Chavan during his earlier stint in government had been struck down by the courts on the grounds that physical infrastructure in the suburbs were inadequate to support taller buildings.

According to sources in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, at least 950-1,000 buildings have already come up across Mumbai's suburbs in the hope that the government would allow the ordinance to be enacted. Some of these buildings completed nearly a year ago are yet to be occupied as builders are waiting for the green signal from the government.

Sources say Ashok Chavan had cleared the ordinance a day or two before demitting office even though it was clear for several days that he was on the way out. The new Chief Minister is to take a second look at the proposal.

Several prominent developers in Mumbai are already on tenterhooks over this development and have sought appointment with Prithviraj Chavan to make presentations before the new Chief Minister, sources said. Some of them who were out of Mumbai for Divali vacation have cancelled their holidays and have rushed back home in view of the political developments in Maharashtra.

There is also speculation that the Ministry for Urban Development may be held by Prithviraj Chavan himself just like his predecessors before him

Tilauthu/Karakat (Sasaram), November 14
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his LJP counterpart Ramvilas Paswan today further stepped up their attack on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allegedly ruining Bihar as the campaigning for the sixth and final phase of Assembly polls in the state gained momentum.

After taking a two-day Chhat break from their hectic poll engagements Nitish, Lalu and Paswan held meetings at several places to campaign for their respective alliances.

Senior BJP leaders, including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi too campaigned for the NDA nominees.

Intensifying his attack on Nitish, Lalu while jointly addressing an election rally with Paswan in Tilauthu and Karakat in Rohtas district, criticised the Chief Minister for making “political compromises” with people like senior BJP leader L K Advani and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackerary.

Asserting that he had always fought for the cause of Bihar and had strongly opposed anti-Bihari stance of Thackeray in Mumbai, Lalu said he had also raised the Bihari cause in Parliament when Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit had made remarks against people from the state.

Claiming that the people in Delhi and elsewhere had not mustered up courage to target Biharis when he was the Chief Minister, the RJD leader said: “Now there is nobody to take care of the people from the state in Delhi.” “Yahan Nitish kehata hai ki kanoon apana kaam karega (Here Nitish says that the law will take its own course), then what is he there for... there is no no need for Nitish to continue," he said, while predicting the defeat of the NDA in this election.

“The RJD-LJP combine will pull off spectacular victory in the constituencies which went to the polls in the five phases... we expect similar overwhelming response from the people in the final round of the electoral battle on November 20,” Lalu said. — PTI

New Delhi, November 14
In awarding the anti-ragging project through direct nomination to its own consultant, EdCIL -- a public sector undertaking -- the Ministry of Human Resource Development appears to have flouted the Central Vigilance Commission rules which mandate tendering process or public auction for the award of contracts by Government agencies. The logic behind CVC’s July 23, 2007 rules is right to equality for all interested parties.

But the HRD Ministry, through the University Grants Commission on May 22, 2009, gave the anti-ragging project to EdCIL, which (five-year data in possession of The Tribune shows) has only worked on projects received through the ministry on nomination. Strangely, EdCIL has worked only with the HRD Ministry, which means that it has never proved its competence as a consultant.

Another major problem with the way EdCIL functions is this: though as a consultant it is entitled to 10 to 15 per cent of the total project cost as fees, it actually raises the invoice to the HRD Ministry for the full amount of the project. EdCIL, thus, becomes both the consultant and the contractor.

A copy of one such invoice (in The Tribune’s possession) from EdCIL to the UGC proves this practice. Dated March 4, 2010 and titled “Claim towards anti-ragging helpline project”, the invoice shows EdCIL’s fee is just Rs 13,44, 855 but a sum of Rs 1,12, 07, 961 meant for MTNL and Caretel (to which EdCIL further subcontracted the helpline project) has also been transferred to the latter’s account.

This sum of Rs 1.12 crore, thus, escapes the CAG audit under civil audit procedures because it has been shown as the revenue of EdCIL, which is a company and whose revenue can be audited only by a chartered accountant using commercial audit procedures. It is important to note EdCIL’s estimated annual turnover of Rs 80 crore. Its revenue casts a doubt, considering it has been raising invoices for full project costs instead of its own fees, which is fraction of the total project cost.

These and many more issues now form part of the detailed complaints which Rajinder Kachroo, the father of ragging victim Aman Kachroo, has submitted to the CVC and CAG. Both agencies have promised to look into the matter, with the CVC even seeking a report from the HRD Ministry. “The MHRD has cleverly eliminated both the compliance as well as performance audit of CAG for all those funds that they have transferred to EdCIL and this amount runs into crores of rupees annually,” the complaint states.

Its copies with The Tribune show that they also ignored other CVC guidelines -- November 25, 2005 norms on appointment of consultants and October 20, 2003 norms on subcontracting on back-to-back basis. While the UGC gave the anti-ragging project (ignoring three software firms experienced in the sector who quoted five times less the cost) to EdCIL on May 22, 2009, the latter subcontracted the same to MTNL (on May 29, 2009) which gave the job to Caretel. Caretel, under limited supervision, did a poor job of the helpline (as analysed by The Tribune). This happened because the job of setting up the anti-ragging helpline was given to EdCIL, which had no expertise in the area.

Documents procured under the RTI Act show that EdCIL, as a consultant, told the UGC that EdCIL, as a contractor, had created the student database as required. The UGC, without monitoring the finished product, paid for it. 

New Delhi, November 14
This seems to be a different kind of “outsourcing” that is fast catching up in several remote Naxal-affected areas. Teachers, who continue to remain absent for long periods from work due to fear of life, are now “hiring” local youth to take classes on their behalf and are paying them half of their salaries.

It has apparently turned out to be a win-win situation for both the teachers as well as the local, unemployed youths, who are putting education of students at stake.

The teachers get half of their salaries staying at home while the youths “who do not have the required qualification” get to teach students and even get half the salaries.

The trend is fast catching up in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa as school inspectors hardly visit the schools in remote areas for a check due to the presence of Maoists and lack of security.

“It is a very disturbing scenario. We can well imagine what would be the quality of education in these schools. We hope that as security forces take control of more and more Naxal-dominated areas, situation will improve gradually,” a government official said.

As Maoists continue to hold sway over large parts of central India, besides the primary education, healthcare for poor has also gone haywire in many such areas as a substantial number medical practitioners are staying away from duties due to threat to their lives. Many posts in primary health centres are lying vacant. — PTI

New Delhi, November 14
It is not surprising for a chef to be passionate about food but turning one’s love for cooking to ensure daily meals for hundreds of destitute and hungry can be called extraordinary.

Naryanan Krishnan, 29, renounced his position as an executive chef at a five-star hotel in Switzerland and took to providing three square meals every day to the people on the streets of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. “I have been feeding about 400 people on the streets of Madurai breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past eight years,” Krishnan told PTI over the phone.

Waking up at 4 am everyday, Krishnan prepares and packs a simple mixed fare of gruel and vegetables, which he goes about distributing to the homeless, the mentally ill and those abandoned by their families. He traverses the streets following the same routine twice more during the course of the day. “In 2002, I was earning a salary amounting to Rs 18 lakh a year and had picked up a job in Switzerland. Soon after, I chanced upon a mentally ill man on the street eating his own waste and that really shook me. I vowed to help him and others and thus began my daily cooking and feeding routine,” says Krishnan.

Initially working as a one-man army, Krishnan today has a cook, a helper, a driver and an assistant to help him prepare the meals. A couple of dedicated volunteers chip in to assist in the distribution of food.

Krishnan was recently shortlisted among the top 10 heroes selected out of 10,000 nominations from viewers across 100 nations for this year’s ‘CNN Hero of the Year’, the results of which will be declared on November 25 in Los Angeles. — PTI

New Delhi, November 14
The Enforcement Directorate is all set to attach properties worth a whopping Rs 100 crore belonging to former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and his associates as part of its probe into the multi-crore illegal investment and hawala transactions case against him.

Official sources said the Directorate has received permission from court to attach various identified properties belonging to Koda and his close associates, mainly Binod Sinha and Sanjay Chowdhary. While Binod is in judicial custody, Sanjay is said to have escaped abroad. Incidentally, the ED had recently attached properties worth Rs 200 crore in connection with the same case. Sources said while the earlier properties were primarily in Jharkhand and Bihar, the new identified properties are spread across the country. — PTI

New Delhi, November 14
There are not many things that you can buy for Rs 25 these days but now you can now buy a water filtration media with which you can turn your tap or ground water into a glass of potable drinking water for the next five years. Watch out for an indigenously designed water filter this season at the Pragati Maidan trade fair costing Rs 25. The low-cost, highly efficient water filtration media for purification of impure turbid raw water into clean drinking water comes at a minimal cost, says the developer Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

While the cheapest water purifier available in the market will cost at least a couple of thousand rupees, the average unit cost of a 100-mm diametre Terafil disc fitted with food-grade plastic holder is within Rs 25, says the CSIR. The disc can produce a litre per hour potable water in a domestic filter with an operating life of about five years. A realistic assessment is yet to be made as the project is still at the pilot stage. The CSIR Director-General Samir Kumar Brahmachari said while Terafil would be certainly be at display, all attempts would be made to make available for sale some pieces of this most inexpensive possible water filter at the CSIR pavilion.

Terafil disc, a porous sintered red clay disc, which is used for filtration and treatment of raw water, exclusively for removal of turbid particles microorganisms, iron from raw water, improving pH balance, reducing colour and bad odour and producing clean drinking water,

Both ground and surface raw water can be treated by Terafil. The rate of filtration increases manifold when it is used under pressure in a closed chamber.

Terfail disc can also be fitted with any domestic container to make a water filter, therefore poorest of poor can afford a Terafil water filter. Cost of product water is below Rs 2 per tonne, considering the total cost of Terafil filter or plant.

Chandigarh, November 14
The Government of India’s decision to allocate an additional 25 lakh tonnes of foodgrains to those living below the poverty line (BPL) seems to have few takers. In the past over two months, since this additional allocation was made for the BPL families, only 6.6 per cent of the foodgrains have been utilised for the purpose.

Officials in Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal agency for implementing the scheme, disclosed that so far only 1.65 lakh tonnes of the foodgrains had been lifted by some state governments for the purpose. “The offtake under this scheme is very low, and we are working on ways and means to ensure that these foodgrains reach the BPL families,” said Siraj Hussain, chairman of the FCI.

The government had earlier announced this additional allocation of foodgrains for the BPL families in September, saying that these would be disbursed within six months. But with a mere six per cent offtake in the past two months, it seems an uphill task for the government to disburse 25 lakh tonnes of grains by March 2011.

“We will be taking up the matter with various state governments, asking them to expedite this lifting of grains so that the BPL families can get access to the grains at a subsidised cost,” said Hussain.

The Government of India had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, saying that an additional allocation of foodgrains (wheat and rice) had been made for disbursal to BPL families. This affidavit followed an order by the Division Bench of the Supreme Court on August 31, asking the government to give away the excess foodgrains in the FCI godowns to the poor either at a “low cost” or “no cost” rather than allow it to rot. This additional 25 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for BPL families will be over and above the 469.7 lakh tonnes already allocated under the targeted public distribution system for 2011-12.

The additional allocation of foodgrains will go a long way in providing the much-needed relief to the BPL population. Wheat is provided at Rs 2 per kg and rice at 3 per kg to the AAY category (for the poorest of poor) and at Rs 4.15 a kg and Rs 5.65 a kg, respectively, to the BPL category. 

Mumbai, November 14
The Centre has told the Bombay High Court that it had gained total legal ownership of the historic Jinnah House which is mired in controversy after heirs of the original house owner, Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah, staked claim to the property.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in an affidavit filed in the high court, claimed the government had acquired the Jinnah House in Mumbai as evacuee property and hence all rights of evacuee and others stood extinguished.

The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by Dina Wadia, daughter of Jinnah, staking claim to Jinnah House which stands on a 2.5-acre plot in the posh Malabar Hill area of South Mumbai.

Ninety-one-year-old Dina, who lives in New York, has contended that she was the sole heir to her father’s property. However, in another twist to the fight over the property, Mohammed Rajabally Ebrahim, grand-nephew of Jinnah, has claimed one-sixth share in the estate.

The pleas of Dina and Abrahim were admitted in August this year. Ebrahim has staked claim on the basis of Jinnah’s will dated May 30, 1939, in which he had bequeathed his house to sister Fatima. Dina, on the other hand, has denied that Jinnah had left behind such a will. The case will come up for final hearing next week.

Ebrahim contended that in accordance with Muslim law, after the death of Fatima, the house went to her sister Shirinbai and on her death the property vested in the children of her predeceased sister Mariam. — PTI

A zoo provides a good understanding of human behaviour. Man, after all, descended from apes and though he has evolved since then, continues to exhibit animal behaviour in various forms.

When the Chhatbir Zoo was set up in the year 1977, it was done with ambitious plans and was meant to educate and entertain the visitors, specially the children, about wildlife and animal behaviour. Spread out over 202 acres, the zoo was an instant success and drew droves of visitors to the Lion Safari.

But 33 years later, it is a pale shadow of its former self. Neglected and starved of funds, the zoo does little justice to either the animals or to the visitors. It is short of staff, the facilities for the animals old and obsolete and it is no longer very visitor-friendly.

Although relatively noiseless, electric cars have been introduced to take the visitors around, the authorities have not been able to ban the entry of VIP cars. But those who are not VIPs can have a nightmare. The toilets stink and the staff are rude or indifferent. The signages are old and not very reader-friendly and there are no guides to explain about animal behaviour or about the animal kingdom.

There is no auditorium where films on wildlife can be screened. There is no provision for video footage to be shown and there is no affordable literature or illustrated books on sale to impart education to children. There is no souvenir shop either to sell stuff and no innovative schemes either to keep the visitors engaged. The children and the visitors, consequently, leave with little addition to their knowledge of wildlife. At best, a visit to Chhatbir now remains an outing, a picnic in winter.

The animals, arguably, are worse off. Chhatbir in 2003 boasted of having 82 lions. Now the number is just 3. Indeed, the 82 lions were crammed in an area meant for only 22 of them and the authorities claim to have undertaken a deliberate plan to 'sterilise' the lions and bring down the number. But diseases appears to have taken a higher toll of the animals. As many as 1198 animals have died since 1995 as per the records of the Central Zoo Authority.

The lions required a huge quantity of meat every day and dozens of zookeepers to watch them round the clock. The mating of a hybrid lion with an Asiatic lion, and inbreeding since then, raised a brood of genetically weak lions which did not survive for very long, explain the zoo authorities. Visitors are often disappointed at not finding lions in the 'Lion Safari'. And recently a bunch of school children on an excursion raised slogans against the Zoo.

The zoo is waiting for the three remaining big cats, one lion and two lionesses, to die before Asiatic lions are brought in from Gujarat for a fresh breeding programme.

Even those animals which are alive, are listless. Animals in captivity, as it is, lead miserable lives. But when they are forced to remain in alien environments, in confinement and are neither fed nor looked after well enough, their plight can be well imagined. They look bored and tired, have little exercise and rather than visitors staring at them, the animals are the ones which seem to stare at the visitors. A female elephant, chained near her shelter, draws attention of the visitors by constantly bobbing her head up and down. She certainly is not enjoying her confinement at Chhatbir.

Says wildlife photographer Varun Chopra, " Zoos are meant to educate people on the natural behaviour of animals and birds. But keeping them in captivity and that too without making adequate provisions for them is nothing short of criminal."

Many of the enclosures, cages and animal houses need to be urgently replaced. They are not just old and obsolete but according to the Central Zoo Authority ( CZA), many of them do not conform to the norms laid down by the Authority.

The Zoo Hospital lacks basic facilities. The big animals like the Zebra or the Jaguar require to be monitored constantly and an 'Animal Restraint Facility' is required for the purpose. But the facility is available only in the tiger-enclosures but often fail to function because they were not installed properly. Similarly the hospital does not seem to have what is called squeeze cages, used to diagnose ailments and administer vaccines to carnivores, bears and primates.

" We usually spray liquid medicines from a distance or try to lace the food with medicines. But they are not as effective and in the absence of the animal-restraint facility, a closer examination is seldom possible," said an official.

The hospital in fact seems to be in a fairly pathetic state. Separate enclosures for incubation of unhatched eggs of birds are missing. So is an incubator. There is no X-Ray machine or an Ultrasound machine. " We do not have a pulse oxymeter either," admits an official who goes on to inform that the hospital does not have hot air ovens, trolleys to transport animals or even deep freezers. Deep freezers are required to also keep carcasses of the animals but they are just not there.

What are avilable do not function very well, complain officials. A water-purifying machine was brought in to recycle water in the pond created for the Hippo. But it could not be used as the pond turned out to be too small and the water available too little. Every time it was sought to be used, it would suck in mud and the machine would abruptly stop. Similarly, the incinerator failed to start because it needed extra power to function. The CCTV cameras , installed to keep an eye on the activities of animals and workers alike, have also ceased to function since long.

Urbanisation with a vengeance has also created its own problems. The Chandigarh-Patiala highway now boasts of heavy traffic at night and human habitations have steadily crept closer to the zoo. So much so that there are at least three mobile telecom towers that have come up in close proximity, one within half a kilometre of the zoo. The high radiation emitted by the towers seem to have interfered with the reproductive system of the house sparrows and led to its near-extinction.

The cages of bisons and deers as well as the bird aviary are situated close to the zoo's periphery. The noise of heavy vehicles, an unnatural sound in the wild, disturb the birds and the animals, specially the newborn.

The breeding programme at Chhatbir appears to be jinxed. The 'Ghariyal' breeding project is under a cloud after one fine morning in September, 2010, as many as 14 young ghariyals went missing. There is still no explanation but the case was closed after suspicion was pinned on a male ghariyal accused of both fathering and devouring the young.

Similarly, although Chhatbir bagged the prestigious 'Falcon' breeding programme, the falcon being the state bird of Punjab, the project has been at a standstill for the past 18 months. Although the CZA and the state government, in this case, have released Rs 2.5 crore, the failure to lay electric cables is the lame excuse put forward to explain the crisis.

There has been a sudden decline in the population of falcons or 'baaz' in Punjab. Falconers from Delhi and Jaipur have visited Chhatbir to kick start the breeding programme. But although the Zoo allegedly purchased four Shaheen falcons from the grey market at a cost of about Rs 5 lakhs each, the falcons are neither exhibited nor are being used for breeding.

The Mater Plan of Mahendra Choudhary Chhatbir Zoo ( 2009-2029) was submitted to the government in 2009. It proposes a complete revamp of the zoo and introduction of a hop on-hop off train to enable visitors to move around the campus. It would enable the authorities to ban the entry of all vehicles.

That would hopefully put an end to the chronic and haphazard parking problems, use of pressure horns and use of flashlights that often scare the animals. The Masterplan also visualises a separate network of 'service roads' and roads for visitors besides separate entry and exit points. A modern, scientific zoo requires better planning, more time and more investment. But is the state really up to it ?