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Even incentives can’t push docs to villages
After pat, Hazare resorts to
Modi-bashing
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NAC favours written consent of farmers for land acquisition
AFT quashes charges against brigadier in ration scam
Temple heads gunning for me: Ramesh
U’khand CM Nishank stays but is put in his place
SC quashes land allotment to Ganguly
Adarsh land was not for Kargil veterans: Shinde
Now, Bipasha doesn’t declare items at airport
Raj Bhavan is like prison: K’taka Guv
Communal violence Bill dangerous: Jaitley
No AIEEE retest, rules apex court
Censor board gets 15 new members
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Even incentives can’t push docs to villages
Notified in 2009 with the objective of meeting a massive shortfall of 16,000 doctors, including 12,000 specialists in the villages, the scheme guaranteed better success in the tough medical PG exams to MBBS doctors who volunteered to work in rural areas. Someone who worked in a designated rural area for a year before taking the PG exam would get an assured 10 marks in the test; the share of additional marks would increase to 20 and 30 respectively for graduates who have put in two and three years in villages. As part of the same incentive scheme, the government had also reserved 50 per cent seats in MD (Diploma) and MS (Diploma) courses for the practising MBBS doctors who wished to take diplomas later. Even in this category, the Health Ministry found no response despite the entrance tests to these diploma courses being extremely tough. Faced with a lukewarm response to the schemes, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today, for the first time, hinted that if the situation remained grim, the government might have to consider stronger measures. “We may have to think of stricter means to ensure that our medical graduates do rural postings. We are very concerned about the poor delivery of healthcare to our rural populations. Our schemes have yielded no results,” he admitted. The Tribune has learnt that at a recent convocation of the Lady Hardinge Medical College Delhi, not a single MBBS pass out replied in the affirmative when Azad asked them if they would serve in a village. Government data shows that rural India is short of 12,263 specialists at the level of community health centres (CHCs) and 3,789 doctors at the primary health centres (PHCs). Madhya Pradesh villages are facing the largest shortage of 1,087 specialists and 614 doctors, while in Uttar Pradesh 1,442 specialists and 1,689 doctors are needed. The level of shortage of trained medical practitioners in primary health centres is 500 for Assam; 413 for Orissa; 211 for Bihar; 65 for Gujarat and about 45 for Punjab. One primary health centre serves a population of 25,000 people. Interestingly, former health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had anticipated the problem long ago and proposed to make rural posting mandatory for all postgraduate medical aspirants. He had, before the 2009 General Election, told the Parliament that considering a shortage of 8 lakh doctors in India, particularly in rural areas, the health ministry was going to make it compulsory for MBBS pass-outs applying for postgraduation to do a combined rural posting for four months each in a PHC, CHC and district hospital under the state government. The proposal envisaged the payment of a stipend of Rs 10,000 to each doctor doing a rural
stint.
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After pat, Hazare resorts to
Modi-bashing
Ahmedabad, May 26 Hazare, who had faced criticism for praising Modi, observed that corruption was rampant in Gujarat and wrly said it has not even spared the state of Mahatma Gandhi. The anti-graft crusader also said liquor flows more freely than milk in Gandhi's Gujarat where a prohibition law is in force. “After coming here, I have realised that there are so many corruption cases here. So much corruption in Gandhiji's state,” he said and urged Modi to quickly appoint a Lokayukta in Gujarat. Hazare, a member of the Jan Lok Pal Bill drafting team, made these remarks during a public hearing by various civil society groups held at Gujarat Vidyapeeth here. “Firstly bring Lokayukta here to empower the people and secondly give power to the Gram Sabhas,” he said. A law empowering gram sabhas is required in taking decisions regarding village land. Taking another swipe at Modi, Hazare said, “In Gandhiji's state so much alcohol. Gujarat has more alcohol than it has milk,” he said. Gujarat is one of the leading milk producing states in the country. Hazare had earlier said that state chief ministers must learn from the work done by the chief ministers of Gujarat and Bihar. His praise of Modi had fuelled a controversy and also came up for criticism from his own followers like social activist Medha Patkar. Hazare later sought to “clarify” that he was opposed to communalism. Swami Agnivesh, another member of the Jan Lok Pal Bill drafting team, said the public hearing has exposed the false claims of Gujarat government over development. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is making use of American media agencies to paint a false picture of what was exactly happening in Gujarat, he alleged.
— PTI
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NAC favours written consent of farmers for land acquisition
New Delhi, May 26 At a meeting chaired by Sonia, the NAC reached a consensus on combining the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill and the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill into a single National Development, Acquisition, Displacement and Rehabilitation Bill. The committee also suggested that 75 per cent of the farmers and gram sabhas should give their consent in writing for acquiring their land for development projects. NAC member Aruna Roy said all land transfers for public purposes must come under the purview of this law. “We have proposed that the Land Acquisition Bill should also include relief and rehabilitation. Also that no land should be taken without consent. If the land is being acquired for public purpose the state government should definitely come into picture.” One of the recommendations to the government would be to give farmers six times the registered value of their land as compensation. Harsh Mander, another NAC member and convener of the Working Group on Land Acquisition and Resettlement and Rehabilitation said there was a consensus in the council on the inclusion of persons working on the land into the category of project-affected persons so as to make them eligible for receiving compensation. “This would recognise the most invisible persons in the land acquisition process who lose their source of livelihood once the land is acquired,” Mander said. The NAC recommendations also include giving farmers the right to annuity for a certain number of years over and above the compensation for the land acquired from them. Mander said the most important proposal was that “we must recognise affected people as not only those who lose their land but also those who lose their livelihood. We need to recognise the loss of livelihood and not only assets. This has to be compensated over a period of 33 years”. The council also suggested giving monthly payouts to farmers, instead of annual payouts. The recommendations seek to make consent of farmers a must for land acquisition for projects by the private sector and setting up a commission to hear complaints related to the process. The council also decided to write to the government on enacting a Central law to protect livelihood of over one crore street vendors across the country. The government had earlier favoured that states should take responsibility for the effective implementation of the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors contending that a Central legislation in that regard might not be effective. In a communication to the council, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) had contended if protection of street vending was left to the states, it was unlikely that they would enact a legislation.
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AFT quashes charges against brigadier in ration scam
Chandigarh, May 26 Brig PS Gill, who retired last year, was attached to Headquarters 15 Infantry Division, Amritsar, for trial by a general court martial (GCM). He faced seven charges under Sections 52 and 63 of the Army Act for intent to defraud and acts prejudicial to good order, of which he has now been exonerated. He had been held blameworthy along with former Director-General Supplies and Transport Lieut-Gen SK Sahni, who was recently cashiered and awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment by a separate GCM for alleged irregularities. He has challenged the GCM’s verdict and the case is pending before the tribunal. “Brig Gill can now have a legitimate expectation of promotion to the rank of major-general as he was already approved for promotion and had been placed first in the order of merit. It was only because of the disciplinary proceedings that he was not promoted earlier and he still has the requisite age profile,” his counsel, Maj K Ramesh (retd) said. The most important facet of the case, Ramesh said, was that the accused’s Commanding Officer, GOC 15 Infantry Division and the next higher authority, GOC 11 Corps had both exonerated him of all seven charges. The GOC-in-C, Western Command, however, had held him blameworthy of all seven charges and ordered his trial by the GCM. “Even after one-and-a-half years, the Headquarters, Western Command, could not provide a single document to justify this change of stand,” Ramesh claimed.
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Temple heads gunning for me: Ramesh
New Delhi, May 26 “All the temple authorities accompanied by their political patrons... since elections are very frequent in India and relationship between temples and politicians are very close... they all go after Sukumar, Mahesh Rangarajan and me saying how can you control elephant population in temples, particularly in Kerala,” said the Environment Minister on elephants owned by temples. R Sukumar and Rangarajan are members of the Elephant Task Force, who, in a report submitted last year, proposed for registration of elephants kept in captivity in temple and other places where they are employed in labour work. Addressing the first-ever Elephant-8 ministerial meeting, Ramesh said issues regarding elephants in temples needed to be looked into, though “some temples of course treat them very well”. The meeting was attended by delegates from Botswana, Congo, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand. The countries, representing two-thirds of the world’s wild elephant population, also adopted the “New Delhi E-8 Recommendation” for joint action aimed at conservation, management and welfare of the elephants and explore and mobilise funding, including new, innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms for the purpose. Wildlife experts say both the African and Asian elephant face numerous threats and a combined effort from all countries was needed to ensure the animal's long-term survival. India has launched a mass campaign “Haathi mere saathi” that calls for involving people in elephant conservation. The government will also set up a National Elephant Conservation Authority to protect and conserve elephants on the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. While the number of elephants has remained more or less steady around 25,000, there is increasing pressure on elephant habitats from mining activities especially in central India.
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U’khand CM Nishank stays but is put in his place
But in a bid to placate the dissidents, BJP president Nitin Gadkari declared that the impending Assembly election in the state, due early next year, will not be fought under Nishank’s leadership. That was Gadkari’s signal that he had taken note of the charges being leveled against Nishank and his government by his partymen and more specifically by the two former chief ministers Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and B.C. Khanduri. The BJP leadership had recently sounded Koshiyari to head the state unit of the party and had suggested that Nishank and he should together lead the BJP in the next Assembly election. But Koshiyari seemed to have rejected the offer, for he went out of his way recently to praise Khanduri as a worthy and honest administrator who worked for the betterment of his state. But when asked about Nishank, he commented wryly at a public meeting in Gopeshwar, “I have been reading about his achievements in the media and state advertisements.” Instead, he sent across the signal through his supporters that he had no problems if Khanduri were to be projected as the chief minister and vice versa. Emerging from the meeting of Uttarakhand core group, Gadkari said, “A meeting of Uttarakhand Core Group was held. There will be no change of leadership till the elections there. Later the elected legislators will elect their leader. We will hold five big rallies in the state and contest the elections under the joint leadership of all three Koshiyari, Khanduri and Nishank.”
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SC quashes land allotment to Ganguly
A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly directed Ganguly to hand over within two weeks the plot measuring 63.04 kathas to the state government, holding that the allotment had been done without any advertisement and in great haste. The allotment “rushed through in hot haste is unreasonable and arbitrary,” the apex court ruled while setting aside the Calcutta High Court verdict that had upheld the state government’s generosity. “I am aware that the allottee is a cricketer of great repute and has led this country to victory in many tournaments, both in India and abroad. I have watched him on the television on many occasions and was delighted to see his glorious cover drives and effortlessly lofted shots over the fence. “But as a Judge, I have different duties to discharge. Here I must be objective and eschew my likes and dislikes and render justice to a cause which has come before the Court,” Justice Ganguly said in the judgment written for the Bench. The Bench also pointed out that of the seven members of the “Ganguly Education and Welfare Society,” five were from his own family and were Gangulys - Sourav, Dona (wife), Snehasish, Chandidas and Nirupa. Another member, Arup Chatterjee was a relation of the family. Only the seventh member, Deepak Kumar Mitra, a chartered accountant, was outside the family. “Therefore, constitution of such a Trust to run the school is clearly against the ICSE norms,” the Supreme Court held. Further, Ganguly had been allotted a smaller plot after he had applied in response to a state government advertisement. A much bigger plot was allotted to him subsequently after he had expressed his willingness to surrender the land given to him earlier. In fact, he surrendered the plot much after receiving the larger piece of land on February 17, 2009.
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Adarsh land was not for Kargil veterans: Shinde
Mumbai, May 26 Shinde, in his affidavit, stated that the plot of the land was earmarked for the Adarsh Housing Society as per a government resolution passed on July 1999. The letter of intent allotting the land for the society was passed on January 18, 2003. Shinde, who is now a union minister, also rebutted several allegations made against him and said the allotment was made as per proper procedures. The inquiry committee has summoned several senior politicians and bureaucrats as witnesses. Former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who allegedly got flats allotted in the name of his relative in the society is yet to file his affidavit. He has sought time till June 13.
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Now, Bipasha doesn’t declare items at airport
Mumbai, May 26 The actress was intercepted after she had crossed the green channel without making any declaration of some items of personal use on her arrival from London. “Actress Bipasha Basu was caught carrying come undeclared items the value of which was not high. She was let off after she paid the duty,” Additional Commissioner of Customs Mahender Pal said. “She was carrying undeclared goods worth over Rs 65,000 and so we asked her to pay the duty of Rs 13,000 which she did,” said PM Govande, Commissioner of Customs (Airport). No fine or penalty was imposed.
— PTI
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Raj Bhavan is like prison: K’taka Guv
Bangalore, May 26 “Raj Bhavan is like a prison and I am like a jail bird here,” Bhardwaj said, making no secret of his unhappiness over the recent turn of events culminating in the Centre rejecting his recommendation that had triggered a political war in the state and put him and the ruling BJP on a collision course. The BJP had launched an agitation demanding recall of Bhardwaj who has been having uneasy relationship with the saffron party’s first ever government in the south. At a function at Raj Bhavan, Bhardwaj said since he had to function within the framework of the Constitution, he had no freedom to take decisions independently. — PTI
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New Delhi, May 26 The Bill, a brainchild of Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council
(NAC), has raised hackles with the senior BJP leader because it evidently attempts to put a check on state sponsored communal pogrom as was alleged in the 2002 communal carnage in Gujarat. Jaitley, a noted legal luminary, attacked the “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Repatriations) Bill, 2011 saying: “It is a Bill which if ever enacted as a law will intrude into the domain of the state, damage federal polity and create an imbalance in the inter-community relationship of India.”
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No AIEEE retest, rules apex court
New Delhi, May 26 Students had sought a fresh test contending that the question papers had been leaked necessitating rescheduling of the exam dates. They said they could not appear for the rescheduled examination. A vacation bench of justices GS Singhvi and CK Prasad dismissed the petition filed by some students and a retired professor of NIT Jamshedpur, AP Sinha, seeking its direction to the government for reconduct of the test. The petitioner submitted that many students could not appear in the test, which was rescheduled, and a single merit list could not be made on the basis of two separate examinations. The court, however, was not impressed by the argument and said that around 10 lakh students had appeared for the test and they would suffer because of fresh examination. The court has allowed the CBSE to declare the results, which are expected to come out within a week. A group of AIEEE candidates, who had appeared for the exam after a delay of three hours due to question paper leak on May 1, had sought cancellation of teh exam. — TNS/PTI
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Censor board gets 15 new members
New Delhi: Renowned theatre artist Amal Allana, noted scriptwriter Anjum Rajabali and filmmaker Shaji N Karun have been appointed members of the Central Board of Film Certification for a term of three years. Among the members who have made it to the panel are eminent film critics like Rajeev Masand, senior journalists Subhas Gupta and Pankaj Vohra and columnist Anees Jung, an official release said here on Thursday.
Noted filmmaker and actor Pankaj Sharma and Bengali film director Harnath Chakraborty are the other members from the film fraternity who have been appointed as new members. Besides Amal Allana, the list has a few famous theatre artistes like Arundhati Nag and MK Raina. Telecaster Nikhil Alva, journalist and poetess Mamang Dai, author Dipesh Mehta and Ira Bhaskar of Cinema Studies at JNU- have also made it to the panel.
— PTI
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Dalit youth shot dead
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New Delhi, May 26
New Delhi, May 26
New Delhi, May 26
