The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Tiger tourism to become expensive, less thrilling R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 26 Tiger tourism will no longer be the same. First, it will not result in any thrilling, close encounter with the big cat as the government wants to introduce restrictions both in terms of distance and duration for sighting the national animal in the forest. Visitors would have to keep a minimum distance of more than 20 metres from all wildlife and if you are in a vehicle the restriction is 1.5 times more - 50 metres. Second, vehicles would not be allowed to remain at any wildlife sighting point for more than 15 minutes. Third and foremost, tourism in tiger reserve areas is set to cost more as tourists are being slapped with a “conservation fee.” Fourth, only a maximum of 20 per cent of any core/critical tiger habitat will be open to tourism. The government has submitted these proposals and many more to the Supreme Court, pleading with the court to lift the blanket ban on tiger tourism. The SC imposed the ban on July 24 as part of the efforts to protect the endangered specie. The proposals, described as “guidelines for tourism,” were aimed at turning wildlife tourism into “eco-tourism” with a greater involvement of the local people. “Such tourism should be low-impact, educational, and conserve the ecology and environment, while directly benefiting the economic wellbeing of local communities,” the government said. After getting the ban imposed by the SC to the delight of tiger lovers and conservationists, the government took a U-turn following protests by the state governments and local communities and pressure from political quarters. The conservation fee, ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 per room per month, would depend on the number of beds in a facility, its duration of operation and its luxury classification. However, any home stay facility, which has only six beds or less, will be exempted. To be collected by the state governments, the fee would be utilised for local livelihood development, human-wilidlife conflict management and conservation through eco-development. The fund would not be allowed to go to the state exchequer, the Centre said. Killing the thrill Visitors will have to keep a minimum distance of more than 20 metres from all wildlife and if you are in a vehicle the restriction is 1.5 times more - 50 metres Vehicles will not be allowed to remain at any wildlife sighting point for more than 15 minutes Tourism in tiger reserve areas is set to cost more as tourists are being slapped with a “conservation fee” Only a maximum of 20 per cent of any core/critical tiger habitat will be open to tourism
	Farmers’ bodies oppose FDI in retail Vibha Sharma/TNS New Delhi, September 26 As a debate on pros and cons of the contentious issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail rages across the country, a group of farmers’ leaders and organisations today debunked the UPA’s economic reform. They accused farmers’ representatives and bodies speaking in favour of FDI of “lobbying” for multinational companies (MNCs). The leaders lauded Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee for adopting a “brave pro-farmer” stance and decided to join the Trinamool Congress’ rally against FDI and diesel price hike in the Capital on October 1. Promising to confirm their final stance on October 10 at the National Convention of Farmers, where political parties, trade unions and corporations have been invited, the representatives said even though the FDI notification was out, all was not lost. The final verdict on the UPA’s decision would be given by the rural electorate, they asserted. “Those speaking in favour of FDI in retail are lobbying on behalf of MNCs. They are doing so because of personal interest. Walmart, world’s biggest retailer, has admitted to spending Rs 54 crore spent on lobbying in India. We want to know on whom the money was spent ,” said Bharat Krishak Samaj president Krishan Bir Chaudhary.
	Chargesheet filed against Jundal Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 26 Almost three months after Indian intelligence agencies picked up Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative Abu Jundal - one of the principal behind-the-scenes operatives of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks - the Delhi Police today filed a chargesheet against him accusing Jundal of directing the 10 gun-totting terrorists over the phone from Karachi. He has been charged under Sections of the IPC, a series of stringent terror-related provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides the Explosives Substances Act and the Passport Act. Notably, the chargesheet says that Fasih Mohd is an accused person in the case. However, he has not been chargesheeted. Fasih Mohd has been detained in Saudi Arabia and India has requested his extradition. A total of 166 persons, including foreigners, had died in the shoot-out in November 2008. The chargesheet accuses Jundal of being involved in terror activities across India in a bid to avenge atrocities against Muslims, particularly those committed during 2002 Gujarat riots. “He admitted during questioning of being hurt during the Godhra riots in 2002,” sources said. The chargesheet has been filed by the special cell of the Delhi police before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Prakash in the Tis Hazari Courts. The court today issued a production warrant ordering that Jundal be produced in court on September 28. He is presently in the custody of the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai police. He has been charged under Sections 471, 489(b), 489(c), 120(b) of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 16, 18, 19 and 20 of the UAPA, Sections 3,4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act along with Section 12 of the Indian Passport Act.
	Auction of Natural Resources Apex court to respond to Prez reference today Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 26 A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will pronounce its ‘response’ on Thursday to the Presidential reference seeking a clarification as to whether the government is bound to auction all natural resources under the SC judgment, canceling 122 telecom licences on February 2 in a 2G scam case. Headed by the outgoing Chief Justice SH Kapadia, who retires on September 29, the Bench also comprises Justices DK Jain, JS Khehar, Dipak Misra and Ranjan Gogoi. The Bench had reserved its response on August 16 at the conclusion of arguments. During the hearing, the government had maintained that it was allocating natural resources under various policies and pleaded that the judiciary had no role in deciding the method for utilisation of such resources. “The court cannot strike down a policy decision taken by the government merely because it feels that another decision would have been fairer or more scientific or logical or wiser,” the government had said in an affidavit, citing a verdict of the apex court in the Narmada Bachao Andolan case. In the February 2, 2012 judgment, a two-member Bench had cancelled 122 telecom licences issued in 2008 by former telecom minister A Raja at rates of 2001on first-come, first-served basis and directed the government to auction the licences to realise market value. The President had made the reference to the SC on the Cabinet’s recommendations finalised in the light of the apex court verdict. The government said it was allocating coal under the New Coal Distribution Policy, spectrum under the National Telecom Policy and petroleum and natural gas under the New Exploration and Licencing Policy. On the other hand, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, who were instrumental in getting the 2G licences cancelled, contended that under the Constitution all the national resources belonged to the people. The government was holding these only in the capacity of a trust of the citizens and as such it was duty-bound to avoid losses by auctioning them.
	river interlinking SC rejects review plea, directs govt to go ahead Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 26 The Supreme Court today rejected the government’s plea for reviewing its judgment (of February 27), directing the government to go ahead with its ambitious project to inter-link rivers in India. “We have gone through the review petition and the relevant documents. There is delay in filing the review petition. In our opinion, no case for review of our order is made on the grounds of delay as well as on merits and, accordingly, the review petition is dismissed,” a Bench headed by the outgoing Chief Justice SH Kapadia said. In the verdict, the SC had asked the government to constitute a committee headed by the Water Resources Minister for planning and implementing the project. The committee would meet at least once in two months and submit its reports every six months to the Cabinet which shall take all final and appropriate decisions, a three-member Bench headed by CJI Kapadia had ruled while disposing of two PILs on the issue. Acknowledging that the SC ‘may not be a very appropriate forum for planning and implementation of such a programme having wide national dimensions and ramifications,’ the Bench, which included Justices AK Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar, said it was necessary for constituting the committee ‘to plan, construct and implement this inter-linking of rivers programme for the benefit of the nation as a whole.’
	Now, community health officers to meet shortage of doctors in villages Aditi Tandon/TNS New Delhi, September 26 The Health Ministry today gave a go-ahead to the introduction of a specially designed 3.5-year BSc course in community health to create public health specialists for meeting the crunch of doctors in villages. The course will enable XII science (physics, chemistry and biology) pass outs to enrol for BSc (Community Health) at rural health schools, which will be affiliated to state health sciences universities for grant of degrees. The Medical Council of India (MCI) will be the licensing and registering authority for BSc (CH) graduates, who will have to seek re- registration every five years. The course will comprise six months’ internship at a district hospital to which rural health schools with an intake of 50 students will have to be attached. A provisional degree will come after three years and a full degree after internship will earn the graduate the tag of a community health officer at gazette level. The course will create middle-level CHOs, who would be posted at village sub-centres and will not be called doctors. A BSc (CH) will only work in a public health setting and will be trained to provide primary care for simple, uncomplicated common problems of adults and children on purely ambulatory basis at sub-centre clinics. They will have to refer other cases after first aid and pre-referral stabilisation care. At a meeting chaired by the Health Secretary today, the course structure developed by a committee under Dr Vinod Paul, Head, Pediatrics, AIIMS, was approved and the MCI was asked to explore the legal options of recognising the curriculum. BSc (Community Health) Mid-level health professionals to be posted at sub-centres Will prescribe generic medicines for common ailments Won’t be allowed to prefix Dr; will only work in public health setting, not privately XII science pass outs can take the 3.5-yr BSc Community Health degree course The MCI will register BSc (CH) graduates; state health science universities will grant degrees
	MoD slams criticism of pension hike Ajay Banerjee/TNS New Delhi, September 26 A day after groups of ex-servicemen termed the government hike in pension for armed forces personnel as ‘misleading’, authorities in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) today retorted by saying this was the third hike in pension in the past four years. A detailed chart of the financial benefits given to ex-servicemen since October 2008 is being calculated and will be released soon, said sources. “Our aim is to cover the gap in pensions in a phased manner. This is the third increase in pension of ex-servicemen after the Sixth Central Pay Commission award was announced in October 2008,” authoritative sources said. The recent hike will help retired personnel of the Indian Air Force, the Navy and the Army. Moving towards ‘one-rank-one-pension’ formula is a continuing process. Despite the critical financial position of the country, the government has come out with a fresh package for ex-servicemen, sources in the Ministry of Defence said. Giving out the financial gains made by ex-servicemen following the recent hike announced on September 24, sources said, “On implementation, jawans will be getting an increase ranging from 9.7 per cent to 13 per cent on the existing pension.” Commissioned officers will be getting an increase in the range of 10 per cent to 28 per cent. The basic pension of a sepoy with 17 years of service will increase by about Rs 500 per month, that of a naik with 22 years of service by about Rs 550 per month and of a havaldar with 24 years of service by about Rs 800 per month. Dearness allowance (presently 65 per cent) will be also payable.
	Chargesheet filed against Jundal Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 26 Almost three months after Indian intelligence agencies picked up Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative Abu Jundal — one of the principal behind-the-scenes operatives of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks — the Delhi Police today filed a chargesheet against him accusing Jundal of directing the 10 gun-totting terrorists over the phone from Karachi. He has been charged under Sections of the IPC, a series of stringent terror-related provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides the Explosives Substances Act and the Passport Act. Notably, the chargesheet says that Fasih Mohd is an accused person in the case. However, he has not been chargesheeted. Fasih Mohd has been detained in Saudi Arabia and India has requested his extradition. A total of 166 persons, including foreigners, had died in the shoot-out in November 2008. The chargesheet accuses Jundal of being involved in terror activities across India in a bid to avenge atrocities against Muslims, particularly those committed during 2002 Gujarat riots. “He admitted during questioning of being hurt during the Godhra riots in 2002,” sources said. The chargesheet has been filed by the special cell of the Delhi police before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vidya Prakash in the Tis Hazari Courts. The court today issued a production warrant ordering that Jundal be produced in court on September 28. He is presently in the custody of the Anti-Terror Squad of the Mumbai police.
	First single PG medical entrance test announced Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 26 The Health Ministry today announced the start of a common medical entrance test for admission to all post-graduate courses in 350 medical colleges of India from 2013. AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh, and JIPMER, Puducherry, will continue to hold separate exams because these are institutes of national importance set up under Acts of Parliament. “In order to bring transparency and streamline admission to post-graduate medical and dental courses, the government has decided to introduce a single entrance examination to be known as the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) from the academic year 2013-14,” the ministry press statement said.
	BJP’s national executive Drums, flutes greet delegates at Surajkund Ravi S Singh/TNS Surajkund (Faridabad), September 26 BJP delegates from various parts of the country assembled here to participate in the party’s three-day conclave were treated with high dose of Haryanvi culture. The guests were welcomed with high sounds of drum, flute and other musical instruments at the entrance. The members of the cultural troupe were clad in spanking white dhotis and kurtas with colourful headgears. The troupe members went into an overdrive as soon as any BJP leader arrived at the venue. A couple of local leaders were seen prompting the troupe members to raise the decibel level of the musical instruments to draw the attention of the visiting leaders towards them. However, in order to impress the leaders, the troupe members created a din making it impossible for the others at the place to interact with each other. Before the inaugural speech of President Nitin Gadkari, the top leaders of the party, including LK Advani and Arun Jaitley, were presented turbans by Haryana president of the party, Krishanpal Gujjar. Gujjar tied the turbans on the leaders in true Haryanvi style. Gujjar, in his welcome address, detailed the historical importance of Haryana and its vibrant culture. He said Haryana was the land where the holy Geeta originated. He drew the attention of the guests to Haryana being the land where Mahabharata took place. Mahabharata symbolised the victory of justice over injustice. He said the time had come for the BJP to launch its fight to the finish against the “unjust” Congress-led government. However, the absence of Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, from the programme disappointed the local leaders. She is a Haryanvi and the leaders had hoped to interact with her during the visit. It was announced that she could not attend the programme on account of ill-health. Music or Noise? The troupe members went into an overdrive as soon as any BJP leader arrived at the venue A couple of local leaders were seen prompting the troupe members to raise the decibel level of the musical instruments to draw the attention of the visiting leaders In order to impress the leaders, the troupe members created a din making it impossible for the others at the place to interact with each other
	Haryana BJP takes recourse to symbolism Ravi S Singh/TNS Surajkund, September 26 The Haryana unit of the BJP, which is hosting party’s national executive meet and a two-day session of its National Council, has taken recourse to symbolism during the course of the two events in order to expand its social base in the state. The party has sought to revive the memory of the former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana and state president of the party, late Mangal Sein, by naming the venues of the two events after him. The leader hailed from the Punjabi community and had an urban vote bank in the state. Sein, who was the founder of the Haryana unit of the BJP, was said to be instrumental in the party’s electoral performance in the 1987 Assembly election in the state. The BJP had won 17 out of the 18 seats it contested in alliance with the Lok Dal and was part of the coalition government headed by late Devi Lal. After the demise of Sein, the BJP witnessed a downfall in the state due to lack of a leader to head it. Veer Singh Yadav, a BJP leader from Haryana, said it was an honour to cherish the memories of Sein. The BJP has named the two main entrances of the venue after Sir Chhotu Ram (remembered as Deen Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram), considered to be the tallest farmers’ leader in northern India, and Rao Tula Ram, the hero of Independence struggle of 1857. The BJP has also named the inner two entrance gates of the venue after Suraj Mal, the head of erstwhile princely state of Bharatpur, and Raja Nahar Singh, both renowned figures of the freedom struggle. Suraj Mal is respected in the Jat community. There is also an apparent caste equation that the BJP wants to string in its favour through its politics of symbolism. While Sein (Punjabi), Rao Tula Ram (Yadav) and Raja Nahar Singh (Gujjar) were non-Jats, Sir Chhotu Ram and Suraj Mal were from the Jat community. However, in an apparent bid to maintain a balance, the BJP has named the campus related to the programme after its former national vice-president and Rajya Sabha member late Bal Apte. He was a pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Expanding vote bank The BJP wants to string caste equation in its favour through its politics of symbolism by naming venues and gates after leaders from various communities The state unit of the BJP has named venues of the national executive meet and a two-day session of its National Council after former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana late Mangal Sein The saffron party has named the two main entrances of the venue after farmers’ leader Sir Chhotu Ram and freedom fighter Rao Tula Ram The party has also named the inner two entrance gates of the venue after freedom fighters Suraj Mal and Raja Nahar Singh Thus, the BJP is wooing different communities -- while Punjabi (Sein), Yadav (Ram) and Gujjar (Singh) were non-Jats, Sir Chhotu Ram and Suraj Mal were from the Jat community
	India looking to buy Mirage trainers from foreign air force Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS Bangalore, September 26 French company Dassault’s decision to stop manufacturing Mirage 2000 has put the IAF in a fix with regard its requirement of replenishing its fleet of Mirage 2000 trainers. The IAF is now trying to acquire two Mirage 2000 trainer aircraft from a foreign air force. Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said the IAF had a fleet of 51 Mirage 2000 but the number fell to 49 following the crash of two Mirage 2000 trainers earlier this year. Before the crashes, the IAF had 10 trainer aircraft. Now down to eight, this number is considered inadequate for training pilots. But the question is whether any country would spare two trainer aircraft for India to buy.