The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	SC notice to Centre, CBI on Coalgate Legal Correspondent New Delhi, November 19 The Supreme Court today sought response of the Centre and the CBI to a PIL seeking a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged scam in the allotment of coal blocks. A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and Anil Dave asked the government and the CBI to file a comprehensive response within eight weeks. Initially, the Bench was reluctant to entertain the PIL immediately as it had already issued notice on a similar petition. Attorney General GE Vahanvati also pointed out that both petitions were pleading for the cancellation of coal block allotments. The Bench, however, noted that the first petition had talked about 194 allocations, while the fresh PIL sought cancellation of 250 allotments made between 2004 and 2012, including 101 for the steel sector, 97 for the power industry, 10 for cement and 37 for “commercial use”. At this, the AG said, “I am not for a moment saying that the fresh petition should not be considered.” The fresh PIL has been filed by former Secretaries, including Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramanian and the Common Cause, an NGO, alleging that the Centre had gone for “massive allocation of a scarce natural resource of coal to a few select private companies at no cost in a completely arbitrary and non-transparent manner, causing a huge loss to the public exchequer running into tens of lakhs of crores of rupees. Among the other petitioners are former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, former Union Secretaries Ramaswamy Iyer and Sushil Tripathi and Admirals (retd) RH Tahiliani and L Ramdas, who has been the Navy chief. Either a court-monitored probe by the CBI or an SIT was necessary to unearth the full magnitude of the coal scam that involved not only the Ministry of Coal but also the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Steel, the Ministry of Power and governments of states where the coal blocks were located, the PIL said.
	Beni wants Rahul as next PM Tribune News Service Lucknow, November 19 Reiterating his earlier position, Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad Verma today made no secret of his desire to see AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister. “His (Rahul Gandhi’s) appointment as the head of the Congress election coordination committee is a clear indication of the Congress high command’s wish. It has always been my personal choice to see him as the next Prime Minister,” said Verma while speaking to the media here today. Claiming that the next Lok Sabha elections would not be held before May 2014, he said certain political parties were in a hurry to see elections being held earlier. “The Congress is in no such hurry,” he added.
	Girls held for anti-Thackeray Facebook post, get bail Tribune News Service Mumbai, November 19 Two girls were arrested in Palghar on the outskirts of Mumbai on Sunday over a Facebook post questioning the shutdown in the city for Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray's funeral and later granted bail. The comment also led to an attack on the clinic of an uncle of one of them by Sena activists. According to Inspector Uttam Sonawane of the Palghar Police Station, 21-year-old Shaheen Dhada was arrested on Sunday after a complaint about her post about Bal Thackeray on Facebook. A friend of hers, Renu, who 'liked' the post was also arrested, according to Sonawane. “People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that,” Shaheen had said in her status update on the social networking site. Shortly after the post came to light, Shiv Sena activists of the area attacked an orthopaedic clinic run by her uncle and trashed the place. No arrests have been made so far. Subsequently, the local police arrested Shaheen and Renu for hurting the religious sentiments of people and under provisions of the Information Technology Act. Though Shaheen apologised and deleted her comments, she was arrested and produced before the holiday court which sent her to 14 days' judicial custody. Today, both girls were produced in a local court and released on bail. "Their posts do not incite violence. There is nothing derogatory about anyone in their posts," the girls' lawyer Sudhir Gupta told TV channels here. The arrests caused major embarrassment to the Maharashtra Police. An inquiry has been ordered into how the senior inspector of the Palghar police station registered complaints against the two girls for insulting the religious sentiments of people. Shortly after the Mumbai Police received flak for arresting cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on charges of sedition recently, the state home department had warned the police against mindlessly charging people under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Bandh call to mourn death of Thackeray sparks confusion A bandh call given by a traders' organisation to pay homage to the late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray caused panic among residents of Mumbai who were wary of being inconvenienced for a third day. Several schools and colleges, which were due to open today after the Diwali vacation, extended the holidays by a day as a precautionary measure. Though the Shiv Sena clarified that it had not declared a bandh today, the statement by party spokesman Sanjay Raut that the bandh was 'voluntary' caused confusion among the people. Many taxis and auto-rickshaws stayed off the roads in the morning forcing people to queue up at bus stops or walk to the nearest railway station. However, later in the day, when it became clear that the party's activists would not enforce a bandh, private and public vehicles returned to the roads.
	India-ASEAN Summit India ready to sign FTA in services: PM Phnom Penh, November 19 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today announced that India is ready to conclude the much-delayed Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment with ASEAN by next month that will provide a “springboard” for rapid expansion in ties as he invited investments from the 10-nation grouping citing “enormous opportunities”. Contending that enhanced cooperation between India and ASEAN was crucial for promotion of peace, security and stability in the region and addressing shared challenges, he said the agreement in Services and Investment with ASEAN will send a strong signal of deepening economic engagement. He also cited the steps taken by India to improve investment environment. Addressing the India-ASEAN Summit here, Singh said India's relationship with the 10-nation grouping continues to grow in all dimensions, with commerce and connectivity being vital areas of this relationship in which good progress has been made. He referred to the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement on Trade in Goods signed in 2009 and said it has served well, with the two-way commerce increasing to nearly $ 80 billion in the Indian financial year ending March 2012, exceeding the target of $ 70 billion. “I would like to inform Your Excellencies that India is prepared to conclude the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment Promotion before the Commemorative Summit in Delhi in December. This will be a strong signal of our deepening economic engagement, and will allow for rapid expansion in trade and investment flows in both directions,” Singh said. The FTA in Services and Investment were delayed due to strong differences between the two sides. “I have no doubt that the conclusion of the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investments, together with our existing Agreement on Trade in Goods, will be a springboard for rapid expansion in our economic relations,” Singh said, adding “the promising initiatives for cooperation in diverse sectors will add additional depth and range to our cooperation”. At the same time, he invited investments from the 10-nation ASEAN into India. “India's large markets and rapid growth offer enormous opportunities for investments. We are taking a series of steps to further improve investment environment and accelerate growth. We look forward to increased ASEAN investments into India,” the Prime Minister said. He said India would offer its own resources, expertise and experience to support growth and development in ASEAN countries, where such needs exist. Expressing happiness over increased presence of Indian private sector in the region, he said, “I would also like to stress the importance of creating an environment that makes it easier for our professionals, entrepreneurs, students and tourists to travel between India and ASEAN countries”. — PTI Manmohan speak Enhanced cooperation between India and ASEAN was crucial for promotion of peace, security and stability in the region Cites the steps taken by India to improve investment environment India's relationship with the 10-nation grouping continues to grow in all dimensions Commerce and connectivity being vital areas of this relationship
	Goa rolls out red carpet for film fest Nonika Singh/TNS Panaji, November 19 From Bollywood star Akshay Kumar who will be the chief guest at the inaugural function to South Korea’s redoubtable filmmaker Kim Ki Duk to reputed director Mira Nair to Hollywood’s prolific producer of Indian origin Ashok Amritraj and many others are expected to descend on Goa’s soil to lend glamour and substance during the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI). All set to open on November 20, the 10 days’ festival will screen nearly 370 films, including 162 foreign films. With a total of 70 countries participating in the festival, director of the festival Shankar Mohan shared highlights of the IFFI, Goa. While the festival will open with Ang Lee’s ‘Life of Pie’, it will conclude with Mira Nair’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ both films having an Indian connect. The Indian panorama section will open with Jahnu Baruha’s film ‘Baandhon’. The non-feature films of Indian cinema will get rolling with the ‘Celluloid Man’. Since the year marks the centenary year of the Indian cinema, a special programme will be unveiled on November 21. While agreeing that nothing can be fully representative of the Indian cinema’s journey in the past century, Mohan spoke of the centenary programme’s significant feature which would be a 20-minute enactment of Dada Saheb Phalke’s conversation with his wife written by his granddaughter and directed by MS Sathyu of the ‘Garam Hawa’ fame. While retrospectives, homage, master strokes and much more will continue to celebrate the spirit of cinema and the greats associated with it, in an endeavour to take the festival to the next level, many new firsts have been introduced. Among other things, the festival will include a special section on mysticism called Soul of Asia. Among countries the focus will be on Turkish cinema showing eight films and the lifetime achievement award will be conferred on Polish filmmaker Krysztof Zanussi. Nitin Desai, the art director of movies like ‘Jodha Akbar’ and ‘Devdas’, has been roped in for the creative design of the festival. Since Mohan believes film is a wedding of art and technology, much attention has been paid to creating a digital platform not only by providing a 3D screen at the Kala Akademy but also by way of technical workshops. Animation being a genre in itself, a section on animation films will be called Sketches on Screen. While Mohan doesn’t like to compare festivals and feels IFFI is unique, he hopes that in times to come it will become the Cannes of the East. Nevertheless, its commitment to showcase outstanding cinema of the world only continues to grow and this year alone the festival will witness premieres of no less than 84 films. Reason to rejoice Punjabis have a reason to rejoice too. Punjabi filmmaker Gurvinder Singh's much-acclaimed film 'Anhe Ghode Da Daan' is one of the two Indian films that will be competing with international films for the coveted peacock. Besides the Indian homage section will be devoted to men like Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna and Dara Singh among others.
	Tardy work on Arunachal roads, airstrips has Antony fuming Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 19 With 22 strategic roads and upgrade of five airstrips in Arunachal Pradesh running years behind schedule, Defence Minister AK Antony today questioned the languid pace and ordered the setting up of a special monitoring committee for the construction of airstrips in the North-Eastern state. Antony was conducting the first of the four-part review here today when he told the officials and the three Service chiefs, “In the wake of the current security environment, we need to go beyond the probable dates of the completion of projects,” officials said. At the meeting, Antony tasked his junior minister Jitendra Singh to take up the work of pending environment clearances and bottlenecks that are holding back the road and infrastructure projects in the North-East. In certain sensitive areas, the Ministry of Environment has relaxed the conditions which lay down planting of two trees for each tree cut. According to sources, some 26 roads in Arunachal Pradesh were targeted for completion in 2012. Only four have been completed. The rest are stuck up due to want of forest clearances, labour shortage and slackness of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Antony was not happy with the BRO and has asked the BRO to come up with a list of pending work. The BRO assessment will be done shortly. Each passing year, the BRO is struggling to even spend its allocated budget. The other crucial aspect discussed today was to upgrade the existing mud-paved advanced landing grounds (ALGs) with fully paved concrete runaways.
	Prez launches drive against malnutrition Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 19 Faced with malnutrition which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has repeatedly described as a national shame, the government today got Bollywood power to spread the message of good nutritional habits across India. Beginning this week, actor-lyricist duo of Aamir Khan and Prasoon Joshi will communicate to people the simple ways of preventing and reducing malnutrition on Doordarshan and All India Radio channels. Aamir will be the face of the Information, Education and Communication Campaign against Malnutrition which President Pranab Mukherjee launched today at the Vigyan Bhavan in the presence of Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath. The lyrics of Prasoon, whose songs in Aamir-starrer ‘Taare zameen par’ were applauded for their emotional appeal, will drive the message of nutrition home. On launch, where Aamir and Prasoon were present, the President described rising malnutrition as a wake-up call.
	Uttarakhand CM orders probe into Namdhari’s role Tribune News Service Dehradun, November 19 Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered an inquiry into the alleged role of Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, chairman of the state Minorities Commission, in the killing of Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep Chadha at their Chattarpur farmhouse in New Delhi on Saturday. It was revealed that Namdhari, a close business associate of Ponty, was with him when firing took place killing the brothers. It was also alleged that Sachin Tyagi, an official gunman of Namdhari, fired from his weapon. Tyagi has been detained by the Delhi Police, while an FIR has been registered against Namdhari in the double murder case in New Delhi. Namdhari was appointed as the chairman of the Uttarakhand Minorities Commission by the previous BJP government headed by former Chief Minister Ranmesh Pokhriyal Nishank. It was believed that he got the statutory position due to his proximity to Ponty. Ponty had close relations with the then BJP government and was also allotted several hydro-electric projects. The hydro-electric projects allotted by the BJP government were cancelled following adverse ruling by the Nainital High Court. But Ponty, who was keen to enter the hydro-electric sector, knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court against the cancellation of hydro-electric projects. The matter is still pending in the apex court. Meanwhile, the incident has come as an opportunity for the state Congress government to sack Namdhari, against whom over 24 criminal cases are pending.
	Punjab Police withdraws security Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 19 The six security personnel attached with Hardeep Chadha and one with Ponty Chadha will return to Punjab after the Delhi Police gives them the go-ahead. Their role in the shootout at the Chattarpur farmhouse, in which the Chadha brothers were killed, is under examination though the investigation team has surmised that they did not have any role. Sources said the arms being used by all seven security personnel would be sent for forensic examination to confirm whether or not these were used in the gunbattle. Additional Director-General of Police (Security) Dinkar Gupta said it had been decided to withdraw the security personnel as both protectees had passed away. He said the Punjab Police was okay with the decision of the Delhi Police to reconstruct the crime scene as well as get the arms being carried by the security guards examined. The ADGP said the preliminary inquiry conducted by both the Punjab Police as well as the Delhi Police suggested that Hardeep was escorted by three Punjab Police security personnel on the fateful day. The three were in a Scorpio vehicle that tailed Hardeep’s car when the latter rushed back to the Chattarpur farmhouse from Noida after learning that Ponty was taking over the house by force. The police officer said the three reached the Chattarpur farmhouse about five minutes after the shootout. Gupta said Ponty had left the lone security guard attached with him at his residence. He said the guard too had arrived at the crime scene after the gunbattle. Police sources said three Punjab Police personnel were attached with Ponty but two of them had been removed following a security review in May. Hardeep’s security cover was scaled down, but was later restored following a representation by him. Security cover Ponty had 3 Punjab Police personnel but two were removed after a review in May Hardeep had managed to retain six Punjab Police personnel despite a move to scale down his security
	CSD profits to fund defence accounts dept welfare schemes Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 19 Personnel of the Defence Accounts Department (DAD), a civilian establishment under the Ministry of Defence, will now benefit from profits generated by Canteen Stores Department (CSD) outlets. The Controller General of Defence Accounts has identified several welfare schemes that would be run out of allocations from CSD trade surplus funds. Other schemes include rewarding meritorious wards of employees, providing sports and gymnasium and books for libraries, improvement of play areas in DAD colonies and provision of security arrangements. Like armed forces personnel, some entitled civilians - who are paid out of defence estimates - are entitled to CSD facilities. DAD establishments, which are located across the country, have their own CSD outlets. Though the cost of items sold through CSD outlets are priced lower than market rates, CSD generates significant profits that are used for the welfare of armed forces personnel and regimental activities. The CSD, which has 34 area depots and 3,745 retail outlets nationwide known as unit-run canteens (URCs), had a turnover of over Rs 9,752 crore in 2011 and a profit of close to Rs 400 crore. Recently, the functioning of URCs came under the scanner with the Comptroller and Auditor General raising objections over certain administrative procedures and financial transactions carried out by the three services which manage the URCs. The Services had refused CAG access to URC records.
	BSF arrested 199 illegal B’deshi migrants in Meghalaya this year Bijay Sankar Bora/TNS Guwahati, November 19 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in the India-Bangladesh border sector in Meghalaya have apprehended 199 illegal migrants while they were crossing the border in the sector this year. Shillong-based DIG of the BSF, Ravi Gandhi, said that these arrests were made during special drives launched by the force along the border in Meghalaya that is yet to be fully fenced. He said that out of the arrested illegal Bangladeshis, 73 were arrested in October while the minimum arrests (6) were made in June. Bangladeshis sneak into Meghalaya through the border mainly to get employment in the coal-rich belts of the hill state. Private coal mine owners are always ready to employ illegal migrants from Bangladesh at cheaper wages. The coal mining sector in Meghalaya is hugely unregulated where unscientific and hazardous rat-hole mining is rampant. The BSF has been rooting for better intelligence coordination to check illegal migration from across the border. The long stretch of unfenced border too has helped illegal migration. Out of the total 443-km stretch of Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya, 230 km have been fenced while work is going on in 110 km. However, fencing work is yet to be started in the remaining portion due to opposition from local people. Co-ordination Committee on International Border (CCIB), comprising the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) and Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF), have opposed construction of the border fence along the Zero Line as agricultural land belonging to villagers will be lost if the fence is constructed.
	Bank looted, one killed in Bangalore Bangalore, November 19 In a daring film-style bank robbery, an unidentified man fatally shot a customer and decamped with Rs 10-12 lakh cash from a nationalised bank branch here this evening, police said. The assailant entered the branch of Corporation Bank in Soledevanahalli area between 4 to 4.15 pm, fired from his pistol injuring customer Muralidhar. He then threatened the bank cashier to part with the money in his possession, estimated to be around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, police said. Muralidhar later succumbed to his injuries. — PTI