Govt. to promulgate fresh ordinance on Land Bill
Even as the opposition to the Land Acquisition Bill continues in different quarters, the NDA government is determined to bring to Parliament its amended Bill through a fresh Ordinance. The amended NDA
Hindu
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Waiver won't end indebtedness: Bardhan
This was only a one-time waiver and farmers would fall back into debt Left parties would oppose move to increase working hours from 8 to 10 THRISSUR: Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan said on Saturday that the loan waiver scheme announced by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his budget speech on Friday was no solution to farmers' indebtedness. "For four years, you saw the farmers dying. For four years, you watched them fall deeper and deeper into indebtedness and committing suicide in States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. And, in the fifth year, with the elections coming, you hand out some sops. Then again, it is a one-time waiver. But what happens tomorrow? They will be thrown from one round of indebtedness to another,' Mr. Bardhan said, inaugurating the four-day State conference of the CPI here. Beneficiaries The CPI leader also questioned the government's claim about the number of farmers who would benefit and pointed out that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was on record that more than half the farmers in the country were dependent on money-lenders for their credit needs. The government's loan waiver offer would not touch such loans. If the government was sincere about the farm debt crisis, it should have announced the formation of a Debt Relief Commission and pegged the interest rate on farm loans at 4 per cent as demanded by the Left parties when the budget was in the making, he said. Mr. Bardhan said the CPI and other Left parties would oppose the proposal in the Economic Survey to increase working hours from eight to ten. They would wage a battle to thwart attempts to curtail the rights won by the working class over 150 years ago through a long struggle. He also pointed out that the Finance Minister did not respond to the Left's plea for measures to universalise the public distribution system. He welcomed the decision to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to all the districts in the country, but regretted that only Rs.16,000 crores was earmarked for its implementation. This would not be sufficient to provide 100 days' employment to all the eligible persons in the rural areas or to give them wages as envisaged in the NREG Act. The failure to make adequate funds available clearly showed that the government was not interested in implementing the scheme in letter and in spirit, Mr. Bardhan said. The BJP was trying its best to utilise the discontent in the minds of the people over a host of issues, including the sharp increase in the prices of essentials, he said. The Congress seemed to be offering power to the BJP on a platter, with its ill-conceived policies and failure to come out with people-friendly measures. On its part, the Left was committed to keeping the BJP out of power and wanted all the Left and secular parties to come together on a common platform on the basis of a clear pro-people programme. What emerged from the exercise should not be a Third Front where parties came together for electoral purposes, but a real third alternative to the Congress and the BJP, he said.
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Project to focus on road flaws
A project to highlight the key flaws in design of Indian roads and develop a manual is to be launched here in the Rajasthan Capital. The manual, first of its kind in India, will contain recommendations on "remedial traffic calming strategies' for policy makers and those involved in traffic management such as police, municipal authorities and the public works department persons. CUTS (Consumer Unity and Trust Society) International has conceptualised the project in partnership with Lund University, Department of Technology and Society, Sweden with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency, New Delhi. The project is titled, "Traffic calming strategies to improve pedestrian safety in India'. Umesh Gupta of CUTS-CART (Centre for Research and Training) said 24 sites from six locations would be taken up for a detailed study of road crashes.
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Opposition demands proper allocation of Yamuna waters
The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, has written to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz drawing his attention to the Capital's water woes and demanding proper allocation of the Yamuna waters. He has urged the Union Minister to convene a meeting of the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to discuss the issue of water sharing and to evolve a strategy to ensure that all States get their allocated share. Referring to the 1994 agreement on water sharing among Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and the decision to construct a pucca canal for carrying water from Haryana to Delhi, the BJP leader said the Congress Government had failed to ensure timely construction of that canal. "The Delhi Government was directed to get the pucca Munak canal constructed, through which water would reach Delhi from Tajewala. It is a matter of concern that in spite of the lapse of 12 years the canal has not been constructed,' the letter stated. Pointing out that almost a third of Delhi is deprived of potable water today, Prof. Mukhi said the recent reduction in water supply had compounded the woes of the people. Cautioning that the ground water level in the Capital was fast depleting, Prof. Mukhi said at some places the level had reached a precarious stage. Seeking Prof. Soz's intervention, Prof. Mukhi said the Centre should find a solution to the water crisis in the Capital, which had become a perennial problem. The letter also referred to the flow of sewage into the Yamuna, which is making the process of river cleaning impossible despite a huge amount of money being spent on the cleaning works.
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Sewer facilities for 200 villages soon: Sheila
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced on Saturday that her Government would soon provide sewer facilities in about 200 villages of the Capital to ensure facilities at par with the other approved colonies. Laying the foundation stone of a new 58-lakh-litre capacity underground reservoir and booster pumping station at Narela, Ms. Dikshit, who is also Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, said the Board would construct 58 underground reservoirs by 2009, of which 28 would be in East Delhi. Asserting that the Delhi Government was committed to providing drinking water supply to rural areas, she said a comprehensive plan had been chalked out for this purpose. "The Delhi Jal Board has commissioned a city-wide study with a planning perspective of 2011. This study had created a workable model to commission 109 reservoirs. "This would go a long way in improving availability and ensuring pressure of water in various parts of Delhi,' she added. East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, local MLA Charan Singh Kandera, Councillor Sharad Chauhan and Delhi Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur were among those present at the function. Ms. Dikshit said in order to rationalise water distribution in North Delhi, West Delhi, North-West Delhi, South-West Delhi and Central Delhi, 25 underground reservoir and booster pumping stations would be constructed at various locations.
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Stop Tamil Nadu's project at Hogenakal, Centre urged
The Chamarajanagara Zilla Abhivriddhi Horata Samiti and Hogenakal Jalapata Ulisi Zilla Samiti has urged the Governor to seek the immediate intervention of the President for stalling the Tamil Nadu Government's "unethical' attempts to build a reservoir across the Cauvery in the vicinity of Hogenakal Falls. It has clarified that the ongoing works on the reservoir should be stalled until a joint survey by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Government was conducted and the Supreme Court pronounced its stand on the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal's final report. Office-bearers The office-bearers of the samitis, Ashwathnarayana, Puttaraje Urs, Simeon D'Silva and K. Veerabhadraswamy, told presspersons here on Friday that it was not clear on what grounds work orders for the reservoir in the forest area had been issued. The Tamil Nadu Government had approved the drinking water project contradicting its own stand. It was know that Karnataka wanted to launch a drinking water project to Male Mahadeshwara Hills. But the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa objected to it, they said. Encroachment They alleged that encroachment of the Karnataka lands, illegal sand mining from Gopinatham, black stone mining from Palar Munji tank, increasing illegal structures at Hogenakal Island, Atnakampatti, Jambutapatti and Alambadi villages had reflected the "connivance' of the Karnataka Forest Department officials with the Tamil Nadu at the cost of agricultural production.
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Four lakh farmers to benefit
State stands to gain from welfare schemes announced for minorities Roughly four lakh farmers in Kerala are expected to gain from the debt relief measures announced by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's farmer-friendly budget. Since the huge majority of farmers in debt in Kerala are marginal (holding below one hectare) and small (below two hectares), their debts could be totally waived. And a sizeable number of them will be from two districts, Wayanad and Idukki, and most of them will be the so-called
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Chidambaram's bonanza for middle class
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's wife Nalini, their son Kartik and daughter-in-law at the Parliament House after the presentation of the Union budget on Friday. NEW DELHI: In a politically-crafted budgetary exercise ahead of the general election next year, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday announced a massive Rs.60,000- crore loan waiver programme to rid four crore farmers of their financial liability. The Minister also gave higher-than-expected exemptions to income-tax payers along with restructuring of tax slabs. He put no fresh burden on the corporate sector even as he scaled down excise duties on a number of items to stimulate demand, production and economic growth. Striving to placate not only the aam aadmi but also all other sections, Mr. Chidambaram, while presenting the Union budget for 2008-09
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Bird flu: U.N. praises India's swift' action
The United Nations has praised the "swift and comprehensive' measures taken by India to bring under control the "worst-ever' outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal, while urging the country to maintain vigilance in view of similar incidents reported in its neighbourhood. Culling The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's veterinary expert Mohinder Oberoi said intensive culling in the predominantly backyard poultry sector of West Bengal appeared to have stopped the disease in its tracks. Mr. Oberoi made the comment after a recent field trip to the affected areas, where no new outbreaks have been reported since February 2. FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech, however, urged the country to maintain intensive surveillance in high-risk areas as the possibility of new occurrences remained high. "The virus could still be present in the environment despite heavy slaughtering and extensive disinfection of affected areas, or it could be reintroduced from other countries,' he said. Praised The officials praised the national and State governments' political and financial commitment to stamp out the disease. They said public awareness campaigns, a strong command chain from districts to villages, compensation payments and an effective collaboration between animal and human health departments at field level were the key factors for the success.
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We are pursuing pipeline project, says Murli Deora
Says important issues are under discussion Pakistan to levy transit fee for safety and security of the pipeline Will be built as per global standards and incorporate all safety measures NEW DELHI: India is pursuing the issue of import of natural gas from Iran through the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, and important issues concerning the implementation of the project were under discussion among the participating countries, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. As per current indications, the pipeline within Iran up to the border with Pakistan would be laid and operated by an agency to be nominated by Iran that would bear all responsibility for safety and security of the pipeline within its territory, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister said in a written reply to a question. Safety and security of the pipeline and gas within Pakistan would be provided by the Pakistan government for which a transit fee would be levied. Discussions on the security package by the Pakistan Government and the transit fee were continuing. The Minister said the pipeline would be constructed as per international standards, incorporating all safety features. It was envisaged to provide round-the-clock communication and a supervisory control system all along the pipeline. The Minister, however, said no official communication was received on China joining the gas pipeline project. Protracted talks Mr. Deora emphasised that such multilateral projects involved protracted discussions, as all aspects had to be carefully examined and deliberated upon to the satisfaction of the participating countries to protect each country's interests and avoid any problems in the future.
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Anniversary of Terry Fox Run to help cancer research on March 2
Leander Paes considers the Terry Fox Run a journey of life. Considered the largest single-day fund-raiser for cancer research in the world, the 10th anniversary of the event in Mumbai will be celebrated on March 2. People come together as individuals, families, schoolchildren and groups to raise money in Terry Fox's name. "Being a former cancer patient (Leander was diagnosed with a parasitic infection in the head and admitted to M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre, Orlando, in 2003) I feel for his brave effort. We are many miles away from Canada, but I am happy at the efforts put in by the Terry Fox (India) Committee and support group,' said the tennis ace, now looking forward to partnering Aussie Paul Hanley in the Dubai Open next month. Diagnosed with bone cancer at 18, Canadian-born Terry decided to run across the nation to generate funds for cancer research, calling his journey the