Arun Shourie

Opponents of BALCO
disinvestment will pay
heavy price: Shourie

HYDERABAD, Apr 9: The opponents of BALCO disinvestment who were ‘resorting to strong-arm......more

DPC fires fresh salvo,
invokes ‘politically
forced majeure’

MUMBAI, Apr 9: US-based energy major Enron promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) today....more

CRF directs to pay seed
compensation to farmers

KAITHAL, Apr 9: The district Consumer Redressal Forum has directed a Delhi-based.....more

CHENNAI, Apr 9: The countdown for the relaunch of GSLV-D1, India’s newly developed Geosynchronus Satellite Launch Vehicle using cryogenic engine for the first time, will commence in the morning of April 16, 60 hours before the scheduled take off at 03.47 pm on April 18......more

SC to hear BALCO
disinvestment
case, transfers petitions

NEW DELHI, Apr 9: The validity of the controversial decision of the Centre to sell its 51 per cent share in Bharat Aluminium Co to Sterlite Industries for Rs 551.5 crore will now be decided by the Supreme Court, which today transferred to itself all .........more

FICCI suggests new
transport corridor

NEW DELHI, Apr 9: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) today........more

Opponents of BALCO disinvestment will pay
heavy price: Shourie

HYDERABAD, Apr 9: The opponents of BALCO disinvestment who were ‘resorting to strong-arm tactics’ would have to pay a heavy political price in future, Union Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie warned today.

‘The people will be able to see through the designs of political parties who claim to be pioneers of reforms but are stalling the disinvestment process for political reasons,’ Shourie said while delivering a key note address at a conference on ‘global experiences in privatisation’ here.

Referring to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi’s charge of kickbacks in the deal, he said ‘I had asked him to name the recipients. The CVC had also asked him to provide the information. But there has been no response from him’.

The minister also pointed out that despite a categorical assurance that there would be no retrenchments, the State Government had instigated the workers to go on strike and stop production at the BALCO plant.

‘The hypocrisy and contradictory stands of political parties and this disease of hurling allegations are creating problems,’ Shourie said.

Exuding confidence that the entire disinvestment process would get a ‘seal of approval’ from Supreme Court, where the matter is pending, he said ‘we should, in the meantime, need to concentrate on privatisation of other units’.

The prolonged debate over balco would, in fact, help accelerate the disinvestment process in the country, Shourie said. (PTI)

DPC fires fresh salvo, invokes ‘politically forced majeure’

MUMBAI, Apr 9: US-based energy major Enron promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) today fired a fresh salvo by invoking the ‘politically forced majeure’ clause of the power purchase agreement towards the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

The company said this step has been taken to protect its interests and termed it as ‘necessary’ under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and related security documents to notify MSEB of ‘certain events to enforce our rights’.

Confirming the development, MSEB Chairman Vinay Bansal told PTI that the Board had received the notice and a decision on further course of action would be taken after studying the implication of invoking the clause.

A senior MSEB official said the notice would be forwarded to the State Department of legal affairs, which in turn would determine whether the given reasons for invoking the ‘forced majeure’ was politically motivated or otherwise.

Industry sources say the present stand-off was over the non-payment of December-January bills by MSEB and its consequent fine to DPC of over Rs 400 crore. However, MSEB had made ‘a protest payment’ of Rs 113 crore towards DPC’s February bill.

DPC has meanwhile, also dispatched the bill for March to the tune of Rs 146 crore on Saturday last arising out of a 35 per cent plant load factor for the same month.

According to sources, as per the PPA, DPC can also stop supply of power to mseb under the ‘forced majeure’ clause. But a DPC spokesman replied in negative and said the plant was running and the company had no such plans.

‘The latest action by DPC comes in wake of the Centre’s denial to facilitate the company’s invoked counter guarantee followed by Enron’s decision to knock at the doors of London-based arbitrator to resolve the issue’, sources said.

In its notice DPC has said, as an affected party, it had been subjected to ‘concerted, deliberate and politically motivated’ actions of Maharashtra Government, the Government of India and the board, which would have a ‘material and adverse effect’ on the company’s ability to perform obligations under PPA.

DPC spokesperson said the ‘forced majeure’ clause was resorted to as, according to the PPA ‘certain events occurred that are beyond the reasonable control of the affected party (DPC)’.

‘Given the cumulative effect of these political actions, DPC determined that the political force majeure declaration is an appropriate mechanism for providing that notice, and that is an appropriate and necessary step in protecting DPC and its stakeholders’ rights’, the statement added. (PTI)

CRF directs to pay seed compensation to farmers

KAITHAL, Apr 9: The district Consumer Redressal Forum has directed a Delhi-based seed processing firm and the Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC), Umri, to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 per acre to farmers who were supplied poor quality sunflower hybrid variety seeds by them.

The order was passed by Consumer Forum president H K Moudgil and its members Asha Bindlish and Joginder Singh following a complaint by farmer Bhag Singh and his brothers of Saran village of this district recently.

Complainants before the forum here alleged that they had purchased sunflower hybrid seed from the Haryana Agriculture Department through the Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) and Agriculture Development Officer (ADO). The seed was procured through a Delhi-firm and was sold to the farmers through the Agriculture Department.

The farmers said they suffered huge losses as the supplied seed failed to germinate even after 30 days, and they demanded a compensation of Rs 15,000 per acre and Rs 5000 for harassment and mental agony suffered by them as a result of crop failure.

The DDA and ADO of the Agriculture Department pleaded before the Forum that they supplied the seed to the farmers as it was received from the HSDC. The HSDC claimed that it supplied the seed received from the Delhi-based seed processor firm and hence was not liable for any loss to the farmers.

On the other hand, the seed processing firm pleaded before the Consumer Forum that it had supplied quality seed to the HSDC and it had supplied the same seed to other agencies as well, but had not received any adverse report from anywhere about the poor germination of the supplied seed. It also furnished report from a seed laboratory in its favour.

However, the Consumer Forum sent one pack of the seed lying with the farmers for a laboratory test in Haryana seed testing laboratory, Karnal, and asked it to give report about the seed germination.

The result showed that 39 per cent seed was normal, 15 per cent abnormal and 36 per cent dead.

On the basis of the analysis supplied by the laboratory, the consumer forum directed the HSDC and the Delhi-based firm to provide a compensation of Rs 5,000 per acre to the farmers and as they were found to be deficient in providing services to them. The Forum asked the defaulters to comply with the order within 30 days. (UNI)

GSLV relaunch countdown to begin on Apr 16

CHENNAI, Apr 9: The countdown for the relaunch of GSLV-D1, India’s newly developed Geosynchronus Satellite Launch Vehicle using cryogenic engine for the first time, will commence in the morning of April 16, 60 hours before the scheduled take off at 03.47 pm on April 18.

A Shar (Sriharikotta High Altitude Range) spokesman said all arranagements were progressing well and the defective strap on engine which failed to generate the required thrust on ignition on March 28 resulting in aborting the original launch has already been replaced.

All necessary refurbishing was being done to the strap on stage and depending on factors like weather conditions, the exact launch time would be fixed on April 16th, he told PTI.

"If everythng goes well the lift-off will be exactly at 03.47 pm. The launch window extends upto 07.00 pm on the same day to take care of any last minute eventualities".

He said once the countdown started, refuelling of the vehicle stage by stage would take place beginning with the first strap on stage. The refuelling of the most critical cryogenic (third and last) stage would be done at t-6 hours of the countdown, he said.(PTI)

The three stage GSLV-d1, carrying an experimental communication satellite, GSAT-1, for injection into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) exactly 1040 seconds after lift-off, is the first in the series of at least three develomental flights under the Rs 1,400 crore GSLV project.

The successful launch of GSLV-d1 would mark India’s entry into the elite club of five - Japan, Russia, US, European Union and China - which have already crossed the geostationary milestone and also open up enormous commercial possibilities for the country in the area of satellite launching.

The originally scheduled lift-off on March 28 was aborted by automatic safety mechanism just a second before lift-off when one of the four strap-on engines failed thereby salvaging crucial second and third stage of the vehicle. ISRO team attributed the problem to defective plumbing in the oxydiser flowline of the malfunctioning strap-on engine.

An early rescheduling of the flight, just 20 days after the mission was aborted, became possible only because the other stages of the vehicle were intact, the spokesman said. (PTI)

SC to hear BALCO disinvestment case, transfers petitions

NEW DELHI, Apr 9: The validity of the controversial decision of the Centre to sell its 51 per cent share in Bharat Aluminium Co to Sterlite Industries for Rs 551.5 crore will now be decided by the Supreme Court, which today transferred to itself all petitions on this issue pending before various High Courts.

Allowing the Centre’s transfer plea, a bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal and Justice Ruma Pal said "having regard to the importance of the issue and the fact that similar issues are pending before different High Courts at New Delhi and Chattishgarh, we direct the transfer of petitions pending before the High Courts to this court."

Underlining the need for an expeditious decision on the issue of disinvestment, the bench directed transfer of all records of the case from the two High Courts to the apex court within four weeks and asked the Union Government to file its reply affidavit to the petitions within two weeks.

The bench said the matter, after the transfer of the petitions, "will be heard by a three-judge bench."

While BALCO Employees Union and B L Wadhera had challenged the disinvestment decision in Delhi High Court, a worker Suman Singh Kanwar had challenged the same before Chattisgarh High Court.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee contended that the disinvestment policy of the centre, having a countrywide ramification, has been challenged in the petitions and it would be everybody’s interest that the apex court gave a ruling on this.

Sorabjee said "the main question involved in the petitions is what is the parameter of the judicial review in such cases and the apex court is best suited to lay down such a parameter," he said.

The Chattisgarh Government, which had severely criticised the Centre accusing it of taking an arbitrary decision, said it did not have any objection as to which court heard the matter.

Appearing for the state, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, however, said that in many cases the apex court had allowed the High Courts to decide so that it had the benefit of the judgements of the High Courts on the issue.

Sorabjee, assisted by Solicitor General Harish Salve, Additional Solicitor General Kirit Raval and advocate Maninder Singh, contended that unless the parameters of judicial review was decided by the apex court, for every disinvestment the process would be challenged before one or the other High Court.

"Today it is BALCO, tomorrow it might be Air India," he said wondering "is it not in everyone’s interest that the Supreme Court decided the issue."

"We want an authoritative pronouncement on this issue in an expeditious manner," he said adding the High Courts due to exigency of work may not be able to decide the case soon. (PTI)

FICCI suggests new transport corridor

NEW DELHI, Apr 9: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) today suggested a new transport corridor involving India, Iran, Caspian Sea and Russia instead of via Pakistan for surface transportation of goods and said a "positive climate" for bilateral trade prevailed between Teheran and New Delhi.

FICCI gave the suggestion on the eve of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s four-day visit to Iran, the first by him to the oil-rich Gulf since he assumed office and the first Prime Ministerial one in eight years, the last being that of P V Narasimha Rao in 1993.

"The Indian side expects that one of the working problems relating to absence of surface transportation of goods via Pakistan which is serving as an obstacle to India-Iran economic a new transport corridor—India, Iran, Caspian Sea and Russia," FICCI said.

A high-power business delegation headed by FICCI president Chirayu R Amin will be in Iran coinciding with Vajpayee’s stay.

The Prime Minister’s visit from April 10 is expected to give a major thrust to multi-faceted bilateral ties with special focus on enhancing cooperation in fields of oil, natural gas, fertilisers and railways.

Giving details of the chamber’s findings on india-iran economic relations, a FICCI spokesman said bilateral trade between India and Iran enjoyed the advantage of economic complimentaries and the growing need of Teheran to turn to east for its needs.

Vajpayee, who is going at the invitation of president Syed Mohd. Khatami, will address the Iranian Majils (Parliament) on April 11 and the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines the next day.

The spokesman said the volume of India-Iran trade has not fulfilled the potential that the two economies have due to a number of problems like restrictive import regime followed by Teheran, non-tariff barriers, absence of short to long-term financing arrangements and inordinate delays in opening of letters of credit.

"India and Iran could look at non-traditional forms of trade—counter trade to get over problems," he said.

He said a final agreements towards the announcement made by the EXIM Bank of India to offer a credit of US dollars 20 million to Bank Markazi of Iran needed to be signed at the earliest.

On gas and petroleum reserves of Iran, OPEC’s second largest producer, the spokesman said this sector could be a nodal point for India to go for joint ventures and production arrangements.

India, he said, could cooperate with Iran in developing its industry and agriculture besides seating up collaborations in areas of pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, steel industry, oil, engineering, infrastructure, power, fertilizers and software. (PTI)