Excelsior... Nation

SC confirms stay against HC judgement in Bofors case

NEW DELHI, July 29: The Supreme Court today confirmed the stay granted by it earlier against the judgement of the Delhi High Court which had quashed the chargesheet against the Hinduja brothers in the Rs 64 crore Bofors pay-off case.

However, the apex court refused to give an early date of hearing on Central Bureau of Investigation’s the appeal against the High Court judgement.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Mr Justice K G Balakrishnan and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat also admitted a special leave petition separately filed by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against the impugned High Court’s judgement of June 10.

The High Court had quashed the chargesheet on the ground that the CBI had not obtained prior sanction from the CVC before filing the chargesheet as required by the apex court direction in the multi=crore Jain hawala case.

The High Court, however, had said that the CBI could file a fresh chargesheet after complying with the requirement of the apex court’s direction.

Earlier, former Law and Justice Minister and senior counsel Ram Jethmalani made a fervent plea for early listing and disposal of the CBI’s appeal in view of the importance of the matter.

Rejecting the plea, the Chief Justice said many matters pertaining to undertrials and accused in jails were pending for a long time. This appeal could be taken up only after the disposal of those cases.

The court also turned down Mr Jethmalani’s plea to direct the trial court not to pass any order in the petition filed by S P Hinduja, G P Hinduja, P P Hinduja seeking discharge from the case. A month after the Delhi High Court quashed the CBI chargesheet against the three Hinduja brothers in the Rs 64 crore Bofors payoff case, the Supreme Court on July 12 stayed the order and directed continuance of the proceedings before the trial court.

High Court judge, Justice R S Sodhi had on June 10 quashed the chargesheet filed against the Europe-based Hinduja Brothers - Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Chand - saying CBI had not the mandatory clearance from Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) prior to filing of the chargesheet as mandated by the Supreme Court in Vineet Narain judgement.

The CVC, seeking setting aside of the High Court order, said in its appeal the High Court failed to note that the apex court’s directions in the Vineet Narain case were merely that the CBI would report to the CVC and no power was conferred upon CVC in derogation of the duty cast upon the investigating agency under criminal procedure code to file a report.

"The High Court failed to note that the power of superintendence or review the working of the police force would not include the power to convert a final report finding the Commission of report into a closure report," the CVC said. (PTI)

SC asks Cauvery monitoring committee to meet by Aug 12

NEW DELHI, Jul 29: Acting on a petition of Tamil Nadu Government for early release of Cauvery water by Karnataka, the Supreme Court today directed the Cauvery river monitoring committee consisting of officials of the two states to meet latest by August 12 to discuss the issue and give its recommendations to the river authority headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B N Kirpal, Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Arijit Pasayat directed Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to send their representatives to the monitoring committee which, it said, would give its recommendations to the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) within two weeks of the meeting.

The bench then requested the CRA, which also includes the Chief Ministers of the two states, to meet as soon as possible after the submission of the recommendations of the monitoring committee.

The court then fixed hearing on the Tamil Nadu’s application, which had sought immediate release of water to save its kuruvai (short term) crop, for further hearing on September 2.

Tamil Nadu, which had threatened to pull out of the CRA saying that it was doing nothing for the release of Cauvery water, through counsel K K Venugopal and A K Ganguly alleged that as against its share of 52 TMC feet water for the months of June and July, Karnataka had released only seven TMC feet water "desertifying the cauvery basin in the state.

The Tamil Nadu counsel submitted that Karnataka was filling up all its reservoirs and if there was any additional water in the river, then only it was released to Tamil Nadu spelling doom for the kuruvai crop.

Last year, the state had filed a similar application seeking a direction from the apex court to the state of Karnataka for release of at least one TMC feet water to save the samba crops. That application was temed as infructuous by the state in view of the new application filed by it.

Appearing for Karnataka, senior advocate Fali Nariman contended that these grievances should be aired at the appropriate authority as there was a scheme in place and an authority to monitor the implementation of the scheme.

Solcitor General Harish Salve appearing for the Centre suggested that let the cauvery water monitoring committee meet with the participation of the representatives of the two states and then the recommendation of the committee could be considered by the CRA headed by the Prime Minister.

When Venugopal suggested that the process be expedited so that kuruvai crop could be saved, the bench said it had all the time on earth to hear arguments but that would not solve the problem. The matter has to be decided by the two parties by thrashing out the contentious issues, it said.(PTI)

Nation on the verge of mass rural unrest: Jakhar

NEW DELHI, July 29: Warning of a "mass rural unrest", former Agriculture Minister Balram Jakhar has strongly urged the centre to declare the drought situation in the country as a national calamity and combat the crisis at the earliest.

"The likelihood of a mass rural unrest exists and I had communicated this to the centre. I urge the Government to pay due attention and work out a permanent solution to drought rather than dealing with it in terms of relief packages after the calamity has struck," Dr Jakhar told UNI here.

The former minister called as "highly unjustified and anti-people" the centre’s rejection of the opposition demand for centralised management of droughts and floods.

"How could the centre pass on the buck by saying it was the responsibility of states to handle the situation. It is a poor reflection on how concerned the centre is about the condition of the farmers," he added.

Dr Jakhar said farmers have been badly hit by the drought and incidence of suicide and violence may increase. "The life and property of the well-offs could be at risk...The situation is very very tense," he cautioned.

"Even the measures announced by Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh to tackle the situation is too little and too late," Dr Jakhar said adding that the seven-point programme and the funds pledged by the ministry to the states were not enough to resolve the crisis.

Dr Jakhar wondered why the NDA Government took so long to declare drought in the affected areas. "The drought situation this year is even worse than 1987, as almost 60 per cent of the land area is affected," he added.

The former minister said there would not be an immediate food crisis as the Food Corporation of India’s godowns are overflowing with surplus foodgrains. "The real challange, as admitted by Ajit Singh, is to see that delivery system works, prices are stable and additional employment is not only generated but it also sustains the purchasing power of the poor," he added. Dr Jakhar pointed out that the drought assessment process had been crop-oriented and the issues of immediate concern like the availability of drinking water have not even been considered part of drought planning. "No definite plan has been spelt out by the NDA Government on how to tackle the acute shortage of water in many parts of the country," he remarked.

The former Speaker said agriculturists and peasants in the country were always the worst hit by any natural calamity. "It is better for the parliamentarians and those at the helm of affairs to look into the problems in depth or be prepared for an upheaval," he warned.

Dr Jakhar blamed the Centre for reversing the agricultural policy initiated by him during P V Narasimha Rao’s regime (1991-96). "The NDA Government has done nothing for the farmers," he lamented.

The former minister said the benefits of the relief package would not go to the needy as there was rampant corruption in the administration and it was overlooked by the NDA Government.

"While funds have been promised by the centre, it remains to be seen as to how much of it will finally reach the affected people. The drought of 2000 in orissa saw announcement of elaborate relief measures, but in actuality, not even essential foodgrain were released to the starving population," he noted.

The former minister also blamed the country’s Meteorological Department for its failure to warn the Government of the late and inadequate rainfall this year and demanded that the technology used by the department be upgraded for correct and timely predictions.

He said that the Government overlooked the warning of unprecedented drought by the Met Department in the United States.

Dr Jakhar said only relief funds could not help combat the situation and demanded that special funds be released by the Centre.

The former minister warned the NDA Government not to discriminate against the Congress ruled states in announcing the relief funds.

He cited the example of Israel, which managed to combat successfully its the acute water shortage by highly scientific water storage policy. "I had called a team from Israel in 1993 and implemented drip irrrigation," he added. (UNI)

Chhattisgarh BJP demands all-party meet
to discuss drought

RAIPUR, July 29: The Bharatiya Janata Party today urged the Ajit Jogi Government in Chhattisgarh to convene an all-party meeting to disucss steps to be taken to tackle the ‘severe’ drought in all the 16 districts of the state.

Addressing a press conference here, leader of the opposition in the State Assembly, Mr Nand Kumar Sai, said the State Government should take all political parties into confidence about the strategies being worked out to deal with the drought situation.

Stating that all the 16 districts were reeling under severe drought conditions, he said agriculture labourers were migrating to other states in search of jobs. Besides, there was an acute drinking water crisis and a shortage of fodder for animals in the rural areas.

Pointing out that outbreak of malaria in the remote villages of many districts was also a matter of concern, he said the State Government should make arrangements to provide medical facilities in such areas.

Mr Sai said his party had been pressing the State Government to convene the monsoon session of the assembly to discuss various issues, including the situation arising out of insufficient rainfall during this season but it was not not done. When pointed out that the State Government had sought a Rs 1400-crore package from the centre to deal with the drought situation, Mr Sai quipped: "Let them make its details available at an all-party meeting".

However, the BJP would not hesitate to take up the issue of central assistance with its Government at the Centre, he added.

Demanding concrete steps to check migration of agricultural labourers and provide drinking water facilities in the drought-hit areas, he alleged that the State Government was not not serious about drought.

Mr Sai said six separate groups of BJP legislators would tour all the 16 districts to make an on the spot assessment of the impact of the drought from July 31.

He said the legislators would also hold discussion with local administrations about the arrangements being made to face the drought.

The leader of the opposition said he had written a letter to State Chief Secretary Arun Kumar, seeking cooperation of the administration for the legislators’ visit to the districts. He has also sought adequate protection to the legislators visiting the Naxalite areas. (UNI)

Jaya denies Union Minister’s charge on drought relief

CHENNAI, July 29: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today denied Union Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources M Kannappan’s charge that the State Government had failed to seek more assistance as drought relief from the Centre.

In a statement here, she denied the charge that her Government had sought only Rs 52 crore as drought relief, as against an higher amount sought by other states.

He had also alleged that the Government had failed to give a correct picture on the prevailing drought situation in Tamil Nadu.

Describing reports in this regard as "incorrect" and "far from the truth", she said that as per the centre’s guidelines, the allocation for Tamil Nadu under the calamities relief fund was Rs 113.16 crore for 2002-03. The first instalment of the assistance had already been received, she said and pointed out that her Government had totally released Rs 55.9 crore, including Rs 47.9 crore during the current year for drought relief works, besides Rs three crore for cyclone relief and Rs five crore for desilting works.

Mr Kannappan, without studying the steps taken by the Government to tackle the drought situation, was trying to create an impression that it was remaining inactive on the issue and had reeled out wrong information, Ms Jayalalithaa charged. The Chief Minister said she had convened a meeting of all District Collectors tomorrow to finalise the quantum of funds to be allocated for tackling drought. Based on the discussions, the Government would seek additional funds from the Centre, she added.

Meanwhile, Revenue and Agriculture Ministers of Tamil Nadu, who had attended a meeting convened by the centre to discuss the prevailing drought situation in various states, had sought an assistance of Rs 300 crore as relief.

They had also urged the Centre to release one lakh tonnes of rice free of charge under the food-for-work scheme for distribution in the drought-affected areas, besides subsidies in railway fares to transport drinking water through trains. (UNI)

Bailadila mines evolve cost cutting strategies

VISAKHAPATNAM, July 29: Bogged down with burgeoning railway freight tariff, the country’s biggest public sector iron ore mining wing at the bailadila mining range in Chhattisgarh, is adopting new strategies to cut production costs and enhance the export product quality to meet growing international competition from Brazil and Australia.

At the same time, managers at the profit-earning National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)’s iron ore project have started pressurising the Indian Railways to give up the system of inflated distance-based tariff and instead adopt the actual distance-based tariff as early as possible to boost exports as also the efforts to meet the demand of the indigenous steel industry.

India stands fifth among the iron ore exporting countries, accounting for 30 million tonnes, out of the 1000 million tonne global trade, while Brazil and Australia account for 150 million tonnes each.

The Indian exports include the public and private sector contribution with Japan, Korea and China being the major importers of the ore.

Out of its Rs 728 cost of production per tonne, the Bailadila mines, which account for a majority of production and exports of iron ore from the country, had to lose Rs 440 to the railways, on the basis of the 30 per cent inflated mileage rate for transport on the 471 km Kirundal-Visakhapatnam rail route.

The freight charge, which used to be 65.2 per cent of the extra length of the rail line in the beginning of the mining in 1967, was reduced to 30 per cent following heavy pressure. It was expected to further come down to 20 per cent so that it would provide relief to the importers, both domestic and foreigners.

Interacting with a team of journalists, from three Eastern Indian States, on a study tour, Mr V K Jain and Mr Shiv Om Garg, general managers of Kirundal and Bacheli-based mines under the Bailadila iron ore project in Chhattisgarh, said they were also trying to improve the efficiency of the plants through modernisation, retraining and redeployment of the workforce besides resorting to further cost cutting operations. Apart from maximum utilisation of the existing manpower, the nmdc official said, they would soon use closed circuit TV systems at critical plant areas such as the conveyor belt system to reduce manpower hitherto used for monitoring its functioning.

Use of modern industrial devices such as the programme logic controllers, as part of automation of the systems, and replacement of the old machinery are among other measures being employed to put the machinery to optimum use.

The capacity of the plants would also be enhanced to enable dispatch of 24 million tonnes of iron ore by 2009-10 in order to achieve rs 995 crore turnover, as against the present 13.6 million tonnes with Rs 800 crore turnover.

About 35 per cent of the production at the plants was meant for exports as it produced high quality ore with 66.5 per cent iron ore lump and 65 per cent fine ore besides other ingredients such as silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide and phosphorous.

The NMDC’s mines at Karnataka’s donamalai deposits, now selling four million tonnes of iron ore, was also expected to enhance its dispatches to seven million tonnes from next year, the two officials said.

At the same time, the authorities had decided to start fresh mining from the bailadila range’s 11b deposit, within four years, to generate 139 million tonnes of the iron ore and its 10-11A deposit, by October-December this year, to extract 5 million tonnes at a cost of Rs 430 crore investment. At present, the authorities were carrying out mining at three deposits in the range, the first one (deposit-14) since 1968, and second 11C deposit since 1986 and deposit 5 since 1976. All the identified 14 mine deposits in the range had an estimated 1200 million tonnes of high- grade iron ore deposits.

Significantly, the iron ore had to be transported to Visakhapatnam port through the 471-km-long Kirundul-Kothvalasa broadgauge line, considered the highest rail line in the world.

Commissioned in 1967, the broadgauge line lies in an area dotting the picturesque valley, tourist spots and tribal villages attracting tourists world over to enjoy the nature’s beauty.

Another interesting aspect of the line was that it passes atop the millions of years old Borra Caves, with bewitching shapes of calcium stalactites and stalagmites, that was developed into an international tourist attraction by the Andhra Pradesh Government.

The beneficiaries of the iron ore mines at the Bailadila mining range included the public sector Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the National Aluminum Company Limited, SIIL, MMTC and NMDC besides several private sector steel plants.

A total of 65.77 tonnes of iron ore were dispatched from the mines during 2001-02 through Visakhapatnam city. There were plans to effect more dispatches to meet the growing demand for steel during 2002-03 with a projected 156-lakh tonnes production while exports were to account for 55 lakh tonnes.

The authorities were taking steps to convert the mined area on the exciting Bailadila hill range into tourist spots by developing greenery at the mined areas. (UNI)

Parliament adjourned for day

NEW DELHI, July 29: Both the houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day today after paying rich tributes to Vice President Krishan Kant, who passed away on July 27 following cardiac arrest. In the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah read out the obituary reference after which the house observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect to Mr Krishan Kant, who was Chairman of the house.

In the Lok Sabha, the obituary reference was read out by Speaker Manohar Joshi. The lower house also observed two minutes silence.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and leader of the opposition Ms Sonia Gandhi were present in the house.

In the Rajya Sabha, leader of the house Jaswant Singh and leader of the opposition Dr Manmohan Singh were among those present.

Mrs Heptullah, while paying glowing tributes to Mr Krishan Kant, said that in his passing away, the country had lost a veteran freedom fighter, an able administrator and an eminent parliamentarian.

She said fairness and firmness were the two sterling qualities of Mr Krishan Kant’s character. "In the age of ethical relativism, he was the example of impeccable integrity and rectitude," she said. The Deputy chairperson said that as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Krishan Kant conducted the proceedings with "wisdom, vision and insight. ...His approach was always to give maximum possible scope to members for the expression of their views and to ensure that the time of the house was best utilised to deal with serious and complex business before it. He also made rich contribution to the high traditions established by his distinguished predecessors by his objectivity, impartiality, understanding and meticulous devotion to all matters concerning the Rajya Sabha."

She said Mr Krishan Kant’s life epitomised Gandhian ideals of service and sacrifice. He had always believed in the purity of purpose. For him the means were as important as the end and, therefore, he always stood for principle in politics.

Mr Krishan Kant was one of the pioneers who had spoken strongly in favour of electoral reforms to ensure probity in public life. He had abiding faith in human values and love for social service and had been associated with a number of social, political and welfare organisations.

He was founder secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights and was associated with Gandhian institutions. He was president of the Servants of the People Society.

He began his legislative career with membership of the Rajya Sabha representing Haryana from November, 1966 to april, 1972, and again from April, 1972 to March, 1977.

He was Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Prevention of Water Pollution Bill and also Chairman of the Committee on Railway Reservation and Booking. Mrs Heptullah said that as a member of the Rajya Sabha, he took keen interest in the proceedings of the house and enriched the debate by his valuable contributions to issues relating to social development, defence and electoral and science policies. He was editor of the periodical ‘science in Parliament.’

From 1990 to 1997, Mr Kant was Governor of Andhra Pradesh and for a brief period, also held the additional charge of Governor of Tamil Nadu.

He had the distinction of presiding over special sittings on the occasion of the celebration of 50 years of independence.

The Deputy Chairperson, describing his death a personal loss, said "I have personally lost a guide, guardian and a philosopher who gave me valuable advice in many complex and difficult situations."

She described him as a fatherly figure to her and said she admired him for his astute vision for parliamentary democracy. In the Lok Sabha, Mr Joshi described Mr Kants as a great parliamentarian and a true Gandhian, a man of great eminence and scholarly persuasions and one of the most active and charismatic personalities in the Indian pubic life, whose absence would be greatly felt in Parliament and in the nation as a whole.

Mr Joshi said that as chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Kant’s vast experience of parliamentary proceudres, unruffled temperament and amiable disposition greatly helped him in guiding the deliberations in the house.

His unique style of defusing tense moments in the house with his witty remarks and his sense of fairness and impartiality made him one of the most distinguished presiding officers of Parliament, the Speaker remarked.

Belonging to a family of freedom fighters, Mr Joshi said, he activly participated in India’s struggle for freedom and was arrested during the Quit India Movement. He was member of the Lok Sabha from Chandigarh from 1977 to 1979. (UNI)