Kurdukar Commission suspends proceeding indefinitely

MUMBAI, Apr 10: Justice S P Kurdukar Commission, probing the possible irregularities in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) of the Enron-promoted Dabhol power project, has indefinitely suspended its work following an interim stay on its proceedings by the Supreme Court yesterday.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision, Justice Kurdukar said here today that though the Commission can proceed with its work on probing the documents of the Maharashtra Government and Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), the terms of the reference of the commission cannot be segregated as the Inion Government had also given certain clearances to the project that needed to be probed.

"Evidences need to be kept consistent," he said.

However, Justice Kurdukar said that the commission has to submit to the orders of the court. He said that the commission will resume its work once the apex court disposes off this issue.

Earlier, the counsel of the Union Government informed the commission about the Supreme Court’s decision to stay its proceedings.

He said that the Union Government had challenged the jurisdiction of the commission, under article 131 of the constitution, stating that the Maharashtra Government does not have any right to institute a probe into the documents and clearances given by the Central Government. The Union Government counsel told Justice Kurdukar that the Centre had made the Maharasthra Government and the commission parties in the case.

The Supreme Court’s interim stay on the proceedings of the commission has come at a point when Justice Kurdukar had started recording the evidence of the opponents of the power project.

Mr S R Paranjpe, former Director of Kalpakam Nuclear Energy Research Centre and one of the intervenors, had started giving his submissions before the commission.

The Union Government approached the apex court when the commission, in its order dated March 24 stated that it can scrutinise the clearances and documents of the Union Government.

The commission observed the Union Government can approach the apex court to get redressal on the issue of the commission’s jurisdiction.

The commission had given the order after hearing arguments of the Union Government, counsels of Sharad Pawar, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Government challenging the jurisdiction of the commission. (UNI)

Water woes as temperature shoots up in Rajasthan

JAIPUR, Apr 10: Temperatures shot up above 40 degrees celsius in at least a dozen towns of Rajasthan over the past two days, portending even greater depletion of water sources in the fifth successive year of drought.

Water levels have dipped in more than 88 per cent of the State over the past few years. Most water bodies are lying dry. "The next three months are crucial," admits Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

He has directed the public health and engineering department to take all necessary steps to tackle the water crisis.

Officials say various projects worth more than Rs 1,600 crore will be started over the coming months as part of the drive. Schemes for the renovation of canals, traditional water bodies, wells and ponds too have been initiated.

Already, supplies are being met in more than 2500 villages through tankers. The government has chalked out plans to use nearly 10,000 tankers over the coming months. Water trains also are being used in some areas.

But, reports say the supply is way below the demand. The crisis is most acute in the districts of Pali, Bhilwara and Dungarpur. In Pali town, drinking water is supplied through tankers every three or four days. The groundwater pumped out from the depths is unfit for consumption in the region.

According to figures available with the Ground Water Department (GAD), 28 of the State’s 32 districts recorded a fall in water levels between 1984 and 2002. The highest 9.05 metre fall was in Jalore district in this period.

The irrigation department had prepared a district-wise master plan for the proper utilisation of water resources and recharging of ground water reserves. The Government had also set up a high-powered Rajiv Gandhi water management mission with the irrigation department as the nodal agency for proper implementation of various programmes in the affected areas.

But observers say the schemes are unlikely to provide any major relief in the immediate future when the problem is likely to accentuate. "They have delayed every action. Already the drought relief operations are suffering because of inept management by the Government," The BJP’s Manik Chand Surana said.

Mr Surana, convenor of his party’s drought struggle committee (Akal Sangharsh Samiti), said the BJP State Executive will debate a draft resolution on drought on Saturday.

Mr Gehlot maintains the Government is doing everything within its means to tackle the crisis. "I agree April, May and June will be a difficult period (pareshani to hogi, yeh main manta hun)... We shall supply water from whereever possible, but the source should be there (source to ho)," he said.

He claimed the people understood the Government’s difficult position and would cooperate with the administration in tiding over the crisis. Each district collector has been allocated funds of rs 25 lakh to meet any water scarcity during the period, he said.

The water position is very bad in the sanctuaries and national parks also. In Sariska, Barring a lake near the Kankwari Fort and a water hole near Pandupole, all other small water sources are lying dry, park sources say. The situation is expected to deteriorate next month.

According to the GAD, only 17 of the 237 blocks in the State recorded a rise in water table over the past 15 years. Increasing drought is expected as the temperature rises further.

Yesterday, Churu, Jalore, Barmer and Dhaulpur recorded 42 degrees celsius temperature. It was 41 degrees at Tonk, Bharatpur, Jhalawar, Banswara, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Sriganganagar. Pilani, Kota and Udaipur recorded 40 degree celsius.

The met office said the temperature jumped by three to eight degree from normal in almost all districts on Wednesday. (UNI)

Barua lashes out after being blamed for elephant death

GUWAHATI, Apr 10: Renowned elephant expert Parbati Barua, put in the dock by environmentalists after the death of an elephant, today lashed out at the Chattisgarh Government blaming it for the death.

Mrs Barua was speaking to newspersons after media reports that held her reponsible for the death of an elephant allegedly due to the cruelty shown by her during training.

Training her guns at Ms Maneka Gandhi, she said has Maneka ever spent 60 consecutive minutes with a wild elephant? she has not and hence she is trying to prosecute me for the death of wild elephant when it was being trained by me at Chattisgarh.

The elephant woman blamed the Chattisgarh Government as well as some overzealous ‘wildlife experts’ for the fiasco over the recent death of an elephant at Chattisgarh.

According to Mrs Barua, she was not responsible as the elephant died due to lack of proper veterinary care, which was the responsibility of the forest department of the Chhatisgarh Government.

Mrs Barua recently became the focus of media attention after the death of an elephant captured by her during training. This had infuriated the environmentalist lobby and former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi had in fact sought her prosecution. Mrs Barua had gone to Chattisgarh with her world-renowned team to tame about 32 elephants, which had been causing depredation.

The Chattisgarh Government sought her services and hired her for chasing the elephants to their normal habitat without capturing.

"I went there only after desperate requests from the Chattisgarh Government," she said.

The entire programme was fully funded by the State Government and the idea was to chase away the elephants. With a collective experience of 200 years behind her team, she was billed as the last hope for the harassed people of Jashpur area of Chattisgarh.

"I did not go for Mela Chitkar(open hunting) as reported by a section of press. But a bull tusker was captured departmentally by the forest officers on February six this year and brought to me for training," he said.

"I started training the elephant and stopped on February 14 after noticing that the bull refused to take feed. This was mainly due to chemical immobilisation during the darting. From day one I have been calling for a veterinary doctor, but he arrived on February 17 when I had personally requested some visiting ministers," she said.

By then it was too late as septic spread in the body and the elephant died on February 24. She was angry over allegations by some ‘wildlife experts’ that her lack of concern forced the animal to die.

She was also blamed for cutting the tusks as well as removing the eyes of the elephants. "This is one of the most blatant lies I have ever heard. After 40 years in jungles and caring for hundreds of elephants, does any one expect me to do that. This is crazy stff," said Mrs Barua, a professional elephant catcher.

"Chemical immobilisation was not done professionally. The elephant was darted six times and one dart hit the trunk forcefully from a very close range. The wound caused by this dart did not heal despite our best efforts and most probably led to the elephant’s death," she said.

She repeatedly asserted that no cruelty was inflicted on the elephant. "I want to question field experience of Mrs Maneka Gandhi, Mr Mike Pandey and Mr Vivek Menon about elephant. Perhaps apart from travelling on elephants they have not spent 60 minutes with any elephant. We treated the elephant with utmost care despite the fact that the forest department did not bring in the veterinary doctor on time," she said.

The darting was done on February 6 and the doctor came to attend on the morning of February 17, she said.

"The controversy is being fed by certain vested interest with no field level experience of working with elephants. They are working only to promote themselves and not the cause of elephants. No expert who has the actual experience of captaining and training of elephants has supported them," she said. (UNI)

Central intervention demanded to check
distress potato sale

NEW DELHI, Apr 10: Agitated Samajwadi Party, CPI (M), JD (U) and Samata Party members in the Lok Sabha today demanded immediate Central intervention to check distress sale by potato growers in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal where bumper production of the crop had taken place.

Raising the issue during zero hour, they demanded Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh to make a statement in the house to prevent potato stocks from wilting in the fields as Parliament would not be sitting next week because of a spate of holidays.

Responding to the members’ demand, Speaker Manohar Joshi directed the Government to take the house into confidence and give "full information" on the situation.

Earlier, the house witnessed uproarious scenes over cases of suicide by potato growers in UP with Samajwadi Party members seeking adjournment of the question hour to discuss the matter and the Speaker rejecting their demand.

Ramjilal Suman, Akhilesh Singh, S P Baghel and other Samajwadi Party members regretted that the Government had failed to live up to its assurance of setting up purchase centres in UP leading to suicides by farmers who were selling a quintal of potato for just Rs 40 as against the production cost of Rs 212.

The SP members said farmers had grown additional crops as they were told that Government would make arrangements for export of potato but nothing like that has happened and wanted a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre to be paid to them.

Joining them, CPI (M) member Basudeb Acharia said 40 lakh tonnes of potato had been grown this year in West Bengal and the Government there was not in a position to purchase the entire stock.

The Centre, he said, should declare a minimum support price for the crop and start purchasing it.

D P Yadav (JD-U) and Raghunath Jha and Prabhunath Singh (both Samata) supported the opposition in its contention.(PTI)

Bihar kidnapping case takes startling turn

PATNA, Apr 10: In a startling turn of events, a Patna-based businessman has retracted his statement against former Bihar Minister Surendra Yadav and others for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting him in Gaya, and in turn, accused the police of confining him illegally and torturing him for a bribe.

Atul Prakash Sinha in a complaint filed with Chief Judicial Magistrate Santosh Kumar Srivastava yesterday alleged that the Sub Inspector of Kotwali Police Station here, Ramakant Ram, who, along with two constables, took him into custody from Anand in Gujarat on April four for allegedly defrauding a number of Bihar politicians, confined him illegally in Gaya demanding money.

The CJM has directed the Kotwali Police Station to register an FIR against the three policemen and investigate the allegation levelled against them by Sinha, who is currently in judicial custody at Beur Jail.

According to the petition, the three policemen after taking the businessman into custody from the Crime Branch at Anand left for Patna by the Rajdhani Express to produce him before the court.

RJD MLC Azad Gandhi and Pappu Yadav, brother-in-law of Subhash Yadav, MLC, who is brother of Chief Minister Rabri Devi had accompanied the police team to identify the businessman.

The petition said, that Sinha after being convinced by the policemen that the journey from Gaya to Patna by road was shorter, alighted with the others at Gaya Railway Station.

It alleged that the policemen then demanded Rs 50,000 from him for releasing him.

The businessman in his complaint said he there upon sought time to make arrangements for the money and was taken by the policemen to a small house. The petition alleged that the policemen became impatient and beat him up for wasting so much of their time as it could cost them their jobs.

The SI then ordered the constables to escort Sinha to Patna and produce him in court in the fraud case against him. The policemen also made him sign two blank sheets of papers before sending him to jail, Sinha alleged.

The complaint against Sinha lodged by Vinod Parashar, a relative of ruling RJD MLC Azad Gandhi was that he had allegedly defrauded a number of politicians in the state of Rs five lakh before fleeing to Anand last year. (PTI)

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