HEALTH HAZARD - All municipal schools to stay shut for a day
Institutions Replan Classes, Take Steps To Combat Smog
In a first, all municipal corporation-run schools will be shut on Saturday due to smog. The 1,747 schools teaching around 8.75 lakh students will be the only public institutions to be closed due to pollution this season.Schools across the city are changing the way they function to protect children from the noxious smog. Although the air was clearer on Friday , some schools stayed closed.Others rescheduled sports and other outdoor activities.Some will decide whether to open on Sunday evening. South Corporation has postponed its second parent-teacher meeting next week, which was earlier scheduled on Saturday .
“The government orders us to close when it's too cold or too hot. Although ours is an air-conditioned school, we follow. This, too, is an extreme situation. We will check the levels on Sunday evening and take a call on whether to open on Monday ,“ says Neena Kaul, principal, The Heritage School, Rohini. The school has a substantial number of children who are asthmatic and Kaul herself suffers from allergies. All Heritage Schools remained shut on Friday , as did Modern School, Barakhamba Road. Those schools where clas ses were held, schedules have been changed and parents sent advisories. Springdales, Pusa Road, and Vasant Vihar's Tagore International have both suspended all sports coaching till conditions improve. The latter has suspended assemblies for the rest of the month. They'll decide on whether to resume in December. The municipal schools have been told to stop holding assemblies and outdoor activities too. Additionally , children who need medical assistance will get it. However, teachers don't get Saturday off. “School is on but all outside activities have been cancelled. Attendance was good and some kids have come to school with masks. They are either asthmatic or were taking precautions,“ says Tania Joshi, principal, The Indian School. Amity International School, Mayur Vihar, stopped all sports the day after Diwali, expecting poor air-quality . They organised activities for the smaller children in their auditorium. The school moves classes to the afternoon for the winter months in any case but this time principal Priyanka Mehta has told teachers and students to also look out for the sun. “If it is bright and sunny outside, go out. If it isn't, don't.“
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Saturday 5 November 2016
HEALTH HAZARD - All municipal schools to stay shut for a day
`Look at what we are giving our kids'
`Look at what we are giving our kids'
New Delhi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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NGT Slams Centre, City Govt For Not Taking Adequate Measures To Tackle Pollution
The National Green Tribunal on Friday slammed the centre and Delhi government for not taking adequate steps to tackle air pollution problem in the capital, the result being the current conditions, the worst in 17 years. Criticising the union and state government for indulging in a blame game, the bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar said, “For you, the people of Delhi do not matter.Just look at what we are giving our children for the future. This is terrible“.The green bench reiterated its direction to Delhi government to stop diesel vehicles over 10 years old from plying in the capital and wondered why there was no compliance on the order. However, the Delhi government counsel told the tribunal while challans were indeed being issued, the authorities did not have adequate space to park impounded vehicles.
When the counsel added that stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan was also a reason why the pollution was so high at the moment, the bench retorted, “Crop burning is not the sole reason. There is no wind nowadays, so the smoke and pollutants are not coming from those states.“ The panel was infuriated that no action plan had been drafted to be discussed at a meeting on Thursday of Delhi's chief secretary, Central Pollution Control Board and the ministry of environ ment and forests. NGT has now summoned the environment secretaries of Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP and Haryana to present an action plan on November 8, when the panel next meets.
“We understand there is a conflict of administration among the civic agencies, Delhi government and the Centre, but you can tell us who is not doing his work,“ said the bench.“It is unfair to the people of Delhi. The authorities are just throwing up their hands. We have to do something. You cannot say that time will do it.“
The bench also highlighted the issue of waste burning, saying they were receiving numerous complaints from people, along with photographs showing leaves and municipal trash being burnt in the open.
“There are other sources of pollution like dust, burning of leaves and construction waste.Why are you not taking any steps? Mounds of waste are being burnt at landfill sites and this alone is enough to kill the people of Delhi,“ the bench observed, while hearing a petition filed by scientist Mahendra Pandey through advocate Gaurav Bansal on the high incidence of dengue and chikungunya in the capital.
When the counsel added that stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan was also a reason why the pollution was so high at the moment, the bench retorted, “Crop burning is not the sole reason. There is no wind nowadays, so the smoke and pollutants are not coming from those states.“ The panel was infuriated that no action plan had been drafted to be discussed at a meeting on Thursday of Delhi's chief secretary, Central Pollution Control Board and the ministry of environ ment and forests. NGT has now summoned the environment secretaries of Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP and Haryana to present an action plan on November 8, when the panel next meets.
“We understand there is a conflict of administration among the civic agencies, Delhi government and the Centre, but you can tell us who is not doing his work,“ said the bench.“It is unfair to the people of Delhi. The authorities are just throwing up their hands. We have to do something. You cannot say that time will do it.“
The bench also highlighted the issue of waste burning, saying they were receiving numerous complaints from people, along with photographs showing leaves and municipal trash being burnt in the open.
“There are other sources of pollution like dust, burning of leaves and construction waste.Why are you not taking any steps? Mounds of waste are being burnt at landfill sites and this alone is enough to kill the people of Delhi,“ the bench observed, while hearing a petition filed by scientist Mahendra Pandey through advocate Gaurav Bansal on the high incidence of dengue and chikungunya in the capital.
DU proposes 3-pronged plan to fix exam system
DU proposes 3-pronged plan to fix exam system
Shreya Roychowdhury
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New Delhi:
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Delhi University's examination system may soon undergo another overhaul. Three sets of draft proposals suggesting changes for entrance tests, semester-end exams and exams of School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board have been posted for comment.The proposals suggest holding entrance tests in MarchApril, allowing SOL to conduct its exams, increasing use of technology and moving evaluation online.
If implemented, many of the suggested reforms will streamline the process for students, teachers as well as the examination branch. “We'll study the responses over the next couple of weeks and hope to finalise it within a month.The aim is to have some reforms in place by the next session,“ said dean (exams) Vinay Gupta.
Introduction of semesters in 2009-10 had doubled the examination branch's burden, which has also seen several major reforms since. DU has proposed to change the way answer scripts are identified.
“The roll numbers and invigilator's name written directly on the answer scripts compromised secrecy as one could identify the college easily . Restoring the use of random numbers is a good step,“ said Abha Dev Habib, Miranda House teacher and executive council member.
However, Habib is less com fortable with the idea of a question bank. There's considerable repetition in the questions framed each year due to DU's numbers and diversity , but a question bank institutionalises that practice.
The drafts also address logistical issues in handling the numbers involved. The exam wing handles over 1.5 lakh undergraduate examinees in a year, in addition to post-graduate and MPhil ones and coordinates with referees for research.DU has suggested making it mandatory for a teacher to evaluate a minimum number of papers. Habib said an upper limit must be set too and teachers should be allowed to carry scripts home.
However, the examination branch struggles most with SOL whose rolls have crossed 4.5 lakh students and it's still in annual exam mode. Their results are delayed practically every year, frequently leaving SOL graduates unable to claim post-graduate seats.
The draft, citing an academic council meeting from July , says, “The conduct of undergraduate examinations and processing of results will be delegated to SOL.“ But facultymember Janmejoy Khuntia is against it.“No college conducts its own exams. If we must conduct exams, grant us complete autonomy . The DU administration has failed to address our problems and now wants to shift responsibility . We don't have the manpower to conduct exams as our faculty strength is 28,“ Khuntia said.
If implemented, many of the suggested reforms will streamline the process for students, teachers as well as the examination branch. “We'll study the responses over the next couple of weeks and hope to finalise it within a month.The aim is to have some reforms in place by the next session,“ said dean (exams) Vinay Gupta.
Introduction of semesters in 2009-10 had doubled the examination branch's burden, which has also seen several major reforms since. DU has proposed to change the way answer scripts are identified.
“The roll numbers and invigilator's name written directly on the answer scripts compromised secrecy as one could identify the college easily . Restoring the use of random numbers is a good step,“ said Abha Dev Habib, Miranda House teacher and executive council member.
However, Habib is less com fortable with the idea of a question bank. There's considerable repetition in the questions framed each year due to DU's numbers and diversity , but a question bank institutionalises that practice.
The drafts also address logistical issues in handling the numbers involved. The exam wing handles over 1.5 lakh undergraduate examinees in a year, in addition to post-graduate and MPhil ones and coordinates with referees for research.DU has suggested making it mandatory for a teacher to evaluate a minimum number of papers. Habib said an upper limit must be set too and teachers should be allowed to carry scripts home.
However, the examination branch struggles most with SOL whose rolls have crossed 4.5 lakh students and it's still in annual exam mode. Their results are delayed practically every year, frequently leaving SOL graduates unable to claim post-graduate seats.
The draft, citing an academic council meeting from July , says, “The conduct of undergraduate examinations and processing of results will be delegated to SOL.“ But facultymember Janmejoy Khuntia is against it.“No college conducts its own exams. If we must conduct exams, grant us complete autonomy . The DU administration has failed to address our problems and now wants to shift responsibility . We don't have the manpower to conduct exams as our faculty strength is 28,“ Khuntia said.
SOL is neither equipped to handle exams on this scale, nor does it have the authority to “co-opt“ evaluators from outside. “The exam branch is in the best position to do these,“ he added.
The draft suggests making SOL evaluation a “priority“ for college teachers, but Habib doubts that will happen. “Teachers get involved in the admission process immediately after checking college papers. The semester system doesn't allow free time,“ she said.
Separate units within the examination wing to deal with different exams -entrance tests and SOL -will be welcome, so will internal assessment scores printed separately on choice-based credit system marksheets. Till the second semester of CBCS, introduced in 2015, marksheets bore just relative grades, often unintelligible to examinees. “This restores faith in the system and errors are detected too,“ explained Habib.
There are plans of moving the processes involved in obtaining various documents online and keeping marksheet links live for six months. DU is even considering moving the evaluation process online in the future. Habib, however, wondered how DU plans to pay for it.
5-storey building collapse kills 40-year-old
5-storey building collapse kills 40-year-old
Paras Singh & Pankhuri Yadav
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New Delhi:
TNN
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A 40-year-old woman died and her teenage daughter was critically injured after the five-storeyed building they had been living in since the past 15 years collapsed on Friday evening. The incident took place in north Delhi's Azad Market.Residents said, apart from the mother-daughter duo, no one else was present when the building collapsed.
The woman, Jimla, was a widow and lived with her children Paras (23) and Komal (18). Her son had gone to work and was informed about the incident by a neighbour.
“I saw a cloud of dust and rushed out to see the building leaning against its neighbouring one. Soon, it collapsed like a pack of cards,“ said Vijay Kumar, a neighbour.
“Our house also has cracks now,“ said Mir Chand, another neighbour.
Paras, an accountant with a firm in Gurgaon, told TOI that he had planned to shift to a place closer to his office in the next two months.“This rented house was in a bad shape and I was worried about our safety and security .So, I started looking for another house to shift at the earliest,“ he said.
The fire department rushed 10 fire tenders after getting a distress call. There were three families living in the building. The man who stayed alone on the second floor was away at work, while the one on the fourth floor was out of the city for Chhath Puja.
North Corporation may or Sanjiv Nayyar, who visited the area, said, “Though the building was old, it had not been declared dangerous. No new construction was taking place in it. I have ordered officials to survey the buildings in the area,“ he said.
The National Disaster Response Force was also called in and rescue operations were underway till late at night.
The woman, Jimla, was a widow and lived with her children Paras (23) and Komal (18). Her son had gone to work and was informed about the incident by a neighbour.
“I saw a cloud of dust and rushed out to see the building leaning against its neighbouring one. Soon, it collapsed like a pack of cards,“ said Vijay Kumar, a neighbour.
“Our house also has cracks now,“ said Mir Chand, another neighbour.
Paras, an accountant with a firm in Gurgaon, told TOI that he had planned to shift to a place closer to his office in the next two months.“This rented house was in a bad shape and I was worried about our safety and security .So, I started looking for another house to shift at the earliest,“ he said.
The fire department rushed 10 fire tenders after getting a distress call. There were three families living in the building. The man who stayed alone on the second floor was away at work, while the one on the fourth floor was out of the city for Chhath Puja.
North Corporation may or Sanjiv Nayyar, who visited the area, said, “Though the building was old, it had not been declared dangerous. No new construction was taking place in it. I have ordered officials to survey the buildings in the area,“ he said.
The National Disaster Response Force was also called in and rescue operations were underway till late at night.
Police up reward for info on Najeeb to Rs 2L
Police up reward for info on Najeeb to Rs 2L
Rajshekhar Jha
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New Delhi:
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Submit Detailed Report On Efforts To LG
After hiking the reward for giving any information about missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1lakh, Delhi Police on Friday hiked it further to Rs 2 lakh. He has been missing for well over 20 days now.Police have submitted a detailed report to LG Najeeb Jung in which they have claimed to have looked for Ahmed from Manipur to Rajasthan.Police even scanned his online browsing history and went to places he had read up about, sources said.
Around 20,000 posters of the missing student have been put up across the capital even as the LG said in a review meeting, “No effort be spared in the operation to trace him.“
That meeting was attended by special commissioner P Kamraj, joint commissioner R P Upadhyay and DCP (II) Manishi Chandra who has been heading the SIT.
The LG was told that police teams have been sent to Ajmer, Kota, Bareilly , Roorkee, Faizabad, Azamgarh, Badaun and other cities. Almost all of Ahmed's former and present teachers, friends and relatives have been contacted apart from his former schools and other educational institutions.CCTV footage from various places have been scanned too.
“As it happens, all-out efforts are being made to trace Ahmed. SIT has verified over 300 autorickshaws plying in the area, and has deployed about 150 police personnel.There are two teams per district that are visiting all possible locations one by one,“ Kamraj said.
ABVP slams Kejri speech at JNU
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Friday slammed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal`s address on JNU campus as opportunistic and politically motivated.
“Kejriwal has proven yet again that he has very little knowledge of politics, because he attacked BJP, ABVP, and the Delhi Police without knowing the facts,“ Saurabh Sharma, ex-joint secretary, JNUSU and an ABVP leader said. IANS
Around 20,000 posters of the missing student have been put up across the capital even as the LG said in a review meeting, “No effort be spared in the operation to trace him.“
That meeting was attended by special commissioner P Kamraj, joint commissioner R P Upadhyay and DCP (II) Manishi Chandra who has been heading the SIT.
The LG was told that police teams have been sent to Ajmer, Kota, Bareilly , Roorkee, Faizabad, Azamgarh, Badaun and other cities. Almost all of Ahmed's former and present teachers, friends and relatives have been contacted apart from his former schools and other educational institutions.CCTV footage from various places have been scanned too.
“As it happens, all-out efforts are being made to trace Ahmed. SIT has verified over 300 autorickshaws plying in the area, and has deployed about 150 police personnel.There are two teams per district that are visiting all possible locations one by one,“ Kamraj said.
ABVP slams Kejri speech at JNU
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Friday slammed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal`s address on JNU campus as opportunistic and politically motivated.
“Kejriwal has proven yet again that he has very little knowledge of politics, because he attacked BJP, ABVP, and the Delhi Police without knowing the facts,“ Saurabh Sharma, ex-joint secretary, JNUSU and an ABVP leader said. IANS
Girl found dead, family says stalker killed her
Girl found dead, family says stalker killed her
Pankhuri Yadav
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New Delhi:
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A 17-year-old girl allegedly hanged herself at her residence in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar on Thursday evening when her family members were away . The girl, Shivani, was a Class XI student at a government school.The girl's parents told the police that Shivani used to go to school with a childhood friend. They started getting stalked by a boy, who even passed lewd comments at them. The girls tried to ignore the situation, but when things got out of hand they told their parents. The parents then lodged a police complaint and the boy was sent to a juvenile home. However, the boy started following the girls again after getting released.He stopped Shivani one day and expressed fondness for her friend. He even tried to assault the girls, but ran away when they screamed for help. Shaken by this incident, Shivani's brother was tasked to drop the girls to school.
The stalker soon started feeling that Shivani's brother and the girl were having an affair. After he threatened the girls on October 31, Shivani stopped going to school.
Shivani's father, a hawaldar, suspects that she was killed by the boy and hanged from the fan. “She was not someone who would commit suicide,“ he said. The body has been sent to autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.
The stalker soon started feeling that Shivani's brother and the girl were having an affair. After he threatened the girls on October 31, Shivani stopped going to school.
Shivani's father, a hawaldar, suspects that she was killed by the boy and hanged from the fan. “She was not someone who would commit suicide,“ he said. The body has been sent to autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.
This Chhath has a poll feel
This Chhath has a poll feel
Ambika Pandit & Alok KN Mishra
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New Delhi
TNN
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Civic Elections Ahead, AAP Govt Trying Hard For A Smooth Fest
Usually , snakes do not attract the interest of the government. But on Friday , when Chhath crowds spotted reptiles at Geeta Colony Ghat and Hathi Ghat, the government promptly responded.“We have informed the forest department, which asked an NGO to take care of the problem,“ said an official. The alacrity of the government evidenced its special interest in Chhath, not for its spiritual aspect as much as the political benefit that could accrue from patronising a vote bank consisting of an estimated 20 lakh people originally from Bihar and Bhojpurispeaking Poorvanchal.Thanks to its political significance, the sun festival has only got bigger by the year. This time, it is especially important, for the municipal elections are slated for next year and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party plans to run its first full campaign for the civic polls. So, from 69 Chhath ghats in 2014, the number of waterbodies where puja will be performed on Sunday and Monday has gone up to 278. It will be at these puja sites that voters for the municipal polls will be wooed.
Not only are cabinet ministers, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, likely to visit the Chhath ghats during the festival, but the state government has authorised the revenue department to ensure that all districts provide the necessary facilities to puja committees, including clean ghats, tents, electricity, water and security .
When TOI asked tourism and water minister Kapil Mishra, a Poorvanchali himself, if these decisions were aimed at winning over a critical constituency , he deftly sidestepped a direct answer.“One may take the political angle here, but the fact is the puja would have been performed even if the government hadn't involved itself. Someone had to make arran gements, so why not the state?“ he said. The Poorvanchali significance is not lost on AAP -nine of its MLAs belong to that community.
Meanwhile, even as the festival began on Friday , hectic work continued to ensure the best facilities for the devout. The arrangements for light, tents and security were nearing completion at the popular ghats on the Yamuna, and the river water was being cleaned.“The water quality is better than what it was yesterday . We have re moved a lot of garbage from the river,“ said a man at Gita Ghat near Kashmere Gate.
SDM Kotwali Akhil Kumar, overseeing the arrangements at Haathi Ghat near ITO, said, “We have asked the Boat Club to station two boats and 10 divers for safety.“ Officials from the disaster management, flood control, irrigation and police departments as well as municipal corporation officials are engaged in finalising the arrangements at the various ghats and waterbodies.
Not only are cabinet ministers, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, likely to visit the Chhath ghats during the festival, but the state government has authorised the revenue department to ensure that all districts provide the necessary facilities to puja committees, including clean ghats, tents, electricity, water and security .
When TOI asked tourism and water minister Kapil Mishra, a Poorvanchali himself, if these decisions were aimed at winning over a critical constituency , he deftly sidestepped a direct answer.“One may take the political angle here, but the fact is the puja would have been performed even if the government hadn't involved itself. Someone had to make arran gements, so why not the state?“ he said. The Poorvanchali significance is not lost on AAP -nine of its MLAs belong to that community.
Meanwhile, even as the festival began on Friday , hectic work continued to ensure the best facilities for the devout. The arrangements for light, tents and security were nearing completion at the popular ghats on the Yamuna, and the river water was being cleaned.“The water quality is better than what it was yesterday . We have re moved a lot of garbage from the river,“ said a man at Gita Ghat near Kashmere Gate.
SDM Kotwali Akhil Kumar, overseeing the arrangements at Haathi Ghat near ITO, said, “We have asked the Boat Club to station two boats and 10 divers for safety.“ Officials from the disaster management, flood control, irrigation and police departments as well as municipal corporation officials are engaged in finalising the arrangements at the various ghats and waterbodies.
RTI appeal hearing may take 30 years in Assam
RTI appeal hearing may take 30 years in Assam
Himanshi Dhawan
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New Delhi:
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If you file a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Assam today, you might have to wait 30 years for your appeal to be heard by the information commissioner (IC).The “waiting period“ in West Bengal is over 11 years and seven in Kerala.
A new study of the working of information commissions in 16 states shows that the RTI Act's purpose of en suring greater transparency is being throttled by the sheer pendency of cases -1.87 lakh as on December 2015.
Though the Act empowers the ICs to impose penalties of up to Rs 25,000 on erring public information officers for violations, penalties have been imposed in only 1.3% of the cases in the 16 states, causing a potential loss of Rs 290 crore in fines defaulting public authorities would have paid. Despite an increase in the number of ICs in the Central Information Commission, pendency has increased from 13 months to 22 months.
A study of the performance of information commissioners is being carried out by the Research Assessment and Analysis Group and Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
The key findings don't bode well when it comes to implementing the RTI Act as matters have worsened since the last RTI study in 2014.
The waiting time in the Assam IC, which was two years eight months in 2014, has now shot up to 30 years. West Bengal has improved its pendency , cutting the waiting time down from 17 years 3 months to 11 years and 3 months. But Kerala fares badly , with the waiting time increasing to seven years four months from two years three months in 2014.
A new study of the working of information commissions in 16 states shows that the RTI Act's purpose of en suring greater transparency is being throttled by the sheer pendency of cases -1.87 lakh as on December 2015.
Though the Act empowers the ICs to impose penalties of up to Rs 25,000 on erring public information officers for violations, penalties have been imposed in only 1.3% of the cases in the 16 states, causing a potential loss of Rs 290 crore in fines defaulting public authorities would have paid. Despite an increase in the number of ICs in the Central Information Commission, pendency has increased from 13 months to 22 months.
A study of the performance of information commissioners is being carried out by the Research Assessment and Analysis Group and Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
The key findings don't bode well when it comes to implementing the RTI Act as matters have worsened since the last RTI study in 2014.
The waiting time in the Assam IC, which was two years eight months in 2014, has now shot up to 30 years. West Bengal has improved its pendency , cutting the waiting time down from 17 years 3 months to 11 years and 3 months. But Kerala fares badly , with the waiting time increasing to seven years four months from two years three months in 2014.
Pak army personnel replacing Rangers as border heat escalates
Rohan Dua & Neeraj Chauhan
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R S PuraSamba (Jammu)New Delhi:
TNN
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In what seems to be a sign of escalating tensions, Pakistan army personnel are being increasingly deployed along the 190km international border in Jammu at border outposts and camps usually manned by the Pakistan Rangers.The change in deployment has been noted by the Border Security Force and is seen as a clear departure from the practice of specialised paramilitaries, instead of armies, guarding the borders in Jammu, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bengal.
Top sources in BSF and the government confirmed that the Pakistani army had deployed soldiers and weaponry at the Rangers' posts, placing regular Pakistan troops face to face with the BSF. “It's difficult to say if the Pakistani army has taken control of the Rangers' posts at IB but there is certainly a lot of movement, with many vehicles regularly bringing soldiers and arms. This has been going on for the past 8-9 days,“ said a senior official. There is no intelligence input on what the Pakis tani army is doing exact ly, but the intent seems to be to beef up military presence along the international border. The change ties in with New Delhi's assessment that the Pakistani army will continue to provoke hostilities until the end of the month, when chief General Raheel Sharif is due to retire. “General Sharif may be hoping to leverage the tension he has created on the border to determine the choice of his successor,“ said a senior government functionary in Delhi.
The Indian Army is in charge along the line of control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir, where the boundary does not have official recognition and is disputed.
The BSF has gathered information on the rank and number of Pakistani regulars, and is linking their presence to the firing and shelling directed at Indian civilians along border areas.
According to sources, the sector commander of Chenab Rangers (part of Pakistan Rangers) in Jammu is Brigadier Amzad Hussain, an army officer. “There seems a high probability that Pakistan's army is directing attacks on civilians in contrast to the Indian Army ,“ said a BSF official.
The sector opposite the Indian sector hit worst last week -Samba, with eight civilian deaths -too has an army officer, believed to be Lt Col Hashim Bhatti, commanding the 24 Chenab Rangers.
Similarly, opposite India's Chicken Neck sector, Pakistani army's Lt Col Tariq is understood to be in charge of the 21 Chenab Rangers, which oversees 30-odd border outposts in Head Marala. Lt Col I A Khan looks after 12, Wing in Langay Manjkay across In dia's R S Pura sector.
Top sources in BSF and the government confirmed that the Pakistani army had deployed soldiers and weaponry at the Rangers' posts, placing regular Pakistan troops face to face with the BSF. “It's difficult to say if the Pakistani army has taken control of the Rangers' posts at IB but there is certainly a lot of movement, with many vehicles regularly bringing soldiers and arms. This has been going on for the past 8-9 days,“ said a senior official. There is no intelligence input on what the Pakis tani army is doing exact ly, but the intent seems to be to beef up military presence along the international border. The change ties in with New Delhi's assessment that the Pakistani army will continue to provoke hostilities until the end of the month, when chief General Raheel Sharif is due to retire. “General Sharif may be hoping to leverage the tension he has created on the border to determine the choice of his successor,“ said a senior government functionary in Delhi.
The Indian Army is in charge along the line of control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir, where the boundary does not have official recognition and is disputed.
The BSF has gathered information on the rank and number of Pakistani regulars, and is linking their presence to the firing and shelling directed at Indian civilians along border areas.
According to sources, the sector commander of Chenab Rangers (part of Pakistan Rangers) in Jammu is Brigadier Amzad Hussain, an army officer. “There seems a high probability that Pakistan's army is directing attacks on civilians in contrast to the Indian Army ,“ said a BSF official.
The sector opposite the Indian sector hit worst last week -Samba, with eight civilian deaths -too has an army officer, believed to be Lt Col Hashim Bhatti, commanding the 24 Chenab Rangers.
Similarly, opposite India's Chicken Neck sector, Pakistani army's Lt Col Tariq is understood to be in charge of the 21 Chenab Rangers, which oversees 30-odd border outposts in Head Marala. Lt Col I A Khan looks after 12, Wing in Langay Manjkay across In dia's R S Pura sector.
All 6 independent directors of Taj Group back Mistry
All 6 independent directors of Taj Group back Mistry
Reeba Zachariah
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Mumbai:
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Tell Bourses He Has Their Full Confidence
In what is being viewed as a setback for Ratan Tata and the board of Tata Sons, which sacked Cyrus Mistry last week, all six inde pendent directors of Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company publicly reposed faith in Mistry's leadership on Friday ahead of a board meet.Nadir Godrej, Deepak Parekh, Keki Dadiseth, Ireena Vittal, Gautam Banerjee and Vibha Paul Rishi met at the group's headquarters, Bombay House, and were unanimous in their praise for Mistry's strategic direction and le adership. What surprised observers was the stand taken by Dadiseth, a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
The board of IHCL, known as the Taj Group, has 10 members, including Mistry and his brother, Shapoor. The six directors are the first to endorse Mistry since he was axed as Tata Sons chairman. The support from IHCL's independent directors for Mistry comes against the backdrop of the rift between Ratan Tata and Mistry , who was abruptly removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the main promoter of IHCL, on October 24.
What surprised Tata observers was the stand taken by Keki Dadiseth, a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) which is headed by Ratan Tata. SRTT is one of the two principal Tata Trusts which control 66% in Tata Sons; it is also a shareholder in IHCL.
In a statement to stock exchanges, IHCL's independent directors said that taking into account board assessments and performance evaluations carried out over the years, “the independent directors unanimously expressed their full confidence in the chairman, Cyrus Mistry“.
The independent directors also said that their decision was being made public because IHCL is a listed entity and it was essential for them to let the company's investors and public at large know of their views so that they could take an informed decision on its stock.
Current laws require that every year all independent directors should hold at least one separate meeting to review performance of non-independent directors and the chairperson. In two recent instances at Tata Global Beverages and Jaguar Land Rover when Mistry chaired board meetings, it involved rou tine business unlike at IHCL where audited results were being declared.
Tata Chemicals will be the next company from the group which will hold its board meeting on November 10, followed by Tata Steel on November 11. Both will take note of quarterly results, just as IHCL did.
JN Gupta, a former executive director of markets regulator Sebi, said that the move by IHCL's independent directors may get replicated in other Tata companies too.“Going forward, the battle will be tough for both Tata and Mistry camps and the stance taken by big financial institutions will be crucial,“ said Gupta.
If Tata Sons wants to remove Mistry from IHCL, it will have to call an extraordinary meeting of IHCL's shareholders to vote on Mistry's ouster. However, during the voting, Tata Sons and other promoter-shareholders will not be allowed to vote on the resolution. A spokesperson of Tata Sons declined to comment on future possibilities.
Re-affirmation of faith in Mistry's abilities by IHCL's independent directors is completely at odds with the stand taken by the majority of the Tata Sons board. After removing Mistry last month, Tata Sons had attributed a trust deficit in Mistry as the reason for his removal. “The views of independent directors seems to be in divergence with respect to the actions of IHCL's promoter shareholder, Tata Sons,“ said Shriram Subramanian, founder & MD, InGovern Research Services, a corporate governance advisory firm.
Two of the six independent directors of IHCL told TOI that they supported Mistry because they felt he was leading the company well. “Honestly , he's done a great job as chairman of IHCL,“ said one of the two.On Friday , IHCL's board, which met to consider its July-September results, reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 27 crore, substantially lower than the Rs 152crore loss it had reported a year earlier.
Call on UK future in 4 weeks: Report
London: Appointed interim chairman of Tata Group after Cyrus Mistry's unceremonious exit recently, Ratan Tata is keen to keep the UK steelworks part of the conglomerate and will make a decision in this regard within four weeks. Ratan Tata is understood to be conducting a detailed review of Tata Steel UK before making a final decision, The Guardian said. AGENCIES
The board of IHCL, known as the Taj Group, has 10 members, including Mistry and his brother, Shapoor. The six directors are the first to endorse Mistry since he was axed as Tata Sons chairman. The support from IHCL's independent directors for Mistry comes against the backdrop of the rift between Ratan Tata and Mistry , who was abruptly removed as chairman of Tata Sons, the main promoter of IHCL, on October 24.
What surprised Tata observers was the stand taken by Keki Dadiseth, a trustee of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) which is headed by Ratan Tata. SRTT is one of the two principal Tata Trusts which control 66% in Tata Sons; it is also a shareholder in IHCL.
In a statement to stock exchanges, IHCL's independent directors said that taking into account board assessments and performance evaluations carried out over the years, “the independent directors unanimously expressed their full confidence in the chairman, Cyrus Mistry“.
The independent directors also said that their decision was being made public because IHCL is a listed entity and it was essential for them to let the company's investors and public at large know of their views so that they could take an informed decision on its stock.
Current laws require that every year all independent directors should hold at least one separate meeting to review performance of non-independent directors and the chairperson. In two recent instances at Tata Global Beverages and Jaguar Land Rover when Mistry chaired board meetings, it involved rou tine business unlike at IHCL where audited results were being declared.
Tata Chemicals will be the next company from the group which will hold its board meeting on November 10, followed by Tata Steel on November 11. Both will take note of quarterly results, just as IHCL did.
JN Gupta, a former executive director of markets regulator Sebi, said that the move by IHCL's independent directors may get replicated in other Tata companies too.“Going forward, the battle will be tough for both Tata and Mistry camps and the stance taken by big financial institutions will be crucial,“ said Gupta.
If Tata Sons wants to remove Mistry from IHCL, it will have to call an extraordinary meeting of IHCL's shareholders to vote on Mistry's ouster. However, during the voting, Tata Sons and other promoter-shareholders will not be allowed to vote on the resolution. A spokesperson of Tata Sons declined to comment on future possibilities.
Re-affirmation of faith in Mistry's abilities by IHCL's independent directors is completely at odds with the stand taken by the majority of the Tata Sons board. After removing Mistry last month, Tata Sons had attributed a trust deficit in Mistry as the reason for his removal. “The views of independent directors seems to be in divergence with respect to the actions of IHCL's promoter shareholder, Tata Sons,“ said Shriram Subramanian, founder & MD, InGovern Research Services, a corporate governance advisory firm.
Two of the six independent directors of IHCL told TOI that they supported Mistry because they felt he was leading the company well. “Honestly , he's done a great job as chairman of IHCL,“ said one of the two.On Friday , IHCL's board, which met to consider its July-September results, reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 27 crore, substantially lower than the Rs 152crore loss it had reported a year earlier.
Call on UK future in 4 weeks: Report
London: Appointed interim chairman of Tata Group after Cyrus Mistry's unceremonious exit recently, Ratan Tata is keen to keep the UK steelworks part of the conglomerate and will make a decision in this regard within four weeks. Ratan Tata is understood to be conducting a detailed review of Tata Steel UK before making a final decision, The Guardian said. AGENCIES
10 mths wasted: 42-pt plan to curb pollution goes up in smog
10 mths wasted: 42-pt plan to curb pollution goes up in smog
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
|
Delhi May Fund Neighbours To Stop Crop Fires
Faced with unrelenting pollution, Delhi has agreed to consider giving funds to neighbouring states to incentivise them to reduce straw burning.The practice of stubble burning is seen as a major reason for the poor quality of the capital's air in winter.
A meeting convened by the Centre with Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP and Haryana conceded that a roadmap drawn up last year had failed to deliver results due to poor implementation. It also agreed on several measures, including Delhi using its green cess to fund other states.
A 42-point action plan was finalised by the environment ministry in consultation with state governments in December last year.
Though the ministry had fixed different timelines for different actions, a majority had not been acted on in the past 10 months. The Delhi government will examine the possibility of providing funds from the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) and diesel cess to neighbouring states for incentivising various machinery like happy seeders, rotavators, straw choppers, gyro rakes, bailers, mulchers to minimise straw burning by farmers,“ said an environment ministry post-review meeting statement.
With neighbouring states raising the issue of finances, it was felt that funds from Delhi's green cess being collected from new high-end diesel cars and SUVs as also from commercial vehicles entering the city could be utilised. This could motivate Delhi's neighbours to clean up their act and contribute to making the capital's air healthier.
Other measures include closing of brick kilns operating on obsolete technologies in the NCR during the winter season and ensuring control of fly ash from the Badarpur thermal power plant in the capital.
With stubble burning a major reason for polluted air, the issue was discussed threadbare and top officials from the Delhi government agreed to consider the proposal of extending fi nancial assistance to neighbouring states.
Delhi government is expected to soon get back to the Centre.If it agrees to assist neighbouring states, over Rs 300 crore will be available for purchase or subsidy for machinery that can encourage eco-friendly measures to dispose of stubble after harvesting crops.
“Delhi government has as sured it will immediately come out with a plan of action to utilise the money available with it from the collection of environmental tax and 1% cess for steps to improve the environment,“ said environment secretary Ajay Narayan Jha after he chaired the review meeting.
Jha admitted weak enforcement has become a major stumbling block in the ongoing ef forts to control air pollution in the NCR. “There are many areas where much more needs to be done. Enforcement mechanism is still weak. States have been asked to make enforcement stricter and take appropriate steps,“ Jha said.
He said “much more“ needs to be done by all the states and all the states have agreed on the “seriousness“ of the problem.Though crop burning has been controlled in many areas, Punjab continues to lag behind on this front.
Times View
It's good that Delhi has agreed to fund pollution control measures in neighbouring states through a cess and that there seems to be a wider consensus on what needs to be done than there has been in the past. But ultimately, states and Centre agreeing to do things will not clean Delhi's air or that of its surrounding states. It is only when we see action taken on the ground that a difference can be made. The experience so far has been deeply disappointing when it comes to implementation of steps agreed upon. We hope that will change and change right now.
A meeting convened by the Centre with Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, UP and Haryana conceded that a roadmap drawn up last year had failed to deliver results due to poor implementation. It also agreed on several measures, including Delhi using its green cess to fund other states.
A 42-point action plan was finalised by the environment ministry in consultation with state governments in December last year.
Though the ministry had fixed different timelines for different actions, a majority had not been acted on in the past 10 months. The Delhi government will examine the possibility of providing funds from the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) and diesel cess to neighbouring states for incentivising various machinery like happy seeders, rotavators, straw choppers, gyro rakes, bailers, mulchers to minimise straw burning by farmers,“ said an environment ministry post-review meeting statement.
With neighbouring states raising the issue of finances, it was felt that funds from Delhi's green cess being collected from new high-end diesel cars and SUVs as also from commercial vehicles entering the city could be utilised. This could motivate Delhi's neighbours to clean up their act and contribute to making the capital's air healthier.
Other measures include closing of brick kilns operating on obsolete technologies in the NCR during the winter season and ensuring control of fly ash from the Badarpur thermal power plant in the capital.
With stubble burning a major reason for polluted air, the issue was discussed threadbare and top officials from the Delhi government agreed to consider the proposal of extending fi nancial assistance to neighbouring states.
Delhi government is expected to soon get back to the Centre.If it agrees to assist neighbouring states, over Rs 300 crore will be available for purchase or subsidy for machinery that can encourage eco-friendly measures to dispose of stubble after harvesting crops.
“Delhi government has as sured it will immediately come out with a plan of action to utilise the money available with it from the collection of environmental tax and 1% cess for steps to improve the environment,“ said environment secretary Ajay Narayan Jha after he chaired the review meeting.
Jha admitted weak enforcement has become a major stumbling block in the ongoing ef forts to control air pollution in the NCR. “There are many areas where much more needs to be done. Enforcement mechanism is still weak. States have been asked to make enforcement stricter and take appropriate steps,“ Jha said.
He said “much more“ needs to be done by all the states and all the states have agreed on the “seriousness“ of the problem.Though crop burning has been controlled in many areas, Punjab continues to lag behind on this front.
Times View
It's good that Delhi has agreed to fund pollution control measures in neighbouring states through a cess and that there seems to be a wider consensus on what needs to be done than there has been in the past. But ultimately, states and Centre agreeing to do things will not clean Delhi's air or that of its surrounding states. It is only when we see action taken on the ground that a difference can be made. The experience so far has been deeply disappointing when it comes to implementation of steps agreed upon. We hope that will change and change right now.
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