DELHI
THE HINDU
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2012
NEWS
15
Protest against lack of work under MNREGS
Sixth anniversary of the implementation of the scheme
Shiv Sahay Singh
KOLKATA: On the sixth anniversary of the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme (MNREGS) there were protests outside the ofce of State Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development Subrata Mukherjee here on Thursday against the absence of work and delay in payment of wages under the scheme. Stating that so far an average of 15 person-days of work per household had been provided under the scheme in the State, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) representatives raised slogans and threatened to return the job cards if work is not pro-
Foreign telecom rms in a x
They consider legal recourse to save their investments
Sandeep Joshi found by the courts, it is obvious to everyone that our investment must not be jeopardised. The Norwegian rm has already invested over Rs.6,100 crore in equity and over Rs.8,000 crore in corporate guarantees as a foreign investor. We are reviewing the order and will consider necessary actions to safeguard our investment. We urge the government to ensure that a foreign investor that had nothing to do with these processes is not harmed we look to the government to arrive at a fair outcome, it added. Similarly, Etisalat said it would work closely with its Indian partner (DB Group) and legal counsel to understand the judgment, its ramications for its operations, particularly its customers and employees, as well as its right to seek a review of the Supreme Courts decision. The Supreme Court decision relates to events that occurred in January 2008, well before December 2008 when Etisalat invested in Swan. Etisalat has no knowledge of what occurred in the licence application process for Swan, far less any involvement, it added. Sistema-Shyam, a joint venture between Russias Sistema and Indias Shyam Group, said it was still awaiting the full text of the judgment... the company would like to state that being a law abiding organisation, it reserves the right to protect its interests by using all available judicial remedies. The company has invested over $2.5 billion [about Rs.12,500 crore] so far in acquiring licences and rolling out services.
Gen. Singh calls on Pranab on eve of hearing
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: On the eve of the
vided under the scheme. They also complained about the tardy implementation of the scheme. Data made available on the scheme in West Bengal projects that given the present trend, not more than 20 days of work will be achieved in the current scal. PBKMS State committee member and social activist Anurdha Talwar said the West Bengal Government ofcials were apathetic towards implementing the scheme in the State. Action has not taken against erring ofcials. She also pointed out that the government has not adequately dealt with cases of corruption related to the scheme. Panchayat department ofcials admit that 139
cases of corruption under the scheme have been reported during the on-going nancial year. Pointing out that the implementation of the Centres agship programme for alleviating rural poverty and creation of work would have saved the State from agrarian distress, which has resulted in suicides of not just farmers and also ve agricultural labourers, Ms. Talwar said the States performance has been worse than the previous scal when an average of 27 person-days of work per household had been provided. It is possible to deal with the agrarian crisis with proper implementation of the scheme. The scheme has provisions of developing the land
Bengal Minister holds meeting with transport organisations
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA: West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra on Thursday held meetings with the chiefs of the State transport organisations in a bid to unravel the tangle over irregularities in their employees rolls which results in a the ballooning of the subsidies that the government pays to keep them aoat.
NEW DELHI: Facing an uncertain future following the Supreme Court order cancelling of small and marginal farmers 122 licences issued in 2008, and digging up ponds, said foreign telecom rms are contemplating taking legal Ms. Talwar. There is also disparity in recourse to save their investthe implementation of the ments and future in the Indischeme across the State. an telecom sector. The While the Darjeeling Gorkha affected global giants are the Hill Council has been able to UAEs Etisalat, Norways Tegive 27 person-days of work lenor and Russias Sistema per household, in the hill sub- Group that have already indivisions of Darjeeling dis- vested heavily in their India trict in Coochbehar it has operations. A similar opinion was exbeen just 10 days. There has been poor im- pressed by Communications plementation of the scheme and IT Minister Kapil Sibal in the districts that have been when asked about the impact affected by Maoist activity in Thursdays judgment will recent time. There has been have on foreign rms which an average of 13 person days have already invested in India of work per household in Pas- after getting all necessary chim Medinipur district, 17 clearances from the governdays of work in Bankura dis- ment. It is for them [foreign trict and 19 days in Purulia investors such as Telenor and Etisalat] to vindicate their district. rights in an appropriate mannerthey should seek courts intervention, he told journalists here.
Unfortunate
Among old operators that have been affected by the judgment include Idea Cellular whose 13 licences have been cancelled, including four of the erstwhile Spice Communications that merged with the company. Noting that it has unnecessarily been caught in this situation, it said it was unfortunate that it was being made to suffer owing to this cancellation of licences, despite being fully compliant at each stage with the licence allocation process. We will study in detail the Supreme Court judgment and explore all possibilities to protect our investment, it added.
Seeking a fair deal
Mr Mitra said efforts are being made by the State transport corporations to make a list of permanent and temporary employees. He said he would start touring the various bus and tram depots with technical people to nd out the exact size of the eet which could be put on the road. Salaries which had become irregular may be paid soon, he
indicated.
Suicide
The matter gained urgency after a State transport worker committed suicide last week hours after the Minister indicated that the Rs 600-crore subsidy that the government now forks out to meet the payment obligations of its transport outts may have to be phased out as the cash-
In a statement, Telenor, which is present in India in partnership with the Unitech Group, said: When we have strapped government could not caused any of the faults not afford footing such bills any longer. The Chief Minister herself took a meeting soon after this incident. Mr Mitra told reporters after the meeting that while a status quo would be maintained for six months, the transport corporations will have to work out revival plans.
Supreme Court taking up his petition on the age issue, Chief of the Army Staff General V.K. Singh called on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here on Thursday. While there is no ofcial word on what transpired between them, the meeting assumes signicance, coming as it does so close to the court hearing. Whether the government and the Army Chief are hammering out a compromise is not known but the understanding is that Mr. Mukherjee is attempting to nd a solution to the problem that was to have been settled during the time he headed the Defence Ministry. On his part, Defence Minister A.K. Antony has maintained that the Army keeping two different dates of birth on its record led to the imbroglio. The Adjutant-General Branch, ofcial record-keeper, has registered General Singhs date of birth as May 10, 1951, while the Military Secretary Branch shows it as May 10, 1950.
Buxa Tiger Reserve to upgrade facilities
We are preparing our eco-tourism plans in accordance with the guidelines
Ananya Dutta Tiger Reserve Field Director R. P. Saini, told The Hindu KOLKATA: Authorities of the over phone recently. Buxa Tiger Reserve are forDr. Saini said the tourist mulating plans for a major lodge of the reserve can acoverhaul of the tourist facil- commodate about 50 visities at the reserve. itors, but once the plan is We are preparing our implemented it will be able eco-tourism plans in accord- to cater to nearly 250 tourance with the guidelines giv- ists at any given point in en by the Union Ministry of time. Environment and Forests. Since the forest lodge canTourist lodges will be set up not accommodate all the at seven spots in the buffer tourists coming to the rezone of the reserve, Buxa serve, many of them tend to tents as accommodation for tourists. Watch-towers will be constructed at these clusters so that visitors can spot Watch-towers areas deep within the forest, The project, to be imple- Dr. Saini said. mented by the West Bengal A greater emphasis on the Forest Development Corpo- educating visitors will be ration, is expected to be in given by upgrading the naplace by the next tourist sea- ture interpretation centre son which starts during the and organising nature study Durga Puja holidays, if the tours. The authorities will plans are approved, he said. also increase the vigilance on Apart from guest houses, vehicles operating within the reserve will also provide the reserve, he said. live in guesthouses operating illegally in the area, he added.
Jayalalithaa hails order
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court order in the 2G spectrum allocation case. Asked about the argument of the United Progressive Alliance government that the former telecom Minister, A. Raja, was to be blamed and not Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, she said that irrespective of whatever the Central government might say, it was for the court to pronounce the nal verdict. On the Supreme Court referring to the special court the petition on the alleged role of Mr. Chidambaram in the scam, Ms. Jayalalithaa said she would prefer to wait and see what happened in court.
He should quit, says Modi
Special Correspondent
AHMEDABAD:
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after the Supreme Court judgment in the 2G scam. Addressing a public meeting on the conclusion of his one-day Sadbhavana Mission fast at Mandvi, he said the court had come out with a clear indictment on the largest scam ever in the country. He said even after the apex courts order to the trial court on Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the Congress and the Centre have come out in the open to save the Minister. Actually the effort was not to save him but to protect some very big heads behind the Minister.
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