Probe BSY role in illegal mining: SC--ToI-12.5.12

Order To CBI Hits Ex-CM’s Comeback Bid

Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the CBI to probe former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa for allegedly permitting illegal mining by major corporate groups like Jindals and the alleged “windfall profits” reaped by his relatives through quid pro quo by mining firms.
    A bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Aftab Alam and Swatanter Kumar accepted the April 20 report of its environmental panel, Central Empowered Committee (CEC), and asked the CBI to complete the investigations in three months and file a chargesheet against accused persons before the court concerned.
    The bench rejected the pleas of Yeddyurappa, Jindal Steels and South West Mining Ltd who attempted to persuade the court not to accept the CEC’s recommendations for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the award of mining leases, iron ore extraction and the payment of donations as a quid pro quo to NGOs run by the ex-chief minister’s relatives.
    The order is a setback for Yeddyurappa who was hoping for a comeback as CM, and interferes with BJP’s plan to put its Karnataka house in order ahead of the challenges of state and Lok Sabha polls. Although the BJP strongly resisted Yeddyurappa’s demand for reinstatement, its hopes of protecting its new-found dominance in Karnataka hinged on the Lingayat strongman’s return to the helm in Bangalore.
    The setback for Yeddyurappa may ensure the continuation of Sadananda Gowda as chief minister: hardly an appealing prospect for those who are worried about BJP’s sliding graph in Karnataka.
    Asking the agency to treat the CEC report as “informant’s information to the investigation agency”, the apex court said, “The CBI shall undertake investigations in a most fair, proper and unbiased manner uninfluenced by the stature of persons and the political and corporate
clout, involved in the present case. The CBI shall complete its investigation and submit a report to the court of competent jurisdiction with a copy of the report to be placed on the file of this court within three months.”
    It further said, “Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and all other government departments of that or any other state to fully cooperate and provide required information to the CBI.”
    The court expressed anguish over the CEC report pointing out the inaction on the part of government and statutory authorities to stop rampant illegal mining of iron ore carried out with impunity under political patronage in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
    “The facts in the present case reveal an unfortunate state of affairs which has prevailed for a considerable time in the mentioned districts of both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The CEC has pointed out, and the complainant and
petitioners have also highlighted, a complete failure of the state machinery in relation to controlling and protecting the environment, forests and minerals from being illegally mined and exploited,” said Justice Kumar, writing the 46-page judgment.
    The abject failure of the state and statutory authorities to stop devastation of the environment and forest through illegal mining was the trigger for the apex court to order CBI probe and direct it to bring the guilty to book.
    Justice Kumar, writing the judgment, said, “Wherever and whenever the State fails to perform its duties, the court shall step in to ensure that rule of law prevails over the abuse of process of law.” THE WAY FORWARD TILL YEDDY GETS READY
Options before Yeddyurappa Lie low till CBI inquiry is completed Try to strengthen his position in the party even as inquiry is on Strategize to keep his flock together Team up with G Janardhana Reddy and B Sriramulu
Attempt to float a new political outfit and support Congress to defeat BJP
Destabilize the Sadanan d a Gowda government
Stay within the BJP and demand that Gowda and K S Eshwarappa be replaced with his supporters Demand accommodation of his supporters during cabinet expansion
Slowly fade away from politics in the face of arrest
Options before BJP
Lend  moral and  leg legal support to Yeddyurappa
Sympathize with BSY, meet his minor demand s
Keep Yeddyurappa at bay and build party image
Keep distance as the party is fighting corruption at the national level Key accused in illegal mining scam gets bail
Hyderabad: Gali Janardhana Reddy, Obulapuram Mining Company director and prime accused in the illegal mining case, was granted bail by a CBI court here on Friday. Gali, who is currently in a Bellary jail, is also accused in another mining case in Karnataka and will walk free only if he secures a bail there. TNN

1949 Ambedkar cartoon in textbook rocks Houses --ToI-12.5.12

New Delhi: A cartoon on Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar, first published in 1949 and reproduced in a school textbook, set off a storm in Parliament on Friday, forcing HRD minister Kapil Sibal to apologize after parties alleged it insulted Ambedkar.
    The cartoon showed Nehru “whipping” Ambedkar over the slow progress of the framing of the Constitution after Independence and this saw disruptions in the Lok Sabha soon after it met, with MPs demanding that the “offending” cartoon be withdrawn. Some called for Sibal’s resignation, others wanted an apology.
    According to agency reports, following the uproar, Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar, advisors at the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), resigned.
    Sensing the political combustibility of the issue, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee sought to cool tempers by immediately decrying the reproduction as inappropriate and launching into a detailed account of how Ambedkar oversaw the writing of one of the world’s lengthiest constitutions. Mukherjee’s erudition stopped the protests for a while but the House had to be adjourned. It was disruption twice more before the chair decided to put an end to the day’s proceedings.
    While Sibal scrambled to explain that a review of NCERT books had been ordered and distribution of texts stopped, academics and artists felt the protests were overblown. They pointed out that neither Nehru nor Ambedkar found the depiction objectionable and felt the NCERT book explained the context adequately.
    There were other sections of opinion, however, who felt sensitivities of the socially disadvantaged ought to have been kept in mind by the NCERT in an age of political and social assertion.
    Just as terms like shudras and Harijan fell into disuse and are considered improper with Dalits being acceptable, what might have been innocuous in 1949 may not be regarded in a similar light today. P 10
DRAWING IRE
The cartoon by Shankar shows Ambedkar, with whip and reins, riding a snail labelled “Constitution”, which is being whipped by Jawaharlal Nehru as well. The caption says the cartoon denotes the “snail’s pace” at which the Constitution was drawn up and asks students what they think were the reasons for the Consituent Assembly taking so long

MPs wave copies of the cartoon as HRD minister Kapil Sibal apologizes in the Lok Sabha

Another Antarctic ice shelf under threat--ToI-11.5.12

450,000Sqkm Shelf May Disappear By The End Of This Century Due To Warming

London: Scientists are predicting the disappearance of another vast ice shelf in Antarctica by the end of the century that will accelerate rising sea levels.
    The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf fringing the Weddell Sea on the eastern side of Antarctica has so far not seen ice loss from global warming and much of the observation of melting has focused on the western side of the continent around the Amundsen Sea. But new research from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany says the 450,000-sq-km ice shelf is under threat.
    “According to our calculations, this protective barrier will disintegrate by the end of this century,” said Dr Harmut Hellmer, lead author of the study.
    The huge ice shelves that float on the seas fringing Antarctica provide a buffer against warming waters eating away at the base of the much larger glaciers behind them that sit on the land.
    “Ice shelves are like corks in the bottles for the ice streams behind them,” said Hellmer. “They reduce the ice flow.”
    Hellmer and his team predict the melting of the Filchner-Ronne shelf could add up to 4.4mm per year to rising global sea levels. According to the latest estimates based on remote sensing data, global sea levels rose 1.5mm a year between 2003 and 2010 due to melting glaciers and ice shelves, the scientists say.
    The research was funded by the EU’s ‘Ice2sea’ programme, set up in the wake of the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that highlighted ice-sheets as the most significant remaining uncertainty in projections of rising sea levels. David Vaughan, who heads Ice2sea, said the findings prove that warming oceans are having the greatest impact on the ice sheets, as opposed to atmospheric changes. REUTERS

Popular painkiller Analgin in the dock for over promotion --ToI-11.5.12

Kounteya Sinha TNN

New Delhi: Now Analgin, a popular painkiller, is in the eye of a storm. The drug is approved in India for “severe pain or pain due to tumor and also for bringing down the temperature in refractory cases when other anti-pyretics fail to do so.”
    However, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on health has found that the product insert of Baralgan-M and Novalgin — the two top selling brands of Analgin — recommend its use in “severe or resistant pain and fever” but the words “when other anti-pyretics fail to do so” have been omitted, thus leading to over promotion.
    According to the Committee, the drug is banned in several countries across the world, including the US, France, Armenia, Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Lithuania, Nigeria, Serbia, the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Iran.
    It says that Analgin crosses the placenta and should not be used during pregnancy. Similarly women, who are breast feeding, must not use the drug.
    “How many people know this? As per documents submitted by the Union health ministry, the issue of withdrawing Analgin has not been seriously considered,” said the Committee report placed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
    Dr C M Gulhati, a drug expert said, “Analgin was found in 1920s in Germany. Presently, it has been discontinued in most parts of the world. So it makes no sense for India to continue using it. Since 1920, several painkillers have come in which are less dangerous and more effective.”
    The Committee noted that there are a large number of alternative analgesics, antipyretics in the Indian market. “With so many countries banning Analgin, not to mention unlawful over promotion by manufacturers, the CDSCO should be directed to re-examine the rationality of continued marketing of Analgin,” the panel said.
    Experts say a drug becomes a candidate for withdrawal not only due to serious side-effects but also when safer, more efficacious drugs are launched.
    “Unfortunately, no attention is being paid to this issue. This principle should apply to all cases and all drugs need to be evaluated periodically,” it added.
    Analgin, virtually sold as Over the Counter (OTC) drug without prescription, isn’t part of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).
    The report says, “There has been lot of public concern on the continued availability of potentially harmful drugs in India years after such products were banned and/or withdrawn abroad, more particularly in highly developed countries like United States, Canada, Britain, the European Union, Australia.”
    Analgin remained in the market worldwide until the 1970s, when it was found that it carried risk of causing severe fall of white cells (agranulocytosis), which is a potentially fatal condition.
    The US had banned the drug on June 27, 1977. Analgin was also banned for use in animals in 1995 in the US. Sweden banned the drug in 1997, while France had stopped sale of the drug nine years later due to negative benefit/risk evaluation.
    IN THE
    EYE OF A
    STORM

• Analgin recommends its use in ‘severe or resistant pain and fever’

• But the words “when other antipyretics fail to do so” have been omitted, thus leading to over promotion

• found in 1920s in Germany, the drug has now been discontinued in most parts of the world. It makes no sense for India to continue using it

• This drug is banned in many countries including the US, France & Japan

• CDSCO should be directed to reexamine the rationality of continued marketing of Analgin, says House panel

• The issue of withdrawing Analgin has not been seriously considered as per data of health ministry, says the panel

Maya spent 86cr to renovate her house-- ToI-9.5.12

Arvind Singh Bisht TNN

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati spent over Rs 86 crore of public money to renovate her sprawling 13, Mall Avenue bungalow — a house she became entitled to in 1995 when she first became the CM. The renovation work began after Mayawati took over as CM in 2007 but the bulk of the work was completed towards the end of her tenure.
    This came to light through an RTI application by Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, who had filed the query when he was the leader of the Opposition during Mayawati’s rule. Although the RTI query dates back a year, the estate department revealed the details recently.
    “We’re still assessing the total cost. There are indications that the money spent might even exceed Rs 100 crore,” said a senior estate department official. The five-acre prime land is guarded by 20-feet-tall walls of Rajasthan sandstone. Originally, the plot was over 2.5 acres, but Maya added the adjoining plot (during her last tenure as CM) which housed the cane commissioner’soffice.Thatbuilding hassince been demolished.
    The main structure is single-storied with six inter-connected rooms. These open on to a wide corridor, which contain rows of lockers. On one wall along this corridor hangs a large picture of Mayawati taking her first oath as UPC Min 1995.Outsidethecorridor is a verandahwithtwowindows, fitted with bullet-proof glass. Each windowcostRs15lakh.There’s a separate two-storied well-furnished guesthouse with 14 bedrooms in the premises. All rooms have pink Italian marble flooring, Maya’s favorite color. This building, too, has a conference hall, a security room, garages and drivers’ rooms. Outside, there are two 20-feet statues, one of Mayawati and the other of her mentor KanshiRam.
    The rooms were built and torn down several times, which partly explain the huge cost. “One bathroom in the main building was redone a dozen times because Behan ji did not like it,” said an official. Given her paranoia, the home department put up barbwire fence round the boundary wall. A close-circuit TV watched visitors.
    The bungalow’s renovation was clubbed with the building of parks and memorials in the memory of Dalit icons. The job was assigned to the Nirman Nigam,which gavetop priority to the bungalow’s renovation. Shivpal, who’s now PWD minister, said action will be taken against those found guilty of irregularities.
    Department officials said 80% of funds were provided by the estate department, the remaining by Nirman Nigam and other agencies. Nirman Nigam, sources said, refused to answer estate department’s repeated queries aboutits activities.
    The bungalow was earlier Speaker’s House and long occupied by Congress’s Baldev Singh Arya, who was minister in UP’s first assembly in 1952. In 2007, during her fourth stint as CM of one of India’s poorest states, she decided to expand the property and do it up in royal style.
UP govt  scraps Maya’s Jewar airport project
    The UP government has decided to scrap the ambitious Greenfield international airport at Jewar, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta said on Tuesday. The airport was former chief minister Mayawati’s dream project and the SP government is planning to develop a new international airport between Agra and Mathura. As per the rules, no airport can be constructed within 150km of an existing one. Jewar is less than 100km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. “Central clearance for Jewar airport was pending for seven years. In the absence of this approval, UP government was left with no alternative. As a result, a decision was taken to scrap the project,” Gupta said. The decision, however, does not mean the end of the road for an international airport in the state. TNN

MAYAGHAR: Mayawati’s 13 Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow

Arvind Singh Bisht TNN

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati spent over Rs 86 crore of public money to renovate her sprawling 13, Mall Avenue bungalow — a house she became entitled to in 1995 when she first became the CM. The renovation work began after Mayawati took over as CM in 2007 but the bulk of the work was completed towards the end of her tenure.
    This came to light through an RTI application by Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav, who had filed the query when he was the leader of the Opposition during Mayawati’s rule. Although the RTI query dates back a year, the estate department revealed the details recently.
    “We’re still assessing the total cost. There are indications that the money spent might even exceed Rs 100 crore,” said a senior estate department official. The five-acre prime land is guarded by 20-feet-tall walls of Rajasthan sandstone. Originally, the plot was over 2.5 acres, but Maya added the adjoining plot (during her last tenure as CM) which housed the cane commissioner’soffice.Thatbuilding hassince been demolished.
    The main structure is single-storied with six inter-connected rooms. These open on to a wide corridor, which contain rows of lockers. On one wall along this corridor hangs a large picture of Mayawati taking her first oath as UPC Min 1995.Outsidethecorridor is a verandahwithtwowindows, fitted with bullet-proof glass. Each windowcostRs15lakh.There’s a separate two-storied well-furnished guesthouse with 14 bedrooms in the premises. All rooms have pink Italian marble flooring, Maya’s favorite color. This building, too, has a conference hall, a security room, garages and drivers’ rooms. Outside, there are two 20-feet statues, one of Mayawati and the other of her mentor KanshiRam.
    The rooms were built and torn down several times, which partly explain the huge cost. “One bathroom in the main building was redone a dozen times because Behan ji did not like it,” said an official. Given her paranoia, the home department put up barbwire fence round the boundary wall. A close-circuit TV watched visitors.
    The bungalow’s renovation was clubbed with the building of parks and memorials in the memory of Dalit icons. The job was assigned to the Nirman Nigam,which gavetop priority to the bungalow’s renovation. Shivpal, who’s now PWD minister, said action will be taken against those found guilty of irregularities.
    Department officials said 80% of funds were provided by the estate department, the remaining by Nirman Nigam and other agencies. Nirman Nigam, sources said, refused to answer estate department’s repeated queries aboutits activities.
    The bungalow was earlier Speaker’s House and long occupied by Congress’s Baldev Singh Arya, who was minister in UP’s first assembly in 1952. In 2007, during her fourth stint as CM of one of India’s poorest states, she decided to expand the property and do it up in royal style.
UP govt  scraps Maya’s Jewar airport project
    The UP government has decided to scrap the ambitious Greenfield international airport at Jewar, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta said on Tuesday. The airport was former chief minister Mayawati’s dream project and the SP government is planning to develop a new international airport between Agra and Mathura. As per the rules, no airport can be constructed within 150km of an existing one. Jewar is less than 100km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. “Central clearance for Jewar airport was pending for seven years. In the absence of this approval, UP government was left with no alternative. As a result, a decision was taken to scrap the project,” Gupta said. The decision, however, does not mean the end of the road for an international airport in the state. TNN

MAYAGHAR: Mayawati’s 13 Mall Avenue bungalow in Lucknow