12/20/07
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For The Gain of the Many and For the Welfare of the Many
Rs. 65,000 crore investment proposed in power generation sector : CM
New Delhi : December 19, 2007 The State Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan presented the statement of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati at the 54th meeting of the National Development Council held here today. The Chief Minister, in her statement, while underlining the commitment of the State Government, said that a target of 10 per cent growth rate had been set up for U.P. under the 11th Five Year Plan, which was higher than the national target of nine per cent. The State Government had accorded top priority to the development of basic infrastructure facilities to achieve this growth rate target, she pointed out. Km. Mayawati has said that the agriculture growth rate had been almost doubled to four per cent at the national level while the same for the U.P. had been fixed at 5.7 per cent even though U.P. was a agriculture dominated state. Likewise, the approximate growth rate target for manufacturing has been set at 11.5 per cent and a target of 12.4 per cent has been fixed for service sector. Km. Mayawati said that an investment of almost Rs. 8 lakh crore would be required to achieve this target of growth rate in the State. The C.M. said that a special package of approximately Rs. 80,000 crore had been demanded from the Centre for the development of infrastructure facilities in the State and for the development of Bundelkhand and Purvanchal areas. Emphasising the need of infrastructure development, the C.M. said that a 1000 km long expressway would be constructed from Noida to Ballia. This expressway would contribute as an industrial corridor for the economic development of the backward areas of the eastern U.P. She further said that the cities would be saturated with 16 main programmes under the Manywar Shri Kanshiramji Shahri Samagra Vikas Yojna so that basic facilities could be provided in the cities. Km. Mayawati said that Rs. 65,000 crore would be invested in the power generation sector, which in turn would generate 10,500 MW of additional power. Elaborating upon the issue of poverty and employment, she said that the target of bringing down the number of people subsisting below the poverty line to 15 per cent still remained to be achieved and 125 lakh new employments would be created during the 11th Five Year Plan period. According to the Chief Minister’s statement the requirements and policies of the State regarding the issues like agriculture, irrigation, power, I.T., trade, industry, medical and health, education and technical education, rural development, insurance and banking were also put forth at the meeting. She said that all the sections of the society were being provided equal opportunities and facilities by the State Government. She also apprised of the proposal through which the eligibility age for the old age pension being provided by the State Government under the National Social Assistance Programme would be lowered to 60 years from the present age of 65 years. The proposal also suggests increasing the minimum amount of the pension to Rs. 400. The State Chief Secretary Mr. Prashant Kumar Mishra, APC Mr. Anees Ansari, IDC Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary Planning Mr. V. Venkatachalam and Principal Secretary Energy Mr. V.N. Garg also participated in the meeting of the National Development Council on behalf of the State Government. ********
P.C.S. officers should perform their duties in a better way : C.M.
Lucknow : December 18, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has announced that every year 80 P.C.S. (Provincial Civil Service) officers would be sent to foreign countries for training. She said that in the whole country, P.C.S. cadre is the only state level service having a provision of foreign training. She also announced that P.C.S. officers on field posting, performing judicial duties will get hospitality allowance, medical allowance, electricity allowance for residence and reimbursement of water usage charges. The Chief Minister was today addressing the officers of the P.C.S. cadre after inaugurating the annual convention of the administrative branch of the Uttar Pradesh Civil Services Association at the Convention Centre. She said that keeping in view the delay in promotions of P.C.S. officers in the I.A.S., this cadre has been provided 51 supernumerary posts in the two upper-most pay scales. Along with this, the tenure of essential service for promotion has also been reduced to half resulting in the promotion of 47 officers of this cadre in two higher pay scales. In her address, Km. Mayawati also said that the issue of promotion of P.C.S. officers in the I.A.S. is among the priorities of the government and it is serious and sensitive to it. She said that the appeal by the previous government in the Hon’ble Delhi High Court against the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) judgement had complicated the issue but as soon as this government assumed office it withdrew the appeal and instead sent a proposal to the Government of India for increasing the vacancies of P.C.S. cadre officers. But no decision has been taken as yet by the central government, she added. She said that the Hon’ble High Court has stayed the seniority list of the cadre on a writ filed by a member of this cadre but the present government is effectively pursuing to sort out the impasse. The Chief Minister said that due to lack of annual entries of many officers issues of their confirmation and time bound pay scale remained pending. She said that her government adopted a lenient approach and has confirmed 124 P.C.S. officers and sanctioned time bound pay scale to 29 officers. She said that the present government has provided training to 40 P.C.S. officers in the U.S. to enhance their efficiency for the benefit of the public. Km. Mayawati said that the Government of her party had promised to the people of the state of providing them a crime free, injustice free, corruption free and a development centric environment. For achieving this target, the government by following the dictum of “Sarvajan Hitay - Sarvajan Sukhay” for the establishment of an egalitarian society has initiated a number of schemes and programmes. She said the role of P.C.S. officers in achieving this target is very important. The officers of the civil service constitute an important wing of the administrative machinery and they are in direct contact with the public. Therefore as responsible officers it should be their duty to provide justice to the common people, especially to the poor of the Sarvasamaj at the earliest so that they are not compelled to come to Lucknow for their tasks. The Chief Minister said that her Government has allowed the officers to act impartially, without succumbing to any pressure. A Civil Services Board has been constituted for issues related with transfers. She said that it is the duty of the officers to adopt a dignified and sympathetic approach towards all. They should be courteous to the public representatives. Complaints are being received from some places that even the genuine works of public representatives are at a standstill. She said that in future if complaints of such nature are received then they would be treated very seriously. The Chief Minister called upon the P.C.S. officers to discuss the ways and means to increase their utility in the society and how could they perform their duties and responsibilities in a better way. She said that during the past seven months the officers had performed their duties efficiently and had done generally well adding that though their performance still left a lot to be desired and they should improve it a lot. The President of the P.C.S. Association, Baba Hardev Singh, in his address, said that the P.C.S. officers function as a bridge between people and the Government. He said that the officers were in direct touch with the people and they performed their duties with responsibility and sensitivity towards the masses. He said that the P.C.S. officers sacrificed their lives to maintain the communal harmony. He assured that the officers of this cadre would make every effort to translate the spirit of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay” into reality. He requested the C.M. to consider the various demands of the P.C.S. officers at the earliest. The General Secretary of the P.C.S. Association Mr. Shambhu Singh Yadav presented the annual report. Expressing his gratitude towards the C.M., he said that it was for the first time that 40 officers of the cadre were sent to foreign countries for training, so that their administrative acumen could be enhanced. The regular arrangement for this kind of training has also been made. He requested that the officers of this cadre should also be posted at the higher posts of the state services. The Chairman Science and Technical Council and Information Advisor Mr. Jamil Akhtar, Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Chief Secretary Mr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary Appointment Mr. J.S. Deepak, besides, the senior office bearers of the P.C.S. Association and the officers posted in various districts were present on the occasion. ********
Eighteen Developers short listed for Ganga Express-way Project
Lucknow : December 17, 2007 Eighteen developers have been short listed for the eastern U.P. (Varanasi - Ballia) to western U.P. (Noida) Ganga Express-way Project. The outcome of the visionary approach of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati, this ambitious project has the potential to remove regional imbalances. The 18 developers short listed for this project, include international as well as national level developers. Five major foreign construction developers, which have been short-listed, are Plus Expressway - Malaysia, Galfar - Ashoka - Sadbhav, Leighton India - Oriental Structural Engg, Ssang Young & Yougraj and SNC Lavalin. The 13 national level developers which have been short listed are MacQuare Securities - Gammon Infrastructure, GMR, Jaiprakash Associates, Galfar - Madhucon, Galfar - SPML, DLF, L&T - ECC, Punj Lloyd, Zoom Developers - CentrodorstroyIndia, Reliance Energy, Unitech, Omaxe - GVK - NCC and Bajaj - Appolo - DSC Construction. For the Express-way Project, on the basis of public - private partnership an investment of Rs. 40 thousand crore and of Rs. 80 thousand crore in the development sector is expected. For the first time in the country any state is planning and executing a project of such large magnitude. Since the investment for the project will be from the participation of the private sector therefore there will be no financial burden on the Government and its role will that be of a facilitator. 36 Tehsils of 19 districts will benefit from the Ganga Express-way. These include Sadar, Dalmau, Lalganj, Salon and Unchahar tehsils of RaiBareli district, Bighapur and Sadar tehsils of Unnao district, Jamania and Mohammadabad tehsils of Ghazipur district, Sadar tehsil of Varanasi district, Kunda tehsil of Pratapgarh district, Soraon, Phoolpur, Handia, Karchana, Meja and Sadar tehsils of Allahabad district, Sadar, Kayamganj and Amritpur tehsils of Farrukhabad district, Dataganj, Sahaswan, Gunnaur and Badaun tehsils of Badaun district, Sadar, Bansdeeh, Beria tehsils of Ballia district, Gyanpur and Aurai tehsils of Bhadoi district, Khurja, Dibai, Shikarpur tehsils of Bulandshahar district, Sandila, Bilgram, Savaijpur tehsils of Hardoi district and Jalalabad tehsil of Shahjahanpur district. Apart from these, Etah, Kannauj, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar, Kaushambi and Mirzapur districts will also benefit from this. This project will be constructed on the embankments on the left bank of the river Ganga. It may be noted that the left bank of Ganga River is more devastated by floods. Hence millions of flood affected will get relief through this project and the farmers of these areas will get the opportunity to procure two crops, which in turn will improve their financial status. 10 major development areas, each of approximately four to five thousand acres will be developed in the Express-way Project. These areas will be equipped with infrastructure facilities like electricity, water, roads, health services, educational institutions and housing. In the development area, industries will be established in 10 thousand acres. Through five hundred large-scale industries six to seven thousand persons will gain employment while three lakh persons will be directly or indirectly employed in medium and small-scale industries. The local population gets maximum opportunities of employment in these industries, for this technical/commercial educational and training institutes will be established in the development areas in fifteen hundred acres. 20 ITI level, 10 Polytechnic level and 5 Engineering level institutes along with Medical College and various Paramedical schools will also be established providing employment to 20 thousand persons as well as benefiting 20 thousand students. 5 hundred agro-based large and small-scale industries will also be established which in turn will directly benefit the farmers. It is expected that seven to eight lakh persons will either reside or work in these areas in the next ten years. To serve them, commercial establishments, shops, hotels, bus stations, truck terminus, buses and taxies will also operate which in turn will provide employment to one to two lakh persons. **********
Strict warning to Chief Medical Superintendent of Saharanpur district hospital
Lucknow : December 16, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Km. Mayawati has ordered the suspension of District Panchayat Raj Officer, Mr. Satish Kumar Saini for the irregularities found in Ambedkar Village, Sevakhedi in Saharanpur district, besides wrong statement and carelessness in duty during her surprise inspection. She has also directed for the suspension of executive officer, Nagar Palika of Saharanpur Mr. Jaswant Singh for improper maintenance of drains, roads and irregularities in recruitments. She has issued strict warning to Chief Medical Superintendent of Saharanpur district hospital Dr. R.K. Khattar The Chief Minister, Km. Mayawati, while returning from election tour of Himanchal Pradesh made surprise visit of Ambedkar Village Sevakhedi at Sadar tehsil in Saharanpur district after landing at Sarsanwan Airfield. During her visit the Chief Minister found the improper maintenance of drains and khadanjas in village, besides the problem of water logging and drainage. Expressing her displeasure over the situation, she asked an explanation from District Panchayat Raj Officer. In his reply, the officer told her about not getting the required amount of money due to which the village had not been saturated. In this connection, it was found that the required amount of money had been given to Panchayat Raj Department for Ambedkar Village, SevaKhedi. Despite of it, the work was not being done. It was found that District Panchayat Raj Officer had made a wrong statement in this regard. The Chief Minister has directed for suspension of District Panchayat Raj Officer, Saharanpur Mr. Satish Kumar Saini with immediate effect. She has also directed for making the Pukka link road of Ambedkar Village, Sevakhedi connecting to main road according to the scheduled standards of PWD. The Chief Minister expressed her satisfaction over the works of primary school during her visit. She also inquired about the behaviour of officers and employees from the people of Ambedkar Village, Sevakhedi. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had also made surprise inspection of Ambedkar village, Bitia in Saharanpur district during the third phase of inspection. The Chief Minister also made surprise inspection of Saharanpur district hospital and inquired about the progress and implementation of her directives given during the visit on November 13 last. The Chief Minister found some improvement in hospital sanitation, but she expressed her unhappiness on seeing the rusted old instruments and un-cleanliness at some places. While giving strict warning to Chief Medical Superintendent, Dr. R.K. Khattar, she said if the situation would not improve further, then he could be dismissed in future. The Chief Minister was being told that due to the centralised system of purchasing instruments, there had been difficulties in the purchase of new instruments at local level. She directed to Principal Secretary, Medical and Health for required change in the present centralised purchasing system and creating an alternative system of purchasing. Taking serious note of not finding any patient in some wards of District Hospital, Km. Mayawati asked why the patients were not coming in these wards. She inquired whether the patients were not being referred to the private hospitals. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had suspended the Chief Medical officer for the complaints of irregularities during her visit at Saharanpur district hospital on November 30th last. *********
2,66,605 MT of paddy purchased in the state
Lucknow : December 11, 2007 The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Km. Mayawati has issued instructions for ensuring maximum purchase of paddy in the State as well as for providing complete benefit of minimum support price and bonus to the farmers. In compliance with the directives of the C.M., detailed guidelines have been issued to the concerned officers and till yesterday i.e. 10th December, 2,66,605 metric tons of paddy was purchased in the state while last year, in the same period 1,83,682 metric ton of paddy was purchased. As per the directives of the Chief Minister, the purchasing agencies have ensured cent percent payment of Rs. 12,525.164 lakh, benefiting 27,322 farmers. Apart from this, till 10th December rice millers had purchased 10,29,432 metric ton of paddy and have provided 2,41,737 metric ton of levy rice. Government of India has prescribed a support price of Rs. 645 per quintal for common variety of paddy and Rs. 675 per quintal for grade A variety of paddy. On this support price, a bonus of Rs. 100 per quintal is given on both varieties of paddy. Apart from this, with the permission of the Central Government instructions have been issued to purchase paddy through bulk-traders. A commission of 1.5 percent of the support price is applicable for the bulk-traders. The Chief Minister has directed the District Magistrates to daily monitor the status of paddy purchase. They have also been directed to keep a close watch on the involvement of middle men and antisocial elements in the process of paddy purchase. Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary Food and Civil Supply have issued detailed guidelines in this regard for the Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates. Principal Secretary Food is weekly reviewing the progress of paddy purchase. *********
All families of Mushar community are being benefited with Government schemes and programmes.
Lucknow : December 11, 2007 The Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has clearly directed the District Magistrates to keep a close watch on incidents of starvation. She has said that issuing of ration cards, allotment of pattas as well as other development and welfare schemes should be implemented in the villages on priority basis. The C.M. has clearly directed the D.Ms that if any complaint of starvation is received from the districts, then severest action will be taken against the concerned officers. The news of members of the Mushar community of village Dodhara of district Kushinagar eating mice to satisfy their hunger, which is being aired/published in media, is totally baseless, misleading and false. All the 106 families of Mushar Tolaa of gramsabha Dodhara have been issued ration cards under the Antyodaya scheme. Last month, all the families purchased the food grains on the prescribed price. According the report from the district, for the current month 12th December is the scheduled date for distribution of the ration. 20 kgs of wheat and 12 kgs of rice is being provided on every card. 95 persons of Mushar families possess job-card under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme. According to the statement of Mr. Chote Lal of the Mushar Tolaa, all the Mushar families have received ration. There is no incidence of starvation. Sufficient ration was found with the families. The members of the Mushar community eat mice not because of compulsion but at their own will. With the motive of tarnishing the image of the government as well as for gaining cheap popularity a local politician hatched this act and called on the media to publicize the news of mice being eaten to avoid starvation. A 75 years old Mushar woman had died a natural death two months back. The incident was investigated by the D.M. by sending a team of senior officers to the village and the news being aired by electronic media was found to be completely false. Since all the Mushar families have received ration under the Antyodaya Scheme, therefore no incidence of starvation has occurred. Therefore the question of mice being eaten to counter starvation does not arise. The D.M. of Kushinagar had sent Block Development Officer Dudahi, Tehsildar/S.D.M. Tamkuhiraj, District Supply Officer, Project Director and Chief Medical Officer for inquiry and through investigation of the whole incident. The officers in their inquiry found that in village Dodhara, there are 106 Mushar families residing in 2 Tolaas. 30 families are agriculturist and own their houses. There is no problem of food. All the families are benefiting from different schemes and programmes of the government. The D.M. told 69 Indira Awas have been sanctioned in Dodhara for the current fiscal year and money for 11 Indira Awas has been allotted. Mushar families are being provided all the facilities from the government, for which they are eligible. 215 labourers of this village possess job-cards, out of which 95 job-cards holders are from Mushar families. 40 persons have been provided employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In order to provide employment to the remaining job-card holders, kharanja repair works have been initiated. The District Magistrate has also informed that arrangements have been made in Kushinagar district to ensure hassle-free availibility of aid to Mushar community as well as to the poor and backward families of other communities. Officers of the Revenue, Supply, Development and Health departments have been instructed to remain alert on this sensitive affair. The D.M. has again clarified that this news is totally false. *********
C.M. writes letter to P.M. and Railway Minister
Lucknow : December 11, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Km. Mayawati has directed all the DMs of the State to ensure availability of fertilisers to all the farmers according to their requirements as per the Jotbahi. Directives have also been issued to conduct raids to check the black marketing and stockpiling of the fertilisers. To ensure the strict implementation of the orders, 70 teams of senior officers of the Government were being sent to every district. The C.M. has also requested the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to provide DAP and NPK chemical fertilisers, so that the same were easily available in the market for the farmers. In her letter sent to the PM, the Chief Minister requested an additional supply of one lakh MT of DAP for the month of December 2007. Besides, she has also requested an additional supply of 60,000 MT of NPK in the next 15 days. Km. Mayawati has sent a copy of the PM’s letter to the Union Railway Minister Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav requesting to provide additional railway wagon. She said that the DAP was available at the western ports of Mundra and Kandla. With the availability of railway wagons, the DAP could be quickly transported to Uttar Pradesh from the western ports. The C.M. has expressed the hope that there would be no shortage of chemical fertilisers of DAP and NPK when their supply is made rapidly in the next 10 days. She said that the urea was available in plenty in all the districts of the State at present. ******
Children adopted after registering the adoption
Lucknow : December 11, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has ordered all the D.Ms of the State to ensure that no one died of hunger and if any such case was reported from a district, then the district administration would be held responsible. The poor people were being provided job-cards so that they could get employment opportunities at local level. The news, emanating from Banda referring that the affected family had sold the children, was totally baseless and false. According to the report received from the D.M. Banda, the concerning family had entered into a legal adoption agreement for their children. The media had presented the news by distorting facts. The D.M. Banda Mr. Umesh Kumar Mittal has said that the news item, being shown by one national news channel and published by some newspapers that Govind, who is a resident of local Kailashpuri, had sold his two sons to save his wife and children from hunger, was totally false and baseless. According to the letter sent by the D.M. to the Government, the father of the children Govind had said that he had not sold his both the sons, instead he had given his son Shankar to one Maiyadin Patel for better education and upbringing, and his other son Chandan had also been adopted by Raja Bhaiya Gupta. Geeta, who is the wife of Govind, in her statement, said that she had four sons and one daughter and she got food everyday and the family was not facing hunger. Her younger son Chandan (Amit) had been adopted by Raja Bhaiya. The D.M. also informed that the local ward corporator Shri Ramasare Gupta, who was present on the spot during the investigations, said that the children had been given for adoption so that they could get better upbringing, they had not been sold as reported. The registration number of the adoption of the one child is 42 dated 5-9-2007 and for the other child it is 56 dated 9-12-2007. Maiyadin Patel in his adoption papers has clearly mentioned that he is around 60 years old and had no children from his wife Smt. Maina Singh Patel and there was no hope of producing children at this age. It has also been mentioned in the adoption papers that he had adopted Shankar after religious ceremonies and in front of his relatives and community members and his adopted son Shankar would inherit his rights after his death. Shankar Gupta would be like his natural son and perform all the duties of a son and religious rites. After his and his wife’s death Shankar would perform all the religious rites. Likewise, Chandan, the other son of Govind, has been adopted by one Vimal Kumar Gupta alias Raja Bhaiya Gupta through legal procedure. In the adoption papers of Vimal Kumar Gupta it has been clearly mentioned that he had no issue from his wife and had adopted Chandan who belonged to the same community as his. The adoption papers mention that Chandan is his adopted son and would inherit all rights of a son. Thus, the news mentioning that the sons had been sold was totally false, baseless and beyond the facts. *******
Chiel Minister’s directive for early verification of the claims of the affected Sikh families
Lucknow : December 10, 2007 Complying with the directives of the Chief Minister Km. Mayawati, the District Magistrate of Kanpur Nagar Mr. Alok Kumar has disbursed cheques totalling 17 lakh 58 thousand and nine hundred rupees as compensation to 35 affected persons of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. As per the information received from the D.M. of Kanpur Nagar, procedure for disbursing Rs. 4,67,350 to another eighteen affected families is in progress. The district administration is making all efforts to settle the remaining claims of the riot affected persons at war footing. Teams of area magistrates have been constituted to expedite the process. These magistrates have been directed to verify the eligibility of the claimants and disburse the compensation cheques to them at the earliest. He told that due to lack of verification of some families, there was some delay in the distribution of the compensation cheques. Now top priority has been accorded to the verification process. Consequently nine teams, each under one area magistrate, have been constituted for this task. The riot affected persons to whom compensation cheques have been disbursed include Mr. Darshan Singh, Mr. Rajendra Singh, Mr. Jogendra Singh, Mr. Rajendra Singh Bhatia, Mr. Gurdeep Singh, Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Mr. Ascharya Lal Kakkad, Mr. Inderjeet Singh, Mr. Satnaam Singh, Mr. Manjeet Singh, Mr. Supreet Singh, Mr. Kulwant Singh, Sardar Prem Singh, Mr. Narendra Pal Singh, Mr. Komal Singh, Mr. Harbans Singh s/o Kehar Singh, Mr Sujan Singh, Mr. Gurucharan Singh, Mr. Harbans Singh s/o Malik Singh, Mr. Rajendra Singh, Mr. Santosh Singh, Mr. Harmindar Singh, Mrs. Ajit Kaur and Mrs. Tejender Kaur, each of whom have been provided with cheques amounting Rs. 45 thousand. Mr. Ratan Singh, Mr. Vipin Kumar Narang and Mr. Jagat Singh have been provided with compensation cheques amounting to Rs. 27 thousand each, while Mrs. Kawaljeet Singh Kaur has been provided a compensation cheque of Rs. 3,90,000. Mrs. Shanti Devi, Mr. Inderjeet Singh and Mr. Mohan Singh, each have been provided with a compensation cheque of Rs. 27 thousand, Mrs. Mahender Kaur has been provided a cheque of Rs. 9 thousand while Mrs. Surjeet Kaur and Sardar Balwant Singh s/o Sardar Singh have received cheques worth Rs. 45 thousand each. Mrs. Veerbali has been disbursed a cheque of Rs. 7,650. Cheques will be disbursed after the verification of the compensation claim of Rs. 45 thousand each of Mr. Sardar Bahadur Singh, Mr Harbhajan Singh, Mr. Devendra Singh Gulati, Mr. Gurmeet Singh, Mr. Om Prakash Arora, Mr. Amarjeet Singh, Mr. Santokh Singh, Mr. Amardeep Singh and Mr. Gurubaran Singh Chabara and of Rs. 27 thousand each of Mr. Khajinder Singh, Mr. Trilok Singh, Mr. Kashmir Singh, Mr. Ajay Singh, Sardar Balwant Singh s/o Sardar Harnaam Singh and Mr. Jagjeet Singh Chabara. Similarly cheques of Mrs. Agya Kaur’s claim of Rs. 42,750, Mr. Joginder Singh’s claim of Rs. ninety thousand and Sardar Harvinder Singh’s claim of Rs. 13,500 will be disbursed after the necessary verification. It may be noted that the C.M. Km. Mayawati had directed the district administration of Kanpur Nagar for initiating a drive for disbursement of compensation amount to the 1984 riot affected Sikh families. She has said that the government of her party is committed for the welfare of every section of the society as well as for providing justice to the deprived, by following the dictum of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay”. *******
C.M. contributes for the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund
Lucknow : December 07, 2007 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Km. Mayawati has praised the role of the Armed Forces in defence, as well as during natural calamities and other emergency situations and also in countering terrorism. Terming the Armed Forces as matchless in the world, the Chief Minister said that our soldiers never lag behind as and when the situation demands. Many of them attain martyrdom while a number of them sustain permanent disabilities. She said that the State Government is completely committed to benefit the families of serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and dependents of martyr soldiers through welfare schemes. She said that with purpose of ensuring common man’s participation in solving the problems of ex-servicemen, an Armed Forces Flag Day Fund has been established through which many welfare schemes for soldiers, ex-servicemen and families of martyr soldiers are being implemented. She said that the State Government is fully conscious to mitigate their problems. The Chief Minister was today having a discussion with senior officers of the Soldier Welfare department at her official residence on the occasion of Armed Forces’ Flag Day. Prior to this, the Chief Minister contributed for the Soldier Welfare Fund. Director U.P. Soldier Welfare and Rehabilitation presented the Flag to the C.M. on this occasion. The Chief Minister drew the attention of the people of the State towards the families of those brave soldiers from the State who sacrificed their lives for the Motherland and brought glory to Uttar Pradesh. She said that this day also reminds us about the supreme sacrifice of those valiant soldiers. She appealed to the people to contribute liberally for the Flag Day Fund as a mark of respect and affection for the soldiers. She said that contributions for this Fund are exempt from income tax. She said that Flag Day is such occasion when we pay our respect and emotional attachment towards all the Services. The Chief Minister said that conditions in the armed forces require the services of young men. Consequently, a large number of soldiers attain superannuation between the age of 40 to 45 years. Approximately, 60 thousand soldiers retire every year. Providing alternate employment as well as ensuring appropriate place in the society to these soldiers and their families is a big responsibility. She said that the contribution of the public in sharing this responsibility along with the State Government is also necessary. On this occasion Minister of State (independent charge) Soldier Welfare and Rehabilitation Mr. Jamuna Nishad, Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. Vijay Singh, Information Secretary Mr. Diwakar Tripathi, Director Soldier Welfare and Rehabilitation Mr. Ram Ganesh, Captain D.V. Chand from the Soldier Welfare Directorate and Subedar Jaan Mohammad were also present. ********
Next review on the basis of spot verification : Mayawati
Lucknow : December 07, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has directed disciplinary action against 95 officers and employees while reviewing the development works and law and order of Lucknow, Faizabad, Allahabad and Devipatan Divisions in a meeting presided over by her at Yojna Bhawan here today. The officers include Primary Education, Rural Development, Minor Irrigation, PWD, Rural Engineering Services, Energy, Panchayti Raj, Social Welfare, Irrigation, Agriculture, Co-operative, Secondary Education, Revenue, Home, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Departments. The Chief Minister has also expressed her dissatisfaction over the fact that only Rs. 9628 crore expenditure had been made on the development works against the budgetary provision of Rs. 28115 crore by the concerning departments. She hoped that all officers would pay special emphasis on it and properly utilise the money for implementation of development works, so that people should get benefit. She directed for more progress and quality in development works. The Chief Minister has directed special adverse entries to BSA Lucknow, Mr. Rakesh Kumar Srivastava, BSA Hardoi Mr. Siya Ram Nirmal, BSA Raibareli Mr. Ram Shankar, BSA Allahabad Mr. Kamla Shankar Pandey, besides departmental action against Assistant BSA of Lakhimpuri Kheri Mr. Bharat Sharma. Likewise, the C.D.O. of Fatehpur Mr. Brahmanand (PCS) will get special adverse entry for not completing the Rural Development Schemes within stipulated period and C.D.O. Kaushambi Mr. Khajan Singh (PCS) has been warned. The Project Directors DRDA Fatehpur and Gonda Mr. R.K. Dixit and Mr. G.P. Gautam have been awarded special adverse entries respectively. The Chief Minister has directed departmental action against BDO Karchhna Allahabad Mr. P.K. Tiwari and BDO Reusa Sitapur Mr. Sudama Prasad, besides adverse entry to DDO Unnao Mr. Lal ji Yadav, BDO Singhpur Raibareli, Mr. Janardan Pathak, BDO Sumerpur Unnao and BDO Biswan. The Executive Engineer of minor irrigation Lucknow Mr. Ram Bachan Sharma, Assistant Engineer Lucknow Mr. Avanish Kumar, Executive Engineer Gonda Mr. Nikhil Kumar Srivastava, Assistant Engineer Balrampur Mr. R.P. Singh, Executive Engineer Allahabad Mr. K.N. Singh and Assistant Engineer Kaushambi Mr. Ravindra Singh have been warned. Km. Mayawati has directed departmental action against Executive Engineer PWD construction division-2 Bahraich Mr. Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Executive Engineer construction division-2 Sitapur Mr. Ghanshyam, besides punitive action against Executive Engineer Shravasti Mr. Y.K. Sharma, Executive Engineer Ambedkar Nagar Mr. R.K. Chaudhary, Executive Engineer construction division-2 Hardoi Mr. Ram Singh and Executive Engineer construction division-2 Kheri Mr. R.C. Jain. Departmental action would be taken against the then Executive Engineer Unnao Mr. Diwan Singh, Executive Engineer Prantiya Khand PWD Kheri Mr. A.K. Singh, Executive Engineer construction division-1 Mr. J.S. Rathi, Assistant Engineer construction division-1 Unnao Mr. Juned Ahmed, Assistant Engineer construction division-1 Kheri Mr. A.K. Jain, Junior Engineer construction division-1 Kheri Mr. Havaldar Singh Yadav, Assistant Engineer Prantiya Khand Mr. V.K. Sharma, Assistant Engineer Prantiya Khand Balrampur Mr. Ashok Kumar, Junior Engineer Prantiya Khand Balrampur Mr. D.N. Srivastava and Junior Engineer Prantiya Khand Balrampur Mr. Bachchi Lal Gupta. Directives have been issued for taking disciplinary action against Junior Engineer construction division-1 Mr. J.B. Agnihotri and Junior Engineer Prantiya Khand PWD Gonda Mr. S.N. Pandey. Km. Mayawati has directed for departmental proceedings against Junior Engineer R.E.S. Hardoi Mr. Qamar Sadiq, Junior Engineer RES Block Pisanwa Sitapur Mr. Moti Lal Kannujia and Executive Engineer R.E.S. (PMGSY) Rai Bareli Mr. Chandra Bhushan Pandey and also against SDO-1 Akbarpur Mr. M.L. Gupta, Executive Engineer Electricity Distribution Division Chowk LESA, Lucknow Mr. Mohmmed Firoz, SDO Electricity Distribution Division Kalyani Devi Allahabad Mr. Dhiraj Sinha, Executive Engineer Electricity Distribution Division-1 Hardoi Mr. Naresh Kumar, Executive Engineer Electricity Distribution Division-2 Rai Bareli Mr. R.N. Lal and Executive Engineer Electricity Distribution Division-1 Sultanpur Mr. Vinay Kumar. The C.M. has instructed for initiating departmental proceedings against District Panchayat Raj Officer Sitapur Mr. Sushil Kumar Sharma and District Panchayat Raj Officer Rai Bareli Mr. Vijay Kumar Sikreria due to laxity in work. The Chief Minister has directed for initiating departmental proceedings against the Supervisor Anil Kumar, Social Welfare department, Sitapur who was found guilty of not providing timely benefit of the schemes to the people. From the Irrigation department, directives were issued for awarding special adverse entry to Executive Engineer Tube well division-2 Allahabad Mr. Radha Raman and show cause notice to Superintending Engineer Works-11th division Faizabad Mr. N.C. Jain. Similarly Deputy Director Agriculture Unnao Mr. B.K. Singh and Assistant Registrar, Co-operative societies Unnao Mr. Rashid Kalim have been awarded special adverse entries due to showing negligence in duty. She has also directed for departmental proceeding against DIOS Rai Bareli Mr.Gyan Prakash Singh, SDM Patti Mr. Suresh Chandra, Tehsildar Patti Mr. Ramapati Bind, Nayab Tehsildar Manikpur Mr. Ram Kewal Tripathi and Nayab Tehsildar Bihar Pratapgarh Mr. Vishnu Narayan Srivastava. While reviewing the performance of the home department, the Chief Minister directed for departmental proceedings against C.O. Colonelganj, Allahabad Mr. Ashutosh Mishra who was found lacking in complying with his duties. During the review of the Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department, the Chief Minister directed for departmental disciplinary proceedings against Superintendent, Women Hospital Balrampur Dr. Archna Gupta. She awarded special adverse entry to Superintendent CHC Pachpedwa Balrampur Dr. B.D. Verma and special adverse entry with a warning to CMS District Hospital Fatehpur Dr. Chandra Shekhar Upadhyay, Incharge Superintendent CHC Sirauli Gauspur Barabanki Dr. Alzaheer Rizvi, Superintendent CHC Miyanganj Unnao Dr. Jitendra Kumar Gupta, Superintendent CHC Bangarmau Unnao Dr. Mahendra Pratap, Superintendent CHC Hasanganj Unnao Dr. S.C. Gupta and Superintendent CHC Purwa Unnao Dr. Sharad Pandey. A warning was issued to CMO Unnao Dr. S.R. Hasnain and CMO Hardoi Dr. Obaidur Rehman, while Manager Project Corporation Mr. Prem Chand, Project Manager (C & DS) Jal Nigam Lucknow and Project Manager of Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Mr. Satyendra Kumar were awarded special adverse entry. The Chief Minister directed for awarding special adverse entry to D.T.Os. of Ambedkar Nagar, Balrampur, Faizabad, Fatehpur, Shravasti and Pratapgarh. She also directed for awarding special adverse entry to Superintendent CHC Maharajganj, Rai Bareli Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Superintendent CHC Gola Kheri Dr. V.K. Srivastava, Superintendent CHC Dhaurahra Kheri Dr. R.S. Verma, Superintendent CHC Madhavganj Hardoi Dr. Sushil Kumar, Superintendent CHC Harpalpur Hardoi Dr. Swami Dayal, Superintendent CHC Misrikh Sitapur Dr. Sohanlal Diwakar, Superintendent CHC Mehmodabad Sitapur Dr. Anil Kumar and Superintendent CHC Sandila Hardoi Dr. A.M. Rizvi. CMOs of Barabanki, Pratapgarh, Sitapur and Fatehpur were awarded adverse entry, while the CMO of Lucknow was given a warning. The Chief Minister has directed to officers to fulfil the aspirations of the people and improving the law and order situation qualitatively. She said that State Government was committed for providing welfare schemes benefits to the people. If any laxity was found in it, then stern action would be taken against the concerning officers. She said that officers should behave politely with people’s representatives and dispose off the genuine works on priority basis. If more complaints were found from any district, then it would be understood that the people’s problems were not being solved in that district. She directed for removing the problems found during the review meeting. Km. Mayawati said this meeting was the last review meeting and new arrangement would be implemented from January for review, under which performance would not be judged on the basis of data only, but the spot verification of development works and its proper implementation would be checked after which the inspection report would be presented before her. She said that she herself had made surprise inspection of three districts where irregularities were found in development works. The officers should pay special emphasis in this direction, she said adding that people should be benefited from welfare schemes and public facilities. She said that law and order situation was not improved up to the expectations and more could be done in this regard. She directed that petty controversies should be solved on mutual basis and compromise. F.I.R. should be lodged without any delay, she added. The Chairman of U.P. Advisory Council Mr. Satish Chandra Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Chief Secretary Mr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to C.M. Mr. V.K. Sharma, Principal Secretary Home Mr. J.N. Chamber and DGP Mr. Vikram Singh were present in the meeting, besides other senior officers. ************
Govt. of our party is committed to providing justice every sections of society : CM
Lucknow : December 06, 2007 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has directed for immediate disbursal of compensation money to the 1984 riots-affected eligible Sikh families by disposing off their applications at the earliest. Km. Mayawati has instructed the concerned officers to take immediate decision on the applications of all eligible persons and families by initiating a drive. She said that all the necessary procedural formalities of the eligible persons should be completed soon for the disbursal of the compensation money at the earliest. The Chief Minister has said that the Government of her party by adopting the motto of “Sarvajan Hitay-Sarvajan Sukhay”, is committed for the welfare of every section of the society, and is paying special attention for solving the problems of those who have faced injustice.
C.M. calls for following the path shown by Baba Saheb
Lucknow : December 06, 2007 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati on the occasion of the death anniversary of our Constitution-maker Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, by paying her tributes has resolved her commitment to fulfill his dreams. In a message, released on the occasion of 52nd death anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, the Chief Minister said that Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar always struggled for ensuring social justice to the dalits and the oppressed who had suffered inequality since many centuries and he made many important provisions for their welfare in our Constitution. He waged a life-long struggle for the establishment of an egalitarian society. The Chief Minister said that the Government of Uttar Pradesh, by seeking inspiration from the Saints of the Bahujan Samaj is progressing fast on the way of building an India of the dreams of Dr. Ambedkar. Baba Saheb had paid special attention on education and women emancipation for the establishment of an egalitarian society. Our Government will fulfill the pious objective of creating an egalitarian society by following the teachings and ideology of Dr. Ambedkar and all sections of the society will have to actively cooperate in fulfilling this objective. The Chief Minister said that the real tribute to Dr. Ambedkar is to complete his unfinished tasks.
Centre has allotted least-electricity to Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow : December 06, 2007 While providing electricity, the Centre has always adopted a discriminatory attitude towards Uttar Pradesh. The State Government is committed to ensure availability of electricity to the people of the State as per their needs. During the 11th Five Year Plan, with the objective of generating 10000 MW of electricity, work has commenced on many projects with an investment of Rs. 50,000 crores. From the very beginning Uttar Pradesh’s share has decreased in the Central projects. The stipulated 37 per cent share from Singrauli has been reduced and replaced to 30 per cent from the new units of Rihand and Unchahaar. Dadri, which is in U.P., has been reduced to 10 per cent which is completely discriminatory. The following details illustrate the discrimination: Project Generation Capacity U.P.’s share 1. Singrauli 2000 MW 37.68 per cent 2. Rihand-I 1000 MW 32.57 per cent 3. Rihand-II 2000 MW 29.60 per cent 4. Unchahaar-I 420 MW 59.52 per cent 5. Unchahaar-II 420 MW 30.69 per cent 6. Unchahaar-III 210 MW 30.00 per cent 7. Dadri Thermal 840 MW 10 per cent The Centre has not proposed a single big power plant in U.P. in the 11th Five Year Plan in spite of the fact that here the consumption of electricity is more. The share of Uttar Pradesh in new projects of the Centre is not proportional with its size, population or its needs for electricity. The Centre has decided to set up eight new Ultra Mega Power Projects to meet the shortage of power, but unfortunately none of these projects would be set up in U.P. The State had demanded 2500 MWs from these projects, but only eight per cent of the capacity of all projects has been allocated for U.P., whereas, Maharashtra has been allotted 20 per cent of the capacity. The population of U.P. was the largest of the country, while Maharashtra is a smaller State population-wise. It was a blatant discrimination on the part of Centre as far as allotment of energy was concerned. The Government of India, under the National Energy Policy, has fixed annual per capita consumption of power at 1000 units by the year 2012. If the Uttar Pradesh’s per capita consumption of the energy, which is 300 units per year, had to be brought at par with the Centre, then special arrangements for Uttar Pradesh were needed. Thus, the Centre would have to shun its discriminatory attitude towards U.P. The State Government had already issued strong directives to concerning officers for ensuring the safety of grid. As a result, if we look at the situation of over drawl in the month of November, Uttar Pradesh had made only 12 per cent over drawl, while the States of Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand had made 16, 18 and 28 per cent over drawl respectively. Uttar Pradesh had not made any over drawl in the month of December, while other States had made more over drawl than the month of November. Though the Centre has 1600 MW electricity available at its discretion in North grid for allotment, but Uttar Pradesh is getting only 350 MW out of it. Keeping in view the demand of U.P., the State should get at least 800 MW electricity. Uttar Pradesh is a responsible State and top most priority has been given to energy sector. The government has taken several steps for energy reforms and Centre’s cooperation is needed for it. If the Centre adopts discriminatory attitude, the Uttar Pradesh is going to suffer from it. ********
Govt. demands Rs. 7016 crore package from GOI
Lucknow : December 06, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Government has prepared a drought minimization package of Rs. 7,016 crore to be demanded from the Government of India to deal with the problem of drought in the nine affected districts of the State. This includes Rs. 2,149 crore for initiating relief and other development works and Rs. 4,867 crore for medium long term schemes. It may be recalled that the Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal areas of the State were facing the drought conditions for past few years. This year too, the districts of Jhansi, Jalaun, Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Lalitpur, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra had been declared drought-hit in the month of September. A relief of Rs. two crore to each of these districts had been provided by the State Government to start the relief works. Thereafter, Rs. 118 crore were being provided to the farmers as agriculture inputs grant. The amount was being distributed among the farmers. The minimum amount being provided to the farmers under the Disaster Relief Fund had been increased to Rs. 1000 from Rs. 250 by the State Government. The proposal has been sent to the Centre to amend the parameters of the Disaster Relief Fund accordingly. An additional amount of Rs. 50 crore was being provided to the districts so that the increased grant could be distributed. Besides, directives had been issued to begin employment-oriented programmes in all the villages, constructions of ponds, setting up of food grain bank, ensuring drinking water supply, setting up fodder and cattle camp for animals and accelerating other development and welfare schemes by bringing together resources of all the departments. Among the schemes to be immediately implemented include a provision of one quintal wheat and one quintal rice stock to be maintained at village level, community kitchen for destitute persons to provide meals as in mid-day-meal scheme, mid-day-meal scheme to be operational for school children even on holidays, fodder-bank at-village level, cattle-camp, provision of drinking water facility, waiving off interest on the pending dues of the farmers and rescheduling of their loan repayment, provision of additional loans, boring of new hand-pumps along with re-boring of hand-pumps, provision of Rs. 5 crore for every district, ensuring availability of high grade seeds and fertilizers, improvement of wells, construction of private tube-wells and check-dams, improvement of electricity lines, arrangements for urban water supply, ensuring availability of medicines and construction of community centres. Under long term schemes include the development of agricultural area, use of modern technique, arrangement of quality seeds and inputs, watershed management, horticulture and forestation schemes, jetropha mission, animal husbandry arrangement, strengthening of major and minor irrigation systems, ground water conservation, arrangement of new machines for boring, private tube-well, construction of check dams and embankments, energy sector reforms, implementation of different drinking water schemes in rural and urban areas, besides initiating employment-oriented schemes and management of providing loans to farmers from different banks. It may be mentioned that Bundelkhand and Purvanchal areas of the State being the most backward areas suffer from the problems of regional imbalances and unemployment already exist there. Therefore, the Chief Minister Km. Mayawati had demanded Rs. 80,000 crore special area incentive package like Uttarakhand from the Prime Minister for solving the problems meeting him personally. This package included the demand of Rs. 4,700 crore for Bundelkhand, which could have solved the problem at maximum, if it had been provided. This package still awaits the approval. The State Government has also demanded Rs. 7016 crore new package from the Centre for minimizing the effect of drought. *******
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| Uttar Pradesh police are inching towards arresting a band of fidayeen following alert by state and Central intelligence agencies that they might be planning to target a VVIP politician of the state.. |
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Uttar Pradesh police are inching towards arresting a band of fidayeen following alert by state and Central intelligence agencies that they might be planning to target a VVIP politician of the state using improvised belt bombs stuffed with high grade explosives.
Sources said the UP police has been asked to step up their vigil on a particular VVIP politician, reported to be Chief Minister Mayawati.
However, the Uttar Pradesh government did not confirm the alert. βWe have no specific information about any such threat to the chief minister,β Special Secretary (Home) Gyan Singh told reporters here.
But the sources said the agencies had intercepted certain telephonic conversations between a module of two fidayeen belonging to the LeT from a UP town and Pakistan.
βNow the police are in search of the two fidayeen,ββ the sources said, adding that the two suicide bombers have already entered UP through the porous Nepal border.
βThey have already been given the suicide belts for the planned attack,ββ claimed the source. The plot was to use belt bombs for the attack, said the source. The buckle of the belts would be improvised as a triggering device to set off the blast. Meanwhile, the security arrangement of the chief minister have been strengthened.
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Mayawati stays away from meet
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 19: While all chief ministers gathered on Wednesday to finalise the 11th plan, UP Chief Minister Mayawati was conspicuous by her absence despite her demand of a Rs 80,000-crore special package for the development of basic infrastructure in Bundelkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Mayawatiβs absence is significant as the expert committee set up by the Prime Minister to evaluate her request had warned that the package could lead to βwasteful expenditure, sub-optimal investment results and financial indisciplineβ.
In an indication of her displeasure, Mayawati has also expressed her concern regarding the absence of consultation with the state governments before finalising the 11th Five Year Plan.
βIn my view, the state governments should have been duly consulted and a consensus built around the issues and problems of respective state government well before the Planning Commission gave a final shape to the 11th Five Year Plan document,β said Mayawati in a written speech distributed at the meeting of National Development Council.
She said this could have been a right step towards getting positive results from the proposed programmes.
Despite the observations of the expert committee, Mayawati reiterated her demand for the financial package for development of basic infrastructure in Bundelkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Express News Service
IndiBlitz.com
The first phase of polling took place for three tribal seats of Bharmaur, Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur Nov 14 due to fear of early snowfall in the high mountains reaches of the tribal belt.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer Manisha Nanda, there are 4,477,254 voters in the state for the 65 seats in the second and last phase of polling.
There are 324 candidates in the fray. The Arki assembly seat in Solan district has the largest number of candidates at nine.
While the BJP, Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have fielded candidates in all seats, the Lok Janshakti Party is contesting 38 seats, Communist Party of India-Marxist six seats, while independents are contesting 38 seats.
According to Nanda, there are 5,934 polling stations for 65 assembly segments.
Polling staff and material is being airlifted to some of the snowbound areas as they are already cut off from the rest of the country by road due to heavy snowfall.
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Vrindavan widow crack at Bengal
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| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT |
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| A still from Water, a film on the plight of widows in Varanasi |
Lucknow, Dec. 19: Officials in the Uttar Pradesh government are accusing Bengal of not helping look after widows in Vrindavan.
On December 13, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and the Centre asking them about the rehabilitation of the widows. Replies have to be sent within 15 days.
The following day, the social welfare department here held a meeting where officials pointed a finger at Bengal.
βRepresentatives of West Bengal, from where most of the widows come, failed to turn up at many of the joint co-ordination meetings. We are trying to do our best,β a secretary-level officer in the womenβs welfare department, which works under the social welfare department, said afterwards.
The meeting also decided to sanction Rs 3 crore to upgrade facilities for widows.
Bengal social welfare secretary S.N. Haque said the state government had sent a proposal on rehabilitation of widows in Vrindavan to the Uttar Pradesh government four years ago.
βBut since then, we have not progressed much on the matter,β he said. βHowever, if the Uttar Pradesh government writes to the department now, we shall look into it.β
Haque said some members from the stateβs womenβs commission had also visited Vrindavan to see for themselves how the widows were living.
According to official estimates, there are around 10,000 widows in Vrindavan, of whom about 6,000 are from Bengal. NGOs peg the total number much higher, at 35,000, with 20,000 said to be from Bengal. The women, aged between 45 and 82, usually live in temples.
In 1999, a joint committee of chief secretaries of Bengal and Uttar Pradesh was formed to co-ordinate welfare schemes for the women, most of whom have been abandoned by their families. The two states were to share expenses and jointly monitor rehabilitation programmes. But this panel clearly has not delivered.
A petition filed in the Supreme Court early this month said: βFor singing bhajans in a temple, they are paid Rs 18 a day, and are often seen begging.β
Water, a film by Deepa Mehta on the plight of widows in Varanasi β another temple town that draws widows from all over, especially Bengal β got an Oscar nomination in 2005 in the foreign language film category.
Social workers here believe lack of co-ordination between the states and the Centre is affecting rehabilitation schemes for which the Union government has been releasing funds.
Uttar Pradesh has set up three short-stay homes in Vrindavan β two using central funds and one with money sanctioned by the state welfare department β where about 500 women live.
Arti Srivastava, a deputy director of the social welfare department, said the state was planning to set up more short-stay homes with the help of NGOs. βUnfortunately, many of these widows donβt want to stay in the homes,β she said, before adding: βWe have to add to the infrastructure.β
The post of additional secretary, social welfare β the official through whom the money for welfare was to be routed β is lying vacant for over a year.
A July 2007 study by journalist-turned-social worker Usha Rai reported that around 40 per cent of the widows in Vrindavan came for solace in a βplace of Godβ while most others came because they had nowhere else to go.
Decision on cane price in Uttar Pradesh in new year
LUCKNOW (Reuters) - A final decision on this year’s cane price in Uttar Pradesh would be taken only in the new year, following an order of the Allahabad High Court quashing the advisory price fixed by the state government.
A High Court bench on Tuesday quashed the state advisory price (SAP) of 125 rupees per 100 kg fixed by the state for the 2006/07 season and has asked the state government to reconsider its SAP, giving relief to millers saddled with excess sugar.
SAP is the minimum price fixed by the state government, which millers must pay to procure cane from the farmers. The price is higher than the statutory minimum price fixed by the central government.
The millers in Uttar Pradesh, the second largest sugar producer after Maharashtra, have not been fully compensated for the cane procured last year, which is now weighing as cane arrears.
In a separate plea filed in Lucknow bench of the High Court, cane growers in the state have sought retention of last year’s state advisory price for the current crushing season beginning Oct. 1.
The plea was to be heard on Wednesday. However, the hearing has been deferred to January 6 next year.
The Lucknow bench had, in an interim order on November 15, directed mill owners to pay cane growers at the rate of 110 rupees per 100 Kg for cane purchased during the current crushing season.
However, sugar mill owners want to revert to last year’s offered price of 85 rupees only.
Crushing in the state has been delayed by almost a month as millers refused to procure cane on the price fixed by the state government
UP CM Mayawati seeks Rs 80,000 cr financial package
19 Dec 2007, 1343 hrs IST ,
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday demanded a financial package of Rs 80,000 crore from the Centre for development of basic infrastructure in Bundelkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh region.
In a written speech distributed at the meeting of National Development Council, called to finalise the Eleventh Five Year plan document, Mayawati said the state will target to achieve 10 per cent growth rate as against 9 per cent GDP growth target in the next five years.
The state would require an investment of Rs 8 lakh crore, aiming at an annual growth rate of 5.7 per cent in agriculture sector, 11.5 per cent in construction centre and 12.4 per cent in service sector, she said.
Mayawati also said the state would make efforts to attract 55,000 crore investment in power sector to add a capacity of 10,500 mw in next five years. The state has also decided to allocate 2,000 crore for the repairing machinery in state power plants.
Analysis: India fights ultras differently
By KUSHAL JEENA
UPI Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec. 19 (UPI) — India has decided to fight growing Maoist rebellion with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking report cards from the insurgency-hit states, which would be placed before the conference of the chief ministers slated to be held Thursday.
“The government’s plan to fight Naxalism through development will be put to test during the chief ministers’ conference on internal security on December 20, as report cards of 33 districts which have been identified as worst affected by Naxal terror would be discussed threadbare,” said a top Interior Ministry official.
The chief secretaries of eight states marred by Maoist violence would unfold the comprehensive development plan they have prepared and the initiatives taken to ensure overall development in the past three months, the Interior Ministry said. An inter-ministerial group under the Interior Ministry in a recent report recommended that Singh seek report cards from the state government where 33 districts worst-affected by Naxal militancy are located. The additional secretary Vinay Kumar had chaired the interior ministerial group meeting called last week to review the overall situation in these districts.
The group said more than 20 percent of police stations in these 33 districts reported higher number of casualties on account of Maoist attacks. The Interior Ministry in a note sent to states concerned has asked them to come with the progress report of these districts before coming to attend the meeting. India’s central Chhattisgarh and western Jharkhand states are badly hit by Maoist violence.
According to Interior Ministry figures among the 33 Naxal-marred districts 10 are in Jharkhand and seven in Chhattisgarh. These two states account for more than two-thirds of the 571 deaths due to Naxal violence till Oct. 31 this year. While working on the plan the group studied the reasons behind the expansion of Naxalism in the states. “We arrived at the conclusion that poverty and non-development of the regions were major reasons for the ultra getting footholds in the hunger-stricken and under-developed states,” Kumar said.
The federal government has in the proposed development plan identified one district each in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the new category for overall development on a priority basis to prevent the rebels from consolidating their base in the poverty-stricken areas. While six remaining districts belong to Bihar, five are in Orissa and two in Maharashtra. As per the proposed development plan the inter-ministerial group, which has been formed on Naxalism, will prepare various development schemes and programs for the affected states and districts and also monitor ongoing development works in other Naxal-affected districts. The rebels have a strong presence in 13 Indian states and the government says are focusing on the new block of 33. Currently, 165 districts in the country have some Naxal presence.
With a view to make the development plan as comprehensive as it could be, the government has included joint secretary-rank officers from the ministries of panchayati raj, rural development, tribal affairs, elementary education, health, forest, information and broadcasting, environment, women and child development and agriculture in the elite group. The group has also been interacting with the high-level state officials relating to security matters to keep a regular watch on the activities of the insurgents. The proposed plan suggests the federal ministries directly monitor all centrally sponsored development plans and programs in Maoist-hit states.
Meanwhile, banned guerrillas have called for spreading the insurgency to all states of the country while celebrating the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army week from this Sunday in Dantewara, one of the most affected districts of Chhattisgarh state. The rebels have pasted posters in the Bastar region, calling upon their cadres to take the war to all the corners of the country. The Maoist rebels have been waging an armed struggle against the Indian establishment to turn the country in to a Communist regime.
The rebels formed the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army in December 2000 in the memory of three of their Central Committee Members — Shyam, Mahesh and Murali — who they claimed were killed by Andhra Pradesh Police in fake encounters. Following the merger of the two Maoist groups into Communist Party of India (Maoists) on Sept. 21, 2004, the PLGA was converted into PLA and vowed to step up their armed struggle. The rebels said during the PLA celebration week they would specifically be targeting security forces, but of late they have started attacking strategic installations like telephone exchanges, railway stations and tracks and electricity towers.
The ultras held their 9th annual conference on the Jharkhand-Orissa border a few months back, where they passed a resolution vowing to free their comrades currently lodged in the jails of various militancy-hit states. In their attempt to get arrested rebels released, they successfully broke jails in three states and freed cadres.
“This congress resolves to strive to carry out every possible means to free our comrades from jails. With support from the masses, we had carried out historic actions such as the Jehanabad and Udaigiri jailbreaks,” the resolution said.
The successive jailbreaks have caught the authorities napping, but the ultras were merely doing what they had promised to do a long time ago. The resolution is available with the federal Interior Ministry that it has circulated to all the Maoist-hit states. State governments have not taken any precaution despite having prior information from Sunday’s jailbreak in Dantewara area of Chhattisgarh where ultras overpowered guards and freed 294 Maoists. In view of the growing Maoist threat to jails in Naxal-affected states, federal Interior Secretary Madhukar Gupta has written to all states on the need to increase security in prisons and address the problem of overcrowding.
The Naxal-affected states remain far from prepared to tackle Maoist violence. Indeed, a consistent feature across all the major Maoist-affected states is that they have extraordinarily poor policing capacities. “There is ample evidence that large proportions of the Central allocation for police modernization and up-gradation remain unspent or are being diverted or miss-spent. Utilization of funds has been particularly poor over the years in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand,” said A B Mahapatra, director of the Center for Asian Strategic Studies, a non-governmental body working on issues relating to security and intelligence.
According to the Interior Ministry’s Status Paper on Internal Security, the increase in casualties of civilians is mainly due to high violence levels in Chhattisgarh and to some extent in Jharkhand. “Chhattisgarh alone accounts for 49.30 percent of total incidents and 59.80 percent of total casualties in the current year,” the paper noted. There is, however, no assessment of the reasons for the decline in violence in other states, where focused police action has resulted in decline in Maoist activities.
“There is reason to believe that the decline in violence is a Maoist decision, rather than any significant gain on the part of the state Forces. Maoist efforts are evidently and increasingly focused on political mobilization and consolidation over wider areas,” said Ajai Sahani, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management, a non-governmental think tank.
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6 more succumb to cold wave
New Delhi, Dec 19: Six more people succumbed to the winter cold in Uttar Pradesh as the mercury dipped in several places in north India which endured another cold day today.
The cold wave, sweeping Uttar Pradesh, claimed six more lives in the past two days pushing the death count in the state this winter to 16.
State capital Lucknow shivered at 3.6 degrees Celsius, down by 4 degrees, while Taj city Agra was the coldest zone in Uttar Pradesh touching a low of 3 degrees Celsius.
In Rajasthan, the cold wave eased marginally with the mecury inching upwards at many places in the desert state which was reeling under an intense cold wave.
The mercury rose appreciably in Pink City Jaipur which recorded a minimum temperature of 9.6 degrees Celsius.
Delhiites continued to reel under cold weather with the mercury plummeting to the season’s lowest of 4.2 degree Celsius.
Temperatures dipped at several places in Punjab and Haryana where the cold wave maintained its tight grip.
The minimum temperature in Ludhiana in Punjab plummeted by 7 degrees Celsius to settle at 0.4 degrees Celsius.
Amritsar and Patiala reeled under piercing cold with a low of 0.6 degrees and two degrees Celsius respectively.
Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla was warmer than most other places in the plains, recording a low of 4.2 degrees Celsius.
A thick blanket of fog engulfed some places in the region making road and rail traffic snarl.
A report from Sonepat said several long-distance trains on the Delhi-Ambala-Kalka section ran behind schedule due to foggy weather. (Agencies)
Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2007
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India News: Sports
Ahmedabad, Dec 16: Around 64 per cent of the Gujarat electorate today voted in the second and final phase of State Assembly elections.
Out of the total 18.7 million electorate, 63 to 65 percent exercised their franchise in the remaining 95 constituencies of the total 182 seats spread over eleven districts in the Central and Northern parts of the state, the Election Commission said.
Barring a few incidents of violence and bogus voting, the polling went off peacefully.
“The polling was by and large peaceful,” said Deputy Election Commissioner Jaiprakash.
Elaborate arrangements were made to ensure that the voting is held in a free and fair manner.
Over 50,000 security personnel were deployed to maintain law and order in the state. Besides the state police, around 574 central paramilitary companies were pressed into service to instil a sense of security among the voters.
While the fight is mainly between the BJP and the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party is also contesting independently.
Around 60 percent of the Gujarat electorate voted during the first phase of Assembly elections on December 11.
Voting was held in 87 constituencies during its first phase. Of these, 58 constituencies were located in Saurashtra and Kutch regions, and 29 in South Gujarat.
The counting of votes will take place on December 23.
The term of the State’s Legislative Assembly expires on December 26.
In the last Assembly elections, the BJP managed to win 127 seats, while the Congress party was able to win only 51 seats. The Janata Dal (United) and independents had won two seats each.
Gujarat Election 2007
Manyawar Kanshi ram Ji had advised the caders to become their own media to counter the following biased media in order to tell the people the real happenings in the country.
The following predictions of the biased media will once again prove as false as it happened in Uttar Pradesh.
With polling of votes for the Gujarat assembly elections drawing to a close on Sunday, exit poll results indicate that Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party is set to regain power in the state.
According to an exit poll conducted by Indian Express-CNN-IBN-Divya Bhaskar, the BJP, which won 127 seats in 2002, will win 92-100 seats and secure a clear majority in the 182-member assembly.
Meanwhile, the Congress is expected to improve its tally from 51 seats in 2002 to 77-85 seats this time, the poll said, adding that the Bahujan Samaj Party and other rebels could split the votes of the main parties.
Though the Congress would not be able to make a dent in BJP’s chances of regaining power, the poll indicated that Congress had managed to gain some ground in Saurashtra.
A similar projection was put forth by the NDTV-GfK Mode exit poll.
The poll predicted that BJP will manage to hold on to power and notch up around 90-110 seats.
It added that the Congress is expected to win about 70-95 seats, a clear gain of over 19 seats from the 51 it won in the 2002 assembly polls.
The common aspect that came across various exit polls was fall in vote-share of the saffron party.
The NDTV poll suggested that there was a four per cent swing of Patel votes away from the BJP in the phase two, as compared to eight per cent in phase one. The party also lost an estimated 13 per cent of tribal votes in this election.
The Star News-Nielsen exit poll saw BJP getting 103, losing about 24 seats of which a loss of 18 is in Sunday’s phase in Central and Northern Gujarat. In the 2002 elections, in these regions, the party had swept winning 73 of the 95 seats at stake.
The Congress may get 76 seats, a gain of 25 seats, it said.
Zee News [Get Quote] and C-Voter projected BJP getting 93 to 104 seats followed by Congress at 75 to 87 seats. It gave saffron party a total vote share of about 48 per cent and Congress 45 per cent while the Star News exit poll projected that BJP will get 46.5 per cent votes while the Congress will secure 43.5 per cent.
In Sunday’s phase, the Star News exit poll projected BJP getting 55 seats and Congress 39. The BJP and Congress had got 73 and 21 respectively in 2002.
Bhojpur Times
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee Vinay Shankar Tewari filed his nomination papers for the by-election to the Ballia Lok Sabha constituency scheduled to be held on December 29. Tewari, son of former Uttar Pradesh Minister Hari Shankar Tewari, joined BSP recently.
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