Jaipur, The Jal Mahal land lease agreement, which was caught in controversies ever since it was executed between the state government and a private company owned by a city businessman in 2005, has been found illegal by the Rajasthan High Court, which annulled it on Thursday. The high court, while cancelling the lease and license agreements, has directed the private company, the Jal Mahal Resorts Pvt Ltd, to return the entire land to the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC), which will pass it back to its original owners, the Jaipur Development Authority, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation and the Public Works Department. The judgment has come as a blow to the state government which had been trying hard before the court as well as the state assembly to project the agreement to be in public interest. The government had given away 100 acres of priceless land of the ancient Man Sagar Lake to the private company for 99 years in return for an annual lease money of merely Rs 2.5 crore. The land's current market value is estimated to be anywhere between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 3,500 crore. The 17th century monument, the Jal Mahal, standing inside the lake, was also handed ...
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New Delhi, Union Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday said that there are 668 Protected Areas (including 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 Conservation Reserves, 4 Community Reserves) and 198 Zoos including 23 circuses in the country. In Lok Sabha, the Minister said that the financial assistance for development and upkeep of Protected Areas is provided under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ and ‘Project Tiger’. Briefing the members further the Minister added that the Ministry has modified the existing Centrally Sponsored Schemes by adding more components and activities for providing better protection and conservation to wildlife and its habitats. For the protection and improvement of zoos across the country, the Central Zoo Authority has formulated detailed guidelines for the scientific management of zoos for adoption and implementation by the zoo ...
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New Delhi, More than 15 months after their arrest in the 2G spectrum scam case, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and jailed ex-telecom minister A Raja's erstwhile personal secretary RK Chandolia were granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. This prompted Raja, now the lone accused in judicial custody since his arrest along with Behura and Chandolia on February 2 last year, to move a bail application before the trial court. The former minister, who was waiting for the outcome of Behura and Chandolia's petitions in the SC to apply for bail, argued in his plea, "All the individual accused persons in this case except the petitioner (Raja) have been released on bail .... the petitioner is entitled to bail on the grounds of parity." Claiming that the case against him was "false and fabricated", and that he was "likely to get acquitted", Raja said he should be granted bail as he was unable to argue his case before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G scam as well as Parliament's Public Accounts Committee. "The PAC of the Parliament and the JPC are also looking into various aspects of this matter. The petitioner has been unable to put his case before the PAC and ...
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New Delhi, Continuing with its series of major combat exercises on the western front, the Army has launched another massive wargame called 'Shoor Veer' in the Rajasthan deserts. Under the exercise being conducted the South Western Army Command, over 50,000 troops with hundreds of tanks, artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles have already amassed in the region. "At present, the formations are practising their battle drills in the designated training areas. A number of field firings are being carried out to check the accuracy and lethality of the weapon systems," said an officer. The exercise will culminate with the Army and Indian Air Force carrying out swift battle manoeuvres and joint operations in the first week of ...
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New Delhi, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on Monday slammed the economic polices of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre. "Right now, my party CPI has been striving for uniting all left democratic forces against the neo-liberal economic policies of the government. I do not know what is the talk about that front, because it is not readymade thing that people can talk about whenever they like. We are talking about an alternative to the neo-liberal economic policies pursued by the Congress and UPA II government," said Raja. He also took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue, saying there was not much difference between the former and the ruling Congress Party. "We do not see much difference between Congress and BJP as far as economic policies are concerned. So we have to really work for an alternative," he added. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi ruled out the possibility of the formation of a Third Front. Naqvi said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would emerge stronger in the near future. "I don't see any such possibilities. As far as the Bharatiya Janata Party or the NDA is concerned, the ...
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New Delhi, The government will seek a presidential reference under Article 143 asking Supreme Court to clarify on the constitutionality of the 2G verdict that struck down the first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy for allocating natural resources like airwaves as arbitrary and inherently flawed. The Cabinet is expected to approve the presidential reference on Saturday evening, with the government likely to seek a review of the SC order that auctions should be the only means by which precious resources like minerals or airwaves are allocated. The government has filed a review petition in the SC challenging the constitutionality of the February 2 ruling scrapping 122 scam-tainted telecom licences issued during the tenure of jailed ex-telecom minister A Raja. Under Article 143 the president can seek the court's opinion on a matter of "public importance". The Supreme Court's "advisory jurisdiction" can be invoked under Article 143 and in the past its opinion has been sought in cases like the Ayodhya dispute, which it refused to consider, and on aspects of the implementation of an India-Pakistan agreement on exchange of enclaves along the border with erstwhile east ...
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New Dehli, Tremors were felt in New Delhi and the adjoining NCR region in Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon today. The tremors were also felt in parts of Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The earthquake occured at about 1.11pm. The earthquake measured 4.9 on the richter scale, according to TV reports. The epicentre was at Bahudargarh close to the Delhi-Haryana border. The tremors were felt for about 15-20 seconds. There have been no reports of loss of life or property, so far. Chances of aftershocks are not very ...
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Jodhpur, The CBI on Tuesday told the Rajasthan high court that it's receiving threats and facing political pressure in the course of its investigation into the Bhanwari Devi case. The witnesses, too, said CBI counsel, were turning hostile under pressure from political bigwigs in Rajasthan. The bench of Justice Govind Mathur and Justice K C Joshi asked CBI counsel Panne Singh to submit his charge in writing . The CBI told the court about the threat during the hearing on a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhanwari Devi's husband Amarchand for tracing his missing wife, which was filed before he was arrested by the CBI on charges of being involved in the conspiracy of his wife's disappearance. While the hearing was deferred until February 27, the day the CBI is likely to file a charge-sheet against 16 people, the agency pleaded before the court that its investigators are under constant pressure because of the involvement of high profile people. The agency said the witnesses are being threatened, thereby affecting the probe. Among the 16 accused to be chargesheeted is ex-minister Mahipal Maderna and Congress MLA from Luni, Malkhan Singh Bishnoi. Panne Singh told the court, ...
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Ingredients 250 gms rice 2 tomato puree 10 gms ginger 4 piece garlic 4 black pepper 2 cloves 100 gms onion 8 tsp ghee salt to taste Method Cut onion, garlic, ginger into small pieces. Put a pan on stove & put ghee into it. Keep it on medium flame. Put onion . Fry it for 5 min. Let it turn to golden brown. Then add garlic, ginger, black pepper, cloves, salt to it. After 2 min add tomato puree to it. Then add rice & fry it for 2 min. Add more water to it & cook it. (As for rice into pressure ...
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The CFSI looked festive with Gattu, Rajan Khosa’s latest children’s flick for Children’s Film Society of India making it to the Berlin Film Festival in the competition category. The other film in the festival this year is Don 2. And that makes it exciting as the Don of Roorkee and the Don of Bollywood make it to Berlin this year.Nandita Das shared encouraging words with director Rajan Khosa as he got ready to make it to Berlin for the fest. Gattu has also been shot with real kids in Satti Mohalla in Roorkee. “Every object and actor in Gattu is local, except for a very few theatre actors,” says the film’s director Rajan Khosa. “I feel happy that we are getting an opportunity to showcase our film in Berlin. It is a matter of great prestige.” Khosa is an alumnus of the Royal College of Arts, London, FTII, Pune, and NID, Ahmedabad, the film’s director Rajan Khosa is also a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and already has several international awards under his belt. “For Gattu, we deliberately chose a small town, representative of majority of India. We scanned the streets and schools for kid actors, inviting them to ...
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Chennai, The residence and business premises of former DMK minister N K K P Raja were raided on Wednesday morning for allegedly possessing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, an official said. The raids were conducted at several places in Erode around 340 km from here. According to the directorate of vigilance and anti corruption (DVAC), raids were also carried out at the residence of Raja's close relatives. Raja was the handlooms minister in the erstwhile DMK government. After hearing about the raids, DMK partymen gathered outside Raja's residence in Erode. DVAC has earlier raided the premises of several former DMK ministers, including D Duraimurugan, K N Nehru, T M Anbarasan, K Ponmudi, N Suresh Rajan, Pongalur N Palanisamy, M R K Panneerselvam and K K S S R Ramachandran, since the AIADMK came to power in Tamil Nadu in May 2011. ...
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New Delhi, The Supreme Court judgment setting a three-month deadline for the government for sanctioning the prosecution of public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act was a slap in the government's face, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Tuesday. “BJP welcomes Supreme Court's judgment. This judgment is a slap in the face of Dr. Manmohan Singh government,” senior party leader Balbir Punj told reporters. "It is a a judgment which will have far reaching consequences, in the citizens' fight against corruption and in empowering the citizens," he said. He called it the second major embarrassment for government, and said the first was the Supreme Court striking down the appointment of P.J. Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner. “The first embarrassment this government faced was when prime minister had cleared Mr. (P.J.) Thomas's candidature as the CVC chief,” he said. Punj also accused the government of not taking action against those involved in major corruption cases. “Many people who are guilty and accused of acts of omission and commission are going scott free,” he said. “In the 2G case, so far only (A) Raja has been sent to ...
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Jaipur, British Indian writer Salman Rushdie will address the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) via video conferencing on Tuesday afternoon, media reports said on Monday, after the controversial author was made to cancel his visit following possibly concocted death threats. Rushdie who expressed his outraged over what appeared to him a "ploy" by the Rajasthan Police to keep him away from the JLF to quell protests by a few Muslim groups, could hold a session via video conferencing at 3.45 pm on Tuesday, reports said. The Booker Prize winning writer had to cancel his planned visit to JLF on Friday after what he said the authorities warned him of possible bid on his life by hired assassins of Mumbai underworld. But with the Mumbai police denying ever coming up with any such news, Rushdie now sees the entire episode as a ploy to keep him away from the festival. He was told that Mumbai underworld assassins were engaged to kill him, but the Mumbai Police later rubbished the news saying they had no such input ever. An angry Rushdie on Sunday tweeted citing a news story in The Hindu: "‘Rajasthan police invented plot to keep away Rushdi". I've investigated, & ...
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New Delhi, A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Saturday reserved its order on a plea by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy to haul Home Minister P. Chidambaram to court in the 2G spectrum case. "The order is reserved for Feb 4," said special CBI judge O.P. Saini. Swamy had said: "This evidence reveals the connivance, collusion and consent of the then finance minister Chidambaram in the decision taken by the then telecom minister A. Raja on the matter of fixing prices of spectrum licences and the matter of permitting companies who received licences." Swamy said two companies which received the telecom licences sold their shares to others even before the rollout of their services. He had said the evidence brings on record a commission of offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Chidambaram was the finance minister in the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government when the spectrum saga began. Swamy sought to prosecute Chidambaram in the case, saying the decision on spectrum pricing was taken in 2008 jointly by him and Raja, who has been lodged in the Tihar Jail here since Feb 2, 2011. He alleged that Chidambaram and Raja were ...
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Jaipur, An effort to clean the famous Hawa Mahal ahead of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)-2012 here may have left the 18th century 'Palace of Winds' with colourless patches and also damaged some of its outer surface, archaeological sources said Friday. Apparently over-enthusiastic to clean the city ahead of the PBD, the civic authorities here washed the pink coloured Hawa Mahal using the fire brigade's water pressure hoses, the sources said. The action on the outer surface, carried out to remove dust and grime from the building, has left several patches on the monument with faded colour and damaged parts of it, the sources said. Experts are saying the action was unwarranted and the cleaning was carried out without any care and supervision. The city is being cleaned ahead of the PBD being organised here Jan 7-9. "During a visit to tourist spots in the city a couple of days ago, Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak had expressed dissatisfaction over the sanitation work at Hawa Mahal as it had a lot of dirt and dust," an official in the state archaeological department told IANS on condition of anonymity. He said civic officials were accompanying the minister ...
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NEW DELHI: The CBI had recently received a complaint through CVC against Aseervatham Achary, a key witness against former telecom minister A Raja in the 2G case, accusing Achary of amassing disproportionate assets. The complaint was sent to the agency on an MP's letterhead, but investigations have revealed that the letter was forged to implicate Achary. Sources in the CBI said the complaint was sent to it and Achary's employer, railway ministry, in November. On receiving the complaint, the CBI had initiated a probe against Achary, and also spoke to the MP whose letterhead was used to file the complained. The MP denied sending any such complaint to either the CBI or the railway ministry, prompting the agency to shift focus on the person who could have forged it. Raja had raised a point in his defence during the trial on Monday that Achary decided to become a CBI witness because there was a disproportionate assets' complaint against him. But during the cross-examination, Raja's lawyer Sushil Kumar failed to make him concede that Achary implicated Raja, or that he decided to become a CBI witness because there was a disproportionate assets' complaint against him. Kumar ...
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Durban, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan Saturday made an emotional appeal to the rich countries, asking for space for basic development for its 1.2 billion people and eradication of poverty. Speaking at the ministerial session on the last day of the UN climate talks in Durban, Natarajan said: "India is asking for space for basic development for its people and poverty eradication. Is this an unreasonable demand?" She contested the principle of equity -- right to grow -- saying it should be the centrepiece of the climate discussion and that negotiations should be built on it. "We cannot accept the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) to be diluted. The firewall between rich and poor countries must not be broken," she said. The minister, who got a standing ovation after she finished her speech, said she was astonished and disturbed by the comments from Canada who pointed at India for not agreeing to a legally binding agreement. "I am disturbed to find that a legally binding protocol to the convention, negotiated just 14 years ago, is now being junked in a cavalier manner. Countries which had signed and ratified it are walking away ...
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New Dehli: A special CBI court on Thursday granted bail to RK Chandolia, former private secretary to ex-telecom minister A Raja, in 2G spectrum allocation scam case. Earlier, the agency had claimed that A Raja and two ex-bureaucrats R K Chandolia and Siddharth Behura were the "core sector" of conspiracy, and stand on a "different footing" from those granted bail in the case. Special CBI Judge O P Saini released Chandolia on bail while noting that his case "cannot be equated" with that of Raja and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura. The judge agreed with the contentions of Chandolia's counsel Vijay Aggarwal, who said that his client was not having any "independent powers" on his own and there was no allegation that he himself accepted any bribe. Noting that 10 months have elapsed since he was taken into custody and that 11 accused are out on bail, the court said, "Accused R K Chandolia was only the private secretary to the then Minister of Communication and Information Technology (A Raja) and was not having any independent powers on his own...co-accused A Raja was political head of the Department of Telecommunication whereas co-accused Siddharth Behura was its ...
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New Delhi, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has constituted a committee of governors under the chairmanship of Punjab and Rajasthan Governor Shivraj Patil to study and recommend measures for enhancing productivity, profitability, sustainability and competitiveness of the agriculture sector in India with special reference to rainfed area farming. The committee will deliberate on need for formulating requisite policy initiatives and legislative measures, institutional reforms including restructuring and convergence of schemes at the local level so as to integrate with the village economy and avenues and prospects for investment in agriculture and allied sectors. It will also discuss on measures for transfer of innovations and new cutting edge technologies to the farm and allied sectors, steps to meet the emerging scenario of farm labour and farm mechanisation and to recommend the role and participation of agriculture related public sector undertakings. Agriculture universities and research institutions both at the Central and state levels in the promotion of sustainable agriculture and knowledge management and a way forward for farmer-industry partnership would be ...
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Chandigarh, January 19 (DNS)- Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal yesterday asked the Financial Commissioner, Taxation, the Financial Commissioner, Development, and the Secretary, Mandi Board, to carry out a joint study to make recommendations for slashing the tax liability on cotton ginning mills. An assurance to this effect was given by Badal to a delegation of the Punjab Cotton Factories and Ginners Association led by its president, Bhagwan Bansal, at a meeting at Punjab Bhawan here today. Responding to the demand to waive the market fee and Punjab infrastructure development cess on cotton, the Chief Minister assured the delegation that the demands would be examined by the joint committee before taking a final decision in this regard. The CM also directed the Excise and Taxation Department to keep a strict vigil on the illegal buying of cotton by traders of ...
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