Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Hawker raj is here to stay

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120104/jsp/calcutta/story_14957183.jsp

Hawker raj is here to stay

OUR BUREAU

Mamata Banerjee the administrator prods police to evict hawkers from Calcutta's pavements and Mamata Banerjee the politician protects them from eviction.

The dichotomy between what the Trinamul-led government wants to do and what it would like to be seen doing was much in evidence on Tuesday morning when Mamata sprang to the rescue of hawkers being evicted from Harish Mukherjee Road, in front of SSKM Hospital.

Barely had a team from Bhowanipore police station asked the hawkers to pack up and leave when they squatted in the middle of the road, throwing traffic haywire from around 11.20 till 11.45am. The protesters lifted the blockade when word arrived that they wouldn't be evicted.

Mamata herself arrived around noon on her way to Writers' and spoke to the hawkers for a few minutes. She made the announcement all of them wanted to hear an hour later: "We will not evict anyone, on humanitarian grounds."

So where does that leave the rest of the city whose right to road and pavement has been usurped? Oh well, what can the government do if "the CPM brings in new people" to set up shop on the pavements, pleaded Mamata.

"Their people have encroached more of the space outside SSKM Hospital. Earlier, there were only 12-13 people there," the chief minister said.

Leader of the Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said eviction without rehabilitation was unacceptable. "We are opposed to the continuing encroachment by new hawkers. But those who have been there for years must be rehabilitated before an eviction drive is launched."

The police's abortive eviction drive, the first since the change of guard at Writers', had apparently been planned after Mamata rebuked the police brass on Monday for not doing enough to rid the city of hawkers. "She had told us that hawkers on the pavements were disrupting the government's beautification projects. Now what are we supposed to make of this?" wondered a senior officer.

Mamata gave an insight into this paradox in a different context later in the day. "There is a boundary between politician and administration. I should not cross my limit," she said in response to Ficci's defence of some of the AMRI directors.

That she stood up for hawker raj in the face of an eviction drive that police say was prodded by her did not surprise a senior bureaucrat who saw from close how the Left Front had dealt — or not dealt — with the problem.

According to him, this was not the first time Mamata had intervened in a hawker eviction plan. "In 2000, the then mayor Subrata Mukherjee had planned an eviction drive that Mamata didn't approve of. So it never took off," he recounted.

"Hawker eviction is a politically sensitive subject. The Left had given them a free run on the city's pavements and Mamata is doing the same," the bureaucrat added.

The problem of hawkers overrunning pavements was taken up by Calcutta High Court in response to a public interest litigation by activist Subhas Datta to protect the commuter's right to free movement.

The court has asked the Trinamul-led government to elaborate its stand on hawkers by the second week of this month. "The government has changed. The new government must have a hawker policy. It should inform the court whether it is planning to remove hawkers from the pavements. It should also declare a rehabilitation package for them," the division bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice Ashok Das Adhikari had said in mid-December.

Going by Mamata's statement, the government's official stand wouldn't be much different from what the Left Front had stated in court.

The previous government had planned to issue identity cards to hawkers and create vending zones during its last year in office, but failed to work out the logistics. In an interview uploaded on the Trinamul's website, urban development minister Firhad Hakim too has spoken about creating "red, blue and yellow zones" to regulate hawkers.

YOUR PAVEMENT, THEIR BUSINESS

Hawkers in 1996: 1.2 lakh
In 2005: 2.2 lakh
In 2006: 2.75 lakh
In 2010: 3.25 lakh
Hawker unions: 51
Transactions: Rs 8,772 crore annually
Price of 10sq ft of prime pavement space: Rs 1 lakh
Bribes a hawker pays: Rs 30-120 daily
Money police, politicians and officials earn from hawkers: Rs 265 crore annually

How can our pavements bereclaimed from hawkers? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com

Industry is back but in the boxing ring Mamata joins issue with Buddha

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120104/jsp/bengal/story_14960373.jsp

Industry is back but in the boxing ring

Mamata joins issue with Buddha

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Jan. 3: For the first time since last year's Assembly elections, industry has returned as the focus of a verbal duel between Mamata Banerjee and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

A day after Bhattacharjee asked Mamata what her government had achieved in industry other than claiming credit for projects initiated by the Left, the chief minister retaliated: "Some CPM leaders are saying that the industrial projects were done during their time. If that is true, why did the Jindal file come to us? No industry has come up at Jellingham or Sunderbans. I had to come and tell the truth since lies are being spread," Mamata said at Writers' today:

Trinamul sources said that state commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee had been asked to give the rebuttal. But Mamata later decided to do it herself.

Accusing the Left Front government of shoddy work, the chief minister said, "A technical problem had cropped up in the Jindal project. We had to correct it. They (the previous government) gave the site because of the coal block. There is lot of madhu in the coal block. Financial implications were not cleared."

Trinamul sources said that by saying this, Mamata may have tried to indicate the possibility that the Jindals were initially attracted to Bengal because of the coal blocks, which have become a scarce natural resource. The Jindals had been given three coal blocks in Bengal by the previous government.

Partha Chatterjee also hit back at Bhattacharjee. "Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the Jindal and Matix projects came up during his tenure. If that is the case, why has no work started so far?" asked Chatterjee.

He said 84 investment proposals worth Rs 65,409 crore had come during the last six months. But he declined to give details, saying that the names of individual projects would be disclosed during the state budget.

At the 72-minute news conference, Mamata accused ally Congress of colluding with the CPM and hitting the streets to protest the Indira Bhavan issue and the government's failure to ensure that paddy growers get the minimum support price.

"The Congress and CPM have joined hands in Bengal. Jyoti Basu stayed at Indira Bhavan for 35 years. CPM had turned it into Jyoti Basu Bhavan, running a party office there. The Congress leaders remained silent then. Now, Congress workers are blocking roads and rail. Every day they are saying something against me. I don't abuse Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan Singh. Nazrul Bhavan will happen there. Don't teach us."

Mamata said she respected Indira Gandhi and had installed her statue near Birla Planetarium.

"Nazrul is very dear to us. Like we have done for Rabindranath Tagore, we are committed to honour Nazrul. A research academy and a centre for Indo-Bangla friendship will come up there. (The name) Indira Bhavan will remain," she said.

Stepping up the ante against the Congress, Mamata said they were hand in glove with Maoists in attacking Trinamul workers across the state.

"A section of CPM and Congress are crying terror. They are involved in rapes and killings. Our party workers are being killed in villages by CPM and Congress… in Jaipur (Bankura), Malda, North Dinajpur. Our party workers are attacked in Garbeta and Salboni. My party workers have remained silent. Harmads, don't play with fire. If they are seen carrying arms, police will take action," she warned.

Mamata said the CPM was politicising the paddy price issue. "CPM and another party (the Congress) have hit the streets on the paddy price issue. CPM knows it very well this (the minimum support price) is decided by Centre. The state has nothing to do with this. Fertilizer prices were decontrolled by Centre in 2010 and CPM is now politicising the issue."

The chief minister clarified that her differences with the Congress in Delhi were issue-based. "Our criticism of the Centre is on issues. On FDI in retail and land bill, we have expressed our reservations," she said.

PM rings out bad year with pledge

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120101/jsp/frontpage/story_14949071.jsp

PM rings out bad year with pledge

SANKARSHAN THAKUR

Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, Dec. 31: Good riddance, 2011, be gone for good. To a year that left him looped in the pit of the worst crises of his political life, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today delivered a parting kick, saying it was a time he did not even wish to dwell on.

Underlying his elaborate message sent out to the nation this evening was a palpable yearning that his troubles will expire with the lapsing of the annual calendar, and UPA II will emerge from the wintry mist, its messy slate wiped clean, its future bright and shining. There is a tabula rasa wished in the New Year for which the Prime Minister has a ready script of commandments aimed at inspiring a stable turn to the trembled UPA leaf.

It is an old list of vows tweaked to masquerade as five novel articles of faith — livelihood security, economic security, energy security, ecological security and national security. These, the Prime Minister said, would be "top of the agenda" in 2012 and exhorted all to "work together as a nation, while working with like-minded nations around the world".

He picked the economic slowdown and the surge in concern over corruption as key problem areas but said, consolingly, "We must not be downcast at these events. All countries and economies go through cycles. We must remember that downturns are followed by upturns. Indeed they are often a test of our ability to respond to new challenges."

Singh sounded seized of growing restiveness in the polity, particularly over corruption, and made a personal pledge: "I want to assure you all on this New Year's day that I personally will work to provide an honest and more efficient government, a more productive, competitive and robust economy and a more equitable and just social and political order."

There was, the Prime Minister said, a "revolution of rising expectations" across the world and there was need to address them. "A 'revolution of rising expectations', fostered by the extraordinary reach of the electronic media and the connectivity provided by new social networking platforms, has kept governments around the world on their toes. The task before us is clear. We must address the new concerns that have arisen…."

The Prime Minister sought to throw off the siege around his government and challenged critics who blamed him for serial failures in the year gone by. "I believe we have made more progress than is commonly realised. I am personally delighted that the government was able to introduce the Food Security Bill and the Lokpal and Lokayukta bill in Parliament. The Lokpal and Lokayukta bill was passed by the Lok Sabha. It is unfortunate that the bill could not be passed in the Rajya Sabha."

He refrained from intervening in the flaming political arguments that have followed the abrupt fall of the guillotine on the Lokpal bill in the Rajya Sabha and only iterated his resolve to create an "effective" ombudsman. Unmoved by allegations of "choreographed conspiracy" to bury the Lokpal, the Prime Minister patted his government on the back for its legislative record.

"Taken together with the Right to Information Act, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Education Act, these are legislative legacies that generations of Indians will come to value, appreciate and benefit from," he said.

The biggest challenge before the nation, he said, was banishing poverty, ignorance and disease. He recalled his own childhood in "a village without a doctor or a teacher, no hospital, no school, no electricity" and said, "Of the many challenges we face, the most important is to empower every citizen with the light of education. I say this with the deepest conviction because I know what education did for me."

He counselled patience, arguing that many elements of the government's strategy will take time to bear fruit, and said, "I believe that the initiatives we have taken to invest in education and health, provide an employment guarantee and also provide food security, constitute a robust response to the challenge of providing greater Livelihood Security for our people."

The Prime Minister spoke of an increased rate of national economic growth — from four per cent in the 1980s to an average of eight per cent today — but also cautioned on the challenges of growth. Rapid urbanisation was among them, as was corruption.

"Today's youth, born in the 1980s and later, would have no memory of the kind of corruption that the regime of controls and permits had created. To get a railway ticket or a telephone connection you had to bribe someone. To buy a scooter you had to bribe someone to jump the queue! However, even as the creative energies of our people have been unleashed and old forms of corruption have vanished, new forms of corruption have emerged which need to be tackled. Elimination of corruption is critical to support genuine entrepreneurship. It is also the demand of the ordinary citizen."

He backed the idea of a Lokpal in this regard but said that would only form part of the solution. "We also need reforms in systems of government which would increase transparency and minimise discretion so that the scope of misgovernance is reduced, he said, and also referred to the judicial accountability and citizens' charter bills as elements of the government's comprehensive effort to cleanse public life and make it more efficient.

But these, along with much else, are nagging and necessary carryovers into 2012 from a year the Prime Minister would eagerly forget.

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State gets back four coal blocks

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120104/jsp/frontpage/story_14959486.jsp

State gets back four coal blocks

PHEROZE L. VINCENT

New Delhi, Jan. 3: Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has kept his promise to friend and Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda with his ministry taking an "in-principle" decision to re-allocate four out of five coal blocks taken away in May.

The blocks — three of which were with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Karanpura, one with Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) in Banhardih (Latehar) and another that was jointly allocated to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and Jharkhand government undertaking Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited (TVNL) in Gondulpara (Hazaribagh) — were taken away after the companies overshot their deadlines to develop them.

The blocks, which were allocated between 2006 and 2007, translate into a combined reserve of 1,836 million tonnes. The companies had blamed the delay in developing them on Naxalites, slow land acquisition and forest clearances.

"Except the JSEB block in Banhardih, all other blocks have been cleared for in-principle re-allocation under strict conditions. They (the companies) will have to deposit a stipulated bank guarantee and undertake that they will develop the mine within 24 months. This can be extended by another 12 months if their reasons are satisfactory. If there is still delay, they will not only lose the block, but also the guarantee," a senior official in Jaiswal's office told The Telegraph.

He added that the Banhardih block also might be re-allocated to JSEB soon, as a policy decision was taken on this in a meeting chaired by additional secretary (coal) Zohra Chatterji more than a month back.

Munda, along with his deputy Hemant Soren, had met Jaiswal in July to protest against the coal blocks being taken away. They pitched for a review on grounds that Banhardih was awarded through the state dispensation route and all the blocks were critical to ensure power to a new state trying to attract industry. Then, Jaiswal had promised, on camera, to help his "dost Mundaji."

JSEB wants to use the Banhardih coal block for developing a new thermal power project of 1,320MW to 1,980MW capacity in Patratu in collaboration with private partners.

Last year, the power ministry had also written to the coal ministry that cancelling the allotment of coal blocks would seriously hamper NTPC's aim to increase power production by 15,000MW.

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Govt offers talks to anti-dam lobby - Dispur invites KMSS and other organisations for discussions tomorrow

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120104/jsp/frontpage/story_14959724.jsp

Govt offers talks to anti-dam lobby

- Dispur invites KMSS and other organisations for discussions tomorrow

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Guwahati, Jan. 3: Dispur this evening formally invited the anti-dam groups for talks on January 5 while issuing a separate public appeal asking them to withdraw their blockade of supplies to the Lower Subansiri hydel project, in a bid to end the standoff that began on December 16.

CMO sources said home secretary G.D. Tripathi this evening issued the formal letters to Lakhimpur-based groups through the district administration and to the Guwahati-based organisations through the special branch of the police.

The letters have been issued to five groups in all — the AASU, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), and the Mising Mebang Kebang (MMK).

Both the KMSS and AASU welcomed the move but decided to wait for the formal invite before announcing their next move.

The decision to invite the anti-dam brigade for talks was taken by power minister Pradyut Bordoloi-headed group of ministers at a meeting held this afternoon.

The group of ministers includes Rakibul Hussain, Rajiv Lochan Pegu and Ardhendu Dey as well as Himanta Biswa Sarma who failed to attend the meeting because of pressing official engagements.

The home secretary, senior officials from the police and power departments also attended the meeting along with newly appointed chief minister's press secretary Abdul Khaleque.

Bordoloi said the ministers discussed the issue threadbare, heeding chief minister Tarun Gogoi's wishes, and decided to begin the talks process with the anti-dam brigade, civil societies and experts with an "open" mind, from January 5.

Forest minister Rakibul Hussain told The Telegraph that the talks would start with the Takam Mising organisation at 10am, followed by AASU at 11am, KMSS at noon and AJYCP at 1pm.

"The group of ministers has asked the political department to issue the formal letter and has also asked the local administration to provide necessary support to the protesters to reach Guwahati. Each organisation has been asked to send 10 representatives for the talks which will also be attended by the chief secretary, among others, at the secretariat. We will then be sitting with representatives of civil societies and experts on January 14," Hussain said.

When asked why the government waited for so long to initiate the peace move, the minister was evasive.

"We were always for talks. There is difference of opinion in a democracy but everything in a democracy can be sorted out through negotiations," he said.

Though the invite caught everyone by surprise, the protesters and Dispur had been making conciliatory gestures since last week.

First, the KMSS suspended the blockade for two days before resuming it on January 2.

It was followed by the chief minister's assertion that he would not ban the KMSS over its alleged links with the Maoists and even acknowledged the protest as a democratic one.

This was followed by his New Year message to the protestors that he was ready to come up with a legislation ensuring protection to downstream areas and offer of triple compensation amount if anybody was affected by the Lower Subansiri project.

On January 1, even the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), which had gone public with the inconveniences caused by the blockade, said it was ready to talk under the aegis of the government.

KMSS assistant secretary Bedanta Laskar said they have decided to temporarily withdraw the blockade once they get the formal invite for talks.

They will hold a public meeting in Ghagar tomorrow involving the other 13 organisations supporting the movement to seek their views on how to go about the process.

KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi said they would appeal to Dispur, Delhi and NHPC to suspend work on the Gerukamuk project as well as those coming up in Arunachal Pradesh for two months as a sign of their sincerity and concern for the local populace.

AASU central committee member Tularam Gogoi, too, said they were waiting for a formal invite and that they would hold a meeting with 26 other ethnic and students' organisations in Guwahati tomorrow to discuss the government offer.

"We were always ready for talks," he said.

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CM’s message: no community bias Tough words, subtle signal

CM's message: no community bias
Tough words, subtle signal

OUR BUREAU

Calcutta, Jan. 3: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today sought to convey to industry that the AMRI crackdown was not targeted at any particular community.

"A business chamber has commented on the AMRI incident. I want industry but not killer industry. A murderer is a murderer. A terrorist is a terrorist. A Bengali is a Bengali. A Punjabi is a Punjabi. Terrorists don't belong to any community," the chief minister told an unscheduled media conference at Writers' Buildings this afternoon.

Mamata's comment, made on her own and before reporters could ask any question, came a day after the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) issued a statement on the AMRI fire and the subsequent arrest of seven directors.

The Ficci statement had called for the immediate release of those "not responsible for day-to-day operations of any business" and the apex chamber's secretary general had said "we felt that it (the police action) was not completely non-discriminatory".

The chief minister today appeared to be trying to address such delicate concerns without mentioning the main community associated with industry in Bengal but referring to two others to get across her message.

She also sought to draw a distinction between alleged perpetrators and their ethnic origins, using the familiar example that "terrorists don't belong to any community".

The way Mamata phrased her message — "terrorist is a terrorist" — initially created an impression that she equated industrialists with terrorists. However, Trinamul sources pointed out that the full statement made it clear she was drawing a distinction between the act of crime and the community to which the alleged suspects belonged.

However, some industrialists asked how a chief minister could refer to "murderers and terrorists" when the charges against the AMRI directors had not been proved yet.

From Mamata's statement, it was apparent that she had figured out that the real complaint of industrialists related to a perception that a particular group was being targeted.

Several city-based industrialists have been saying in private that the administration had gone soft on doctors M.K. Chhetri and Pronab Dasgupta and director of medical education Sushanta Banerjee, who are also AMRI directors.

"Besides arresting the seven directors, police have issued warrants against three — Rahul Todi, Priti Sureka and Aditya Agarwal. Doesn't it appear that only members of one particular community are being picked out?" asked a city-based industrialist.

Having tried to answer the discrimination charge — though she did not say why all the directors have not been arrested — Mamata sought to reassure the general public and relatives of the victims of the fire.

"There is no question of forgiving them. With folded hands I am saying, please forgive me. From this chair I have to ensure justice. There is a boundary between politician and administration. I should not cross my limit. The case is in the court. The law will take its own course," she said.

Reacting to Mamata's statement, Ficci secretary general Rajiv Kumar told The Telegraph this evening: "We never for once prayed that the guilty should not be punished. All we asked for was that the process should be non-discriminatory and transparent."

He said the Ficci statement was made to bring to the chief minister's attention the apprehensions among the business community. "It was a feedback to her so that she can take remedial steps on this matter and restore investors' confidence. We thought it was best to bring it in the open rather than fester and spoil the process of change she hopes to bring," Kumar added.

Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary general P. Roy said the Ficci statement reflected the mood of the business community. "Unequal treatment has been meted out to the directors. Punish the guilty only after the guilt is established," he said.

Mamata's reference to "killer industry" also evoked comment. "I have not come across any industry set up to kill people. Accidents do take place. Punish those who were hands-on and in charge of the day-to-day affairs if there was any lapse. Similarly, those in charge of regulatory agencies appointed to ensure compliance should also be investigated," Merchant Chamber of Commerce trustee member B.K. Jhajharia said.

Industries minister Partha Chatterjee later tried to allay fears that industrialisation in Bengal would be affected.

He also referred to a pro-industry joint statement seven chambers of commerce had made during Trinamul's Singur agitation. "What happened after that?" he asked, suggesting that the people reposed faith in Mamata. "I can assure that the AMRI fire would not come in the way of the industrialisation process of Bengal. I am in touch with people in the industry," he added.

A senior police officer told this newspaper that the administration was targeting only the shareholders of AMRI Hospitals. But an industrialist said: "This logic can be easily contested. The government holds 1.9 per cent share in the hospital and its nominee, Sushanta Banerjee, is the chairman. Then, why didn't the government arrest him?"

Another officer said the police could not find any evidence against Chhetri, Dasgupta and Banerjee. If they were arrested, they might have got bail, which would have strengthened the case of the others for release, the officer said.

Relatives' forum

The Human Health Rights Forum, an association of AMRI victims, said: "Ficci should immediately revoke the statement… We do not know how much influence it would have on the government. But one thing is clear and that is Ficci's statement only indicates how it is trying to shield some of the accused persons," said Subhashis Chakraborty, whose wife Munmun was killed in the December 9 fire.

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Mulnivasi Women Exposed Manuist Brahaminical System in Gulbarga Mulnivasi Bamcef Ntional Convention!Read Mulnivai Nayak Hindi which Demands to Stop ANTI NATIONAL JAN GANA MAN ADINAYAK, the so called National Anthem!

Mulnivasi Women Exposed Manuist Brahaminical System in Gulbarga Mulnivasi Bamcef Ntional Convention!Read Mulnivai Nayak Hindi which Demands to Stop ANTI NATIONAL JAN GANA MAN ADINAYAK, the so called National Anthem!