National Events: May 2010

Lok Sabha passes green tribunal Bill
• The Lok Sabha adopted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bill, 2009. It envisages the setting
up of a national tribunal, a judicial body exclusively to deal with environmental laws and to
provide citizens a right to environment.
• The main Bench of the tribunal will be set up in Bhopal, “the site of humanity's one of the worst
industrial tragedies.”
• The Tribunal would have four circuit Benches. It would deal with all environmental laws on air
and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the
Biodiversity Act. With this effort, India would join Australia and New Zealand, which have
such specialised environment tribunals.
• It would monitor the implementation of environment laws.
• The Tribunal members would be chosen by a committee.
Daimary sent to 12-day police custody
• National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) founder-chief Ransaigra Nabla Daimary (alias
D.R. Nabla or Ranjan Daimary) was remanded to 12 days in police custody by the Court of the
Chief Judicial Magistrate in Guwahati.
• He had been arrested and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) by Bangladesh at the
Dawki sector of India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya. The Assam police later took him into
their custody .
Kasab pronounced guilty of waging war against India
• After a 271-day trial, a special sessions court pronounced Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the
lone surviving gunman of the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, guilty of waging war
against India.
• The 1,522-page judgment convicted Kasab of conspiring to wage war, along with nine other
terrorists and 20 co-conspirators in Pakistan, and of murder and abetment to murder, among
other offences. Among the 20 wanted accused indicted by the court are Lashkar operatives
Hafeez Saeed, Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and Abu Hamza.
Lok Sabha passes Bill on gratuity ceiling
• The Lok Sabha passed a Bill, to raise the ceiling on gratuity for employees in the private sector
to Rs. 10 lakh, from Rs. 3.5 lakh.
Foreign education institutions Bill tabled
• Amid opposition by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the government introduced the
Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill in the Lok Sabha.
• The Bill, which seeks to regulate the entry and operation of foreign education institutions, had
been pending for the past four years due to stiff opposition from the Left. It was also sent to the
Committee of Secretaries last year and eventually cleared by the Cabinet in March.
Downloaded from: http://www.upscportal.com
www.upscportal.com• According to the Bill, the enactment of legislation regulating entry and operation of all foreign
institutions is necessary to maintain the standards of higher education in the country as well as
protect the interests of students, and in the public interest.
• The foreign institution shall not impart education unless it is recognised and notified by the
Centre, and offers education which is in conformity with the standards laid down by the
statutory authority in India and those offered by it to its students enrolled on its main campus, in
addition to maintaining a corpus fund of not less than Rs. 50 crore.
• The Centre can refuse to recognise and notify an institution if it is not in the interest of the
sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with other foreign
states, the public order, decency or morality; or for reasons of sensitivity of the location. The
government can withdraw recognition and rescind the notification on grounds of violation of
the provisions of the proposed legislation.
• The government also introduced three more bills on higher education including the one that
seeks to provide for establishment of educational tribunals for effective and expeditious
adjudication of disputes involving teachers and other employees and other stakeholders, and to
adjudicate penalties for unfair practices.
Lok Sabha passes labour welfare Bill
• Amidst furore, the Lok Sabha passed, without discussions, a slew of labour welfare measures,
including a Bill to raise the ceiling of gratuity for employees in private sector to Rs.10 lakh
from Rs.3.5 lakh.
• adopted without discussion The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2010.
• A corollary benefit of the gratuity ceiling enhancement is that the amount will also qualify for
exemption from income tax.
• The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill said the present ceiling of Rs.3.5 lakh was
fixed in 1997 and there had been representations from trade unions and individuals to remove or
enhance the ceiling on the maximum amount of gratuity payable under the Act.
• Based on the representations and wide consultation with all stakeholders, it was proposed to
enhance the ceiling of Rs.3.5 lakh on the maximum amount of gratuity under the act.
• The Lok Sabha also passed the Employees' State Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2009, to provide
for medicare to workers in the unorganised sector, especially those below the poverty line
(BPL).
• The Bill, proposes that the Employees' State Insurance Corporation should participate in the
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to cover BPL workers in the unorganised sector.
• The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill said it also proposed to increase the age limit
of dependents from 18 to 21 years and provide for claims for accidents occurring at work or
while going to work.The legislation was brought to the House in 2008 to replace an ordinance
and was then sent to the concerned parliamentary standing committee.
Bill to regulate clinics
• The Lok Sabha passed the Clinical Establishments Bill to regulate private hospitals and clinics
across the country. “It would also ensure that no clinic runs unless it has been duly registered in
accordance with the prescribed procedure,” Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam
Nabi Azad said.
Downloaded from: http://www.upscportal.com
www.upscportal.com• According to the Bill, every establishment will have to follow minimum standards of facilities
and services for registration and continuation of operation.
• The establishments will have to provide the medical examination and treatment as may be
required to stabilise the emergency medical condition of any individual, who is brought to the
facility
• The Bill envisages the setting up of a National Council for Clinical Establishments and State
councils to regulate the medical facilities.
• The State councils will be responsible for compiling and updating the State register of clinical
establishments and sending monthly returns in digital format for updating the national register.
• A State government will set up district authorities for registration of health units, with the
collector and district health officer as members.
Government not for caste census
• Despite the growing demand for collection of caste-wise data during the ongoing Census
exercise, the Union government has decided there will be no change in the way the population
is being enumerated. At the same time, it is ready to discuss and consider other ways of
generating a more accurate statistical picture of the caste composition of Indian society.
• The Census of India, which was first conducted synchronously in 1881, collected universal
caste-wise population data until 1931. Though the census continues to count the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, the Other Backward Classes have not been enumerated for 80
years, prompting some parties to argue that their share of the population — and, thus, to the
reservation pie — might be higher than what the Mandal Commission extrapolated from
decades-old census data.
• At Cabinet meeting, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, whose Ministry oversees the census,
argued against the demand to include caste. He said the enumerators lacked the sociological
sensitivity to record and classify the population on the basis of caste and sub-caste. he suggested
that the backward classes commissions at the State and Central levels be better placed to
conduct a detailed survey. Others not inclined towards a caste census were Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee and Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal.
Use of narco analysis, brain-mapping unconstitutional: Court
• In a major blow to investigating agencies, the Supreme Court held unconstitutional and
violation of the ‘right to privacy' the use of narco analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests
on accused, suspects and witnesses without their consent.
• A three-Judge Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices R.V. Raveendran and J.M.
Panchal said: “The compulsory administration of the impugned techniques violates the right
against self-incrimination. The test results cannot be admitted in evidence if they have been
obtained through the use of compulsion.
• Article 20 (3) of the Constitution [No person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a
witness against himself] protects an individual's choice between speaking and remaining silent,
irrespective of whether the subsequent testimony proves to be inculpatory or exculpatory.”
• The Bench said: “Article 20 (3) aims to prevent the forcible conveyance of personal knowledge
that is relevant to the facts in issue. The results obtained from each of the impugned tests bear a
testimonial character and they cannot be categorised as material evidence.”
Downloaded from: http://www.upscportal.com
www.upscportal.com• Narco analysis technique involves the intravenous administration of sodium pentothal, a drug
which lowers inhibitions on part of the subject and induces the person to talk freely. The other
two techniques measure changes in aspects such as respiration, blood pressure, blood flow,
pulse and galvanic skin resistance. The truthfulness or falsity on part of the subject is assessed
by relying on the records of the physiological responses.
In public interest, Centre keen on intervening in MCI
• The Centre is contemplating bringing in an ordinance to amend the Indian Medical Council Act,
1956 empowering the government to intervene in the event of MCI members, including the
president and the vice-president, being unable to perform and on grounds of misconduct.
• The ordinance seeks to fix the term — to a maximum of two – of the president and the vice-
president and give the Union Health Ministry powers to make arrangements in the event the
office of president falling vacant in unforeseen situations as it has arisen now.
• The functioning of the Medical Council of India has come to a virtual standstill following the
arrest of its president, Ketan Desai, on corruption charges.
• These amendments are expected to incorporate major changes suggested by the Ministry in the
amendment Bill, tabled in 2005, which were turned down by the Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Health.
• The government be able to intervene in the MCI in the “larger public interest” as did the Human
Resource Development Ministry in the case of the All-India Council for Technical Education
and the University Grants Commission under Section 20 (1) of the AICTE and the UGC Acts
though these were nominated bodies.
• The MCI is an elected body with no such provision for intervention by the Centre. A provision
for intervention was turned down by the Standing Committee on the ground that it would
seriously jeopardise the independent working of the MCI and decision making of its president
and vice-president.
Elders pass Tamil Nadu Council Bill
• Amidst opposition by the Left Parties and the AIADMK, the Rajya Sabha passed a Bill
proposing to create a 78-member Legislative Council for Tamil Nadu, 24 years after it was
abolished.
Court won't stop admissions to deemed varsities
• The Supreme Court declined to restrain the 44 deemed universities recommended by the
Tandon Committee to be de-recognised, from making fresh admissions for the academic year
2010-2011.
• A Bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra did not accept the
argument advanced by the Centre that no fresh admissions should be permitted as that would
cause prejudice to the students.
At NGOs' instance, Muivah puts off visit to ancestral village
• National Socialist Council of Nagalim leader T. Muivah, put off his visit to his ancestral village
in Manipur.
• Mr. Muivah, who arrived at Viswema village from the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) headquarters near
Dimapur, said he responded to a request by four non-governmental organisations to postpone
his visit to Somdal village in Manipur's Ukhrul district to facilitate proper arrangements.
• The Manipur government is opposing his visit on the ground that it will disturb communal
amity. But a defiant Muivah said he would visit his village.
• The NSCN(IM) has been demanding the formation of a ‘greater Nagaland' by merging Naga-
populated areas of adjoining States, but the plea has been rejected by the Manipur, Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh governments.
Nothing unconstitutional about MPLAD scheme, rules Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court held that the Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD)
Scheme, under which every MP is allotted Rs. 2 crore a year for constituency development, was
intra vires the Constitution.
• “A mere allegation of misuse of the funds by some MPs in itself may not be a ground for
scrapping of the scheme as checks and safeguards have been provided,” said a Constitution
Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices R.V. Raveendran, D.K. Jain, P.
Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal.
Supreme Court to examine validity of Tandon committee
• The Supreme Court said it would examine the validity of the constitution of the Tandon
Committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to go into the working of the
deemed universities in the country.
• The Professor Tandon Committee had earlier recommended de-recognition of 44 institutions for
failing to meet the prescribed standards and said that these institutions after de-recognition
would be affiliated to the respective State universities.
• During the resumed hearing, Justice Bhandari heading a Bench told Solicitor General Gopal
Subramaniam that when there were allegations against Professor Tandon himself that he was
heading a deemed university and it was not appropriate for him to head the Committee, “we
have to examine the whole issue.”
CCI clears Paradip Port proposal, highway projects
• The Union Cabinet's Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) cleared a proposal to develop a multi-
purpose berth at Paradip Port at an estimated cost of Rs.387 crore. The project envisages the
construction of facilities for handling containers and ‘clean cargo,' totalling five million tonnes
per year, with a view to decongesting the port and reducing the turn-around time for vessels. It
is scheduled to be completed within three years.
• Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the panel also gave the green signal for a host of
highway development projects, including the six-laning of the Hosur-Krishnagiri section of
National Highway 7 at a cost of Rs.535 crore and the two-laning of the Dindigul-Theni section
of NH-45 (extension) and the Theni-Kumli section of NH-220 in Tamil Nadu at an estimated
cost of Rs.501 crore.
Conditional clearance for crest gates at Narmada Dam
• The Union government said that the environment sub-group under the Narmada Control
Authority (NCA) had only “conditionally” allowed installation of (17 mt-high) crest gates (to
be kept in raised position) at the Narmada Dam, under construction in Gujarat.
• The NCA, chaired by the Union Water Resources Secretary, gave instructions in 2008 that the
next stage of construction at the dam would first be considered in the Environment and
Rehabilitation and Resettlement sub-groups, after consultation with the Grievances Redressal
Authorities set up in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
• the Supreme Court said in 2000 that the NCA would give permission to raise the height of the
dam from time to time “after” it obtains “clearances” from the Rehabilitation and Resettlement
sub-group (including consultation with the three Grievance Redressal Authorities of Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra) and the environment sub-group. This sets at rest the
controversy with regard to the permission for raising the height of the dam
Governors can't be removed at Centre's whims, says Court
• The Supreme Court held that a Governor cannot be removed on the ground that he/she is out of
sync with the policies and ideologies of the Union government or the party in power at the
Centre. Nor can he/she be removed on the ground that the Union government has lost
confidence in him/her.
• A five-judge Constitution Bench, comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices S.H.
Kapadia, R.V. Raveendran, B. Sudershan Reddy and P. Sathasivam was disposing of a petition
filed by the former Member of Parliament, B.P. Singhal.
• The Bench said that as a Governor was neither an employee nor agent of the Union
government, it was rejecting the contention that a Governor could be removed if the Union
government or the party in power lost ‘confidence' in him.
• Writing the judgment, Justice Raveendran said, “What Article 156 (1) of the Constitution [under
which a Governor holds office during the pleasure of the President] dispenses with is the need
to assign reasons or the need to give notice, but the need to act fairly and reasonably cannot be
dispensed with by Article 156(1).”
• “The President, in exercising power under Article 156(1), should act in a manner that is not
arbitrary or unreasonable. In the event of challenge of withdrawal of the pleasure, the court will
necessarily assume that it is for compelling reasons. Consequently, where the aggrieved person
is not able to establish a prima facie instance of arbitrariness or mala fides in his removal, the
court will refuse to interfere.
Centre's gas pricing policy will prevail, rules Supreme Court
• Holding that gas is a national asset and the Centre's pricing policy will prevail over any private
agreement, the Supreme Court has directed Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) of the Mukesh
Ambani group to initiate renegotiations with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd. (RNRL) of the
Anil Ambani group for fixing the price of gas to be supplied to RNRL.
• Disposing of a batch of appeals, a Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices B.
Sudershan Reddy and P. Sathasivam rejected RNRL's claim that it was entitled to get 28 mscmd
of gas from the KG Basin at $2.34 mBtu in terms of a 2005 Memorandum of Understanding
between Anil and Mukesh without any price approval by the government..
Decision soon on caste-based census, Manmohan Singh assures Lok Sabha
• “The enumerator is not an investigator or verifier,” Mr. Chidambaram said, pointing out that 21
lakh enumerators — mostly primary school teachers — had no training or expertise to classify
the answer as OBC or otherwise.
• “There is a Central list of OBCs and State-specific lists of OBCs. Some States do not have a list
of OBCs while some have a list of OBCs and a sub-set called Most Backward Castes,” he said.
• Quoting the Registrar-General, Mr. Chidambaram said issues regarding methodology, avoiding
phonetic and spelling errors, stage of canvassing of caste, maintaining integrity of enumeration
and doing an accurate headcount of population would arise.
• “The census is done under the authority of the Census Act, 1948. Census 2011 will be the 15th
national census since 1872 and the 7th since Independence. Population census is the total
process of collecting demographic, economic and social data. What is published as the census
data are only aggregates; the information relating to the individual is confidential and not shared
with anyone or any authority,” he said.
Amid protests, Nuclear Liability Bill introduced in Lok Sabha
• The contentious Nuclear Liability Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha amid protests and
walkout by Left and NDA members, who termed it “illegal, unconstitutional and anti-people.”
• The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, which provides for payment of
compensation in the event of a nuclear accident is a pre-requisite for U.S. nuclear companies to
enter India, and an enabling condition for their French and Russian counterparts.
• The Bill, whose passage is essential to operationalise the nuclear deal with the U.S., was moved
by Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy Prithviraj Chavan. It provides for a
maximum liability of Rs. 500 crore on the part of the operator in case of an accident.
• In the event of an accident, countries are also entitled to compensation of 300 million special
drawing rights. However, to join the Convention on Supplementary Compensation, India will
have to ensure that it has a national legislation, consistent with the provisions in the annexure of
the Convention. Now India is not a party to any international nuclear liability convention.
Judgment review needed to change collegium method”
• Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan says it will not be possible to change the collegium
system of appointment of judges without reviewing two Supreme Court judgments.
Supreme Court allows mining in undisputed Obulapuram areas
• Giving a major relief to the Reddy brothers, the Supreme Court has allowed mining in
Obulapuram mines in the reserve forests bordering Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A Bench of
Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak Verma and B.S. Chauhan allowed mining
operations within 150 metres of the border.
• This order was passed on an Andhra Pradesh government appeal against an order of the Andhra
Pradesh High Court allowing mining by the Obulapuram Mining Company. The Supreme Court
earlier stayed mining activities and ordered a survey by the Survey of India (SoI).
• The SoI, in its report, alleged discrepancies and overlapping in the lease sketches of six
Obulapuram mines, including three belonging to the Reddy brothers. It suggested that the entire
lease sketches be reviewed and that no mining be allowed during the demarcation work.
‘Selection to child rights commission flawed'
• Child rights organisations and civil society representatives have written to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in the selection of the chairperson and members to
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights NCPCR).
As the NCPCR, the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for
Women are important mechanisms set up to play a critical watchdog role, it is imperative to
ensure proper and fair selection to these statutory bodies, says the citizens' appeal. It has been
made following allegations of irregularities, malpractices and lack of transparency in the
NCPCR selection process.
• It has pointed out that the rules framed under the National Commission for Protection of Child
Rights Act 2005 have failed to lay down a detailed selection process, leaving scope for
favouritism and undemocratic and non-transparent methods of selection. The result: selection of
undeserving candidates.
• This has caused a great loss to the children who have waited all these years to find a body of
people who could act as their ombudsmen, says the appeal. “India ratified the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child in 1992, reiterating its commitment to its children.
Supreme Court upholds quota in local bodies
• The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Articles 243 D (6) and T (6), providing
for reservation of seats in any panchayat or offices of Chairpersons in panchayats and
municipalities in favour of backward classes.
• A five-judge Constitution Bench upheld Articles 243 D (4) and 243 T (4) reserving
chairpersons' posts in local bodies, irrespective of whether the beneficiaries are SCs, STs and
women and even if it is a single post. These Articles were inserted by way of Constitution 73rd 
and 74th Amendments. The Bench disposed of appeals challenging these amendments as also
the Karnataka law in this regard.
• Writing the judgment, the CJI said, “The nature and purpose of reservation in the context of
local self-government is considerably different from that of higher education and public
employment. In this sense, Articles 243-D and Article 243-T form a distinct and independent
constitutional basis for affirmative action and the principles that have been evolved in relation
to the reservation policies enabled by Articles 15(4) and 16(4) cannot be readily applied in the
context of local self-government.”
• The Bench, however, made it clear that the ceiling of 50 per cent vertical reservation in favour
of SC/ST/OBCs should not be breached in the context of local self-government.
• The Bench said, “These chairperson posts cannot be equated with solitary posts in the context
of public employment.” It held that Articles 243-D (6) and T (6) “are constitutionally valid
since they are in the nature of provisions which merely enable State Legislature to reserve seats
and chairperson posts in favour of backward classes.”
• The Bench said, “As we have considered and decided only the constitutional validity of Articles
243-D(6) and 243-T(6), it will be open to the petitioners or any aggrieved party to challenge
any State legislation enacted in pursuance of the said constitutional provisions before the High
Court.”
AADHAR not mandatory, says Nilekani
• Unique Identification Authority of India Chairman Nandan Nilekani ruled out making
AADHAR, the unique identity number of each individual, mandatory for all citizens, and said it
would be optional.
• The proposed law seeking to grant statutory status to the UIDAI would seek to put in place a
frame work to protect the data across the country from being misused, Mr. Nilekani said. He
underlined the need for checks and balances to protect the data from both private and
government users.
Frivolous PIL will attract huge costs: New CJI
• Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, was sworn in as the
38th Chief Justice of India. President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to him at a
brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Kapadia, first CJI born after Independence,
will have a tenure of two years and four months till September 28, 2012.
Bill Gates signs agreement with Bihar to boost health standards
• In a move to bolster Bihar's public health standards, the State government signed a
Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• The Bihar government and the Foundation anticipate the programmes and activities governed
by the memorandum to have a five-year duration, from 2010 to 2015.
• According to the MoC, the Foundation will provide technical, management and program design
support via NGOs in the areas of maternal, neonatal and child health; maternal and child
nutrition; vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis, pneumonia and Kala-azar, among others.
Pharmacopoeia Commission coming
• The government decided to set up a Pharmacopoeia Commission at a cost of Rs. 14.08 crore for
developing indigenous medicines with the aim of raising the country's share in the $62-billion
global herbal drug market.
• The Commission for development of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicines would be set up in
the wake of increasing cost of modern healthcare drugs and demand for herbal medicines.
• The Commission, to be housed in Ghaziabad, would set standards for drugs in the Ayurveda,
Siddha and Unani medical systems.
• Earlier, a Committee set up by the Planning Commission for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani and
Siddha) sector approved the setting up of the Commission. The panel will be responsible for
publication and revision of standards on Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs, as well as their
formulation, development and publishing standards.
• The global trade in herbal drugs is worth $62 billion. Of this, China's share was $19 billion,
against a meagre $1 billion of India, a senior official said. The Commission would strive for
India increased its market share.
• The Commission would be an autonomous society headed by an eminent technical person. It
should work with immediate effect and would eventually become self-sustainable, the Minister
said.
President signs ordinance on MCI
• President Pratibha Devisingh Patil signed an ordinance empowering the government to dissolve
the Medical Council of India, a regulatory body responsible for maintaining standards of
medical education.
• With the promulgation of the ordinance, the government created a seven-member Board of
Governors that took over the functioning of the 30-member executive council, the highest
decision-making body of the MCI, that stands dissolved. The remaining council has been kept
Downloaded from: http://www.upscportal.com
www.upscportal.comin “abeyance.”
• Amending the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, the government has inserted Article 3 (a)
through the ordinance that authorises the government to intervene in matters of “national
policy.”
• In case of a dispute over “national policy,” the view of the government will prevail.
100 injured in police action at Posco-India project site
• About 100 people were injured when police fired rubber bullets and teargas shells, and lathi-
charged hundreds of villagers in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa afternoon to help the
administration acquire land for the steel project of Posco-India.
• Posco had signed the memorandum of understanding with the State government for setting up a
steel plant in June 2005. But the project has been facing inordinate delay with a majority of
locals not willing to hand over their land for the venture.
Make land losers beneficiaries of acquisition: Supreme Court
• Expressing concern over the plight of farmers and others whose rights are affected when their
land is acquired for development, the Supreme Court has said there is need for Parliament and
the Law Commission to revisit the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, which is more than a century
old.
Four Chola inscriptions found near Kancheepuram
• Four inscriptions, two of Raja Raja Chola (regnal years 985-1014 A.D.) and two of the earlier
Chola period of 10th Century A.D., have been discovered at Siru Karumbur village, near
Kaveripakkam, 20 km from Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu on the initiative of Sri Vijayendra
Saraswati of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. They throw light on the artistic and temple-building
activities in the northern region (Tondaimandalam) of the Tamil country during the Chola
period and Raja Raja Chola's firm grip on the region.
• Kaveripakkam was an important township and army camp from the time of the Pallavas. It was
originally called “Kavidhipakkam” — Kavidhi is the title conferred on an army commander. An
inscription of the Pallava king Nandivarman of 8th Century A.D. mentioned Kavidhipakkam
and another Pallava king, Nandivarman III, established a Brahmin settlement, Avani Narana
Chaturvedimangalam, there. When the Cholas captured Tondaimandalam, the Pallava heartland,
they stationed an army at Kavidhipakkam to protect the region's northern boundaries. When
Parantaka Chola (regnal years 907–955 A.D.) stationed his son Rajaditya at Kavidhipakkam to
guard the Chola territory, Rashtrakuta king Krishna III invaded the region and Rajaditya was
killed circa 949 A.D. in a battle at nearby Takkolam. So the Cholas lost their hold on
Tondaimandalam.
Panchayats in tribal areas to control forest management
• Panchayats in tribal areas will soon be controlling forest management at the ground level,
replacing the control of the Forest Department.
• It was decided to remove Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) from the control of
the District Forest Officer and instead bring them under the control of the gram sabhas and
panchayats. This will be implemented in the tribal areas which come under PESA, or the
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.
Currently, about Rs. 1,000 crore in funding is routed through the one lakh JFMCs across the
country for various forestry-related schemes. The money would now be routed through the
panchayats in tribal areas. Forest Department staff will be made accountable to the panchayats
on relevant issues. Panchayat institutions will be consulted before declaring their lands as
wildlife reserves and their consent will be needed to declare a community reserve.
• The Ministry of Environment and Forests will examine how to make the Indian Forest Act,
1927 and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 compliant with the PESA.
Centre for changes in Memorandum of Procedure of appointment of Judges: Moily
• The Centre is contemplating certain changes in the Memorandum of Procedure of appointment
of Judges under which the Executive will have more say, according to the Union Law Minister
Veerappa Moily.
• At present the system of appointment of Judges was governed by the Supreme Court 1993 and
1998 judgments and the Memorandum of Procedure, viz. the collegium system of appointment,
was evolved subsequent to the 1998 judgment.
Green India Mission to double afforestation efforts by 2020
• The Green India Mission, part of India's plan to fight climate change, proposed to double the
area being taken up for afforestation and eco-restoration over the next decade.
• The first draft of the Mission released, projects an ambitious target of 20 million hectares by
2020, at a cost of Rs. 44,000 crore. Public consultations will be undertaken across the country
from June 11, following which the draft will be finalised.
• Earlier, the Prime Minister had spoken of undertaking afforestation in 6 million hectares of
degraded forest land as part of the Mission, which is one of the eight Missions of the National
Action Plan on Climate Change. (About 10 million hectares would anyway be treated by the
Forest department and others without the Mission's interventions).
• The more ambitious target in this draft, however, emphasises a holistic approach to greening,
making it clear that the project will not just be limited to trees and plantations, but would focus
on restoring diverse ecosystems. It would not only strive to restore degraded forests, but also
protect and enhance relatively dense forests.
• The nine sub-missions include, separate targets for moderately dense forests, degraded forests,
degraded scrub and grasslands, mangroves, wetlands, urban forest lands and institutional areas
with tree cover, degraded and fallow agricultural land, wildlife corridors, more efficient stoves
and alternative energy devices for better fuel wood use, and enhanced livelihoods for
communities dependent on biomass and non-timber forest produce.
• The Mission envisages a key role for local communities and includes a four-level monitoring
framework.
• The new and restored forest areas will act as a carbon sink. They are expected to absorb an
additional 43 million tonnes of green house gases every year. This means that India's forests
will be able to absorb 6.35 per cent of the country's annual emissions by 2020. The draft is
rather vague on the source of funding, merely saying that the “resources will be mobilised as
additionality from the Planning Commission.” It adds that “the deficit, if any, will be taken care
of by developing projects for seeking assistance from international funding agencies, UN
organisation, etc.”
Assam to initiate talks process with ULFA
• The Assam Cabinet decided to initiate the process of talks with the insurgent United Liberation
Front of Asom (ULFA), even without Paresh Barua, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the
outfit.
• Of the 15 central committee members of ULFA, six are currently in jails. These include ULFA
chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, self-styled foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, finance secretary
Chitraban Hazarika, cultural secretary Pranati Deka, ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain. Vice-
chairman Pradip Gogoi and central publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary are on bail, while
general-secretary Anup Chetia is lodged in a Bangladesh jail.
• Three ULFA central committee members have remained untraceable since the crackdown
against the insurgent outfit by the Royal Bhutan Army in 2003, while another member, Robin
Handique, passed away.
‘Rural health care course in advanced stage of finalisation'
• The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry to take forward the process of consultation on
the proposed bachelor of rural health care course.
• There are 25,000 Primary Health Centres in the country, where qualified doctors are supposed
to be available.
• The three-year course has broadly been approved by all the States and universities. Under the
scheme, local students will be trained in providing basic health care in far-flung and remote
areas where doctors normally do not go.
• They, however, will not be allowed to perform surgeries or complicated procedures.
• The Centre proposes to open medical schools at the district level, where these courses will be
conducted. The students will then be asked to go back to their villages to provide health care,
but they cannot practise in urban areas.
• The infrastructure for opening medical schools with an intake of 25-50 students will be
provided by the Centre, while the States will recruit, on contract, retired medical professionals,
aged up to 65 years, as faculty.
• With the functioning of the Medical Council of India having been taken over by a Board of
Governors, the process is expected to be put on fast track.
Final decision on NCHER rests with Centre, says Kapil Sibal
• Under criticism from his Cabinet colleagues, Union Human Resource Development Minister
Kapil Sibal sought to clarify that the final decision on the proposed National Commission on
Higher Education and Research (NCHER) remained with the government at the “highest level”
and that the decision would be “acceptable” to the Ministry.
• At the end of a daylong consultation organised by the task force on the draft NCHER bill with
academics from across the country, Mr. Sibal said the bill was the property of the task force.
The government could change its title and take the final call.
• The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Bar Council of India oppose the idea of
transferring medical and legal education to the Human Resource Development Ministry, which
is piloting the legislation and which has set up the task force.
• The task force decided to set up an ‘informal' committee of four eminent persons. It will study
drafts of the NCHER and National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) bills
to ensure there was no overlap. The committee will comprise Srinath Reddy and Ranjit Roy
Choudhary (both members of the HCHRH task force) and M.K. Bhan and Syeda Hamid, both
members of the NCHER task force.
• The draft NCHER bill before it was placed before the Central Advisory Board of Education
(CABE) next month. After the CABE approved it, the draft Bill would be sent to the
government.
NCHER new draft to address States' concerns
• Taking into account the concern expressed by some States that the proposed National
Commission on Higher Education and Research (NCHER) — the overarching regulatory body
— would centralise higher education, the revised draft of the NCHER Bill proposes to
constitute a general council for giving wider representation to the States and educational and
research institutions across different areas.
• Every decision of the proposed commission will have to be placed before the general council
for approval.
• With veto powers, the general council can, by two-thirds majority of its members present and
voting, bring amendments to the measure or regulation proposed.
• The new draft also re-defines ‘Central government' to incorporate the “Ministry concerned with
the subject matter,” suggesting that the Health and Family Welfare Ministry deal with matters
relating to medical education, while the Human Resource Development Ministry would be
concerned with higher and technical education — but under the purview of the NCHER.
• While there is no clarity over which Ministry deals with legal education, agricultural education
has been left out of the ambit, it being a State subject. However, the task force is likely to
suggest amending the Constitution to bring agriculture in the Concurrent List such as education
and health.
• Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal had strongly opposed the proposed panel, with Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi even writing to Union Human Resource Minister Kapil
Sibal describing the Commission as a body of “seven wise men” who would take decisions for
the States at the Centre.