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Showing posts from April, 2016

Three-day Narmada oustees' Bhopal fast ends, NBA seeks Jha Commission report on corruption in rehabilitation

By A Representative The three-day protest fast by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), ended in Bhopal on April 29, putting up strong demand to make public the Jha Commission report, which looked into corruption in the rehabilitating and resettling (R&R) of the Narmada dam oustees.

Gandhi’s Gujarat retaliates, forms Namak Satyagraha Samiti to fight government move to impose salt tax

By Pankti Jog* A Namak Satyagraha Samiti has been formed in Gujarat, consisting of agariyas (traditional salt farmers), salt manufacturers and traders, to fight the “unjust” state notification to impose five per cent value added tax (VAT) on salt. Apart from the recently added VAT, the Government of India and the state government are charging cess and royalty on salt, respectively.

Why hide info on ensuring safety of India’s intelligence operatives abroad?

By Venkatesh Nayak* The print and electronic media have extensively reported the recent apprehension of a person of Indian origin by Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies . Pakistan is said to have summoned India’s envoy to that country and issued a demarche about the alleged “interference by India in its internal affairs in Balochistan through its intelligence operative belonging to the Research & Analysis Wing” (R&AW) of the Cabinet Secretariat (Cab Sec). The Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs has vehemently denied that charge while confirming that the apprehended individual is indeed a retired Indian Navy officer and has sought consular access to him. As no other details are officially available from the Indian government, it is not possible to state anything more about this incident given its security implications. Saying anything else will only amount to indulging in speculation that may have harmful effects in several quarters. However, what should ...

Australian conservation group knocks Queensland Supreme Court against Adanis' $16 billion coalmining project

By A Representative In a surprise move, an Australian conservation group, Coast and Country, has announced it has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Queensland province for a judicial review of the environmental clearance granted to India’s powerful Adani Group’s $16 billion Carmichael coalmining project, proposed to be implemented in the Galilee Basin.

NBA to protest Madhya Pradesh "failure" to rehabilitate Narmada dam oustees, cites Gujarat success

By A Representative In a major announcement, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), led by top social activist Medha Patkar, has declared its decision to hold a protest fast (chetavni upvas) from April 27 to 29, 2016 at Bhopal against the Madhya Pradesh government's alleged failure to rehabilitate thousands of Narmada dam oustees.

Oversee industrial corridor funding by World Bank, others: People's groups seek Parliamentary panel intervention

Anti-industrial corridor protest in Raigad By A Representative  Stepping pressure against five major industrial corridors sought to be built by the Government of India -- Delhi-Mumbai, Amritsar-Kolkata, Vizag–Chennai, Chennai–Bangalore and Mumbai-Bangalore, a high-level meeting of several people's organizations have decided to begin a Corridor Virodhi Sangharsh Abhiyaan in October, which will undertake a nation-wide yatra preceded by regional meetings.

Indian states "neglecting" tribal interests are also highly rated for Ease of Doing Business by Modi, World Bank

Jhabua tribals By Birendra Nayak* Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on December 4, 2015: “Reaffirmed my belief in equal progress of all states. Strides of Jharkhand, Chattisgarh & Odisha in ‘Ease of doing business’ are great.” This reaction may have come a bit late.

Capt Amarinder Singh denied permission to address Canadian diaspora, terms it "gag order" in letter to Trudeau

By A Representative In a surprise development, senior Congress leader from Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, who also happens to be deputy leader of the Congress' parliamentary party, has been denied permission to address Punjabi diaspora in two Canadian cities -- Toronto and Vancouver. Singh says he was informed about this by India's foreign secretary Dr S Jaishankar.

Gujarat "leads" in FDI investment, India replaces China as top destination due to privatization, labour reforms

By A Representative Gujarat has “topped” the list of 10 most sought-after destination states for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015 in a comparison drawn between India and China by a new report by the Financial Times Group's thinktank FDI Intelligence. The report says, Gujarat "attracted $12.4bn and claimed 10% of all capital investment into both countries."

Plea to "transfer" out hydro power units to J&K: Transparency urged in power supply to Punjab, North India

By A Representative India's right to information (RTI) activists, in close coordination with those of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state, have made a strong plea for the “transfer”, and not "buyback", hydro power projects put up in J&K to the state, and greater transparently in supplying power to other states.

J&K lights up northern India, but its own people face severe power outages

By Venkatesh Nayak* A problem commonly raised by participants at our training workshops on the right to information (RTI) held across Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), over several years, is the frequent and long power outages they experience, almost on a daily basis. Having sojourned through several parts of the Kashmir valley, apart from far flung areas like Kargil, during the last few years, I experienced, first hand, these long periods of power supply breakdown. LCD projectors and public address systems would stop working abruptly in the middle of a workshop due to power outage and one had to resort to other methods of teaching RTI procedures. In Kargil, a major complaint that youth participants voiced at our workshop held last year was the increased frequency and duration of power outages during the exams season. During a visit to Srinagar, earlier this year, when the State was placed under Governor’s rule and negotiations for installing a new government were still on, I came across me...

Why J&K NHPC hydel projects should be transferred to the state

By Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool* The J&K RTI Movement calls for complete transparency in the ongoing negotiations between the Government of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K Govt) and the Government of India (GoI) regarding the transfer of hydro-electric (hydel) projects in the State, currently being executed by NHPC Ltd. Data recently revealed under the Central Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) shows that between 2001-2015, the NHPC has earned at least Rs. 194 billion (Rs. 19,431 crores) from the sale of power generated by the hydel projects based in J&K. Of this, J&K Govt. had paid Rs. 41 billion (Rs. 4,129 crores) to NHPC to buy 19.7% of the power that was generated by the hydel projects situated in the State. This information has been supplied by NHPC in response to an RTI application filed by Mr. Venkatesh Nayak of our partner organisation, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi. Seven hydel projects, namely, Kishanganga, Uri-II, Bursar, Sewa-II, Pakal Dul, Nimmo B...

In desire to control media, Modi envisages journalism univ by ex-propaganda officials: Global media watchdog

By A Representative Thanks to what has been described as “global decline” in press freedom, India has “improved” its ranking in the Press Freedom Index (PFI) from 140 in 2014 to 136 in 2015 and 133 in 2016. Ironically, the “improvement” has come about alongside deterioration of its overall PFI from 40.34 in 2014 to 40.49 in 2015, and 43.17 in 2016. The calculation is based the criterion “higher the figure, the worse the situation”

Mumbai slumdwellers not to be forcibly evicted, Maharashtra govt assures top social acivist Medha Patkar

By A Representative In what is being interpreted as a victory of sorts for well-known social activist Medha Patkar, the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA) of Mumbai, which she leads, has taken “assurance” from the Maharashtra government not to forcibly evict slumdwellers in order to safeguard the mangroves next to the sea shore.

1,500 Mumbai slumdwellers face eviction without rehabilitation by May first week: Mangroves cell "clampdown"

Bheemchhaya slum area By A Representative A new threat looms large over around 1,500 slum-dwelling families of Mumbai: The Ghar Bachao – Ghar Banao Abhiyan (GBGBA) has claimed that the Mangroves Cell of the Maharashtra forest department is likely to evict around 700 families after April 23 in Cheeta Camp and 800 in Bheemchhaya, Vikroli, Kannamwar Nagar in the first week of May.

Pro-Modi Adani Group "wins" confidence vote of Aussie indigenous group for $16 b coalmining project

Adrian Burragubba By A Representative Have the Adanis finally won the battle against the traditional land owners of Australia, seeking to stall the $16 billion coalmining project in the Queensland province? The top British daily "The Guardian" reports that they have "voted in favour of allowing a coalmine to be opened by Adani in central Queensland."

Pope Francis takes a stand with the refugees of the world, demonstrates it in word and deed

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj* Pope Francis has done it again! In a brief but historic visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis demonstrated in word and by deed that he took a stand with the refugees of the world; and by doing so, he merely reiterated his consistent and unequivocal support for the dispossessed of the earth today: the refugees, the migrants, the forcibly displaced, the other vulnerable and marginalized people. “You are not alone!”, he told the more than three thousand refugees at the Moria camp, on the island. Many of them face deportation under a new EU-Turkey agreement which states that those migrants (mainly Syrians) arriving illegally on the Greek islands after March 20th would be sent back to the country of their origin. Pope Francis acknowledged ‘the great sacrifice’ the people in the camp had made saying that he wished “to draw the attention of the world to this grave humanitarian crisis”. He went on to say, “do not lose hope; the greatest gift we can offer to...

Cancel Romila Thapar as Ambedkar Memorial Lecture speaker as she "overlooked" caste issues: Dalit body

By A Representative In a surprising move, a top Dalit rights organization, Dalit Bahujan Adivasi Collective (DBAC), has taken strong exception to Prof Romila Thapar, one of the foremost historians of India, for the 2016 Ambedkar Memorial Lecture (AML) at the Ambedkar University, Delhi (AUD).

Facts contradict Union Coal Ministry claim of inhibiting impact of CIC

By Venkatesh Nayak* Recent media reports have highlighted a statement attributed to a serving senior bureaucrat in the Union Ministry of Coal about the inhibiting impact of the Central Information Commission (CIC) on the decision-making processes relating to development. According to these reports, the Secretary in charge of that Ministry is said to have made a comment on Facebook about the substantial contribution of 5 ‘Cs’ namely, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) , the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Comptroller & Accountant General (C&AG) and the Courts apart from the CIC , to the creation of an inhibiting environment for quick and effective decision-making that impacts development. It is not clear which Ministries and Departments he had in mind while making this comment. However, the performance of the Coal Ministry and the public sector enterprises under its jurisdiction vis-a-vis the implementation of The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) is wor...

"Forced" eviction in Mumbai: Slum dwellers' delegation seeks abolition of "discriminatory" cut-off date

By A Representative A Mumbai slum dwellers' delegation, which met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has demanded that the "cut-off date" approach for rehabilitating slum dwellers should be dropped, as it "protects" only limited number of slum dwellers.

Rs 29,000 crore scam? Forty top Indian companies being "investigated" for over-invoicing imported coal

By A Representative   A top Indian online site analysing global metals and energy indices has created a major flutter by revealing that 40 well-known Indian energy companies are being investigated by a Union Finance Ministry wing for "over-invoicing of imported coal", leading to "artificially higher prices being "passed on to electricity consumers across the country."

After forced to migrate following rape, threat to life, 23 Gujarat Dalits seek internal displacement status

Dalits sitting in front of Amreli district collector's office By A Representative Twenty three Dalits, belonging to the Rohit community, are sitting in front of the Amreli district collector’s office since early January 2016, seeking a new status for themselves: They want to be declared as forced migrants, as they faced internal displacement following the rape of an 18-year-old Dalit girl and threat from dominant castes to take back the case. The incident took place in Vadali village, situated in Rajula taluka of Amreli district of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.

Modi's pay back time to UPA’s "wrongs"? Deft hands at work for measured steps to sidestep anti-defection law

Modi in Arunachal Pradesh By RK Misra* Past is never past. It returns to haunt the future. See how. And I quote: “It is a matter of great concern that the federal structure is under increasing strain, merely to suit the whims and fancies of the rulers in Delhi .What we are witnessing today is the systematic disruption of our country’s federal structure both in letter and spirit.

Fading eco-challenge to Adanis' $22 billion Aussie coal project? Nod to mining on 28,000 ha amidst protest

Protest against Queensland govt By A Representative Australian environmental groups appear to be reconciled that top Indian business group Adani Group's ambitious $22 billion coalmining lease project for Carmichael may finally have its day. This became clear from a statement by top international NGO Greenpeace following Queensland's provincial government minister Anthony Lynham saying the project would continue.

Modi's rupee bond plan for overseas Indians, mimicing China, "falls flat"; not one rupee raised: Report

Modi at Wembley By A Representative Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious project to raise $1.5 billion from rupee bonds, about which he announced in London last autumn during his visit to London, has fallen flat. Top US business daily “Wall Street Journal” reports, “India’s attempt to diversify and deepen its corporate debt market has fallen flat, thanks to lack of demand and bad timing.”

Transparency activist: Does Modi govt include bank defaulters for pledging "sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas"?

By A Representative The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) recent "submission" through an affidavit to the Supreme Court of India, in a sealed cover, a list of defaulters on loans, worth Rs 500 crore or more, taken from different banks, has created a flutter among pro-transparency activists.

Jaitley's Melbourne visit: Students, environmentalists protest against Adanis' Australian coalmining project

By A Representative Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who addressed students at the Melbourne University on April 2, was preceded by students' and faculty members' protest against the controversial coalmining project, taken up by one of the most influential business houses in India, Adanis, in Australia's Queensland state.

Does promise of sab ka saath sab ka vikas include loan defaulters?

By Venkatesh Nayak* Media reports indicate that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s banker to banks (Central Bank) has submitted to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in sealed cover, a list of defaulters on loans, worth Rs. 500 crore or more (USD 75.3 million approx at current exchange rate), taken from those banks. The Apex Court sought this information from the RBI after it reportedly took suo motu cognizance of a recent news report published in a popular English language daily about how a majority of the public sector banks had written off bad debts to the tune of Rs. 1.14 lakh crores (USD 17.18 billion at current exchange rate) between the financial years 2013-15. This national daily had sourced this data through The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). In order to justify its action of submitting the names of loan defaulters in sealed cover, RBI argued in its affidavit that public disclosure would dent the ‘fiduciary relationship ‘ that it has with the commercial b...

Gujarat government revives LARR Ordinance, reveals its anti-farmer face

Statement by Jamin Adhikar Aandolan Gujarat (JAAG) following the state assembly passing the controversial bill on March 31 bill which does away with consent and social impact assessment in land acquisition: The Government of Gujarat (GoG) has passed in the State Assembly the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2016. What the the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance (in short LARR Ordinance), 2015 had proposed to do but could not, the GoG Bill is doing in Gujarat. With a few changes, the tone and tenor of the Gujarat LARR Bill is almost the same as the LARR Ordinance 2015. The meagre safety and rights that were guaranteed to the farmers by the LARR Act, 2013 are set to be snatched away, once and for all. The major amendments being brought by the GoG to the LARR Act, 2013 are (this is not a comprehensive list): (1) Amendm...