Against the backdrop of opposition pressure, the fate of 58 coal
blocks will be reviewed at a meeting of an Inter-Ministerial Group
(IMG), on whose recommendations wrongful allotments and cases in which
mining has not started can be cancelled.
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said an IMG has been set up to
examine the pros and cons and based on its report any number of
allocations can be cancelled. He said the IMG will give its report by
September 15.
Notices were issued in April to these allottees following concerns
expressed by the PMO regarding the delay in development of the blocks.
The 58 allottees include 25 private companies and 33 government firms.
An Inter Ministerial Group headed by Additional Secretary Coal is
likely to meet tomorrow to review that status of these 58 coal blocks.
The IMG comprising representatives from different Ministries may
recommend cancellation of such blocks, which did not comply to the
development norms.
The firms in their replies furnished to the Ministry have cited
various reasons, including land acquisition problems, delays in forestry
and environment clearance and law and order problems for delays in
developing the blocks.
Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal has directed the officials in the
Coal Ministry to submit a final report on the status of the 58 coal
blocks by 15th September.
Meanwhile, BJP reiterated its stand and said that the party will
agree to debate in Parliament only if the government cancels allocation
of coal blocks allotments.
An Inter-Ministerial Group is likely to meet on Monday to review
the status of 58 coal blocks which both public and private firms failed
to develop within stipulated time frame.”The Inter-Ministerial Group
(IMG) under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary Coal may meet on
Monday for reviewing the status of 58 coal blocks issued show cause
notices,” a Coal Ministry official said.
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has also directed the officials in
the Coal Ministry to submit a final report on the status of the 54 coal
blocks by 15th September.The government has already issued de-allocation
notices to 33 government firms and 25 private companies which failed to
develop the same allotted for captive use in the given time-frame.
A top Coal Ministry official had earlier clarified that the blocks,
barring a few, are different from those mentioned in the CAG report.The
government auditor CAG in its recent report tabled in Parliament stated
that undue benefits to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore were extended to
private firms on account of allocation of 57 mines to them.The IMG
comprising representatives from different Ministries may recommend
cancellation of such blocks, which did not comply to the development
norms.Sources said the firms in their replies furnished to the Ministry
have cited various reasons, including land acquisition problems, delays
in forestry and environment clearances and law and order problems for
delays in developing the blocks.The government in April began the
process of issuing notices to companies that failed to develop the 58
coal blocks within the stipulated time.The notices were issued to firms
like Reliance Power’s Sasan, Tata Power, Hindalco and Grasim Industries,
ArcelorMittal, GVK Power, MMTC and others.
In June, the government formed an IMG to review progress of coal blocks allocated to companies for captive use.
Of the total 195 coal blocks allocated to both public and private
firms in over a decade, only 30 mines have begun production as per the
government records.
The government, last year had cancelled the allocation of 14 coal mines
and one lignite mine to companies, including NTPC and DVC for failure to
develop the blocks.
With no end to the government-BJP stand-off over CAG report on
coal block allocation, the last week of the Monsoon session of
Parliament began on Monday with a repeat of stormy scenes raising the
possibility of a washout of the remaining four days.
The month-long session, which already lost the previous two weeks to
BJP’s unrelenting demand for resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, again saw uproar created by BJP members, leading to wastage of
one more day of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
However, amid the din, three bills, including Protection of Women
Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010, were passed in the
Lok Sabha within minutes without any debate (rpt) debate.
The other two legislations were the North-Eastern Areas
(Reorganisation) Amendment Bill, 2011, and the National Highways
Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2011.
In the Rajya Sabha, repeated attempts by the government to ensure
passage of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill,
2012, were thwarted by Left parties which insisted that these should
not be cleared without a debate.
As the two Houses met for the day, it was the repeat of scenes
witnessed over the last eight days with BJP members raising slogans and
rushing into the Well to demand the Prime Minister’s resignation.
Some UPA members were also seen waving the ‘List of Business’ at the
agitating BJP members indicating their opposition to the disruption of
the proceedings.
AIADMK members in the Rajya Sabha too shouted slogans seeking resignation of the Prime Minister and targetting the government.
Their party colleagues in the Lok Sabha were seen in the aisle raising some slogans.
P Lingam (CPI) was seen with a placard opposing the forthcoming visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India.
In the Rajya Sabha, DMK and the Left displayed placards saying ‘Stop Training the Sri Lankan Army’.
Trouble began in the Lok Sabha soon after Speaker Meira Kumar read out the obituary reference to former member Kanshiram Rana.
Amidst the din, both Houses were adjourned till noon.
When the Rajya Sabha reassembled, similar scenes were witnessed with
BJP members again rushing to the well leading to adjournment of the
House till 2 PM.
In the Lok Sabha, proceedings could be managed for almost 30 minutes
amidst the din with the Speaker pushing the passage of the three
legislations.
She later adjourned the House for the day after the bills were adopted by voice vote.
But in the Rajya Sabha, plans of the government to seek passage of
the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill 2012 could
not succeed because of Left parties’ resistance to clearing the
important legislation without any discussion.
This was despite the fact that Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked BJP
members to go to their seats pleading that the bill be passed as it was
very important.
However, as members remained unrelenting, he adjourned the House till 2 PM.
It was a similar story when the House re-assembled prompting Kurien to adjourn the House for the day.
Earlier, Kurien’s attempts to take up a short notice question on
whether companies may lose Rs 6,000 crore every year due to cut in spot
sales of coal also could not be taken up.
As Y S Chowdhury (TDP), in whose name the question was listed, did
not raise it, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal laid his reply in the din
and no supplementary question was asked.
Earlier, Chairman Hamid Ansari’s repeated pleas to restore order went
in vain as BJP members remained unrelenting in their slogan-shouting.
SP members were also up on their feet trying to raise certain issues but were inaudible.
Ansari then adjourned the House till noon.
Gurudas Das Gupta MP’s dissent note on the report of the parliamentary standing committee on finance
Communist Party of India (CPI) parliamentary group leader and CPI
National Council secretary Gurudas Das Gupta has said that the UPA-II
government has miserably failed over the years to stimulate inclusive
growth and rather did not succeed even to maintain the rate of GDP
growth attained earlier, which is today at an all-time low of 5.3 per
cent. It could not even hold the price line mainly of the essential
commodities including food articles.
The veteran parliamentarian, also the AITUC general secretary, made
these observations in his dissent note on the report of the
parliamentary standing committee on finance concerning the present
economic situation, submitted on August 29, 2012.
Unfortunately, the standing committee’s draft report as prepared
failed to critically examie the fundamentals of the economic policy
and suggest effective alternatives instead objectively approved the
policy that has been pursued by the government, he said. “It does not
even refer to the futility of the policies and non-performance of the
government. In my view, the committee did not discharge its
responsibility by patting on the back of the government.”
Saying that the present crisis cannot be attributed solely to the
international crisis, second in two years, Dasgupta said that the
present policy of unguarded liberalisation, reckless privatisation,
unusual dependence on foreign funds, over dependence on export market,
failure to curb speculation in a situation of scarcity, its total
inability to provide economic empowerment to a vast section of the
majority of the people, galloping disparity of income and increasing
unprecedented concentration of wealth in the hands of the few form the
basic negative feature that has been overlooked by the committee.
The report speaks of “economic incentive regime for accelerating and
sustaining growth.” It also states that “the committee, hence
recommend that the FDI policy may be reviewed by the government to
ensure the above and make India an increasingly attractive and
investor-friendly destination for foreign investors.” It further says:
“Our policies should attract more long-term capital inflows and push
investments through reforms.”
Thus, the CPI group leader pointed out that the observations clearly
approve the government of India’s FDI-friendly policy of economic
reform, spelling out the undeniable message that it is the foreign
investment that will engineer the process of accelerated economic
growth obviously taking care of the basic human problems. “This
proposition has not been found to be correct anywhere in the world.
The committee rejecting all the Indian realities, by implication seeks
to strengthen the hands of the government to bulldoze its
people-unfriendly economic reform. The report will give a free hand
to the government to allow FDI in the retail trade, further tax
concession to the corporates in the SEZs, it will lead to more
violation of labour laws and enable the government to infuse FDI in
the banking and insurance having proportionate voting rights. In the
name of attracting foreign funds it will bestow more concessions
undermining the national interest, making India the most attractive
hunting ground for the international players looking for unlimited
profits exploiting national resources and manpower.”
Stating that primarily the growth of the economy depends
on national resources augmenting progressive tax revenue, broadening
the tax base, reducing the tax concession, holding up tax avoidance,
by waging all out war to retrieve black money, curbing unaccounted
income, effectively fighting corruption and reducing wasteful
expenditure and relocating priorities in the process of budget making,
he said that nobody is denying the role of FDI in national
development, which by all means is subsidiary.
The direction of the report, which is extremely flawed
is stereotyped and does not search for alternative policy which the
nation is looking for. There is no word for stimulating the domestic
market, enlarging the empowerment of the marginalised majority.
The report in the background of the agricultural crisis
does not call for heavy public investment in agriculture, only asks
for ‘infusion of funds’ without indentifying the source of funds.
While investment in agriculture has been dwindling down over years,
both public and private, the report does not “look beyond the nose,
makes a superfluous comment on the need of infusion of funds, which is
unlikely to happen.”
“Nevertheless it is correct to say that private investment has a
crucial role in a mixed economy like India. But in a situation of
gloom and downturn, it is massive government investment targeted to
augment the income of the common people, for creating job, ensuring
stability of income of the disadvantaged, even incurring budget
deficit can turn around the economy. Heavy government investment will
stimulate the market, generate the income, improve aggregate demand
and as a result market shall look up creating the atmosphere for the
inflow of profit oriented private investment, even draw foreign funds.
Unfortunately, the alternative perception is ignored and discarded by
the Report and in fact it strengthens the hands of the government to
carry forward the present anti-people economic policies”, the dissent
note adds.
Criticising the government for recommending the sale of family silver
to meet the grocer’s bill, he said that the report suggests
disinvestment for raising revenue, when the market sentiment is so
negative. “The Committee unfortunately goes so far as to suggest 10
per cent reduction in the non-plan expenditure which essentially
suggests to reduce subsidy obviously hurting the common people. This
is quite in line with what the present government wants to do. In the
name of quoting RBI, the report puts on record with concern the
question of overshooting of subsidies.”
The committee, he says, “even refers to with concern the impact of
‘retrospective tax laws’ and ‘general anti-tax avoidance rules’. It
calls upon the Government to modify/withdrawal these laws so that
investors’ interest is not hurt. It calls upon the government for the
speedy enactment of the financial reform Bill including Pension Fund
Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, the Companies Law Amendment
Bill. The report undoubtedly shall be a feather in the cap of Dr
Manmohan Singh’s government.”
The report in the name of strengthening the health of the banks “seeks
to permit the government for going for merger of the banks undermining
the national interest. It also opens the door for private investment
in banks diluting its public sector character.”
Since the report is one sided, seeks to strengthen the
hand of the government in pushing through all its corporate friendly
reform programme at the cost of the interest of the people, since the
report does not locate the fundamental anachronism in the economic
policy that has led to a situation of slowdown and food inflation,
almost taking the country to the threshold stagflation, since the
report is in fact an apology for the inaction of the government and
since the report does not find any fundamental flaw in the policy and
refrains from outlining people friendly suggestions Dasgupta made it
clear that he has no other alternative but to put on record his
dissent. “It is unfortunate that the report is likely to serve as a
readymade weapon in the hand of the government to defend its failed
economic policy running the country.”
TLC TO AIR “WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA”
by sagarmedia on September 3, 2012
THE INDIA EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL HIT MAKEOVER SERIES
- Series to be hosted by Soha Ali Khan and Aki Narula -
- To Air Every Night at 10 pm, Starting September 3rd -
New Delhi, August 23, 2012: India’s favourite lifestyle channel TLC
will present the India edition of the international makeover series –
WHAT NOT TO WEAR. Drawing on the talent of actor Soha Ali Khan and
acclaimed stylist Aki Narula, WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA inspires style
challenged participants to trade in the drab for fab. A 13-part series,
WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA will air every night at 10 pm starting September
3rd on TLC.
From housewives who have put their life on hold, to fast track
professionals going nowhere with their wardrobes, to entrepreneurs who
risk big, except when it comes to their wardrobe; WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA
will help empower women by giving them a unique identity while keeping
active their distinct lifestyles. Nominated by their friends and family,
each episode becomes a personal journey of women reinventing themselves
with new found vigour, as they bid adieu to clothing items from their
wardrobe they never should have worn in the first place.
Rahul Johri, senior vice president and general manager – South Asia,
Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said, “TLC has been the front runner in
bringing the world’s best experiences to Indian television. Pushing the
boundaries of differentiated and inspiring television entertainment, we
are delighted to present another pertinent and refreshing India centric
series – WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA. Hosted by amazing personalities and
experts Soha Ali Khan and Aki Narula, the series would activate a new
wave of style change and become the new benchmark in lifestyle
programming.”
Commenting on her television debut, Soha Ali Khan said, “I am excited
to be part of TLC; one of my favourite channels. WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA
is an extremely interesting makeover series that beautifully captures
the emotional, psychological and physical journeys of women to style
enlightenment. We hope that viewers enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed
making it.”
Hosting his first television series for an international channel, Aki
Narula said, “TLC’s WHAT NOT TO WEAR – INDIA was the best and most
creative platform for me to say YES to play host, guide and mentor. It’s
a thoroughly researched, interactive and insightful series, where I
could aptly put all my years of experience of fashion and style to great
practical use for the participants and the viewers.”
Watch Soha and Aki change the way participants’ look and feel about
themselves. Participants need to work on their wardrobe and self-examine
before a 360 degree mirror. Style experts Soha and Aki do not sugar
coat their comments when participants forget the ‘rules’ of shopping and
style appropriate dressing. They advocate tough love on what is worn
and what is gone. All of which adds up to the unveiling of the restyled
woman to friends, family and colleagues who nominated them.
Watch the tears of realization and joys of fulfillment as they turn
from dowdy to dashing in WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA every night at 10 pm
starting September 3rd only on TLC. WHAT NOT TO WEAR-INDIA is based on
the original format devised by BBC and produced by BBC Worldwide.
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