July 25
Illegal migrants greatest threat to indigenous people
The Committee for Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People of Assam has expressed the view that illegal migration is the greatest threat to the security and identity of the indigenous people of the State and such migrants are grabbing government and other land with active support of a section of fundamentalist and political leaders.
The committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner of India, HS Brahma, in its interim report said that illegal migration is a constant threat to the very existence of the indigenous people of the State and if such migration is not checked immediately by sealing the unplugged borders and detecting and deporting the illegal migrants through a repatriation treaty signed with Bangladesh, the situation in the State would aggravate further.
The report pointed out that the most serious threat to land rights of the indigenous people came from unrestricted infiltration by illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Such people have been grabbing government and private lands for decades. This could not have been possible without the collusion of the local government employees, corrupt bureaucrats and political patronage, the committee observed. The names of many Bangladeshis were found in the voters’ lists in violation of the Representation of People’s Act and in fact, one Bangladeshi national was even elected as an MLA.
Hitting out at the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, the committee observed that the Act was passed only to protect the illegal migrants. But the Act was later scrapped by the Supreme Court. In its order, the Supreme Court had also observed that the Act was enacted not to detect illegal migrants but to protect them.
The report said that if a proper survey is conducted, it would be clear that more than 90 per cent of the encroachments of various classes of land in the State have been encroached by the illegal Bangladeshis in a professionally organized way. Consequently, many illegal new villages have sprung up overnight not only in the char areas but also in the reserved land of various kinds.
Giving a background of illegal migration, the report said that it is not a new phenomenon in the State and has been going on since 1905. The prophetic apprehension of SC Mullan, a British ICS officer in the 1931 census report has come to be absolutely true after 86 years. The report further pointed out that during the period from 1937 to 1946, lakhs of Bengali Muslims were imported to Assam in the pretext of the ‘Grow more Food’ programme and they were settled in forest reserves, VGRs and PGRs, etc. The situation has now deteriorated to such an extent that gangs of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, armed with dangerous and lethal weapons attacked indigenous villagers in areas like Sipajhar, Mukalmua, Mayong, Hajo, etc., to grab land to set up new villages.
Nifty creates history, breaches 10,000 mark
On July 25, 2017, NSE Nifty breached the 10,000 level for the first time while the BSE Sensex hit another record high of 32,374.30 in opening trade.
Nifty breached the all-time high of 10,011.30, surpassing its previous intra-day high of 9,982.05 touched on July 24, 2017.
The upbeat sentiment, sustained capital inflows and widespread buying by retail investors, driven by strong earnings by some NIFTY constituent companies have been the driving factors of the recent rally in Nifty.
NIFTY 50 index is National Stock Exchange of India’s benchmark stock market index for Indian equity market.
Government launches ‘SHe-box’ portal for sexual harassment complaints
The Union Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace in New Delhi.
The complaint management system has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013.
This portal is an initiative to provide a platform to women working or visiting any office of Central Government (Central Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies and Institutions etc.) to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.
Those who had already filed a written complaint with the concerned Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) constituted under the SH Act are also eligible to file their complaint through this portal.
July 26
Supreme Court terms Assam law on parliamentary secretaries ‘unconstitutional’
The Supreme Court held as “unconstitutional” a 2004 legislation in Assam on parliamentary secretaries, saying the then Congress-led government lacked the competence to enact it.
A bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar allowed the plea challenging validity of the Assam Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004 on the ground that it violated the mandate under Article 164(1A) which stipulates an upper limit of 15 per cent as the strength of the council of ministers.
On January 1, 2004, the Constitution 91st Amendment Bill, 2003 was passed by both the Houses of the Parliament and after the President’s assent, it became an act with modifications made to Articles 75 and 164 of the Constitution.
Article 164 (1A) of the Act stipulated that the size of the council of ministers in the state should not exceed 15 per cent of the total strength of the assembly.
“We are of the opinion that the Legislature of Assam lacks the competence to make the impugned Act. In view of the above conclusion, we do not see it necessary to examine the various other issues identified by us earlier in this judgment. The writ petition is allowed. The impugned Act is declared unconstitutional,” the bench, also comprising justices RK Agrawal and AM Sapre, said.
It further noted that in view of the mandate contained in Article 164(1A), the strength of the council of ministers was to be brought down to 19 as per the 15 per cent ceiling.
Lucknow Metro is India’s first metro with own FM Station & to offer free water and toilet facilities
Lucknow Metro is to be India’s first metro network to offer free drinking water, toilet facilities and will have its own FM radio station also. It will also provide free -WiFi at all stations to commuters with a ‘Go Smart’ card.
Lucknow metro will be the fastest built metro system in the world and the most economical high speed rapid transit system project in India. iv. It will operate alongside a partnership with a private radio station to provide information regarding metro safety as well as on and off board entertainment.
The metro was also awarded with the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR) Choice Prize Award 2016 under the Gold category
Madras HC makes Vande Mataram mandatory in Schools and Offices
Madras High Court has ruled that Vande Mataram should be sung in all schools and colleges across the state “at least once a week” and in government and private offices “at least once a month”.
If people feel it is difficult to sing the song in Bengali or in Sanskrit, steps can be taken to translate the song in Tamil. In the event, any person or organisation has difficulty in singing or playing the national song, he or she shall not be compelled or forced to sing it, provided there are valid reasons for not doing so.
The court has also mentioned that Patriotism is an essential requirement for every citizen of this country. Several people have sacrificed their lives and families to the independence struggle.
July 27
Land acquisition begins for India-Bangladesh rail line
Land acquisition for a 15-km India-Bangladesh railway line has finally begun in both countries, more than seven-and-a-half-years after the Rs 963 crore ($145 million) project was finalised and a year after the ground-breaking ceremony was performed, an official said here.
The Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) railway line would facilitate carriage of goods to and from both the countries and greatly benefit India’s land-locked northeastern states. Also, the journey time between Agartala and Kolkata, via Bangladesh, would be reduced by a third, from 1,613-km through mountainous terrain to a mere 514 km.
The process is being conducted under The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The project was finalised in January 2010 when Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met her then Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Majibul Haque, jointly laid its foundation stone here on July 31 last year.
The government-owned Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the five km track on the Indian side while the remaining 10 km would be laid by the Bangladesh railways. However, IRCON would be the project management consultant of the Bangladesh Railway Board.
The Indian government would bear the entire cost of the project, which also figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Sheikh Hasina during his visit to Dhaka in June 2015.
The Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Ministry would bear the cost of the project on the Indian side while the External Affairs Ministry would bear the cost of the project on the Bangladesh side.
The Agartala-Akhaura project, which was sanctioned in the 2012-13 railway budget, would be part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network and provide much shorter connectivity from northeastern states to Kolkata via Bangladesh.
The existing railway line from Guwahati passes through Lumding in Nagaon district (in central Assam) and southern Assam connecting Agartala and parts of Manipur and Mizoram with the rest of the country.
Currently, India and Bangladesh have four rail links through West Bengal.
ONGC intensifies exploration of gas in Tripura
The state-owned ONGC has stepped up exploration activities in Tripura to unearth more gas to set up a fertilizer plant and to augment power generation, an official said.
“Currently total drilling rig strength has been increased to seven and one more rig will be deployed soon to step up the exploration of gas in Tripura,” Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s Executive Director SC Soni told. He said the company has targeted to explore five MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic metre per day) by mid-2018 while the “Maharatna” company has the potential to produce around 4.3-4.5 MMSCMD from 76 wells. “The exploration of additional gas is required to set up a fertilizer plant in north Tripura and to supplement generation of electricity.”
The ONGC has planned to set up a Rs 5,000 crore fertilizer plant in northern Tripura in association with the state government and Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd, a Rajasthan based company.
The company had earlier commissioned its first commercial power project in India, located in southern Tripura and run by ONGC Tripura Power Co (OTPC), formed by ONGC, the Tripura government and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS).
The 726 MW capacity gas-based combined cycle power project (using both water and natural gas), situated at Palatana, 60 km from Agartala, has been supplying electricity to the seven northeastern states and 100 MW to Bangladesh.
No land survey carried out in State since 1964: Committee Report
No land survey and settlement operation was carried out in Assam as per the provisions of the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 since 1964 and this has caused immense hardship to the indigenous people of the State. This fact came to light in the interim report of the Committee for Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People of Assam, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner of India HS Brahma. It has also stressed the need for expediting the process of digitization of the revenue records and recommended that the process should be completed by March 31, 2018.
The report said that non renewal and non partition of the joint pattas caused serious problems for the common people. Non partition of the joint pattas deprives the people from enjoying the rights and privileges of landowners.
The committee noted that thousands of indigenous landowners are yet to get pattas even after 53 years of completion of the last land survey and settlement operations and there is no plausible reason for not conducting regular settlement operations. The Committee recommended that settlement operations in respect of all classes of land in the State should be carried out immediately and appropriate records of land rights should be issued to landholders.
The Committee is of the view that the survey and settlement operations should also include the tea gardens to ascertain issues like the total area of land issued to individual gardens, total area of land under the possession of the gardens, actual area under tea cultivation, demarcation of the boundaries, whether the area in possession of the garden is used for growing any other crop or any other purpose other than tea plantation, whether any Government land is encroached by any tea garden, whether the original lease of the gardens are still valid or expired, etc.
The Committee expressed its happiness at the initiative of the Government for digitization of the revenue records, but at the same time, noted with concern that the process is very slow in some parts of the state including in the BTAD areas. The Committee recommended that the process should be expedited in all the districts of the State and it should be completed by March 31 next year.
During the study, the Committee also found some very interesting facts. One such issue is that till date, the Assam Government does not have any mechanism to ascertain whether a person is actually landless or not. This will cause a major challenge to the administration while taking any decision on allotment of land to the landless indigenous people of the state.
July 28
BRICS nations sign memorandum to facilitate taxation cooperation
The BRICS nations have signed the BRICS Taxation Cooperation Memorandum on 27th of July 2017. Heads of Tax Authorities of the five BRICS Nation signed the document. All the five nations agreed to work together to ensure steady employment and better quality of life for their nation as well as for their people.
The aim is to establish a mechanism for taxation cooperation. It includes improving consultation procedures efficiency, boost taxation capacities and plan paths for coordination of taxation policies and tax collection.
FACTFILE: BRICS
- BRICS was established in 2006. It is an association of five major emerging national economies- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- All BRICS members are either developing or newly industrialised countries. They are also members of the G-20 group.
- It became BRICS after South Africa joined it in 2010.
- Their total share in the global economy has risen from 12-23% and contributes more than half of global growth.
World Hepatitis Day observed on July 28
World Hepatitis Day has observed on 28th July every year. Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for 1.34 million deaths per year that’s as many as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria. Hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C cause 80% of liver cancer cases in the world.
It aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The targets for 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are to ensure that 90% of people with HBV and HCV infections are tested and 80% are reached with treatment.
National Centre for Seismology launches ‘India Quake’ App
National Centre for Seismology (NCS) developed a Mobile App for automatic dissemination of earthquake parameter (location, time and magnitude) after the occurrence of earthquakes.
National Centre for Seismology (NCS) operates national seismological network with 84 stations. These stations are connected to NCS headquarter through VSAT for real time data communication.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences and Environment Dr. Harshvardhan launched an app “India Quake” on the occasion of Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences.