NGO under scanner helped Kanimozhi don role of cultural ambassador
The investigation into the 2G spectrum scam had taken the CBI sleuths to the doorsteps of Tamil Maiyam, a Chennai-based socio-cultural organisation associated with chief minister Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, in December 2010. In fact, the organisation provided Kanimozhi, one of its directors, an opportunity to project herself as the DMK's cultural ambassador.
Tamil Maiyam was founded as a private trust in 2002 by Left-leaning priest-turned-activist Jegath Gaspar Raj to promote Tamil art, culture and literature. It was converted into a public charitable trust in 2006. It shot into prominence by organizing two mega events Chennai Sangamam and Chennai Marathon every year.
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People in support of Hazare's anti-graft campaign, claims NGO
50,000 persons in Delhi and 10,000 in Mumbai responded in the affirmative over the past three days to a text message asking them whether they wanted to be a volunteer for Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption, claims the NGO which organised the campaign.
The 'India Against Corruption' movement, which spearheaded the Jan Lokpal Bill agitation led by Hazare, claimed that a "rapid snowballing effect" is being witnessed by volunteers running the campaign throughout the country.
The IAC sent a text message to people on Saturday posing the question, "Do you want to volunteer for Anna Hazare's movement against corruption in support of strong anti corruption law? If yes, please SMS back on this number."
The text message was sent to 3.50 lakh people in Delhi and the organisers claimed 50,000 had responded saying they wanted to be a volunteer.
Similarly, the text message was sent to over one lakh people in Mumbai where 10,000 are claimed to have responded to the query in the affirmative.
Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and several others in the team are preparing to visit various cities for public consultations on the Jan Lokpal Bill, an IAC spokesperson said.
"Early estimates indicate crowds of between 10,000 and 50,000 in cities like Mysore and Bangalore respectively," the spokesperson said.
The IAC is also organising a public march on May one in the national capital to express support for the Joint Drafting Committee for drafting a strong anti-corruption law on the lines of Jan Lokpal Bill.
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Anil Ambani, Prashant Ruia, Tatas untouched by CBI: NGO to SC
The NGO which brought the 2G spectrum case to the Supreme Court, on Wednesday alleged "big fish" like Reliance Telecom Chairman Anil Ambani, Essar's CEO Prashant Ruia and Tatas' who are real beneficiaries have been left out of CBI chargesheets. The NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL),
told the apex court that Shahid Usman Balwa-promoted Swan Telecom and Loop Telecom were the front companies for RCom and Essar Group respectively while Tatas' benifited for funding Tamil Nadu-based NGO whose Director was DMK MP Kanimozhi.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said RCom, which was inelligible for the 2G licence, had financed Swan Telecom and its chairman Anil Ambani, who has 50 per cent stake in the company, has been untouched by CBI despite being the real benificiary.
"The real beneficiary is Anil Ambani, who holds majority stake and is Chairman of the group companies. CBI has tried to shield him and has only chargesheeted the employees," he told a bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly.
A short note of the submission placed before the bench said investigation has gone cold over the involvement of Prashant Ruia in the scam.
"Petitioners have learnt that while CBI might be following the case of Loop Telecom which made huge benefits, the investigation has gone cold over the involvement of Prashant Ruia and his family members who, through a complex web of transactions, set up Loop Telecom to defraud and cheat the government for award of 2G spectrum and licenses," the submission placed before the bench said.
He also raised the issue of Tata Teleservice which benefitted in grant of Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) for its dual technology as Tatas' had funded the NGO run by Kanimozhi but CBI was not moving against them.
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US-based NGO supports use of endosulfan at Stockholm conference
New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) A US-based international NGO has made a representation against banning pesticide endosulfan before the conference, that is discussing Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPs), in Geneva.
Banning endosulfan would be a regressive step towards millions of farmers across the world specially in absence of any proven, viable and cost effective alternative, International Stewardship Council (ISC) said.
The POPs review committee (POPRC) though have identified various alternatives, none of them are affordable, ISC said.
A majority of marginal and small farmers depend upon honey bees and insects like ladybird beetle for pollination, it added.
ISC is an official observer to the Stockholm Convention.
"ISC has also been very concerned that a recommendation to list endosulfan has been made by the POPRC despite scientific data gaps," it said.
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Farmer organisations ask PM not to ban endosulfan
A body of farmers' organisations has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing any ban on the use of controversial pesticide endosulfan in the country.
The Federation of Indian Farmer's Organisations (FIFO), an umbrella group of farmers' organisations, alleged that some non-governmental organisations (NGO's) are lobbying hard for the ban on endosulfan.
"While scientists and farmers have been standing for the product due to it's being safe, economical and effective, certain NGOs under heavy foreign funding to them using media and even some public representatives, have been lobbying hard for its ban," FIFO alleged in the letter to the PM.
The letter further said that they are (NGO's), "unaware of the damage they are doing to Indian farmers and agriculture."
The farmer's group also alleged that environmental groups have been blaming endosulfan for health problems based on scientific studies that have been found to be scientifically incorrect.
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IIT whistleblower under lens for fake institute
IIT Delhi professor SK Dubey's attempt to become a whistleblower in the corruption case in the Supreme Court is proving costly for him. First, the Supreme Court bench of Justices B Sudershan Reddy and SS Nijjar made adverse remarks against him and other co-petitioners and now revenue secretary Sunil Mitra has sought action against Dubey and others for not revealing the posts they hold in the petition.
Dubey, two UP cadre IAS officers VS Pandey and Jasvir Singh and others filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Enforcement Directorate on behalf of India Rejuvenation Initiative, an NGO working against corruption.
The revenue secretary has written to the secretary, department of personnel and training, that three of the 16 members of NGO India Rejuvenation Initiative are government employees. "While filing the petition, the said officers did not disclose their respective positions held under central/state governments," Mitra wrote. He also said, "Prima facie it is an act of grave indiscipline that three officials while in active government service, have been instrumental in filing a petition against the government of India casting malicious aspersions on some of its serving officials." Mitra has endorsed his letter to DoPT secretary also to secretaries of ministries of home and HRD. He has asked if these officials had taken prior permission of their controlling authorities. He has requested appropriate action against these officials.
Dubey might have assumed the role of whistleblower now but his own role in the running a fake institute at IIT Kharagpur is under the scanner. He was director of IIT Kharagpur between 2002 and 2007 when the fake institute came up. During his tenure, the fake institute was allotted a house inside the campus and even given an employee card to JK Tiwari, the brain behind the fake institute.
Earlier, talking about their petition, the SC had said the applicants had diverted the focus from the black money issue and led to filing of affidavits and counter-affidavits. The bench said it would give an appropriate order later.
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Cancel licences of units employing child labourers: Court
The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued orders to cancel the licences of factories employing child labourers, an NGO here said in a statement.
‘Honorable Chief Justice Deepak Mishra and Justice Sanjeev Khanna passed an order to cancel factory license of the units where such child labourers were found working,’ said Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child rights organisation which has been actively working with the police and the labour department in various rescue operations of child labourers.
The court also showed its dissatisfaction over recovery of Rs.20,000 as compensation from the employers for each child labourer, BBA said.
‘The court also asked for status report of recoveries made on the next date of hearing. This amount is to be spent on welfare of the rescued child as per the direction passed by the Supreme Court,’ it added.
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Inner engineering to get rid of sufferings
On the first day of the week-long workshop on Inner Engineering organised by an NGO Isha Foundation, held at UT guest house on Wednesday, over 100 people visited. The workshop began with an introductory talk on the need and benefit of ancient form of yoga asana - Sambhavi Maha Mudra Kriya.
Erin Koran of Isha foundation, while explaining the need for inner engineering and letting mind be at ease despite external pressures said, ''This kriya helps in keeping mind away from suffering. These sufferings are self-created and with this kriya peace can be attained.''Volunteers from Ropar and Delhi had also come to spread the message. Renu Parihar, a resident of Sector 10 said, ''The kriya has transformed my life. My perspective towards life has changed. Also, my migraine has reduced.'' The kriya is a combination of meditation and yoga asanas that helps in relieving stress. The side benefits are enhancement of memory, prevention of ailments like allergies and cure of diabetes and obesity, said Erin.
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NGO helps 3,000 to get IDs
In the wake of the first MCG elections next month, the residents of Gurgaon have been gearing up to participate in large numbers, and use their power of vote to improve citys civic conditions.
Saksham, a non-political citizens movement, started by a group of working professionals, got over 3,000 people in the city to register for their voter ID cards, and took the onus of checking the credentials of all the candidates in order to support the promising ones.
Even though the country has seen unprecedented public participation when it came to candlelight marches against critical issues, little is done once the hype dies down. The Mumbai elections, which came after the impressive candlelight march at the Gateway of India, saw a miserable 47% voter turnout. The English-speaking middle-class of the country still needs to learn an important lesson that no amount of demonstration can bring about a change, unless they get rid of the apathy for the system and participate in it, said Pavan Chandra, digital marketer from Sector-31 in Gurgaon, and a member of Saksham.
The group is in the process of scanning the nomination papers of all the candidates contesting the MCG elections. Accountability is the key to churn out efficient work out of administrative bodies. We will continue as the watchdogs of our representatives even after the elections are over so that public officials have an incentive to work, said Prerna Arun, a communications expert and a resident of Sector-56. Entrepreneur Anupam Singh, a resident of Sector-50 and a member of Saksham, said, We want to identify residents from our neighbourhoods who we think can prove to be good administrators and support them.
Saksham is quite active on Google groups (Saksham-gurgaon) and also runs a helpline number (9560912604) for queries or feedback on local issues.
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39 child labourers rescued in Delhi
Thirty-nine child labourers were rescued from zari (embroidery), bag making and electrical goods manufacturing units in the capital Tuesday, an NGO said.
NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), which assisted the police and the labour department in the raid, said in a statement: 'The children were rescued from Govindpuri in south and Narela in north Delhi. They hail from various places of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh'.
'The children were found working in inhuman conditions without proper ventilation, safe drinking water, adequate food and any health facilities. Except for those who were rescued from dhabas none of the other kids were ever paid. All of them were forced to work for more than 12 hours a day and seven days a week,' it added.
Kailash Satyarthi, founder of BBA said: 'Despite clear directions from the Delhi High Court, state authorities have failed to act upon their own commitment. The Delhi government had agreed through an affidavit to rescue at least 500 child labourers each month but it has not yet happened during the whole year.'
'We have identified approximately 2,500 child labourers in Delhi but the least the authorities can do is take action. Along with the district task force conducted rescue operations on the basis of the pending complaints, till now only 146 children could be rescued,' he added.
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13 NGOs get HC reprieve in Topiwala building case
Thirteen prominent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating from the Topiwala municipal school building at Lamington Road in south Mumbai received an interim reprieve from the Bombay high court on Wednesday.
A division bench of Justices Ranjana Desai and R G Ketkar directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) not to take "coercive action" against the Comet Media Foundation, an NGO operating from Topiwala building, for six weeks. The court order means the BMC cannot demolish the 'dilapidated' building for the time-being.
The order came after a statement by Comet's advocates Gautam Patel and Deepa Bajaj. The petitioners informed the court that they would file a suit in the city civil court against the BMC, to seek possession of their sealed premises.
The court was told that the civil court had granted an injunction in favour of two other NGOs housed in the building. Hearing the submission, the court granted four weeks to Comet to move the civil court and seek an appropriate order. The court then directed the BMC not to take coercive action against the petitioner for six weeks.
The court observed that the BMC should inform the petitioners if it intended to take action. Justice Desai observed that the court was not expressing any opinion on the case's merits.
The petitioner NGO had approached the HC in March, challenging the BMC's eviction notice.
Comet Media, along with NGOs like Dignity Foundation, Salam Balak, Granthali and Praja, were operating from the Topiwala Lane building, which was earlier a municipal school. Even the school tribunal, which resolves school-related issues, is housed in the building and has not been functioning for the last few months.
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E-waste collection starts in Manglore
One of the ambitious programme of the Mangalore City Corporation e-waste collection programme was flagged off in front of Bharat Mall in Mangalore on Wednesday.
The MCC has joined its hands with a NGO Sarvodaya Jagruthi Trust for achieving its objective and the collected waste will be sent to e-environment institute of Bangalore.
Speaking to the media persons at the flagging off ceremony, MCC Commissioner Dr K N Vijay Prakash said, e-waste from educational institutions, BPOs and cyber cafes will be collected for about 7 km distance from Infosys to mphasis on trial basis. Approximately two tons of e-waste is generated in the city everyday. We would mark few places of e-waste collection and inform it to the public. The public can bring the e-waste to those places. All the collected e-waste will be stored in a seperate ward in Vamanjoorr and it will be sent to Bangalore once the collected waste will be one ton, he said.
NSS Officer from Roshni Nilaya Professor Vinita Rai said, awareness programmes about e-waste have been held for the students. The NSS students would start door-to-door e-waste collection in the days to come, she said.
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Why does an NGO need a Rela brigade?
It was shocking to learn that Perkasa has got the approval from the government to form a brigade with Rela members. Now what is this necessity for a ‘brigade’ for a NGO in Malaysia. Is this a strategy by Umno to increase its presence in Selangor, or is it threat to the other races, especially the Chinese and Indians to watch out for Perkasa’s brigade power.
The threat that Perkasa dished out recently at the MCA protest supporting Utusan’s 1 Melayu 1 Bumi campaign by warning them “don’t play with fire or you will face another May13″, could be a telling factor of this threat for non-Malays. How long will it take before they are armed with fire power.
So this could be the begining of the end of democracy in Malaysia. For all the threats and racial slurs by Perkasa, the government has not taken action against this racist group. The approval for a brigade for Perkasa shows, that the government is supportive of Perkasa’s actions.
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NGO opposes proposed water allocation plan
A central government-appointed panel’s proposal of market linked allotment of water will lead to the resource being treated as a commercial commodity and will trigger more water-related conflicts in the country, an Orissa-based NGO said Tuesday.
‘We just came to know from media reports that the Ashok Chawla committee is about to recommend that water be taken under the ‘concurrent list’ of the constitution,’ Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) convenor Ranjan Panda told IANS.
‘The panel is also likely to recommend a market-linked allotment of water resources. We strongly oppose these moves.
‘If that happens, the central government can take control of the water resources from the states under the plea of resolving inter-state water disputes,’ he said.
The central government appointed a high-powered committee led by former union finance secretary Ashok Chawla in February this year to set broad principles based on which natural resources, including water, land, gas, coal and mines, should be allocated.
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Mentally ill man missing from pvt home
A 58-year-old man has been reported missing from a home for the mentally-challenge run by a private NGO in Secretariat Colony since April 20. The police registered a case on Monday.
The police said Sivaraman of Tiruvanmiyur, who was admitted to the private home in Nammalvarpet a few months ago, suffered a head injury on April 20 after he slipped and fell in the bathroom. The home incharge then planned to take him to a private hospital and asked Sivaraman to wait on the road side in front of the home while he went in search of an auto. When he returned with the auto, he found Sivaraman missing.
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Odisha-based NGO WIO strongly oppose the proposed market-linked allotment of water resources
Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) strongly oppose the proposed market-linked allotment of water resources. WIO says we came to hear from press reports published out of Delhi that the Ashok Chawla committee, appointed by the govt. of India, is about to recommend that ‘water’ be taken under the ‘concurrent list’ of the Constitution. The panel is also likely to recommend a market-linked allotment of water resources. We strongly oppose these moves.
WIO says on February 8 this year a high-powered committee was appointed under the chairmanship of former finance secretary Ashok Chawla to set broad principles based on which natural resources including water, land, gas, coal, mines and spectrum would be allocated. We just got news reports quoting a member of the panel who says they are proposing water to be brought under the concurrent list of the constitution so that, at least, a guiding framework for ground water can be prepared. In fact, we apprehend that this will be used by the central government to take control of the power of the states under the plea of resolving inter-state water disputes which has been regularly seen as a major hurdle by the central government in deciding so called ‘national interest’ projects. In fact, we are apprehensive that in disputes such as Polavaram dam project, where the centre has been constantly ignoring the views of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, this will provide it with a weapon to easily write off the state interests and go ahead with project that it favours due to political and other reasons. We therefore urge upon the state government of Odisha as well as other state governments to oppose this move strongly.
As reported in the media, the committee, which is about to submit its report to the government in June this year, is also about to propose a shift to a market-linked allotment of natural resources such as water from the present administered pricing model. This will make the already scarce water resources further vulnerable and the weak water governance of the country further weakened. We therefore strongly oppose this move and urge upon the govt. of India to consider decentralized water governance in the country with more and active people’s participation.
Time the govt. of India must stop considering water as a marketable commodity. Water should be considered as a finite natural resource which will be over-exploited if a market based pricing is proposed. And this will mean more intense conflicts between the market forces and lives and livelihood of people; to make the already water poor population of the country further poor.
