IN TATTERS High court quashes posting of director of libraries
Says He Is Under-Qualified,Slams Govt For Neglecting Libraries
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: The Madras high court on Monday quashed the appointment of an under-qualified person as director of libraries and lambasted the state government for neglecting libraries despite collecting crores of rupees as library cess. Allowing a quo warranto plea to remove S Anbalagan from the post of director of libraries,Justice Chandru said,An attack against a library is an attack against the civilization and culture of a society.The attack on libraries may take many forms.There may be a direct attack to destroy it or indirect attacks like cutting the budgetary allocation,delay in sanctioning funds,keeping the library understaffed,denial of particular publications or appointing persons who are unqualified.It is necessary to save our libraries from being destroyed by such ingenious methods. The matter relates to the appointment of Anbalagan as director of libraries on September 21,2011,even though he did not possess the mandatory qualification of a masters degree in library science and 15 years of experience in running libraries. When M Muthuswami,secretary of the Tamil Nadu Library Association,filed the petition,the government initially said it was an ad hoc arrangement.The government order,however,mentioned it was a regular appointment. Justice Chandru pointed out that Tamil Nadu had a rich library history because it was the first state to bring a law Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act 1998 into place. It is unfortunate that having created a separate directorate and prescribed rules,the state government was observing the rules more in its breach than observance.It has become a promotional avenue for the persons working in the Directorate of School Education.The persons who are in the rank of deputy director or its equivalent got themselves posted as director of public libraries just prior to their retirement.After getting the higher post by transfer and getting higher pay fixed,they will retire from service.They will also get higher terminal benefits in this process, the judge said. In this regard,Justice Chandru pointed out that in the past 30 years,except one or two,other directors lacked even minimum educational qualification prescribed,to hold the post. Having collected huge amounts from the public as library cess and constituted legislation for library providing for a statutory post of director,the authorities for the past four decades have not done anything to alleviate the situation, the judge lamented.It requires special knowledge to man the library.It is not a mere question of book issuing clerk manning the library. He also suggested that the government could go for direct recruitment of qualified candidates as director of libraries,if they do not find a fit person in existing government service.
April 20, 2012 Ms. J Jayalalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai. Sub:- Illegalities and violations in granting clearance by Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority and other Departments in 2009-2010 by M Karunanidhi Government to construct luxury resort by M/s Kaiser Surya Samudra Resorts Private Limited, controlled by Karti P Chidambaram. Dear Ms. Jayalalitha: During March first week this year, at a press conference in Chennai, I announced the names and details of several companies where Home Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti P Chidambaram is a Director. Within few days on March 9, 2011, Karti P Chidambaram resigned from the Directorship of one company called Ausbridge Holdings and Investments Pvt. Ltd., where he had more than 94% shares. After I checked the accounts of this company, I found that this company has invested and have majority of shares in another company called Kaiser Surya Samudra Resorts Private Limited. The accounts of all these companies are totally manipulated. I found that during the same period, when Kalaignar TV was under interrogation by CBI for receiving kickbacks from 2G Spectrum Scam beneficiaries, Karti P Chidambaram controlled Kaiser Surya Samudra Resorts Private Limited in December 2008 was purchasing 4.62 hectares at the beach front area at Mutukad village. According to the 50th Meeting (March 6, 2009) Agenda Notes of Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority, Agenda No.8 deals with the construction of 100 room luxury resorts by Kaiser Surya Samudra Resorts Pvt. Ltd. The above mentioned Agenda notes say the 4.62 hectares comprises Survey No: 98/5B1, 98/5B2, 98/6A, 98/6B, 98/9A and 98/7 at Mutukadu village, Chengalpattu Taluk in Kancheepuram District. Karunanidhi Government had given all clearances in lightning speed to this project at the sensitive coastal zone, violating all norms. Several people and previous owners of these properties have complained to me that there is a heavy element of coercion in the acquisition of land, and they were in fact forced to sell their land to Karti P Chidambaram controlled luxurious resort project. People also said there were several instances of illegal land encroachment, illegal constructions, misuse of ground water, creating acute danger to the environment also happened. There is also a huge trail and flow of illegal fund in this project and the Registrar of Company in Chennai has no documents or details or fund flow of this huge project in their records. I request you to institute an immediate probe on the illegalities and violation in granting clearance to this luxury resort project in the sensitive coastal belt and involvement of huge black money flow into this project headed by Karti P Chidambaram controlled company. I also seek justice on behalf of the previous land owners, who were forced to sell their property to this resort project. Yours sincerely, ( SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY ) http://janataparty.org/pdf/letter-jj.pdf
Madurai: M K Alagiri,who once moved around in Madurai with an aura of invincibility,is not only facing trouble from within his own party,especially from his younger brother M K Stalin,but also from the district administration,the police and now the Madurai corporation. The civic body has erected a board in front of his family-owned Dhaya Cyber Park near Mattuthavani bus stand stating that part of the building is situated on land owned by the corporation.The owners of the building have encroached upon around eight cents of corporation land to raise the structure.They have to remove the encroachment and hand over the corporation land.If they fail to clear the encroachment,the civic body will do it, mayor V V Rajan Chellappa said. The mayor also denied that Alagiri was being targeted by the civic body.The corporation has put up similar boards as a warning to the encroachers in five places and Alagiris family-owned building is one among them,Chellappa added.We will identify all the encroached lands and retrieve them, he said. The corporations action is not the first against Alagiri after AIADMK took over the mantle in the state as well as the Madurai corporation.Few months back,Alagiri was forced to vacate his MPs office functioning in the civic bodys south zone building for three years after the corporation council passed a resolution. While almost all his aides are facing multiple cases of land grabbing,murder and attempt to murder and got their wings clipped,Alagiri is charge-sheeted in the Melur tahsildar attack case.The case is now being heard in the judicial magistrate court at Melur. To add fuel to the fire,Madurai collector U Sagayam issued repeated summons to Alagiri in connection with charges of damaging irrigation channels and destroying cultivable lands at Sivarakottai to construct a college. His associates say that the intra-party feud with Stalin was most bogging for Alagiri rather than other issues.But more than everything else,Annan (Alagiri) is dejected that the party high command is not emphatic towards him despite facing so many problems, says one of his staunch loyalist who boycotted Stalins visit to Madurai. Party men say that despite the repeated drubbings in elections,including the recent Sankarankoil defeat,Alagiri was as strong as ever.He was a bit upset only once when there were reports that his wife might be arrested in connection with a land grab case, says a functionary. Alagiri visited Chennai on Sunday apparently to discuss about the show-cause notices issued to his supporters.Party men hoped that he would do some tough talking wit the party high command and would bounce back as the unchallenged leader of DMK in the south.
The board says the building has encroached upon corporation land
Chennai: Chennai accounts for more than onethird of all land-grab cases registered across the state in terms of number as well as value,according to the latest statistics from the AIADMK government. The total value of land presently locked up in disputes due to illegal encroachments amounts to.758 crore.Of these,properties worth.269 crore are in Chennai city. Chennai,Kancheepuram,Villupuram,Tirupur and Tirunelveli are the five districts which top the list for the sheer number of land-grab complaints registered since the new government came to power.They make up for 45% of all cases.Surprisingly,some of these are rural areas where the value of land is lower,but they have registered more cases than urban centres such as Coimbatore,Madurai and Trichy. In all,1,225 criminal cases have been registered by landowners since June 2011,mostly on charges of forgery or forcible possession.Of these,chargesheets have been filed in 74 cases and 1,299 accused arrested by the special police cells tasked by the current dispensation.Many cases involve members of the erstwhile ruling party or their relatives.They include former DMK ministers. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa unveiled the statistics in the assembly on Tuesday.Chennai also tops the list in terms of number of cases filed 168 out of a total 1,225.Other urban centres such as Madurai (64),Coimbatore (58),and Trichy (26) have a smaller number of complaints to deal with.
Land-grab cases likely to drag on
Chennai: But the value of land in dispute in these places Trichy (Rs 59 crore),Coimbatore (Rs 40 crore),Madurai (Rs 4 crore) is substantial. All the cases were filed by the police on complaints from owners.They will be heard in criminal courts,but the courts do not have powers to retrieve the land and restore them to the rightful owners.To set right the ownership and declare fake documents null and void,the rightful owners would have to approach civil courts.Also,a criminal courts order is not binding on a civil court,said a leading lawyer.Hence,the cases could drag on for a while even after the court convicts the offenders on criminal charges. Cases range from those relating to physical encroachments to forgery of land records like sale deeds and revenue documents.Some cases relate to the registration of multiple fake documents. In a related development,the state registration department,through a pro-active measure,had recently decided to check the authenticity of documents coming before it for registration.Till then,it had remained a mute spectator to fraudulent registrations.The subregistrars have now been told to file criminal cases against people who produce fake documents for registration.
AMBULANCES ARE ILL-EQUIPPED 1,300 lives lost at TN govt hosps due to poor emergency care: CAG
Julie Mariappan TNN
Chennai: At least 1,376 accident victims could have been saved between 2008 and 2011 in Tamil Nadu had the government equipped emergency wards in nine of its own hospitals with adequate facilities,a Comptroller and Auditor General report has said. It also pointed out that ambulances were either illequipped or werent located at strategic locations. The report,tabled in the assembly on Wednesday,pointed out that the health department did not properly utilize the.14.48 crore grant from the Centre to upgrade accident and emergency care centres at nine government hospitals Cuddalore,Namakkal,Omalur,Padmanabhapuram,Perambalur,Tambaram,Tenkasi,Melur and Villupuram.The fund was meant for setting up facilities such as communication systems,blood banks,intensive care units,X-ray rooms and minor operation theatres. The state accounted for nearly 15% of the total number of road accidents in 2010.
Ambulances not kept at strategic locations,says audit
Chennai:The CAG report for 2010-2011 pointed out that none of the 20 ambulances in these hospitals had life-saving equipment like ventilators.The ambulances were also not placed at strategic locations on highways.As per the Centres guidelines,the ambulances should be kept at strategic locations in consultation with the transport and police authorities so as to reach the accident site within the shortest possible time.The CAG said the ambulances were found to have been kept in the hospitals.Audit scrutiny of records revealed that the ambulances were only used to carry patients to other hospitals.The task of taking victims from accident sites was left to the 108 free ambulance service, the report said. It said two ambulances one each in Cuddalore and Tenkasi had met with accidents and the department had not taken any action to replace them.Health minister V S Vijay said that the state government was working towards bringing down the number of deaths by improving accident and trauma care facilities across all government hospitals.We will strengthen infrastructure and increase the number of doctors and paramedical staff, he said.TNN
CAG Advocates Restricted Borrowing For Better Finance Management
B Sivakumar TNN
Chennai:The government auditor has warned that mounting public debt and high interest burden could put Tamil Nadu at risk of default on repayments.Fiscal liabilities of the state has increased from Rs 66,320 crore in 2006-2007 to Rs 1,11,657 crore at the end of 2010-11,said the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) report tabled in the state assembly on Wednesday,the final day of the budget session which also happened to be the first anniversary of the present AIADMK regime. The increasing fiscal deficit over the years and also the continued high burden of interest payments indicate risk of default in payments.A clear understanding of the maturity profile of debt payments with restricted borrowings will go a long way in prudent debt management, the CAG report said. Though revenue receipts like tax and non-tax revenue have been on the rise,the CAG said there should be concerted efforts to increase tax revenue by collecting arrears and disposal of pending assessment.The report was critical of the revenue expenditure where nearly 71% goes towards payment of salaries,subsidies and interest payments. Acomparison of the public debt in states across the country shows that Tamil Nadu comes fifth after Maharashtra,West Bengal,Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.For the first time,the public debt of Tamil Nadu crossed Rs 1 lakh crore as per the budget presented in August 2011.According to estimates for the current financial year (2012-13 ),the public debt of the state is expected to be around Rs 1,35,060 crore. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa has been demanding a special financial package to improve the state finances and the Centre is yet to respond to her repeated pleas.On Wednesday,Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee categorically refused to give preferential treatment to West Bengal on reducing its debt burden even though he himself hailed from the state.He said a committee had been set up to look into problems being faced by three debt-ridden states,West Bengal,Punjab and Kerala.Replying to a debate on the finance bill in the Rajya Sabha,Mukherjee said,I shall have to keep in mind that I represent West Bengal.Naturally,I will have an obligation to them.But as federal finance minister,I have equal responsibility towards all 28 states. The finance ministers statement may not be music to the ears of Jayalalithaa,but compared to the three states mentioned by the finance minister which depend on the Centre to solve their debt crisis,Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu are in a better position to generate their own resources. But a study by credit rating agency ICRA recently said the public debt of the state was high but the terms of the debt (repayment period) gave some respite to the state.Jayanta Roy,senior vice-president of ICRA,said,The debt stock has changed over the years (between 2004 and 2010).As a result,the repayment pattern of the debt outstanding is fairly back-ended,which is likely to provide a cushion to the states liquidity position in the medium term.Thus Tamil Nadu can breathe easy at least for now.
CRITICISES BOGUS CARDS PRESENCE TN supplying more rice to PDS outlets than needed
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai: The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the state food department for allotting more than the required amount of rice for supply through the public distribution system (PDS) and hinted that stocks were getting diverted.The CAG report for 2010-2011,which was tabled before the state assembly on Wednesday,said that about 19-28 % of rice supplied to the PDS network was in excess.Where this rice got diverted needs to be probed,it said. The CAG also came down heavily on the state government for its inability to curb bogus ration cards.The number of PDS beneficiaries far exceeds the states actual population,the report said.Even the previous years CAG reports had pointed out the presence of a large number of bogus ration cards in the state.The report,however,depicts a one-year-old situation.In the last one year,the state government had weeded out about four lakh bogus ration cards out of the total 1.97 crore ration cards.This is not reflected in the report. The CAG also pointed out that the food department had paid a subsidy of Rs 6.6 crore in excess to the cooperative societies between 2006-2007 and 2009-2010.This money should be recovered,the report said.
Corpn schools in bad shape,but funds remain unused
Christin Mathew Philip TNN
Chennai: The Corporation of Chennais education department has failed to use a majority of the funds received through the education tax,a reply received to a query under the RTI Act by TOI shows.Of the Rs 4.4 crore collected by the civic body under the education tax,just about Rs 3.1 crore was spent for the purpose it was meant since 2004.Separately,31 corporation schoolswereclosedsince 2009 due to a lack of students. A senior corporation official said most of the funds remained unused because of various reasons.There is no clear strategy or plan about utilizing funds.There is little coordination among various departments in the civic body on this, he said. Statistics also show that there has been an improvement in the utilization of general funds.The corporation had utilized Rs 24.42 lakh (49.73 %) of the funds in 2004-05 and Rs 68 lakh (76.89%) in 2010-11. While some sources in the civic body said that 31 corporation schools had been closedsince 2009duetolackof students,T N Venkatesh,joint commissioner (education ),said no school was closed.Those 31 schools were mergedwith neighbouring schools because of poor attendance, he said. Venkatesh also said they were trying their best to improve the quality of education.We have been using the funds for improving the quality of education.We will take necessary steps for utilizing these funds in future.We are facing a drop in number students in primary classes but there are enough students in the +2 classes, he said. Some parents complain about the lack of infrastructure and the poor quality of education in many corporation schools.There are no facilities in many schools.The quality of education is also poor as there is no English medium.It is difficult to get a job without knowing English.So I have sent my child to a private school, said N Narayanan,a fisherman from Doming Street in Santhome. The Comptroller and Auditor General of Indias report for the year ended March 2010,which was released recently,had slammed the corporation for the lack of fire safety measures,poor sanitation facilities,absence of playgrounds and shortage of teachers.It also pointed to instances of roof collapse,electric shocks due to damaged wiring and lack of water facilities and restrooms in schools.
Partymen From Perambalur Sport T Shirts Hailing 2G Scam Accused
Karthick S TNN
Chennai: Not many can put on a smiling face after 15 months of incarceration.Whether it was a strenuous effort or not,Andimuthu Raja,the once rising dalit face of the DMK,was as nonchalant as ever as he landed in Chennai,his political playground,on Friday evening.The former telecom minister was arrested in the 2G spectrum scam on February 2,2011 after almost three months of intermittent questioning by the CBI.He had resigned from the Union cabinet on November 14,2010. Raja arrived in the city after the CBI special court gave him permission to visit Tamil Nadu between June 8 and 30.He walked into the arrival lounge at the Chennai airport around 5.30pm where partys second-rung leaders led by DMK deputy general secretary Sarguna Pandian received him.The top brass was conspicuous by their absence at the airport.But that hardly affected the festivities. Partymen and Rajas loyalists from Perambalur,his home town,thronged the terminal building sporting Tshirts hailing him and raised slogans.Placards carrying pictures of Raja and M K Stalin indicated the emergence of a new power matrix in the DMK.Emotions ran high as he walked out of the airport around 6.30pm.Party cadres,who had come in 25 buses and 20 vans,jostled to get closer to him even as Raja made an effort to reach out to each one of them and exchange pleasantries.After all,they were among those who stood by him during those testing times.Some had even gone to Delhi to meet him when he was released from Tihar jail on May 15. S Rajkumar,a Raja loyalist from Ladapuram in Perambalur district,said,We were waiting for this moment.He has touched the lives of many of us.He helped me pursue higher studies.Asked whether the corruption charges against Raja had dented his image,Rajkumar said,Show me one politician who is not facing corruption charges.People like me have only good memories about him. The DMK headquarters in the city was equally agog with activity.The party top brass waited patiently for Raja to arrive from the airport.Karunanidhi himself,party general secretary K Anbazhagan,Stalin (who had even gone to Delhi to meet Raja) and other senior leaders welcomed him.Karunanidhi welcomed him with a shawl and a garland. As usual,the party chief sought to pep up the mood with a media interaction.Asked about his feelings,Karunanidhi said,Mine was an elder brothers wait to see the younger brother.Raja shares similar emotions. To a query as to whether he was hurt that no senior leader received him at the airport,Raja said,Kalaignar (Karunanidhi ) spoke to me over phone immediately after my release from prison.Stalin came to Delhi to meet me.It is as good as the whole party welcoming me.Moreover,with Kalaignar presenting me a garland,I feel the very purpose of my life is fulfilled.I drew inspiration and courage during my prison days from my leaders book Nenjukku Neethi.I read it again and again,almost 20 times.Loss of freedom was all that the imprisonment could do to me. On the reported loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore caused to the exchequer through the 2G spectrum allocation,Raja said,This is a figure media is still quoting based on the CAG report.Why should I worry when it has not been accepted by any court The central agencies,CBI,enforcement directorate and income tax department,which raided my premises and those of my relatives,have not revealed as to what documents they have found. Asked whether he would shift his focus to state politics,Raja said,These are things that my leader has to decide. To another query as to whether Congress had pointed an accusing finger at Raja in the spectrum scam,Karunanidhi said,We do not share such views.
GRAND HOMECOMING: Former telecom minister A Raja with DMK president M Karunanidhi at the party headquarters in Chennai on Friday
Chennai: Former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday questioned the boisterous reception accorded to tainted former minister and DMK leader A Raja in the state. Raja who arrived in Chennai on June 8 after a CBI court relaxed his bail conditions and permitted him to leave New Delhi for a short period. It (the reception he received ) shows the denigration in societal thinking, said Hegde.Today people are sent to jail in a procession as if they are going on a foreign trip.And when they get bail and come out,we receive them in a way that shows the downward trend in societal laws, Hegde said,delivering the Seventh Rajaji Memorial lecture in the city, Rajas cadres however,are not alone in according a rousing reception to their leader,the prime accused in the 2G scam.YSR Congress partys founder,Y S Jaganmohan Reddy,who was recently taken into custody in a assets case,also got strong support from his cadres. Hegde,who is a former judge of the Supreme Court and a Team Anna member,also rubbished the charges levelled by Union ministers Vayalar Ravi and V Narayanaswamy that Team Anna was anti-national and involved with foreign forces.Dubbing the recent remarks of the ministers as a bit desperate,Hedge said,This was a famous statement during the 70s.Every time a fault is pointed out its (alleged to be) the international phenomenon or foreign hand involvement. He pointed out that three of Team Anna members have been recipients of Magsaysay awards.Somebody selects them.To say that (theyre funded by foreign agencies) is a bit desperate, he added. Hegde attacked members of his own fraternity,the judiciary,during the lecture.Tracing the changes in the system and its degradation over the years,he cited a recent incident as example.Some years ago,there was an incident of a sitting judge of Allahabad high court conducting contempt of court proceedings on a Railway platform,because he was not provided with a Railway berth to travel, he said. All this,he said,reflects on the selection process of the judiciary.The quicker the change in the method of selection of judges,it will be better for the judiciary, he said,adding there should be an open debate on the method of change.
Chennai: Union ministers have declared their assets for the year 2011-12,but many of them have either quoted the purchase value of the assets or failed to revalue them since last year.As a result,the total value of assets of many ministers have either remained the same or changed marginally. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has revalued his assets and listed their current value with details such as acquisition cost.Similarly,defence minister A KAntony and a few others too have mentioned the current value of the assets along with the original cost.But most ministers have only mentioned the acquisition cost.The asset details some ministers,including shipping minister G K Vasan,have not been uploaded on the PMO website yet.The details have been submitted as required.There is a delay in uploading, Vasan told TOI. Among the ministers from Tamil Nadu,Union finance minister P Chidambaram has declared assets worth Rs 11.96 crore,up from Rs 11.15 crore shown last year.He has valued his coffee estate in Kodagu at Rs 28,94,579,same as last year and it is also the acquisition cost. Chemicals and fertilizer minister M K Alagiri has shown assets worth Rs 9.5 crore.The value of Madurai strongmans assets have come down when compared to last year,when listed assets worth Rs 12.47 crore.The only significant addition to his assets is a Range Rover SUV,which according to his declaration is worth Rs 35 lakh.The value of many of his assets has remained the same as last year.For example,a piece of land at a village in Madurai district,measuring a little more than two acres,was valued at Rs 50.17 lakh in 2010-11 as well as in 2011-12. Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has declared assets worth Rs 22.58 crore in 2011-12,up from Rs 19.75 crore last year.The wealth of minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam has increased by Rs 20 lakh.In 2010-11,he listed assets worth Rs 1.61crore and this time,Rs 1.81 crore.Minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan has declared assets worth Rs 2.41 crore compared to Rs 2.40 crore in 2010-11.Minister of state for health and family welfare S Gandhiselvan is the poorest among the ministers with assets worth Rs 51.33 lakh.Last year,Gandhiselvan had listed assets worth Rs 50.30 lakh.The value of most of the assets has not changed though the format demands that the ministers declare the current value.The government should have a clear format and make ministers follow a single pattern.There should be uniformity with either all the ministers mentioning the cost of purchase or its current market value, M R Venkatesh,a chartered accountant told TOI. sivakumar.b@timesgroup.com
But Madurai Village Has About 700 Dalits;Activists Allege Caste Bias
M T Saju TNN
Chennai: A government-run school in a Madurai village has not had a single dalit student in the last 42 years.So,whats unusual Consider this: the village has about 700 dalits,who constitute about 42% of its population,and most dalit parents send their children to schools in neighbouring villages.Activists see aclear caste bias and dalits say they fear trouble if they send their children to the school. The issue received wide media attention four months ago when the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government seeking a probe into the allegations that dalit children are being denied admission in the Panchayat Union Middle School at Kurayur in Madurai.Now,a reply from the headmaster of the school to an RTI query reveals that about 21 dalit students studied in the school between 1964 and 1970,but there has not been a single dalit student between 1970 and 2012. Kurayur panchayat president M Jeyapandi said dalits stopped sending their children to the school to avoid any untoward incident in the village dominated by non-dalits.At least 250 dalit children from Kurayur attend schools in other villages like Chennampatti,Kallikudi and Tirumangalam. But non-dalits say dalits themselves decided not to send their children to the school.We have never asked them not to send their children to the school.They have not been sending children to school for a long time.We cant help it, said Murugesh Kumar,a non-dalit. A Vijayakumar,headmaster of the school,told TOI he was clueless as to why the dalits dont send their children to the school.I dont know much about the situation as I took charge only in 2005.After the NHRC intervention,a lot of officials came and enquired.But no dalit student has come to the school for admission so far.Its unfortunate, Vijayakumar said. The government should find out why the dalits in Kurayur are not sending their children to the school.Its not a healthy environment where children are divided based on caste and denied admission to a government school, said A Kathir,director of Evidence,who filed the RTI petition. Established in 1936 as a primary school,it was upgraded as a middle school in 2003.About 238 students,122 boys and 116 girls,study in the school now.There are nine teachers including the headmaster.
ENTRY BARRED: The Panchayat Union Middle School at Kurayur near Madurai
Chennai: The country should be prepared for a modest growth rate this year as many states are reeling under a severe drought. Whenever the agricultural sector has taken a hit,it has had a telling effect on the industrial output,too,because sale of consumer durables drops if farmers do not have the buying capacity.A look at the data brought out by the Planning Commission on the industrial growth in various states between 2001 and 2012 shows that the first half of the decade was pretty bad for many major states because of a poor monsoon,but they did exceedingly well in the second half,despite a global economic slowdown. While the growth rate in the industrial sector was 6.38% in the first five years of the last decade,it increased to 7.93% between 2006 and 2012 when big states like Bihar,Maharashtra,Gujarat and Tamil Nadu recorded impressive growth rates.On the contrary,smaller states like Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh performed better in the first half and slowed down in the second half. The biggest turnaround among states has been in Bihar.From -2.83% between 2001 and 2005,it shot up to 16.73% in the second half.Tamil Nadu,which is emerging as a major industrial hub,recorded a modest growth of 2.94% only in the first half of the decade.However,it improved its performance to 7.42% growth in the second half.Still,it fell short of many other states.The growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the initial years of the decade was around 4 per cent and successive bad monsoons had resulted in poor agriculture output.Because of the poor purchasing capacity of farmers,industrial sector also suffered a hit, D K Srivastava,economic consultant at Ernst and Young told TOI. In the second half of the decade,economic growth had peaked at 9 per cent just before the 2008-2009 economic slowdown.One of the factors for the high growth rate was good monsoon,which resulted in higher agricultural output, said Srivastava. Only after 2005,investment plans turned realities with many companies setting shops in the state, said N K Ranganath,managing director,Grundfos Pumps India Pvt Ltd.The best year for our company was 2007.The very next year we went in for capacity addition,though it was a bad year for the world economy.We managed to recover from the 2008 slowdown in the subsequent years, said Ranganath.
தமிழக அரசின் பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனமான கரூர் மாவட்டம் புகளூரில் உள்ள காகித ஆலையில்(டி.என்.பி.எல்) தமிழக அரசின் பங்கு குறைந்தபட்சம்51 சதவிகிதம் இருக்க வேண்டும். ஆனால் தற்போது காகித ஆலையில் தமிழக அரசின் பங்கு 35.32 சதவிகிதம்தான் உள்ளது.
2006-11 திமுக ஆட்சியில் அதாவது 2007ம் ஆண்டு தமிழக முதல்வராக இருந்த கருணாநிதியின் உதவியாளர் ராசமாணிக்கத்தின் சம்மந்தி மூர்த்தி ஐ.ஏ.எஸ், தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலையின் நிர்வாக இயக்குநராக இருந்த போது, தற்போது காகித ஆலையின் டெப்டி நிர்வாக இயக்குநராக, பதவி நீட்டிப்பில் இருக்கும் அ.வெள்ளங்கிரியுடன் கூட்டணி அமைத்து, தமிழக முதல்வராக இருந்த கருணாநிதியின் குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்கள் மற்றும் நிர்வாக இயக்குநராக இருந்த மூர்த்தி ஐ.ஏ.எஸ்ஸின் மருமகன் ஆகியோர்களுக்கு காகித ஆலையின் 15.68 சதவிகித பங்குகள் விற்பனை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.
பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனம் என்றால், அந்த நிறுவனத்தில் மத்திய, மாநில அரசுகளின் பங்கு குறைந்தபட்சம் 51 சதவிகிதம் இருக்க வேண்டும். 51 சதவிகித பங்குக்கு குறைந்தால், அந்த நிறுவனம்/தொழிற்சாலை பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனம் என்ற அந்தஸை இழந்துவிடும்.
தற்போது, தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலையில் தமிழக அரசின் பங்கு 35.32 சதவிகிதம்தான் உள்ளது. தமிழக அரசின் பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனமாக இருக்க வேண்டிய காகித ஆலை, பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனம் என்ற அந்தஸை இழந்து தனியார் நிறுவனமாக செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. இதனால் காகித ஆலைக்கு நிர்வாக இயக்குநர் நியமிக்கப்படவில்லை. தொழில்துறை செயலாளரே சேர்மன் மற்றும் நிர்வாக இயக்குநர் ஆகிய இரு பதவிகளிலும் பணியாற்றுகிறார்.
தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலை நிறுவனத்தில், தமிழக அரசின் பங்கு குறைந்த பட்சம் 51 சதவிகிதம் இல்லாத காரணத்தால், உலக வங்கி உள்ளிட்ட சில வெளிநாட்டு வங்கிகளில் தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலை நிறுவனத்துக்கு பல் விரிவாக்கப்பணிகளுக்கு கடன் வாங்குவதில் சிக்கல் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக தெரிகிறது.
அதனால் தாங்கள் உடனடியாக நடவடிக்கை எடுத்து, தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலையின் 15.68 சதவிகித பங்குகள் விற்பனை செய்யப்பட்டது தொடர்பாக விரிவான விசாரணைக்கு உத்தரவிட வேண்டும்.
15.68 சதவிகித பங்குகளை விற்பனை செய்தவர்கள் மீதும், உடந்தை இருந்த தமிழக அரசின் அதிகாரிகள் மீதும் கிரிமினல் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க உத்தரவிட வேண்டும்.
தமிழ்நாடு காகித ஆலை, மீண்டும் பொதுத்துறை நிறுவனமாக செயல்பட அனைத்து நடவடிக்கைகளையும் மாண்புமிகு முதல்வர் அவர்கள் மேற்கொள்ளவேண்டும்.
Martin used lottery biz in Kerala for money laundering, finds CBI
KP.Saikiran@timesgroup.com
Thiruvananthapuram
A CBI probe into the lottery scam involving Santiago Martin has found that the Sikkim lottery was widely used for money laundering.
According to the CBI report accessed by TOI, out of 202 first prizes claimed on Sikkim Super and Dear series
tickets sold between January 1 and August 31, 2010, 199 were won by people living outside Kerala. Out of this, 150 first prizes were claimed by Maharashtra natives.
Last month, the state government requested the Cen tre for an extension of the ban on Sikkim lottery in the state by citing CBI's findings in the seven cases against Martin. Sources in the finance department said the CBI report would be sufficient to prevent Martin's re-entry despite the recent Supreme Court order in his favour. Most of the winners told CBI that they had bought Sikkim lottery tickets from middlemen to launder money. They claimed to have paid middlemen more than the prize money. The first prize was `20 lakh.
The list of such claimants includes contractors, municipal corporation employees, government employees mostly in PWD, local self-government departments, jewellers and real estate brokers.
CBI also found that Martin's M/s Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt Ltd never returned unsold tickets that won first and second prizes to the public exchequer of the Sikkim government and retained the wrongful gain for themselves.
“On an average, 50% of tickets remained unsold and the loss incurred to the government exchequer runs into crores of rupees,“ the report said. According to CBI sources, the first prize winning unsold tickets were used for several purposes, including real estate deals.
“The government has already furnished copies of the CBI report to the Centre and the high courts of Guwahati and Delhi where we are fighting several cases related to the ban,“ said a source.
The government has already filed a protest statement in the court against CBI's decision to close cases which lack enough ground for prosecution. “The case will again come up in the CBI court on September 17. The state will go for a detailed statement with regards to the remaining cases then,“ the source said.
AG to CBI: Enough evidence to prosecute Maran brothers
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The CBI will take a decision on filing chargesheet against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanidhi in the Aircel-Maxis deal after analyzing attorney general (AG) Mukul Rohatgi’s opinion which it received on Monday.
In his opinion, Rohatgi had said the available material with CBI is enough to prosecute Dayanidhi and Kalanithi in the Aircel-Maxis case.
Sources said officers handling the probe are analyzing Rohatgi’s opinion. They said AG’s opinion is not binding on the agency, but it has rarely taken a contrary view.
Sources said a considered view will be taken to finalise a legally sound chargesheet based on the available evidence in the light of the attorney general’s observations.
While the investigation team is of the view that
enough evidence pointed to role of the Marans brothers, CBI director Ranjit Sinha had differed, highlighting apparent weak points in the draft charges and available evidence. Sources said it remained pending with then attorney general G E Vahanvati during the UPA government.
The CBI filed FIR in the case in 2011 alleging that Dayanidhi Maran as telecom minister had used his influence to help Malaysian business tycoon T Ananda Krishnan ac
quire Aircel by coercing its owner C Sivasankaran.
It was alleged by Sivasankaran that the then telecom minister had favoured Malaysia-based Maxis group in the takeover of his company and in return investments were made by the company through Astro network in a company owned by the Maran family.
Maran, who was examined by CBI, had denied all allegations levelled against him.
The agency had also sought information from the Malaysian authorities through Letters Rogatory but it did not get satisfactory details, after which the judicial requests were sent again. The reply to second LR is pending.
The CBI had named Maran, Kalanithi, Ananda Krishnan, senior executive Ralph Marshall and three companies on charges of criminal conspiracy under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act.