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General
Awareness Updates – February 2010 Miscellaneous-1:
The area along Line of Actual Control with
At a recent meeting held in Leh which was attended by officials from
the
The meeting was chaired by Commissioner (Leh) A. K. Sahu and attended among
others by Brigadier General Staff of 14 Corps Brig. Sarat Chand and Col.
Inderjit Singh.
While the absence of a proper map was agreed upon, the meeting all the
same felt, “[H]owever, it is clear and be accepted that we are withdrawing
from LAC and our area has shrunk over a period of time. Though this process was
very slow, we have lost substantial amount of land in 20-25 years.”
According
to the minutes of the meeting, it was also identified that “there is a lack
of institutional memory in various agencies as well as clear policy on this
issue which in long run has resulted in loss of territory by
The
meeting was called to ensure proper protection to nomads who move with their
cattle to Dokbug area of Nyoma sector during the winter months every year. In
December 2008, Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had damaged the nomads’
tents and threatened them to vacate the land.
“They
(Chinese) have threatened the nomadic people who had been using Dokbug area (in
Ladakh sector) for grazing for decades, in a way to snatch our land in inches.
A Chinese proverb is famous in the world - better do in inches than in yards,” a report filed by former Sub Divisional Magistrate (Nyoma) Tsering
Norboo had said.
Mr. Norboo
was deputed by the state government to probe into the complaints of incursion
of the Chinese Army in Dokbug area and of threats to the local shepherds to
leave the land as it belonged to them. The area has been used by the shepherds
to graze their livestock as the area is warmer compared to other parts of
Ladakh.
The SDM contended that it was another attempt by the Chinese to claim
the territory as disputed in the same fashion as they had taken Nag Tsang area
opposite to Phuktse airfield in 1984, Nakung in 1991 and Lungma-Serding in
1992.
The area
of Dokbug and Doley Tango was frequented by shepherds and nomads from December
to March every year during which their young lambs were capable to walk. The
SDM has also highlighted the fact that Army had stopped these nomads from vacating
the land. The nomads were terrified by the Chinese threats.
In July
2009, Chinese troops had entered nearly 1.5 km into the Indian territory near
The 22,420
ft
Before
this, Chinese helicopters had violated Indian air space in June 2009 along the
Line of Actual Control in Chumar region and also helli-dropped some expired
food.
CJI falls within ambit of RTI, says Delhi
HC
In a landmark verdict against the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court
held that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes within the ambit of
the Right to Information (RTI) law, saying judicial independence is not a judge’s
privilege but a responsibility cast upon him.
The
88-page judgement is being seen as a personal setback to CJI K. G.
Balakrishnan, who has been opposed to disclosure of information relating to
judges under the RTI Act.
A three-judge
bench comprising Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justices Vikramjeet Sen and S.
Muralidhar dismissed a plea of the Supreme Court which contended that bringing
the CJI’s office within the RTI Act would “hamper” judicial independence.
“Judicial
independence is not a privilege to a judge but a responsibility,” the High Court said, adding that the CJI cannot be said to have
fiduciary relationship (between a trustee and a beneficiary) with other judges.
Taking a
step further to bring transparency in judiciary, the bench while pronouncing
the verdict in a packed courtroom, said its judges will be making their assets
public within a week.
CJI has
consistently been maintaining that his office does not come within the ambit of
the RTI Act and the information including the declaration of assets of its
judges cannot be made public under it.
The High
Court had in its September 2, 2009, verdict on the controversial issue held
that the CJI was a public authority and his office came within the purview of
the RTI Act.
Challenging
the order, the Supreme Court registry had contended that the single judge had
erred in holding that the CJI’s office comes within the ambit of the
transparency law and had interpreted its provisions too broadly which were
“unnecessary” and “illogical”. The apex court also contended that judges cannot
be put under public scrutiny as it would hamper their functioning and
independence.
“We cannot
expose our judges to public scrutiny or inquiry because it would hamper their
functioning and independence,” Attorney General
Goolam E. Vahanvati, appearing for the apex court registry, had contended. The
AG had argued that other agencies should not be allowed to interfere in the
judiciary.
“Judges
cannot be judged by public perception. The judiciary cannot be exposed to third
party. There is no problem in having better transparency and accountability in
the system but it should come from within the system,” the AG had submitted.
If CJI’s
office is declared as a public authority under the RTI Act, then people would
also seek information over the appointment and promotion of judges, he had
said.
The apex
court had pleaded that the resolution passed by its judges for declaring their
assets is not binding on them as it was part of the self-regulatory mechanism
for the judiciary.
“If we
accept your (apex court registry) arguments (that resolution is not binding on
judges), then it would have serious implication on self-regulation. It is
binding and its non-observance has certain consequences,” the High Court had observed.
Terror, poaching deplete tiger
population
The year 2009 saw the highest fall in the tigers’ population, with the
count at 59 compared to those of the previous three years; with the tigers
falling prey to poaching and man-animal conflicts.
The
Central Government report showed 17 tiger reserves in the country under
population depletion threat. Worldwide, there are around 3,000 tigers left in
the wild, of which 1,411 are in
Painting a
grim picture of what the future holds for tigers, the government assessment of
38 tiger reserves notes that 17 sanctuaries are in a very precarious condition
and could be on the way to become like Sariska and Panna, both infamous for the
loss of resident big cats.
The
country is gearing up to conduct a fresh tiger census based on a more
scientific method, which will include use of camera traps to identifying the
felines from their stripes. Demand for their skin and bones and degradation of
natural habitat due to encroachment are making the wildcat vulnerable.
A tiger
can sell for around U.S.$1,500, but when its body parts are sold, the value can
soar to U.S.$50,000 in view of ever-increasing demand from countries like
Besides
poaching, insurgency too poses a serious challenge as protection of the
predators has become difficult in the Naxal-hit areas. This was evident in
Simlipal in Orissa where Maoists attacked infrastructure facilities for forest
officials.
Indiravati
in Chhattisgarh, Palamau in Jharkhand, Valmiki in
To make
the reserves safer for the animal, the relocation process of 1,00,000 villages
continued during the year but only 3,000 of them have been shifted from the
sanctuary areas. Also, the government has raised the budgetary allocation for
Project Tiger to Rs.184 crore in 2009-10 from Rs.72 crore in 2008-09.
Bangladesh
will not allow anti-India activity, gets U.S.$1 bn
The
significant line of credit offered by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during
talks with his
At the
wide-ranging talks between Dr. Singh and Ms. Hasina, the two sides reached a
number of decisions to revive the traditional links of connectivity, which
included Akhaura-Agartala railway line.
The discussions covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties, with
particular focus on terrorism, security, connectivity, trade and investment,
border-related issues and sharing of water and power resources. Ms. Hasina
assured Dr. Singh that her government will not allow
“Save
science from bureaucracy”
Terming as “unfortunate” regression in some sectors of Indian science
due to red tape and political interference, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh
asked scientists to engage with government to liberate it from shackles of
“bureaucratism and in-house favouritism”.
Holding that
time has come to give a “new boost” to science and technology, he asked Indian
scientists working abroad to return to the country to convert the “brain drain”
to “brain gain”.
Dr. Singh
announced that the government was considering revision of the value of doctoral
and post-doctoral fellowships as well as formulation of schemes that would
cover all research scholars with some funding support.
“It is
unfortunately true that red tape, political interference and lack of proper
recognition of good work have all contributed to a regression in Indian science
in some sectors from the days of C. V. Raman and others,” Dr. Singh said inaugurating the 97th Indian Science Congress in
Thiruvananthapuram.
He said he
had taken note of 2009 Nobel Laureate Venkataraman Ramakrishnan’s remarks that
there was a need for greater “autonomy from red tape and local politics” for
Indian scientists.
Dr. Singh
said steps to improve science require not only money but change in mindset,
including that of the senior faculty and university administration.
“I invite
you all to explore all these issues and engage with us so that we can do what
is needed to liberate Indian science from the shackles and dead weight of
bureaucratism and in-house favouritism,” he told a
gathering of about 5000 scientists and educationists. “Only then we can
unleash the latent talent and creative energies of our scientists and
engineers.”
The Prime
Minister appealed to scientific institutions to introspect and to propose
mechanisms for greater autonomy, including from the government, which could
help to improve standards.
“We must
make special efforts to encourage scientists of Indian origin currently working
abroad to return to
Stressing
on the centrality of scientific institutions in the innovation eco-system, he
said, “The system must include industry, and providers of venture funds, as
well as regulators who set high standards of performance for products”. Noting
that the government has declared 2010-2020 as a “decade of innovation”, he
said, “[We] cannot continue with business as usual as we need new solutions
in many areas to achieve the goals of inclusive and sustainable growth.”
He pitched for a strong outward orientation of the innovation
eco-system to stimulate innovation to find indigenous solutions for local
problems.
Fast track
trials for sex offences
Trials in all sexual offences including rape will now be completed
within two months as far as possible and all victims will have the right to
appeal against a court order, under new amendments to CrPC.
The
amendments which came into effect in the last week of December would come as a
big relief to complainants as till now only the state could file an appeal
against an order.
A
statement on key amendments released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said
that victims will now be allowed to engage an advocate to assist the
prosecution.
It also
prescribes that the statement of a victim of rape shall be recorded at her
residence and as far as practicable, by a woman police officer in the presence
of the victim’s parents or guardian, or a social worker. The amendments also
enable recording of statements or confessions by audio-video electronic means.
It also
stipulates that the trial of an offence under Sections 376 (rape) to 376D of
IPC (entire section deals with sexual offences) shall, as far as possible, be
completed within two months.
The
amendment also incorporates a new Section 357A obliging every state government
to prepare a scheme for providing funds for compensating the victim of a crime
or his dependents besides providing for execution of bond by a person seeking
bail pending an appeal.
The CrPC
was amended in 2006 but the amended Act has not been brought into force so far.
Three provisions relating to the power of a police officer to make an arrest
and power of court to refuse or grant adjournments have also been put on hold.
The
super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 km journey linking
By
comparison, the average for high-speed trains in
The
network uses technology developed in co-operation with foreign firms such as
Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom.
The work
on the project began in 2005 as part of plans to expand country’s high-speed
network.
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