34 lakh OCI cards issued: Centre

MHA declines to give info on number of persons whose cards were cancelled

12/01/2020


The Union Home Ministry has said more than 34 lakh Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registrations had been done but declined to divulge information relating to the number of persons whose OCI cards had been cancelled, citing non-availability of the figure in a “consolidated form.”

Responding to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by The Hindu, the Ministry said that the information sought remained outside the “mandate and scope of the RTI Act, 2005”.

On November 7, in an unprecedented move, the Ministry announced on Twitter that it would revoke the OCI card of journalist Aatish Taseer over what it claimed was his attempt to “conceal information” that his father, Salman Taseer, was of Pakistani origin.

The Ministry at the time said that Mr. Taseer had failed to dispute a notice that had given him the opportunity to submit his reply/objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards. Asserting that Mr. Taseer had not complied with basic requirements and withheld information, the Ministry ruled that he had become “ineligible to hold an OCI card as per the Citizenship Act, 1955”.

In his reply on September 6 to an August 13 notice, and a subsequent notice dated September 3, Mr. Taseer explained that his parents had never been legally married, and his mother was his sole legal guardian.

Mr. Taseer was criticised by several members of the ruling BJP, as he had authored an essay in May 2019 for Time magazine that accused the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of following divisive policies.

In reply to the RTI application on the number of OCI cards issued from January 1, 2000, to November 26, 2019, the Ministry said: “As per data available, 34,21,337 OCI registration/OCI card have been issued.”

To subsequent questions seeking year-wise data on the number of OCI cards issued or cancelled, the Ministry said: “Information related to year-wise issuance of OCI registration or year-wise cancellation of grant of registration as OCI cardholder is not available in a consolidated form. It may please be noted that the contents of these paras remain outside the mandate and scope of the RTI Act, 2005.”

While responding to another question on major reasons for cancelling the OCI cards, the Ministry replied, “Information sought is not available,” however, it “could be cancelled on grounds mentioned in Section 7(D) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which is available in the public domain.”

Section 7(D) says the OCI registration may be cancelled if it was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact; or if the overseas citizen of India has shown disaffection towards the Constitution of India, or unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy (in case of a war) or has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years within five years after registration as an OCI, or if it is necessary to do so in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India.

The OCI scheme provides facilities such as lifelong visa, exemption from registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office and parity with non-resident Indians (NRIs) in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural properties. No parity is allowed in the sphere of political and public employment rights.

Debris to be reused for construction

12/01/2020, JOHN L. PAUL , K.A. MARTIN,KOCHI

Almost everything of the over 70,000 tonnes of debris from the apartment blocks brought down through implosion at Maradu will be transported to yards spread over 10.6 acres at Aroor and Chadiroor within 70 days to be reused for construction.

The demolition contractor will be responsible for segregating the debris and retrieving steel (the reinforcements) for reuse in civil works, in the course of the coming 45 days. The rest of the debris will be cut to size ranging from 6 mm to 20 mm, using rubble master, a concrete-and demolition-downsizing machine, and transported to the yards, sources said.

This aggregate can be used to construct roads and solid blocks used for buildings, said Achyuth Joseph, partner of Aluva-based Prompt Enterprises, which bagged the tender to remove the debris for ₹35.16 lakh.

“The rubble master machine, imported from Austria, is expected to arrive in Kochi on January 20. The debris that is sorted to standardised sizes can be used for making floor tiles, hollow bricks, and for paving roads. They would be of better quality than aggregate sources locally, due to their improved adhesive property.”

The debris of H2O Holy Faith and Jain Coral Cove apartments can be fully reused, since they have been built using hollow bricks.

The rubble from Alpha Serene and Golden Kayaloram can be used for filling basement of buildings, since they were built using bricks, which may be tough to be downsized to standardised pieces, he said.

“Overall, we are equipped to remove 300 loads of debris from the five sites every day, in covered trucks. Guidelines issued by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board will be adhered to,” Mr. Joseph added.

Bus-truck collision and fire leave at least 10 dead

U.P. CM announces an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to next of kin of the deceased

12/01/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,KANNAUJ (UP)

Tragic ride: People gather near the charred remains of the Jaipur-bound bus, in Kannauj on Saturday. ANIANI

Charred bodies of 10 people have been recovered after a private sleeper double-decker bus burst into flames after colliding with a truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj district late on Friday, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said on Saturday.

Several others suffered serious burn injuries, said the official.

There were 45 passengers, including three staff, in the Jaipur-bound bus travelling from Farrukhabad. The accident occurred on the Grand Trunk Road near Chhibramau, police said. One of the deceased has been identified as Rinku Yadav, 32, the driver of the truck which collided with the bus.

PM offers condolences

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have conveyed their condolences to the families of the victims.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 to the injured. He has also sought a report from the district magistrate about the incident.

Kanpur Inspector general, Mohit Agarwal, said both the bus and the truck caught fire after the collision and exact death toll can be established only after DNA tests.

Soon after the incident, the locals rushed to the spot and rescued many passengers by breaking the window panes. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Tirwa Medical college hospital and the district hospital, the IG said.

State Excise Minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri also inspected the site of the accident.

State Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu met the injured at the hospital and assured them of full support.

Pilot’s licence suspended for runway incursion

12/01/2020,NEW DELHI

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the pilot-in-command of an AirAsia India flight for three months for a runway incursion incident at the Mumbai airport on November 5, 2019, an official said on Saturday. The pilot had admitted his lapses, the official said. PTI

Kerala luxury apartments razed using controlled blasts

H2O Holy Faith and Alfa Serene turned to dust; two more buildings to go today

12/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,KOCHI

Great fall: (From left) H2O Holy Faith and twin towers of Alfa Serene being pulled down using controlled explosions at Maradu near Kochi on Saturday.H. Vibhu

Sending a strong signal against illegal constructions along the coastline in Kerala, apartment complexes H2O Holy Faith and Alfa Serene in Maradu near Kochi were razed to the ground on Saturday.

The three towers in the two complexes on the banks of Vembanad Lake were brought down using controlled demolition techniques on a Supreme Court directive. The lake site is protected under the Ramsar convention and the towers had been put up in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.

Two more apartment complexes, Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram, which were also identified as illegal, are to be demolished on Sunday.

The demolition of two towers of Alfa Serene and H2O was executed according to plan. Structures nearby, including homes, offices and the Kundannoor overbridge remained intact after the powerful explosions.

H2O Holy Faith was the first to be blasted, using controlled implosions that were triggered at 11.18 a.m. Although the explosives were scheduled to go off at 11 a.m., the process was delayed by 18 minutes as a Navy helicopter was on a sortie near the building.

The process was delayed on safety grounds as the aircraft flew past the buildings minutes before the blasts, said officials of Edifice Engineering, the firm that undertook the demolition.

While the implosion at H2O appeared to produce little external impact, the blasts at Alfa Serene rattled the area with loud noise and strong vibrations. Splinters could be seen flying into the nearby water body from the building. Some debris landed in the wetland.

Shock waves travel

The shock waves generated by the explosions travelled across the area for a considerable distance and rattled buildings. The impact was felt in buildings located around 500 metres away.

Huge clouds of dust covered the concrete structures after they came down. It took around 10 minutes for the large volume of dust to settle at the place where Alfa Serene stood tall.

Visibility in the area was reduced significantly for some time, and fronds of coconut trees in the vicinity turned grey with dust. Fire and civic workers sprinkled water over the debris as a measure to contain the dust.

Life in the area returned to normal around 30 minutes after the demolition, when traffic curbs were relaxed.

Collector S. Suhas described it as a “wonderfully executed” implosion with almost zero damage to nearby structures and vegetation. The vibration readings were well within the safety limit, he said.

Pollution level

Predictions on the environmental impact of the demolition appeared to be accurate. In fact, the implosion did not produce dangerous dust or sound levels, officials said. The demolition of the complexes was completed by 11.45 a.m. and the emissions observed were as expected, said an official of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB).

The PCB will now study the impact to assess the quantum of dust emitted by the demolition. The study will be completed within a week.

It was noticed during the time of the explosion that some debris from the Alfa Serene complex fell into the backwaters but on inspection it was found that the quantum was not significant.

“We had deliberately planned that some portion of the building should fall into the water. That was basically to protect the surrounding buildings. Adjacent buildings have been saved, protected completely,” PTI quoted the Collector as saying.

Music is at the core of Indian culture, says Vice-President

Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates the 173rd Thyagaraja Aradhana in Thiruvaiyaru

12/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,THANJAVUR

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu being felicitated by G.K. Vasan, president of Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha, in Thiruvaiyaru on Saturday. M. MOORTHYM_Moorthy

Music is the core of Indian culture and heritage, said Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Delivering the inaugural address of the 173rd annual Thyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru near here on Saturday, Mr. Naidu said art united hearts and music was one among those elements in Indian culture that had great potential to unite people, to help connect and understand each other. Music in its pure form led to spiritual nourishment of the soul, he added.

‘Tallest figure’

Praising saint composer Thyagaraja as the tallest figure in the world of music, Mr. Naidu said his contribution to the enrichment of Indian cultural heritage could not be quantified.

His compositions cherished over centuries would continue to be treasured by the young and the old for all time to come. Pointing out that share and care was the core of Indian philosophy, Mr.Venkaiah Naidu called upon the people to practice, promote and imbibe this philosophy in children.

Being one of the most ancient civilisations of the world, Indian culture was often described as an amalgamation of several cultures and influenced by a history that was several millennia old, he said. Commending the contributions and dedication of the Moopanar family in organising the aradhana festival, the Vice-President expressed confidence that the annual event would reach greater heights in the years to come.

Tourism Minister Vellamandi Natarajan, Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha president G.K. Vasan, secretaries Arithuvaramangalam A.K. Planivel and V. Rajarao were present.

Pastor allowed to travel abroad

12/01/2020, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court allowed pastor Gideon Jacob, founder of Mose Ministries in Tiruchi, to travel abroad and meet his wife, who is undergoing medical treatment in Germany.

The pastor had moved the court seeking permission to travel.

Three weeks

Justice S.S. Sundar set some conditions before allowing Mr. Jacob to visit his wife for three weeks.

After the petitioner agreed to submit a surety to this effect, the court directed him to appear before the CBI and produce the necessary documents. The petitioner was also directed to give an undertaking that his stay abroad would not exceed three weeks.