Flight from Dubai to bring 200 Indians stranded abroad today

08/05/2020, SUNITHA SEKAR ,DEEPA H RAMAKRISHNANCHENNAI

A flight from Dubai, carrying Indian nationals stranded abroad, will land in the city on Friday night.

The repatriation flight, with nearly 200 passengers onboard, will be the first that the city airport will handle.

Preparations have been on at Chennai airport to receive them. A set of officials from the State government visited the airport on Thursday morning to inspect the facilities. The flight is expected to land around 8 p.m., sources said.

Soon after the passengers enter the airport, their temperature will be checked, and they will have to complete immigration and other procedures. Before they exit, staff from the Health department will collect swab samples to test for COVID-19, the sources added.

AAI officials said that they have cleaned and fumigated the terminals and arrangements are in place to receive the passengers. “There will be sanitisers placed at many points and floor markers have been placed in front of immigration counters.”

Doctors, nurses quarantined in resort

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,TENKASI/VIRUDHUNAGAR

Doctors and nurses, who are taking care of COVID-19 positive patients at Government Hospital here, have been quarantined in a private resort at Courtallam at the initiative of Collector G.K. Arun Sundar Thayalan.

Of the 51 positive patients in Tenkasi district, 16 have been discharged even as 35 patients, all from Puliyangudi, continue to get treatment in the hospital. Of this, 26 are undergoing treatment in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital while nine have been admitted in the Tenkasi Government Hospital.

As per the protocol, doctors and nurses treating positive patients should be quarantined for a week after being on duty for seven days. So, the 13-member team of doctors and nurses have been quarantined in a private resort.

“Since the doctors and the nurses are doing laudable job round the clock, they are quarantined in a private resort, for which the Collector has made all arrangements. They will be in 13 separate cottages, where nutritious food would be given to them,” said Jeslin, Superintendent, Tenkasi Government Hospital.

Sources in the Department of Public Health said no positive case was reported in Tenkasi district on Thursday.

No fresh case

Virudhunagar district also reported no fresh positive case for the second consecutive day on Thursday. The district has so far reported 35 positive cases. The number of active cases went down to 11 after two more patients were discharged on Thursday. So far, 24 patients have returned home after they were treated at Government Rajaji hospital in Madurai.

Air passengers perplexed over protocols

Travellers raise several queries, some of which were answered by government officials

08/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Two flights returned to India on Thursday with 363 passengers, including nine infants, on board Air India Express flights from Abu Dhabi to Kochi and from Dubai to Kozhikode. A flight from New Delhi departed for Singapore at 11.15 p.m. to bring back stranded Indians. The government has decided to allow foreign nationals and Indian citizens to book a ticket on outbound flights to Singapore, the U.K. and certain destinations in the U.S.

But the government’s standard operating protocols have only thrown more questions, some of which have been answered below based on information from government officials.

How can passengers travel to an airport located in a different city or State to catch a flight?

After being flooded with queries, the Ministry of Civil Aviation clarified on Wednesday, “as per MHA guidelines, except in containment zones, movement on roads [with seat restrictions] is duly permitted” to travel to reach an airport in a different city. Passengers are being helped by the District Commissioner to procure e-passes.

Can passengers book a transit flight? For instance, can a traveller wishing to travel to Canada book Air India’s flight to London and then book another airline for the onward journey as there are no flights announced by the government yet?

Air India is operating only “point to point flights as of now”, said a senior airline official.

Passengers on outbound flights are allowed only if the destination country permits travellers from another country to enter. Therefore, while Air India is flying to 12 countries, only flights destined for Singapore, U.K. and Chicago, Newark, San Francisco and Washington in the U.S. will ferry passengers from India.

It is expected that there will be flights to Canada in subsequent phases and the Indian government is pursuing the matter with Canadian authorities.

Are H1B and H4 visa holders allowed to board flights to the U.S.? The Air India website says only Permanent Residency visa holders and U.S. citizens are allowed, but this information is different from the MHA order that requires a person to have a visa valid for a year or a Green Card or OCI Card. It is also not clear from the MHA order whether a visa needs to be valid for a year from the date of issuance or the date of travel.

These questions did not receive a response. An official of the Ministry of External Affairs said a meeting would be held on Friday to provide clarity on some of the questions posed to it.

What are the quarantine facilities planned by the government for passengers arriving?

The order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 5 states that passengers found to be symptomatic on arrival at an Indian airport will be taken to a medical facility as per the protocol laid down by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. However, all other passengers will be sent to a quarantine facility arranged by the respective State and Union Territory governments. While many State governments are in the process of identifying these facilities, those like Delhi have issued an order saying that these will be a paid service such as hotels. The Delhi government has also asked all its District Magistrates to ready these facilities under their jurisdiction. A list of these hotels is yet to be released.

What are the criteria for selecting who gets to board one of the flights returning stranded citizens to India?

The Ministry of Home Affairs order which lays down guidelines for the repatriation exercise says that priority will be given to “compelling cases in distress, including migrant workers/ labourers who have been laid off, short-term visa holders faced with expiry of visas, persons with medical emergency/ pregnant women/ elderly, students and those required to return due to the death of a family member.

Air India’s website poses a major hurdle

Bookings interrupted by crashes, unresponsive buttons

08/05/2020, JAGRITI CHANDRA,NEW DELHI

Many Indians and foreign citizens planning to fly out in one of the special flights arranged by the government are fighting against all odds to book a ticket, which include an inefficient and snag-prone Air India website. Many have stormed the airline’s timeline on Twitter to complain about incomplete transactions, unresponsive buttons, website crashes and “misleading information” on visa norms.

“The website is unstable. It crashed last evening when I was booking a ticket to Newark. In this chaos, most of the seats were already booked,” said Shyamal Subramanyam, a U.S.-based scientist planning to travel from Pune.

“The website has contradictory information and travel advisories. I know their advisory for U.S. travellers, which says only U.S. citizens and holders of permanent residency will be allowed, is not a requirement laid down by the U.S. government. It also contradicts the Home Ministry order which allows Indians with a visa valid for a year,” said another traveller planning to go to Newark.

When these questions were posed to an Air India official, he replied, “The website is a non-issue. We are dealing with a mammoth logistical issue. In any website, the coding is such that a sudden spurt in traffic will lead to problems in the beginning but this stabilises over a period of time.”

Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst & CEO, Greyhound Research, said, “Typically, airlines do demand mapping over a few [financial] quarters and a few months and then do the server sizing and the website works fine. But during an unplanned traffic surge, there are problems. This happens often but it doesn’t justify that their website was crashing. All it requires is to move the surge to a public cloud.”

What is missing is an efficient interface, especially at a time thousands of passengers are under distress. “A website which is frequently inaccessible, difficult to navigate, or poorly designed, inevitably detracts from the airlines image,” IndiGo’s Chief Commercial Officer Willy Boulter said.

Vizag gas leak claims 11 lives; over 350 hospitalised

A.P. CM announces compensation of ₹1 crore for families of deceasedGas reportedly spread over a radius of 3 km, affecting five villages About 2,000 people were evacuated from nearby areasChemical plant situated in a densely populated suburb

08/05/2020, SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE,VISAKHAPATNAM

Eleven people, including a six-year-old girl, died and over 350 were admitted to hospitals after styrene monomer gas leaked from a chemical plant belonging to LG Polymers India at R.R. Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

The gas leak began around 3.30 a.m. in the plant, which is situated in the midst of a densely populated area. It was set up in 1961 in the area, then a suburb.

The gas reportedly spread over a radius of about 3 km, affecting at least five villages — R.R. Venkatapuram, Padmapuram, B.C. Colony, Gopalapatnam and Kamparapalem. About 2,000 people were evacuated from the 3-km radius.

Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar Meena said that among those killed, two were accidental deaths — a 19-year-old medical student fell from the balcony of the second floor of his house after he was blinded by the fumes and the other fell into a well while trying to escape the gas. The others were declared brought dead at hospitals.

Of those affected, 100 have been shifted to King George Hospital (KGH), where the condition of 20 was stated to be critical. They have been put on ventilator, said P.V. Sudhakar, Principal, Andhra Medical College.

Chaotic situation

According to eyewitnesses, people initially thought it was a fire accident. But as the pungent smell spread, people rushed out of their homes, carrying children and supporting the elderly. Many, running out of their houses leaving doors unlocked, fell unconscious on the road.

Two people, who tried to flee on a two-wheeler, died after the vehicle fell into a drain.

The police reportedly received an emergency call at 4 a.m., and by 4.20 a.m. the first team reached the spot.

Collector V. Vinay Chand, who was supervising the evacuation process, said people were shifted in about 30 ambulances, police jeeps and government vehicles. State Road Transport Corporation buses were also pressed into service.

The gas is not lethal but prolonged exposure to it could affect the central nervous system, which may lead to depletion of oxygen to the brain and cause nausea, vomiting and breathlessness, said KGH Superintendent Arjuna.

CM visits hospital

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy reached Visakhapatnam from Amaravati in a chopper and visited the affected persons in KGH. He announced compensation of ₹1 crore for family members of the deceased. “This amount includes the compensation to be paid by the company,” he said. He also announced that a four-member committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary, Environment and Forests, would inquire into the incident.

State raises retirement age of government employees to 59

Measure may help save ₹5,000 crore for now; amendment to rules will be issued

08/05/2020, DENNIS S. JESUDASAN,CHENNAI

Service extended: According to the G.O., the change will apply to employees in regular service and those due to retire from May 31, 2020. File PhotoB. Jothi Ramalingam

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday raised the age of superannuation of its employees to 59 years, in an attempt to give itself some relief from a near ₹5,000-crore financial burden.

“This will apply to all those who are in regular service as on date and due to retire on superannuation from May 31, 2020,” a G.O. issued by Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam said.

The decision, which was preceded by moves such as a freeze on the hike in dearness allowance till June 2021 and the suspension of encashment of earned leave for a year, would be applicable to teaching and non-teaching staff in government and State-aided educational institutions, employees of all constitutional/statutory bodies, public sector undertakings (PSUs), including State corporations, local bodies, boards, commissions, societies, etc.

“The relevant provisions under Rule 56 of the Tamil Nadu Fundamental Rules will be modified to the above extent. Necessary amendment to the above rules will be issued accordingly,” the G.O. stated. Though the order did not specify any reason for the decision, a senior official told The Hindu: “About 25,000 State government employees are scheduled to retire during the next one year and a financial burden of about ₹5,000 crore that will accrue towards retrial benefits has been ‘postponed’ for a year.” On superannuation, retired employees are given a lumpsum, including gratuity, commutation and other pension benefits.

Another official pointed out that the current year’s budget had a provision for the payment of gratuity to the tune of ₹2,763.63 crore and the encashment of leave by fresh pensioners of about ₹2,220 crore, both of which the government would not have to incur during the course of the year in the wake of the decision.

The extension of service for the 25,000-odd employees would not lead to any “significant rise” in the salary expenditure as the government’s original estimates was drawn up on the premise that vacancies would be filled this year.

Mixed reaction

There has been a mixed response to the State government's decision.

Employees who would be reaching the age of superannuation this year welcomed the decision and felt that the latest action of the government would generate “greater goodwill” among the staff towards the administration. However, the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers' Organisations-Government Employees' Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) opposed it.

In a statement, JACTTO-GEO pointed out that the temporary measure would severely affect the employment opportunities of youth in government service for a year. It said that it suspected that the State government was moving towards handing over vacancies in various departments to private players on contract.

“This decision of the Tamil Nadu government has put a question mark on social justice and also the fate of 69% reservation in the State,” it said. The organisation recalled the Audiseshiah Committee’s report, on the basis of which the State government was already making plans to reduce the number of government employees.

The Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Association announced that it would organise an agitation against the government’s decision on May 8.

Breaking] Kerala HC Refuses To Stay Ordinance For Deferment Of Salary Payment In Public Emergencies 

Akshita Saxena

5 May 2020 3:27 PM

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday refused to grant interim relief of stay in the petitions challenging the Kerala Disaster and Public Health Emergency (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2020

The Ordinance was promulgated by the Kerala Government last week, on April 30 to defer payment of up to 25% of monthly salary of its employees during the times of disasters and public emergencies.

A single-Judge bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Ordinance for it being violative of the Indian Constitution, and seeking interim relief of stay.

Petitioners' Arguments

The Advocates appearing for the Petitioners widely relied on Article 309 of the Constitution to state that service conditions of government employees cannot be altered "until provision in that behalf is made by or under an Act of the appropriate Legislature." Since the parent Act and the Kerala Service Rules had not been amended by the state legislature, it was argued that the Ordinance was unconstitutional.

It was contended that the Government had proceeded in violation of the Principles of Natural Justice as the consent of the employees was not obtained before promulgation of the Ordinance, which was also alleged to be in contravention of the employment contract executed between the Government and its employees.

Pertinently, the Kerala Government had first issued a government order on April 23 for deferment of payment of 6 days' salary of government servants per month for the next five months.

On April 28, the HC stayed the operation of the salary deferment order for two months on the ground that there was no statutory support for it.

The Petitioners contended that the impugned Ordinance had been passed solely for the purpose of defying the court's stay order and to "grab" the salaries of the employees when the Government had itself failed to contemplate and prepare an "advance plan" to deal with a disaster, under Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act.

Heavy reliance was also placed on the statutory right to property under Article 300 of the Constitution, in the present case salaries of employees, which was averred to be a "compensation for services" and not a "bounty" which could be taken away.

Reliance was also placed on the advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment asking employers not to terminate/ reduce wages of their employees and it was argued that the impugned Ordinance was discriminatory towards employees in the state of Kerala.

Further, reliance was placed on Article 360(4)(a)(i) of the Constitution which provides that a direction for reduction of salaries may be passed in case of a Financial Emergency. It was submitted that the Ordinance was unwarranted since it was not a case of 'Financial Emergency'.

An argument was also made to protect the rights of Health workers who have been working day in and out during the pandemic, and yet have not been granted any exemption under the Ordinance. Further, that the Ordinance does not mention a "definite time period" for which the salaries will be deducted and it is also open ended and does not state the "purpose" for which the fund will be utilized.

Lastly, it was argued that the Ordinance violates the Right to life and livelihood of the employees, as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court in Olga Tellis & Ors. v. BMC, 1985 SCC (3) 545.

State's Arguments

The State Government on the other hand stressed on the fact that the Ordinance merely "deferred" the payment of salaries and there was no reduction in the same.

On this basis, Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad argued that there was no "change" in service conditions vis-à-vis Article 309 and Article 360(4)(a)(i) of the Constitution as payment was merely deferred, not reduced. He also submitted, on the some precedents, that actions of the legislature have precedence over any rules made in lieu of Article 309 of the Constitution.

On being asked about the legislative competence behind the Ordinance, the Court was informed that the same was enacted in terms of various entries in List II and III of the Seventh Schedule to the Indian Constitution.

Further, Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj submitted that the Ordinance could not be said to be in defiance of the court order since the same was a mere "stay" and "not Mandamus".

He also responded that there is no scope for Principal of Natural Justice when it comes to enactment of a law, even by way of Ordinance and thus, the consent of employees in matters of legislative actions is not required.

The state argued that the "balance of convenience" was in their favour, as its income had had significantly dropped during the lockdown.

It was also submitted that paragraph 7 of the Ordinance clearly states the payment of salaries is only deferred and a scheme for repayment of the same will be notified within six months.

Findings

The bench held that the Entries under the Lists given in Schedule 7 of the Constitution have to be "literally and widely interpreted". When the Government says that they have legislative competence under the aforementioned entries, the court cannot interfere with the Ordinance at such a nascent stage, Justice Thomas observed.

He stressed that the purpose behind the Ordinance was to only defer an amount payable to a certain specified class of employees belonging to certain specified institutions. The Ordinance itself provided that the Government will notify a mechanism for paying back the deferred amount and it does not partake in taking away rights of employees.

The court also refused to stay the subsequent notifications issued by the Government for deferment of payment to Govt teachers. It also denied the request for exempting the Health Workers from this Ordinance while holding that the Ordinance uniformly applies to all government employees, there is no classification/ discrimination entailed therein and hence, any interference is uncalled for.

The matter has now been deferred till second week of June.