EWS applications keep officials on their toes

EWS applications keep officials on their toes

Huge challenge in ascertaining assets and caste of beneficiaries

Published: 02nd November 2020 03:07 AM 

For representational purposes

By B Anbuselvan 

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The issuance of income and asset certificates to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of forward communities has been keeping the revenue officials on their toes. About 33 per cent of applications received for EWS certificates have been rejected by revenue authorities across the State since May 2019. 

Ground reality

A visit to the taluk offices in Chennai revealed that the issuance of EWS certificate poses a huge challenge to authorities as both assets and caste of beneficiaries are ascertained. Applications of other State people settled in the city have been returned, said revenue officials. During securitisation, verification of assets owned by parents of applicants remains a laborious task for officers. Undivided assets owned by grandparents of applicants were excluded while calculating the income. Thus, a person who is legal heir for several crores of assets still qualifies to get EWS. 

Who are deemed eligible?

The government norms mandate that annual income of EWS applicant’s family should be less than `8 lakh per annum. In addition, the beneficiary should not own five acres of agricultural land, residential flat of 1,000 sq feet, residential plot of 100 sq yards in municipalities and residential plot of 200 sq yards in areas other than notified municipalities. The earnings of applicant, parents and siblings aged above 18 are accounted for while assessing the gross annual income. 

Aspirants explain the other side of EWS quota

For example, a woman owns an undivided property worth `15 crore in Pallavaram. If her only son’s annual income is less than `8 lakh and meets the conditions laid by the government, then his children are eligible for the EWS quota. “Though her son is the only legal heir for her property, his children are eligible for quota since the ‘undivided’ property has not been included while calculating the family’s income,” said a UPSC aspirant in Chennai. 

When asked, Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Revenue Administration K Phanindra Reddy said, “The asset earned by an individual need not necessarily be transferred to his/her legal heirs. The property owner can donate it to some ‘charity’ or give it to another individual. Hence, such properties are not accounted for, while assessing the applicant’s asset.”

According to official data, of the 4,688 applications seeking EWS certificates received till the third week of October, 2,203 (46 per cent) were given income and asset certificates. “As many as 1,391 applications were rejected and 173 returned back to applicants. About 921 applications are in different stages of scrutiny, said Phanindra Reddy. He added that inter-State and intra-State migrants can apply for EWS in respective native places only. “This is to ensure that OBC or other caste members are not given EWS.” 

‘Can be easily misused’

Arun Kumar, faculty, Shankar IAS Academy, Chennai, said economic condition is a dynamic factor which can change any time, unlike caste. “Except those employed in State and Central governments and its undertakings and a few private companies, all others can claim EWS quota by forging documents. Given that earnings through agriculture not brought under ambit of income tax and assets documents largely remaining on papers, EWS quota can easily be misused.”

Cut-off marks

UPSC job aspirants and those preparing for NEET, JEE can apply for EWS certificates. With cut-off marks for EWS lower than other categories in competitive exams, revenue officials said applicants must ascertain their caste by providing school transfer certificates.

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Accused was ‘fed up’ with lockdown

GOTA MURDER CASE

Accused was ‘fed up’ with lockdown

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:  03.11.2020  

Nearly a week after she killed her mother-inlaw in a Gota flat, the woman revealed various facets of the case. She told police that she was ‘fed up’ with the lockdown and the victim’s diktats of taking bath every time she went out and also to remain indoors.

A Sola police station official said that the accused, Nikita Agrawal (30), who is onemonth-pregnant, stated that she was frustrated with her mother-in-law and deceased Rekha Agarwal’s instructions of not crossing the boundary walls of her house.

“She told us that she had barely gone outside from their house around five to six times as her mother-in-law ordered her to stay indoors. Besides, whenever she went out or met anyone, her mother-in-law would force her to take bath,” said an official from Sola police station. The official said that the elderly woman was suffering with obsessive compulsive disorder for which she was taking treatment from a city-based psychiatrist. Due to her mental illness, she could not mix up with her daughter-in-law. Nikita, who is originally from Beawar in Rajasthan, killed Rekha as the latter suspected that Nikita’s pregnancy was the result of her illicit relationship with her father-inlaw Ramniwas Agrawal.

She said that her mother-in-law tried to hit her with an iron rod which she snatched from her hand and hit on her head, resulting in her death.

Nikita was sent to judicial custody after her remand was over on Saturday.

The woman killed her mother-inlaw in a flat near Gota

Fed up with traditional methods, youth puts up flex board seeking bride

Fed up with traditional methods, youth puts up flex board seeking bride

Jaikrishnan.Nair@timesgroup.com

Kottayam: 03.11.2020

A youth from the district has put up a flex board seeking a woman’s hand in marriage. Aneesh Sebastian erected a huge flex hoarding in front of a sawmill he owns in Kanakkary near Ettumanur. The 35-year-old has also posted the picture of the board on his Facebook page. The board says that the man has no demands and gives importance to good values in life. The flex board carries a huge photograph of the youth, along with his mobile/ WhatsApp number and email ID.

According to Sebastian, such an idea struck him as he was already late to marry, and was fed up of searching for a match with conventional methods of arranged marriages. “We face hundreds of issues while trying to find a match through arranged marriage. Now, most marriages happen over other means like internet,” he said. He said that people even in his locality have realized that he was still a bachelor. “In the beginning people thought that it was just a joke. But they now know that I am serious about it,” he added. Sebastian found it a good alternative for finding a bride since travelling and visiting houses is difficult during the Covid-19 situation.

Ever since the flex was put up, Sebastian has been receiving several inquiries, even from parents of women working abroad.

WHAT AN IDEA SIRJI: Aneesh Sebastian erected a huge hoarding at Kanakkary in Kerala

Money trail in Kerala gold smuggling case brings CM’s office under scanner

Money trail in Kerala gold smuggling case brings CM’s office under scanner

Pradeep.Thakur@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.11.2020 

The money trail in the Kerala-UAE gold smuggling case has brought Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office in focus with Enforcement Directorate tracking alleged payoffs of ₹4 crore in the CM’s Life Mission project— a housing scheme for the flood displaced and landless citizens— to his former principal secretary M Sivasankar and associates.

Sivasankar has been arrested and is presently in ED custody. He is being questioned on the alleged bribes received in the project and contract awarded to Kochi-based Unitac builders, according to sources. The anti-money laundering agency is tracking the IAS officer to a ₹60 lakh recovery from SBI’s Thiruvananthapuram branch.

The huge cash is alleged to be part of payoffs deposited in the bank account jointly operated by gold scam main accused Swapna Suresh and Sivasankar’s chartered accountant Venugopal. The questioning of other accused have revealed that Sivasankar had escorted Swapna Suresh to his CA Venugopal’s residence and office twice and operations to launder the “proceeds of crime” are being scrutinised.

“On the day Unitac Builders got a contract for a housing project under the Life Mission, messages were exchanged between Sivasankar and Swapna Suresh over WhatsApp,” sources said. The ED has collected the evidence as part of its probe against the gold smuggling accused and the alleged involvement of the CM’s office in the bribery case.

The probe has now been widened to other flagship schemes of the Kerala government where Sivasankar’s involvement has been found putting the Left Democratic Front government in a spot as the opposition parties in the state have alleged corruption in Life Mission and other key projects.

The agency is also probing involvement of UAE’s Red Crescent in the funding of the project. The probe has also revealed that the CM’s ex-principal secretary had been in touch with three of the four accused in the UAE gold smuggling case.

On July 5, the Customs had seized 30 kg gold from a UAE diplomatic baggage worth ₹15 crore smuggled by misdeclaring the consignment. under investigation.

Pinarayi Vijayan’s office in focus with Enforcement Directorate tracking alleged payoffs of ₹4 crore in the CM’s Life Mission project to his former principal secretary M Sivasankar and associates

Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

‘Gender Sensitisation Of Judicial Officers Urgently Needed’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

03.11.2020 

New Delhi: Attorney general K K Venugopal on Monday told the Supreme Court that a Madhya Pradesh high court judge’s decision to grant bail to a person accused of outraging the modesty of a woman on the condition that he gets a rakhi tied by her was nothing but a script straight out of a Bollywood film which had no sanctity in criminal law jurisprudence.

“The judge seems to have gotten carried away by the script of a film. Judges, while dealing with crimes against women, need to restrict themselves to the confines of criminal laws and not resort to dramatic orders. Gender sensitisation of judges in the high courts and trial courts are the need of the day. State judicial academies can be asked to regularly hold lectures on this issue to sensitise them. They must know what is permissible and what is not,” Venugopal said.

The AG was responding to a PIL filed by social activists led by advocate Aparna Bhat, who questioned the condition of bail imposed by the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh HC. Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh told a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna that such comments from constitutional courts tended to trivialise crimes against women.

The petition said, “Observations impugned herein are antithetical to the law and principles that govern India and may encourage other HCs as well as trial courts that fall within the jurisdiction of the MP HC to pass such regressive orders. The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of Raksha Bandhan being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialisation of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case.”

The Justice Khanwilkarled bench asked the AG to submit a comprehensive note detailing suggestions for gender sensitisation of HC and trial court judges. It asked the petitioners and intervenors to also submit compact notes on this issue. The bench listed the matter for further hearing on November 297 and said, “Proper orders will be passed.”

Full report on www.toi.in

Times View

Every modern and progressive state has certain key markers. Gender sensitivity is one of them. Lack of understanding on the subject could lead to gender-biased decision-making. It is indeed true that there is a pressing need to sensitise the lower reaches of the judiciary to these issues. The recognition of this reality is welcome.

NO SANCTITY: Attorney general K K Venugopal