Continue free grain scheme, urge 10 CMs

Continue free grain scheme, urge 10 CMs

Record Buy Of Wheat At 382L Tonnes

Sidhartha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  18.06.2020

Government procurement of wheat has scaled a new peak with purchases this year topping 382 lakh tonnes, with the 390 lakh tonnes mark now in sight with two weeks to go for the season to end. The development comes at a time when at least 10 state chief ministers have approached the Centre to continue the scheme to provide 5kg grains to the poor for free to help them combat the dislocation caused by Covid 19.

Additional 5kg of free foodgrains under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana are available only up to this month, prompting CMs cutting across party lines pitching for an extension of three months, sources told TOI. From BJP-ruled Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to Congress-ruled Punjab and Rajasthan or Bihar, where BJP has a coalition with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), states want additional grains as several migrant workers have returned home for want of work. A final decision on the issue is expected to be taken over the next few days. But the procurement numbers are expected to provide a much-needed comfort to the Centre, given that stocks are near a record high of around 970 lakh tonnes, almost two-and-a-half times the buffer requirement at the start of July.

While there were fears that the lockdown may impact procurement, which was delayed and will only end at the last week of June, Food Corporation of India and the state government machinery have ensured a near-glitch free operation, while also ensuring that sufficient stocks were available across the country to meet the requirement of twice the quota of grains for the 80 crore poor covered by the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana.

With less than a fortnight to go, FCI is expecting Uttar Pradesh, which has been one of the laggards in procurement, to purchase around three-four lakh tonnes, while another another two lakh tonnes are expected from Rajasthan, which is set to scale a new peak. Madhya Pradesh, which has for the first time beaten Punjab in wheat procurement, may buy another one lakh tonnes, sources said.

With less than a fortnight to go, FCI is expecting UP to purchase around 3-4 lakh tonnes of wheat, while another 2 lakh tonnes are expected from Rajasthan, which is set to scale a new peak

Holding exams not feasible: Sisodia

Holding exams not feasible: Sisodia

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  18.06.2020

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Union minister of human resource development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, asking him to cancel the remaining CBSE classes X and XII board exams. This is the second time that Sisodia has made the request.

In a letter written to Pokhriyal on Wednesday, the education minister explained how it would be impossible for government schools to hold exams as they are being used for several purposes to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deputy CM’s letter comes at a time when a PIL has been filed in Supreme Court by parents demanding cancellation of board exams. On Wednesday, the court sought a response from the Central Board of Secondary Education on the issue.

“I hope you agree with me that board exams, especially Class XII, are a high-stake exam for children. Hence, subjecting them to appear in such an uncertain and anxiety prone situation would not be fair to the students,” Sisodia said.

The Delhi education minister highlighted that by July 31, the number of Covid-19 cases was likely to touch 5.5 lakh. “In such a situation, if a candidate or a family member tests positive, he or she will have to skip the exams causing further stress. Though as per current plan of CBSE, a school in a red zone would not be used as a centre. But there is no clarity on how a child from a containment zone would come out to appear for the exam,” Sisodia claimed.

In case of government schools, around 250 of them are currently being used as ration distribution centres, 33 schools have become hunger relief centres, 39 are acting as shelter homes, while 10 have been turned into transit migrant camps.

“These schools would not be in a position to conduct exams from July 1. Delhi government is also planning to use auditoriums in nearly 242 schools to set up as additional beds,” he said.

Manish Sisodia

Going to Noida via Kalindi Kunj? Keep a few hrs in hand

Going to Noida via Kalindi Kunj? Keep a few hrs in hand

Somreet.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  18.06.2020

If you are commuting to Noida from Delhi, especially during peak hours, add a few hours to your travel time. Checking at police pickets on the borders has been leading to traffic snarls, which sometimes stretch to hours, giving motorists a headache.

The Kalindi Kunj border has seen nearly 70% spike in the traffic volume compared with the lockdown period. The picket set up by Noida police at the mouth of the Kalindi Kunj bridge leads to the road getting choked in the morning peak hours. Cops conduct a thorough check, including permits and other documents, leading to a massive queue of vehicles stretching till Shaheen Bagh.

The situation is somewhat similar at DND Flyway and Chilla border. Noida police officers said the checks are being conducted on an order by the district magistrate. Vehicles without permit are not allowed to enter the sub-city. However, Noida police relaxes checking towards the afternoon. Commuters said no stringent checking of commuters trying to enter Delhi from Noida is conducted before 9am.

Those found travelling without valid permits are asked to take a U-turn on the Kalindi Kunj bridge and return to Delhi using the wrong side of the carriageway. This also ends in snarls on the opposite carriageway that is supposed to be left free for vehicles returning to the capital. The situation is a little better on DND Flyway as there is more space for vehicles to manoeuvre.

A handful of Delhi Traffic Police personnel manning the Kalindi Kunj crossing near the metro station helplessly try to streamline the huge volume of traffic that accumulates during weekdays.

“I have to travel to Noida Sector 132 for work and the snarls have become a daily affair despite interstate travel being allowed everywhere else. I leave at least 90 minutes before my usual time to negotiate the jam,” said Sumeet Bhargav, a resident of Moti Bagh in south Delhi.

The situation was so bad on Tuesday that medical assistance had to be provided to at least three drivers who fell ill waiting in the summer heat. “A woman driver nearly fainted due to the heat. We have also arranged for an ambulance and asked police to station a PCR vehicle nearby to prevent incidents of people falling ill due to a heat stroke,” said Vikram Singh, a resident of Madanpur Khadar aiding police in controlling the traffic.

A traffic policeman said the problem begins when the four-lane road gets squeezed into two at the bridge. “Normally, both the carriageways of the old bridge are used by vehicles going towards Noida. But now one of the carriageways is being used to send back vehicles that do not have permits,” he added.

(With inputs from Shikha Salaria in Noida)

STUCK: The picket at the mouth of the Kalindi Kunj bridge leads to the road getting choked

Nurses complain of hardship; SC sends notice

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  18.06.2020

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the governments of Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal, some of the worst Covid-19 affected states, on a petition by a nurses’ association alleging that they were forced to do round the clock, backbreaking work despite inadequate PPEs, lodging and quarantine facilities as well as lack of incentives.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah, which urged "taking care of corona warriors", said the SC has already passed orders for providing adequate PPEs to doctors and healthcare workers. But given the respect and appreciation the court has consistently given to healthcare workers, petitioner association's counsel V K Biju did not have to labour hard to persuade the bench to entertain the PIL.

In another PIL filed by Arushi Jain, a doctor who complained of lack of adequate quarantine facilities and non-payment of salaries, solicitor general Tushar Mehta agreed with the SC and petitioner's counsel K V Vishwanathan that payment of timely salary to doctors and healthcare workers was essential.

He said the Centre would issue a direction under the Disaster Management Act and any breach in paying timely salaries to corona warriors would be made a criminal offence.

SC slams Delhi govt for taking action against docs

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:18.06.2020

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Delhi government for threatening coercive action against doctors and healthcare workers who made public the sorry state of affairs in the city’s hospitals and ordered it to forthwith revoke the suspension order against a healthcare worker who had made a video of bodies lying in patient wards of Lok Nayak Hospital.

“You are shooting the messenger. You do not want the truth to come out. Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are your warriors in the fight against Covid-19. They need support. The administration must understand that coercing doctors and healthcare staff while not paying them salaries will not help control the pandemic,” a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said.

The hospital director did not deny bodies were kept in patient wards but blamed it on a contractual healthcare worker who was unwilling to touch them. He said the ward boy had made the video and that disciplinary action has been initiated and a detailed inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

Additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain told the court that the Delhi government had done its best to fight the pandemic and was geared to meet the situation to the best of its capability. “We are doing our best to build capacity. We are not justifying any lapse that might have happened in the past. We are also not admitting that everything is hunky-dory,” he said.

The hospital director did not deny bodies were kept in patient wards but blamed it on a contractual healthcare worker who was unwilling to touch them

Withdraw ordinance on pension, demands Cong

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  18.06.2020

Congress slammed chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for promulgating the ordinance allowing state government to defer a part of payment of salaries and pensions during disaster and public health emergencies.

“The ordinance promulgated by the Telangana government on Tuesday night allows it to defer payments till the situation becomes manageable. Such an ordinance will only trigger fear psychosis among employees and pensioners. The government has been paying deferred payments to the employees and pensions in the last three months. It’s a draconian move by the government,” said Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy, secretary of AICC and former MLA.

Stating that payment of salaries to the employees is certainly not a matter of charity, he said GO No. 27 was violative of Article 300-A of the Constitution.“Neither the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897, as amended by the ordinance of 2020, nor the Disaster Management Act 2005 has provisions for deferment of salaries or pensions,” Reddy said.

BJP, employees’ JAC condemn govt move

Telangana BJP termed the move as anti-employee. Speaking to media, BJP MLA T Raja Singh and MLC Ramachander Rao demanded the immediate withdrawal of the ordinance. Ramachander Rao alleged that some people claiming themselves to be union leaders had colluded with CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and said that state government employees and pensioners will be protesting the move. Meanwhile, the joint action committee of employees, teachers and pensioners condemned the move and demanded full salaries and pension for June. The Telangana unit of Centre of Indian Trade Unions has called for a state-wide protest. TNN

T rides on ordinance to defer staff pay, pensions

Koride.Mahesh@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  18.06.2020

The Telangana government on Tuesday night hurriedly promulgated an ordinance which allowed it to defer salaries and pensions of its employees without getting into legal tangles.

The Telangana Disaster and Public Health Emergency (special provisions) Ordinance,2020, allowed the K Chandrasekhar Rao government to even defer payments to institutions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the state’s reduced revenues.

Telangana high court had on Monday pulled up the state for deferring pensions after a number of employees challenged the decision to impose salary and pension cuts for the past three months. The judges said that even the Disaster Management Act did not give the government such powers.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan issued the ordinance through a gazette notification that came into effect from March 24, the day the national Covid-19 lockdown was imposed. The gazette notification gives the state government immunity from legal scrutiny.

Govt: Will table ordinance in assembly during next session

To make special provision for the deferment of any payment in party, due and payable to any person, institution and any pay, pension and remuneration in part, to any employees, any pensioner and any other person, in the event of disaster and public health emergency in the state and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” reads the ordinance.

In the ordinance, the government has even defined disaster, employee, pay, pension and public health emergency empowering the state government to defer payment in the event of any outbreak of any contagious disease. The government has been imposing a cut in the salaries of all employees except some departments such as police, doctors and sanitation workers, public representatives and pensioners.

While 50% salaries deferment is being imposed for government employees, All India Service officers’ salaries have been cut by 60%. Similarly, while elected representatives including CM, ministers, MLAs, MLCs and even local bodies representatives such as mayors have seen a 75% cut.

The government said the ordinance would be tabled in assembly during next session or within six months from the date of ordinance.

HC allows petitioners to amend prayers: The Telangana government, through advocate general BS Prasad, on Wednesday informed a high court bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy that it had promulgated an ordinance enabling it to defer a certain portion of salaries of its employees and pensioners in the current pandemic. Advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar and others representing several petitioners urged the court to allow them to amend their prayers. The bench allowed them to amend their prayers and posted the case to June 24.

› HC allows petitioners to amend their plea