High court stays govt’s pay cut order, says salary is not charity

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi:29.04.2020

The high court on Tuesday issued a stay on the state government order to defer payment of one month’s salary to government employees by deducting pay for six days in a month for five months.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the stay for two months after considering during admission hearing the argument that the government’s order is not backed by any authority of law and that no provision of law, including Disaster Management Act or Epidemic Diseases Act, can be utilized to take such an action.

In the order, the court noted that the state government’s work with regard to managing Covid-19 is laudable. However, it cannot ignore the legal framework in which the society revolves when it is called upon to consider an issue, the court said.

The court said that payment of salary is certainly not a matter of charity. “Article 300A, which confers right to property, will include within its purview salary also as a property, at least prima facie,” the order said. The advocate general’s submission that the government has the power to delay the disbursement of salary through an executive order cannot in the face of law be countenanced, the court added.

Absence of any power for the state government to issue such an order was also pointed out by the court. Neither the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897, as amended by the ordinance of 2020, nor in the Disaster Management Act has provisions to issue such an order. The provisions that were read out, specifically Sections 38 and 39 of Disaster Management Act, does not specify or confer any power upon any government to defer salary due to its employees during any kind of disaster, the court said.

The court also cited five Supreme Court decisions that prompted it to arrive at such a conclusion.

The court also found lack of clarity in the state government order, like the manner in which the amounts being set apart is to be utilized. It only refers to the financial difficulty faced by the government and that is not a ground to defer payment of salary. Prima facie, deferment of salary for whatever purposes may amount to denial of property, the court said while issuing a stay.

Advocate general CP Sudhakara Prasad had argued that other state governments have issued orders that are stricter than the Kerala government’s order. Unless such measures are adopted, the state will go into great financial adversity, he had argued.

Around a dozen petitions were filed before the court by services organizations questioning the state government’s salary deduction order of April 23.

The petitioners had pointed out that even though the order says the salary is being deferred, it is not mentioned when it would be released. Thus, the deferment is actually permanent deduction.

Central government and other state governments have issued similar orders. In the case of the central government, one day’s salary per month for 12 months is requested with unwilling staff being given the option of not paying, the petitions had said. But the Kerala government’s is a compulsory deduction order without any authority of law and without the consent of employees, the alleged.

When the state issued a similar directive after the 2018 floods, the high court had stayed a clause in the order compelling the employees to pay.

Citing the government’s order in 2018, the service organizations had now alleged that the government has now found a way out by mentioning the deduction as deferment instead of donation or contribution.

The absence of any power for the state government to issue such an order was also pointed out by the Kerala high court while issuing the two-month stay order

Deemed univs & its trustees come under graft act

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:29.04.2020

Widening the ambit of Prevention of Corruption Act, the Supreme Court ruled that even deemed universities will come under the purview of the anti-corruption law and trustees of the trusts running these universities could be prosecuted as public servants for their corrupt acts.

“Corruption is the malignant manifestation of a malady menacing the morality of men. There is a common perception that corruption in India has spread to all corners of public life and is currently choking the constitutional aspirations enshrined in the Preamble. In this context, this case revolves around requiring this court to facilitate making India corruption free," a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said while giving this ruling.

The bench, also comprising Justice M M Shantanagoudar, was deciding a corruption case relating to a trustee of Sumandeep Charitable Trust, which runs a deemed university 'Sumandeep Vidyapeeth' in Gujarat. The prosecution alleged that the institution demanded an additional Rs 25 lakh to allow a complainant's daughter to appear in the final MBBS examination, despite having paid the entire annual fee.

The institution agreed to accept a cheque for the amount in lieu of promise to pay the amount in cash later. On complaint, the police set up audio and video camera trap. After catching the conduit, the police raided the institution and found several undated cheques drawn in the name of the institution worth over Rs 100 crore. The Gujarat police registered a case under PC Act arraying the trustee as an accused as he was described by the arrested persons as the one who demanded illegal donations.

Setting aside the Gujarat High Court order discharging the trustee on the ground that deemed university did not come under the ambit of PC Act, the SC took a broader view of the term 'public servant' to count deemed university as a public institution and its functionaries, including the trustees, as public servants.

Justice Ramana, writing the judgment for the bench, said, "There is no gainsaying that nations are built upon trust. In a democracy, one needs to rely on those with power and influence and to trust them of being transparent and fair. There is no doubt that any action which is driven by self-interest of these powerful individuals, rather than public interest, destroys that trust.

The Supreme court overturns Gujarat HC ruling that deemed universities do not come under under the purview of the anti-corruption law

HARD TIMES

Govt set to ban foreign travel of mins, officials

Austerity Measures Planned Till June 2021

Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com

Chennai:29.04.2020

After freezing dearness allowance and suspending earned leave surrender facility, the state government is all set to tighten its purse strings further. In a few days, it is likely to ban air travel by government servants within the state. It could also ban travel of ministers and officials to foreign countries at government’s expense. Those who travel to other states by flight would not be permitted to use business class, the official said.

Sources in the finance department and personnel and administrative reforms department said savings through such measures would not be substantial to be compared with measures like freezing of DA hike. Nevertheless, such measures are required to bring down expenditure of the government, he said.

A major share of the travel of political executives and bureaucrats is within the state. Senior bureaucrats are deputed to different regions of the state during all calamities. Many senior IAS and IPS officials have been deputed to districts now to monitor the fight against Covid-19. They may have to return to Chennai either by road or by train once the order on austerity measures is issued.

The austerity measures, as of now, are being planned till June 2021. The government is hopeful that by then the state would be able to get back to normalcy.

A year ago, almost the entire state cabinet and many senior bureaucrats were on foreign tour as the state administration sought to attract foreign investment into Tamil Nadu. A few of them visited countries like Finland, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia to learn about best practices followed in those countries.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami visited the UK, the USA and UAE and signed MoUs for attracting investments to Tamil Nadu. “The government should have thought about tightening of purse strings a year ago and avoided lavish expenditure when tax revenue was dwindling. But the ministers were never bothered about the economic condition. They happily enjoyed a paid holiday in several foreign countries. It is the tax payers’ money that went down the drain,” said a bureaucrat.

FIGHTING COVID-19+

Recent jump in positive cases sends city deep into red zone

Average Increase For Last Seven Days More Than Twice State Average

Pushpa Narayan & Srikkanth D TNN

29.04.2020

Chennai is getting red hot with the number of people Covid-19 positive rapidly increasing in the last few days. On Tuesday, the daily average increase in Chennai stood at 9.4% compared to 3.7% in Tamil Nadu and 7.1% in India. Officials say population density and increased testing are the reasons for the high incidence.

The average increase in cases for the last seven days is more than twice the state average. It is also higher than the national average, according to an analysis by TOI.

According to Greater Chennai Corporation data, the city has tested 3,096 people per million population– the highest in the state until April 24. This means at least 1,600 swabs are drawn from Chennaiites every day. Theni district is next with 1,176 samples per million. “This is higher than state average, where 694 people per million are screened and the national average where 363 people are screened. We are seeing cases because we are tracking contacts and testing them. Most of our patients are asymptomatic,” said a senior civic official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Most cases in Chennai end up being a cluster of up to a dozen positive cases. Clusters are visible among doctors and health workers, journalists, sanitary inspectors and conservancy workers, and vendors from crowded markets such as Koyambedu. “Many of these people live in narrow streets and buildings with common staircases,” said a zonal health officer.

For instance, a row of houses in Asirvadapuram in Pulianthope saw 25 people test positive in four days. A dozen vendors in Koyambedu market and a half dozen of them in Vadapalani market were infected. Each of these vendors had at least four or five contacts testing positive, within the family and in the market zone. In Choolai areas, at least a dozen frontline workers including conservancy staff of the civic agency have tested positive.

On April 15, the city had 84 streets across the city under containment. On Tuesday, 202 streets were containment zones. Three zones in north Chennai --Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Tondiarpet --account for 55 % of the total Covid-19 positive cases in the city. But newer areas such as Koyambedu, Virugambakkam and Mylapore are being added.

“Which is exactly why aggressive containment measures should have started early,” said former city health

KEEPING TABS: A mobile unit tests a Koyambedu vendor on Tuesday

Citizens demand ward-wise data

As the city continues to see rise in Covid-19 cases, residents demand the civic body release wardwise details of cases. The corporation releases zonewise data every day. With clusters forming in at least three zones in north Chennai and numbers increasing in dormant zones like Ambattur, people want more information.

4 cops tested Covid positive

Four police men attached to Nungambakkam police station have tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. The station building has been temporarily closed and disinfectant sprayed on the premises. All the four were admitted at Omandurar Government Hospital on Tuesday.

Guv convenes V-C search panel meetings online

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:29.04.2020

Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday set in motion the selection of vice-chancellors for University of Madras and Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University by convening the search panel meetings online.

On Monday, TOI reported that the selection of new Madras university V-C would be delayed as the search panel formed two months ago was yet to meet due to the lockdown.

“In the video conference, the governor-chancellor requested the search committees to strictly follow fair and transparent procedures and select the panel of most efficient and honest candidates,” a release from Raj Bhavan said. “The notification for the post of vicechancellor will be issued shortly by the search committees separately,” the release added.

Coimbatore, Tirupur remain troubled spots

29.04.2020

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Covid-19 positive cases continued to soar in the biggest hotspot, Chennai, even as some districts in Tamil Nadu recorded a jump in the number of infected people, pushing them deeper into the red zone.

On Monday, Chennai recorded a high 103 with its total Covid cases touching a worrying 673. Neighbouring Chengalpet added 12 to a new tally of 70 while Tiruvallur had 53 cases. Kancheepuram added one on Monday to take its Covid total to 20. With new clusters and their mushrooming contacts Chennai and several districts remained in the red zone.

Coimbatore, the district with the second highest number, got its first few cases from people who returned from abroad. Scores of Tablighi Jamaat returnees turned out to be Covid positives and their family members too tested positive. Over the past 10 days, the number of unlinked cases has started to spike. The officials have been unable to trace the source of infection of six police personnel who tested positive. “That’s why we have gone in for a stringent lockdown within lockdown,” said Coimbatore collector K Rajamani.

In the western region, Tirupur with 112 positive cases and Namakkal (61) have proved worrying. On Tuesday, Namakkal had two new positive cases. Namakkal collector K Megraj said the challenge for the district with a huge truckers’ hub has been the reluctance of people to come forward to test voluntarily. “The official machinery is forced to trace those with contact history,” said Megraj.

Tirupur is yet another district in the west zone that continues to get Covid positive cases regularly. Officials, however, said that except for the first case of Covid positive case in Tirupur, which was a person who returned from London, all the remaining had a travel history to New Delhi or had contacts with those who returned from New Delhi. Tirupur collector K Vijaykarthikeyan was upbeat. He said the incidence of Covid was dropping steadily. “The rate of infection is coming down,’’ he said.

Among the central districts, Thanjavur recorded a total of 55 cases, many of them TJ delegates, their family members and contacts. “After Chennai, Thanjavur had a high number of positive TJ members. “A total of 33 have been discharged,” said collector M Govinda Rao.

Tirunelveli, the first district in the southern region to record a high number of cases, has not seen a fresh case since April 24. The district has recorded a total of 63 cases and is still in the red zone as it has nine active cases. The biggest cluster in the region was Melapalayam town. District collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said though there was a lull in cases, they had to be vigilant.

FIGHTING COVID- 19+

How Erode and Nilgiris flattened the Covid curve

29.04.2020 TOI 

Tracing Of Contacts, Strict Implementation Of Containment Measures Worked, But Officials Keep Tight Vigil To Prevent Relapse

Senthil Kumaran & Shantha Thiagarajan | TNN

Erode district, which had the third highest Covid-19 cases in the state until the second week of April, has now become a Covid-free district.

The last batch of four Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment at IRT Perundurai government hospital in this turmeric hub got discharged on Tuesday making the district second in the state to achieve 100 % recovery. “We don’t have even a single Covid-19 positive case in the district now,” said Erode collector C Kathiravan.

Nilgiris was the first district to get all Covid positive patients cured in TN when the last of nine people recovered and got discharged on Monday.

Health and revenue officials in both the districts are a relieved lot, Erode in particular because it had a high number of cases. The district was the first in west zone to report Covid-19 cases and among the earliest clusters in Tamil Nadu. While Nilgiris had nine cases, Erode had 70 cases, out of which one person died and the remaining 69, including six Thai nationals, recovered.

“Since we don’t have any positive cases for the past 14 consecutive days, we will move into orange zone from red,’’ Kathiravan said.

In the case of Nilgiris, if no fresh positive case is reported in the coming days, the hill retreat is likely to be the first district to get into green zone in the state from orange.

The Nilgiris reported nine cases, with the last positive detected on April 10. The district has not reported a new case in the past 18 days. The last patient, a 19-year-old boy from Kandal area in Ooty, was discharged from ESI hospital in Coimbatore on Monday.

Officials said swift action in tracing the contacts and strict implementation of containment measures helped in arresting the spread. Kathiravan said he came to know about the arrival of Thailand nationals on March 15. They were quarantined the next day. Even before their test results came, authorities traced people who came in close contact with them and they were also quarantined. “The Thailand nationals were in contact with 694 people of 169 families. All of them were quarantined immediately,” Kathiravan said.

In the Nilgiris, where borders were sealed even before a statewide lockdown was announced, all those with a travel history were screened. Officials said 1,471 people with travel history were traced and quarantine, curtailing the spread.

Authorities in the two districts are cautious to prevent return of the virus. “The four containment zones in the district will remain sealed till completion of the 28th day,” collector J Innocent Divya said.

“Though work under MGNREGA and essential construction activities are going to start in a day or two, the lockdown protocol will be maintained,” she said.

Kathiravan said they are keeping a tight vigil on the district borders. “We will not allow people from other districts and states to enter Erode unless there is an emergency,” he said.