The Tribune – Army jawan’s widow wins battle that he couldn’t

Vijay Mohan, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 11. About 49 years after her husband was discharged from the Army and nine years after he passed away, the widow of an Army jawan has been sanctioned family pension even though her husband never got his post-retirement benefits.

It was only after the death of Sep Gurdayal, an Army Ordnance Corps reservist from Gurdaspur, in 2003, that his widow Piaro, took up the case afresh with the Army authorities and the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) for the grant of reservist and family pension. Gurdayal had taken up the case for his pension earlier, but to no avail.

The sanction of pension came without the family members having to seek judicial intervention. It was largely through the efforts of a serving colonel posted in the Western Sector, who assisted the family with paperwork and procedural matters, that the widow got her benefits.

Besides getting a pension of Rs 6,000 per month in accordance with current Pay Commission rates, she has also got arrears of pension since 1963, when her husband was discharged. The reservist pension at that time was just Rs 10 per month.

According to a letter written by the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) Record to the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, Gurdayal was enrolled in the AOC in June 1947, when he was only 15 years old.

His service with the Regular AOC was extended till July 1958, following which he was transferred to the reservist establishment.

In 1963, he was invalided out of service on medical grounds.

His total service, including boy service when he did not complete 16 years of age, worked out to be 15 years and 213 days.

According to Defence Ministry regulations issued in 2002, boy service is to be counted towards fixing pensionary benefits.

The fight after service

Sep Gurdayal, Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) reservist from Gurdaspur, was enrolled in the AOC Record in June 1947 at the age of 15 years

His service with the Regular AOC was extended till July 1958

He was later transferred to the reservist establishment

In 1963, he was rendered invalid on medical grounds

He applied for pension, but to no avail

After his death in 2003, his widow took up the case afresh

She has been sanctioned a pension of Rs 6,000 pm, besides arrears since 1963

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120312/main4.htm

The Tribune – Increase in rail freight rate for coal; Power generation cost to go up in Punjab

Umesh Dewan, Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 11. The announcement by the Railway Ministry to increase rail freight rates in a number of commodity slabs, including coal, will increase the power generation cost in Punjab.

Officials of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) said the hike in rail freight for the coal would definitely add to the existing power generation cost, thereby leaving the Power Corporation with no other option than to approach the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to increase the power tariff. Henceforth, the impact of the decision would be on all categories of the power consumers, especially the industrial sector in the state, which is already passing through a bad phase.

As per the projections made by the PSPCL in its Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) filed for the financial year 2012-13, the total coal requirement for the thermal plants in Punjab for the next fiscal would be 125.9 lakh tonnes. The present transportation cost for coal is approximately Rs 1,500 per metric tonnes (MT). The hike of about 20 per cent rail freight for coal would increase the transportation cost to approximately Rs 1,800 per MT.

The thermal power generation for 2012-13 in the ARR has been projected to be 17,375 million units (MUs). Henceforth, according to rough estimates, the total increase in the cost for power generation would be Rs 378 crore annually. In simpler terms, the net additional increase of power generation cost would be approximately 20 paise per unit.

Speaking to The Tribune, PSPCL Director Generation GS Chhabra said, “There is no escape route, as the decision has been taken by the Ministry of Railways. On account of the increase in the rail freight for coal, PSPCL will work out how much the total cost will go up. Subsequently, the Power Corporation would file a supplementary to the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) for the 2012-13 with the PSERC.”

Experts in the power sector said that in view of the fact that the power generation in Punjab was primarily thermal based, the decision to increase the rail freight rates for coal would have direct impact on the power generation cost. Since, Punjab get major chunk (90 per cent) of coal from Jharkhand, the additional financial burden on Punjab would be more than other states, due to distance between Punjab and Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, the decision has left the industry high and dry. Strongly flaying the decision, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, Badish K Jindal said, “The increase in coal freight to the tune of 18-24 per cent for different distance slabs will lead to costlier power, which is bound to adversely effect the industry, which is already passing through bad phase.”

Speaking to TNS, general secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) Avtar Singh said that the small-scale industry would be the worst affected. “The Union Government must review the decision, otherwise the industry in Punjab will not survive”, he said. President, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Punjab, PD Sharma said, “At least the PSPCL should curtail its expenditure on the manpower, as has been directed by the PSERC and the state government. This would improve fiscal health of the cash-strapped PSPCL, which will be good for the industry.”

Padamjit Singh, a power sector expert, said that the decision of the Railway Ministry would not only affect the industry, but the general public as well. “It is presumed that instead of increasing the fare for the passengers, the Railway Ministry increases the rail freight. But if power generation cost will go up, it will lead to hike in power tariff, which would directly affect both the domestic as well as industrial consumers. The burden for the costlier power will have to be borne by industry and the commoners.”

The announcement to increase the rail freight for coal is second blow for the Punjab in a month. Sometime back, the Coal India had communicated to the developers of the upcoming Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo thermal plants that they wanted to amend some clauses of the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) to be signed between the coal supplier and the developer. It is learnt that citing shortage of domestic coal supply, the Coal India subsidiaries had verbally communicated to the developers of the thermal plants that they should accept the induction of a clause in the FSA that the supply of coal would be “domestic” and if required “imported” as well. Since, the cost of the imported coal is more than the domestic, in case the developer agrees to the Coal India condition, the cost of the power generation in the state would up, which means costlier power for the consumers.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120312/punjab.htm#1

The Asian Age – Non-Congress states oppose the proposed NCTC

New Delhi, 12 March 2012. Non-congress states on Monday opposed formation of the NCTC, saying that it will infringe upon the duties of the state police forces.

Representatives from Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Bihar voiced their concern at the high-level meeting chaired by Home Secretary R.K. Singh in which state chief secretaries, home secretaries and police chiefs were present.

Sources attending the meeting said that the states were opposing the formation of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on the ground that the role of state police would be minimised in counter-terror operations.

They said the representatives of the states opposed the move, saying that the Intelligence Bureau was already performing the job and there was no need to give power of arrest as proposed in the new counter-terror unit.

Chiefs of anti-terror units were also present at the meeting. Over a dozen chief ministers have opposed the creation of the NCTC, maintaining that it would hurt the federal structure of the country.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to convene a meeting of chief ministers to discuss the issue.

In the wake of strong protests by non-Congress chief ministers, the Centre has put on hold the operationalisation of the NCTC from March 1 and has decided to discuss the issue with the state governments.

In a letter to 10 chief ministers, Home Minister P. Chidambaram has assured them that the “next steps” on the NCTC would be taken only after the meeting of top officials of the states.

The Home Ministry officials tried to allay the apprehensions of the states, which said empowering the NCTC with Section 43 (A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would infringe on the states’ powers. Section 43(A) of Act gives an officer power to arrest and search.

Chidambaram, in his letter, had said the powers conferred under Section 43 (A) of the Act must be read with the duty under Section 43 (B) to produce the person or article without unnecessary delay before the nearest police station (which will be under the state government).

He had also said the SHO of the police station will take further action in accordance with the provisions of the CrPC.

Patnaik, who had spearheaded the protests on the ground that it would erode the states’ powers, in his third letter on the NCTC to the Prime Minister, had opposed the meeting of officials.

“It is imperative that instead of a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary, an immediate meeting of chief ministers may be called by you to address the concerns of the states on this very urgent matter regarding the security of the nation,” he had told the Prime Minister.

Jayalalitha and Janata Dal-U, which rules Bihar, had also expressed similar sentiments. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/non-congress-states-oppose-proposed-nctc-237

Netherlands 23 december till 2 January, Den Haag & Amsterdam

Walking home from Den Haag Centraal Station
30 December 2011

Den Haag, Spui, underground HTM Tram and TramTrain station
Tram 2, TramTrain 3 & 4, Tram 6

Den Haag, bridge from Zuidwal to Hooftskade

Den Haag, bridge from Zuidwal to Hooftskade

Den Haag, Om en bij, tracks of HTM Tram 6 

Den Haag, Hobbemastraat, HTM Tram 6 

To see more Belgium and Netherlands public transport pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622685920411/

To see more Belgium and Netherlands gurdwara pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622147381380/

More Belgium / Netherlands pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – 19% Punjab MLAs facing criminal cases

Kanchan Vasdev, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 11. The hue and cry against criminalisation of politics notwithstanding, the voters of Punjab this time have elected 19 per cent MLAs, who have criminal cases pending against them. The situation is more alarming in Uttar Pradesh with almost half of the 224 newly elected Samajwadi Party MLAs facing criminal cases. Almost 25 per cent of these are facing cases with serious criminal charges like murder, attempt to murder, theft, robbery etc.

In Uttarakhand, 19 of the 70 newly elected MLAs have criminal background, according to Uttarakhand Election Watch.

Of the 117 legislatures in Punjab analysed by Punjab Election Watch, 22 (19%) have criminal cases pending against them. As many as eight MLAs (7 per cent) are facing serious criminal cases. In the Punjab 2007 Assembly elections, 21 (18%) were facing criminal cases.

In Punjab, the Congress has the maximum number of MLAs with criminal cases. As many as 11 such MLAs are from the INC, nine from SAD, while two are independent. The SAD has 56 MLAs and Congress has 46 in the Assembly.

The Punjab Election Watch report states Simarjit Singh Bains, a SAD rebel who was elected as an Independent from Ludhiana, has six cases pending against him. The charges he faces include, attempt to murder, deliberate and malicious acts intending to outrage religious feelings, theft, obstructing a public servant in discharge of his public functions, rioting, criminal intimidation and assault to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty. Simarjit has been elected with a huge margin of over 28,000 votes.

Following Bains is Bibi Jagir Kaur, an MLA from Bholath in Kapurthala with a case of murder, wrongful confinement and kidnapping pending against her.

Balbir Singh Sidhu, Congress MLA from SAS Nagar, has a case with charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting, and criminal conspiracy pending against him.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, MLA from Jalalabad, has been named an accused in an attempt to murder case, robbery and voluntarily causing hurt to extort property.

Amarinder Singh, former chief minister and Congress MLA from Patiala, has six cases registered against him. Charges relate to criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty and forgery for the purpose of cheating under Sections 120-B/ 420/467/468 IPC. He also faces charges related to using as genuine a forged document, defamation, forgery and criminal breach of trust.

Besides, he has three cases filed against him by Vigilance in Patiala, Ludhiana and Mohali.

Of the 403 MLAs analysed for Uttar Pradesh 2012 Assembly elections, 189 (47%) have criminal cases pending against them. Of these, 189 MLAs, 98 MLAs (24%) are facing serious criminal cases.

From the winning Samajwadi Party, 111 (49.6 per cent) of the 224 MLAs have criminal cases against them. Of these 56 (25 per cent) are facing serious offences like murder, attempt to murder, theft, extortion, robbery etc.

As per the Election Watch, three MLAs are facing a host of cases. They are Mitra Sen of SP (Bikapur constituency). He faces 36 criminal cases, including 14 related to murder. Sushil Singh (Independent, Sakaldiha) has 20 criminal cases, including 12 charges related to murder. Ram Veer Singh (SP, Jasrana) has 18 criminal cases, including 8 relating to murder.

(With inputs from Shahira Naim in Lucknow)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120312/main3.htm

BBC News – US warns of reprisals after Afghan massacre in Kandahar

Monday, 12 March 2012. US troops in Afghanistan have been placed on alert following the killings of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier.

US officials warned of reprisals after the soldier went on a rampage in villages near a base in Kandahar. Nine children were among those killed.

President Barack Obama phoned his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai to express condolences. But Mr Karzai has said the massacre is “unforgivable”.

And Taliban militants has vowed to avenge the deaths.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said a full investigation is under way.

The soldier, believed to be a staff sergeant, is reported to have walked off his base at around 03:00 Sunday (22:30 GMT Saturday).

In the villages of Alkozai and Najeeban, about 500m (1,640 feet) from the base, he reportedly broke into three homes.

At one house in Najeeban, 11 people were found shot dead, and some of their bodies set alight. At least three of the child victims are reported to have been killed by a single shot to the head.

The US military said reports indicated that the soldier returned to his base after the shootings and turned himself in. His motives are unclear – there is speculation that he might have been drunk or suffered a mental breakdown.

The soldier is being detained in Kandahar and the military is treating at least five people wounded in the attacks, officials said.

The detained soldier has not been identified, although US officials quoted by AP news agency said he was from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, 38 years old, married with two children, and had served three tours in Iraq and was on his first deployment in Afghanistan.

The killings come amid already high anti-US sentiment in Afghanistan following the burning of Korans at a Nato base in Kabul last month.

US officials have repeatedly apologised for the incident but they failed to quell a series of protests and attacks that killed at least 30 people and six US troops.

Fragile friendship  

The BBC’s Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says the latest incident has damaged already fragile relations between Kabul and Washington.

He says the Taliban is using the shooting as a propaganda victory, placing President Karzai in a difficult position.

Angry tribal elders are now demanding an immediate end to US night raids on Afghan homes. They are calling for justice and say US apologies are meaningless, our correspondent adds.

The killings could further fuel calls for a more rapid withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

They could also delay the signing of a strategic pact between Kabul and Washington intended to allow a long-term US presence in the country, a government official told Reuters on Monday.

Negotiations over the partnership have already been bogged down over issues like night-time raids and control of prisoners.

Meanwhile, US personnel in Afghanistan were warned of possible reprisal attacks.

“The US Embassy in Kabul alerts US citizens in Afghanistan that as a result of a tragic shooting incident in Kandahar province involving a US service member, there is a risk of anti-American feelings and protests in coming days, especially in the eastern and southern provinces,” the embassy said in an emergency statement on its website.

The US embassy in Kabul is restricting the movements of staff in southern Afghanistan until at least 17:00 local time (12:30 GMT) on Monday.

Afghan security sources have told the BBC that the Taliban is provoking people to take part in anti-US demonstrations.

In a statement released by the White House on Sunday, President Obama said: “This incident is tragic and shocking, and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan.”

Our correspondent says Afghan officials also fear there will be violent demonstrations and have deployed extra police and troops around Kandahar.

President Obama called President Karzai while on a visit to Maryland President Karzai described the killings as the “intentional killing of innocent civilians” and said they could “not be forgiven”.

The BBC’s Quentin Sommerville in Kabul says this is the first time Afghan civilians have been targeted by foreign soldiers in this way.

However, one US soldier was convicted last year on three counts of premeditated murder after leading a rogue “kill team” in Afghanistan.

A recent poll by ABC News and The Washington Post found 60% of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan is not worth its costs. Nearly the same number advocated an early US pullout from the country.

Analysis, Mark Mardell, BBC North America editor

The shooting is another hammer blow to the already fractured relationship between the US government and the Afghan people and their government.

So you will hear more voices raised in the US, arguing that the withdrawal should be speeded up.

This killing spree won’t, by itself, lead to a quickening of the pace of a pull-out.

But it may mean less heed will be paid to those like Senator John McCain who think the war is winnable and who think the troops should finish the job before they leave.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17336074