villupuram l saturday l september 28, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION SC blasts dELHI Air Quality PANEL FOR failure to curb POLLUTION The Supreme Court noted that the Commission for Air Quality Management has not taken steps to stop stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana No penal action, orders remain on paper A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih observed that no punitive action has been taken against those who burn crop stubble. “There has been total non-compliance of the Act,” the bench said, expressing its dissatisfaction. “If there is no penal action, the prohibitive directions against farm fires will remain only on paper”, Justice Oka orally observed ■ 82 Panel directed to file compliance report ■ The panel must immediately ensure the equipment given by the Centre for avoiding stubble burning are actually used by farmers, the bench said “We are of the view that though the Commission has taken steps, it needs to be more active,” the bench said while directing the panel to file a better compliance report and posted the matter for October 3 No. of directions issued by the panel, but no action taken against violators CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI CM’s 3-point memorandum seeks funds for CMRL Phase-II & edu scheme, end to fishers’ woes Stalin asks Modi to fund metro rail under 50:50 ratio E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @ Chennai Chief Minister M K Stalin called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in New Delhi on Friday and placed three key demands on behalf of the state. The CM requested the PM to approve 50:50 equity sharing model between the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu for the Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-II, release pending funds for the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, and a permanent solution to secure the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen and to expedite the release of fishermen and their boats detained by Sri Lankan Navy. “The meeting was cordial. But the responsibility of making it purposeful lies with the PM,” Stalin told reporters at the Tamil Nadu House. Asked about the PM’s approach during the meeting, Stalin said, “Usually, around 15 minutes will be allocated for such meetings. But we had a discussion for about 45 minutes. You can infer how the meeting would have been.” Referring to his remark that the meeting with the PM was cordial, when a scribe asked as to whether he was happy with the functioning of the union gover nment, Stalin said, “We have been raising our demands without compromising our principles. We will never give up on our principles. Please understand that.” Stating that he also sought the PM’s urgent intervention over the repeated arrests of Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, the CM said he was looking forward to swift action from the PM on these important matters for the benefit of Tamil Nadu. The CM also explained the rationale behind the Tamil Nadu government’s request for the release of funds for CMRL Phase-II under 50:50 equity sharing as was done for Phase I and as recommended by the Public Investment Board. The CM said the CMRL project has slowed down due to financial constraints faced by the state government. Regarding the need for releasing funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, the CM said the stoppage of funds under the scheme for not signing the MoU for implementation of the PM-SHRI scheme is not acceptable. P7 Sharif plays K-card, claims India altering demography Yeshi S e l i @ New Delhi Chief Minister M K Stalin presenting a memorandum containing three key state demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Friday | PTI metro phase-ii may be delayed by a year Chennai: The deadline to complete the Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s Phase II may get extended by almost a year due to the fiscal constraints faced by the state government. “The commissioning dates of various stages are being delayed by almost a year, pushing the final completion date from December 2027 to December 2028. This will result in time and cost overruns,” Chief Minister M K Stalin said | P4 ‘nep ok, 3-language formula is the issue’ Chennai: “Tamil Nadu is willing to sign the MoU for PM-SHRI with minimum modifications by incorporating the constitutional protection to the state with respect to the language formula. The three-language formula envisaged in the NEP 2020 is the primary bone of contention for the state,” the CM said | P4 A day ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s address at the UN General Assembly, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday raked up the Kashmir issue and sought to draw similarities between the situation in Kashmir and Palestine. India normally uses its right to reply to give it back to Pakistan, adding Kashmir is an inalienable part of India. “Like the people of Palestine, the people of J&K, too, struggled for a century for their freedom and right to self-determination,” said Sharif in his UNGA address. He accused India of reneging on its commitments to implement the U N S e cu r i t y THE Central government’s total debt at the end of June 2024 quarter has reached `176 lakh crore, up 25% from the previous year’s `141 lakh crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the debt rose 1.2%, much lower than 4.6% growth witnessed in the same period last year. As for the composition of the Centre’s total debt, external debt accounted for `9.78 lakh crore, up from `8.50 lakh crore in the same period last year. Of the `149 lakh crore internal loans, market loans (raised through government bonds) accounted for `104.5 lakh crore, `27 lakh was raised through securities against small savings, `10.5 lakh crore through T-bills, and `78,500 crore through gold bonds. It must be noted that the government has maintained the borrowing target in the cur- rent financial year at `14.1 lakh crore. The finance ministry on Thursday announced `6.61 lakh crore borrowing plan in the second half of the current financial year. Though the gover nment has maintained its FY25 borrowing target of `14.01 lakh crore, analysts expect the government to cut down on borrowing this financial year. According to Nomura, spending does not appear to have ATM burglars fleeing after Thrissur heist held in TN, one dies in shootout r k i r u b a k a r a n @ Coimbatore Hours after a brazen burglary in Kerala’s Thrissur district where a gang of seven from Haryana made off with about `65 lakh from three SBI ATMs, Tamil Nadu police intercepted the gang in a dramatic chase that ended with the gunning down of one suspect and detention of six others. The incident unfolded on Friday as the gang attempted to escape in a container truck by ramming into several cars and two-wheelers at Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district. The gang had loaded the getaway car used in the Kerala heist into the container after the robbery to mislead the police, sources said. Two police officers were injured in the chase. While the deceased was identified as Zumadin Hameed (40) of Palwal district in Haryana, the injured burglar, Azar Ali (30), was from Nuh district. The body was sent to the Sangagiri Government Hospital and the injured were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. The other suspects, B Mubarik (18), L Sabir Khan (26), S Shoukeen (21), Irfan (32) — all from Palwal — and A Moham- picked up after the initial boost. “It is possible that the GOI will underspend this year and therefore IGB issuance can be reduced,” it says. Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, feels there is scope for the fiscal deficit to undershoot the FY25 target of 4.9%, as this is a truncated year (due to the general election). She says the Centre has refrained from reducing GSec supply due to additional demand from index inclusion. on high alert after second mpox case The Kerala health department on Friday said that a 26-year-old man, who has just returned from abroad, has tested positive for Mpox. He has been admitted in a Kochi hospital The government pays 19% of its total revenue collection in paying interest towards outstanding debt. For FY25, it has budgeted for `11.6 lakh crore in interest payment. The Centre’s total debt at the end of June quarter is 54% of the country’s estimated GDP of `326 lakh crore in FY25. Last year (FY24), the Centre’s debt/ GDP ratio was at 57.5%. The Centre’s debt-to-GDP ratio has been falling since FY21, when it peaked at 62.75%. express read Justice K R Shriram sworn in as 34th CJ of Madras HC Chennai: Justice K R Shriram was sworn in as the 34th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on Friday. Governor R N Ravi administered him the oath of office at a function held in Raj Bhavan. The new CJ called upon the Bar and the Bench to “collectively work” for enhancing the reputation of the court which has produced legal luminaries. Advocate General P S Raman said Justice Shriram is the first Tamil speaking CJ of the high court in the last 43 years, after Justice M M Ismail | P4 Encounters show cops’ lack of faith in rule of law: HC Madurai: Encounter deaths and instances of accused sustaining injuries during their escape attempts must be viewed with seriousness and investigated thoroughly as it shows police’s lack of faith in the Rule of Law, Constitutional Rights and Protection and the Criminal Justice System, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court said on Friday. The court made the comment while hearing a petition filed by a woman against cops who killed her son in an encounter in 2010 | P4 Upon hearing a loud noise from the halted container truck, cops found a car with two persons inside the container (right) | Express mad Iqram (42) from Nuh have been arrested and are under police custody . According to Kerala police, the three burglaries took place between 2.30 am and 4 am on ‘Accused arrived in KL as two separate groups’ Police said the burglars arrived in Kerala as two separate groups. One group, using the car, arrived in Thrissur early and stayed there. The other, using the container truck, travelled to Thrissur after carrying out routine unloading of goods in Chennai Friday The State Bank of India . ATM at Mapranam was the first to be burgled at 2.30 am by a gang of four who covered their faces, sprayed paint on the CCTV cameras, and made away with `35 lakh. The second robbery was reported at the SBI ATM on Shoranur Road in Thrissur town, and `22 lakh was looted. Finally the gang proceeded to anoth, er ATM at Kolazhy where they stole about `8 lakh. Thrissur City Police Commissioner R Ilango told TNIE that the gang targeted ATMs which were unmanned but equipped with alarms.  P7 The Pakistani PM said while the escalation of Islamophobia is a troubling global development, its “most alarming manifestation of Islamophobia is the Hindu supremacist agenda in India.” On the ongoing Gaza war, Sharif said, “This is not just a conflict. This is systematic slaughter of innocent people of Palestine...we must act now and demand an immediate end to this bloodshed.” He said humanity was diminished when the endless suffering of Palestinians was ignored. Significantly, Turkiye President Recap Tayyip Erdogan did not mention Kashmir in his UNGA address this year, the first time he has skipped it since Article 370 was read down in 2019. The focus of his speech this year was the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Kerala Zelenskyy says some peace merchants have a Nobel dream Central govt’s total debt shoots up 25% to `176 lakh crore D I PAK M O N DAL @ New Delhi Council resolutions there. “India’s policy of brutal coercion and oppression in Kashmir has ensured that Burhan Wani’s legacy continues to inspire the struggle and sacrifices of millions of Kashmiris. Inspired by the legitimacy of their epic struggle, they remain defiant,’’ claimed Sharif. “In a classic settler-colonial project, India is seizing Kashmiri lands and properties and settling outsiders in J&K in their nefarious design to transform the Muslim majority into a minority he charged. ,” Sharif also alleged that India was expanding its military capabilities. He went on to accuse India of threatening to cross the Line of Control to seize Pakistan occupied Kashmir. y eshi S e l i @ New Delhi AS efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remarked that some are attempting to broker peace with an eye on Nobel Prize and not real peace. A comprehensive peace formula is already in place but some countries are proposing alternative settlement plans aimed at pausing, not ending, the war; such a move will only give Russian president Vladimir Putin more room to continue the war and bring more damage to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday . “As a global initiative, the peace formula has already existed for the past two years. And maybe somebody wants a Nobel Prize for their political biography for frozen truce instead of real peace, but the only prizes Putin will give you in return are more suffering and disasters,’’ said Zelenskyy . While the Ukrainian leader did not name any country while making this remark, in his speech, he mentioned: “When the Chinese-Brazilian duo tries to grow into a choir of voices – with someone in Europe, with someone in Africa, saying something alternative to a full and just peace, the question arises – what is the true interest? Everyone must understand – you won’t boost your power at Ukraine’s expense.” The war between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Many world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jingping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have tried to impress upon Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict. India has always maintained that the best way to end the conflict is through dialogue and diplomacy . When some propose half-hearted plans, it not only ignores Ukrainians interest but also helps Putin Volodymyr Zelenskyy Meets Trump Zelenskyy met Donald Trump on Friday in New York. ‘I think we have a common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped and Putin can’t win,’ Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin Will end war: Don Trump said he will end the war if elected as US prez. “it’s a shame... This is a war that should have never happened... Too many people dead,” he said after meeting Zelenskyy tn to get 1.2k fresh jobs Cisco’s first India plant inaugurated in Chennai E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @ Chennai The first manufacturing facility of US-based network gear maker Cisco was inaugurated in India by Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Chennai on Friday . The first phase of the multiyear investment project is expected to generate more than $1.3 billion annually in combined exports and domestic production and create 1,200 jobs in Tamil Nadu. The state Industries Minister T R B Rajaa was also present on the occasion. Cisco has partnered with Flex to build and scale the manufacturing facility in Chennai, which will initially focus on Cisco’s Network Convergence System (NCS) 540 Series of routers. “Significant innovation and technical advancements are planned in the next phase including printed circuit board assembly components with several layers; products requiring, at times, thousands of individual components; and industrial-grade products that are built to endure severe environmental conditions,” Cisco said. Cisco has collaborated with Flex to successfully build the Chennai site and bring advanced telecom technology that can help connect citizens in India and globally . Speaking to reporters, Scindia said the union government is setting up a telecommunication equipment manufacturing zone in the country as the sector is expected to go through a revolution in attracting foreign direct investments. Scindia said India is the second largest producer of mobile phones in the world with 30 crore phones being produced in India. The country in the last 10 years, ex, ported mobile phones worth `1.28 lakh crore.  P7