HYDERABAD SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE 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 Luxury wristwatches drew ED to Ponguleti’s doorstep? EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad Heated arguments (left) and jostling (right) appeared to be the order of the day at Chaitanyapuri in Hyderabad on Friday as residents of structures on the riverbed obstructed authorities from conducting the survey for the implementation of the Musi Riverfront Development Project. Similar scenes were witnessed along the course of the river Passions run high HC summons as Musi facelift HYDRAA chief survey continues over demolition S B A C H A N J E E T S I N G H @ Hyderabad T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad TENSION continued in the Musi River catchment areas for the second day as the state government pushed forward with its survey as part of the Musi Riverfront Development Project (MRDP), with residents claiming that they would rather die than move. Residents in several areas obstructed surveyors marking houses, allegedly built illegally in the riverbed, “RB-X” in red paint. In some instances, residents reportedly snatched the survey documents from the officials. On Friday, unrest was reported in Kothapet, Chaitanyapuri, Maruthinagar, and Satyanagar, as residents made their views quite clear. Tempers frayed as the surveyors continued their assigned task, to the point that a local poured kerosene over himself and threatened self-immolation. He was fortunately stopped by his neighbours. Discontent was also visible in Golconda and Langar Houz, where residents took out a rally to the local police station, where they protested and raised slogans against Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. At Defence Colony, a demonstration on the Ring Road caused a traffic jam that stretched for kilometres. In Bahadarpura too, residents took to the streets against “forced relocation” from their homes. Protesters at Kishanbagh gathered outside the tahsildar office, demanding written assurances of “land-for-land” compensation rather than relocation to government-provided two-bedroom houses (2BHK). They carried placards pleading for their homes to be spared from demolition. Despite this, surveys continued in Kothapet, Satyanagar, Maruthinagar, and Rajendranagar, with homes in the riverbed marked for demolition. Meanwhile, authorities have begun preparations to relocate households, arranging trucks to move residents’ belongings to the 2BHK houses. While the stated aims of the project are to conserve the river, promote tourism, and prevent flooding, residents accused the state government of destroying their livelihoods without providRELATED REPORTS ON P2 ing viable alternatives. JUSTICE K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Friday expressed strong displeasure over the actions of HYDRAA and the tahsildar of Ameenpur mandal in Sangareddy district of demolishing a building allegedly without following due process of law. The court ordered HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath and the tahsildar to appear either physically or virtually on September 30 and explain why their action of the demolition should not be considered a violation of the court’s interim orders. The court was hearing a writ petition filed by M/s Ganesh Constructions, represented by its proprietor N Venkata Reddy chal, lenging the demolition of his building located at Sri Krishna Nagar, Kistareddypet village of Ameenpur mandal. Venkata Reddy claimed that he purchased the plot from one Mohammed Rafi who had obtained a valid building permit on November 10, 2022, from the erstwhile gram panchayat. The construction was completed within the permitted two-year period and there were no violations of the building regulations, the petitioner claimed. He claimed that despite prior court orders directing the authorities not to interfere without following due legal process, the respondents, led by the tahsildar, served a speaking order on September 21, 2024 and the next day demolished the , entire structure, reportedly throwing out the petitioner’s belongings. Counsel for the petitioner, G Narender Reddy, submitted photos as evidence of the demolition, asserting that it blatantly disregarded the court’s previous orders. K Ravinder Reddy, standing counsel for HYDRAA, admitted that the agency had provided the manpower and machinery for the demolition on a request from the tahsildar on September 21. He argued that HYDRAA was merely a nodal agency responsible for coordinating the removal of unauthorised structures, as outlined in GO 99, dated July 19, 2024. The court, noting that the demolition was carried out despite a subsisting interim order and pending litigation, found the actions of the respondents to be in violation of its directives and directed the officials to appear before it and justify their actions. THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday began searches at the residences of Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, his relatives, as well as the MD and directors of Raghava Constructions located in Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills and Himayatsagar. Sources aware of the matter said that the minister is not a director of any company under the ED’s lens. They also said that the searches have nothing to do with the minister. Moreover, the minister was not at his residence when the searches began. Sources said that the ED registered an ECIR against P Harsha Reddy, the son of the minister, following a tip-off that he paid `5 crore through crypto- Woman’s suicide not due to HYDRAA, clarifies Ranganath ENS @ HYDERABAD HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath on Friday made it clear that the agency was in no way responsible for the suicide of a woman, Gurrampally Shivayya Buchamma, a resident of Yadav Basti of Kukatpally on Thursday, as claimed by some social media channels. In a statement, he said that he spoke to the police and confirmed that the woman and her family lived far away from the FTL of the Kukatpally lake. The daughters of the victim said that they asked their mother whether their house would also be demolished and this created anxiety among her family members leading to her suicide. “Buchamma was not served any notice by us. In fact, some social media channels are also attributing the Musi survey to HYDRAA though we are in no way connected,” he said. Sharif plays Kashmir card, claims India altering demography Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi A day ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s address at the UN General Assembly Pakistan’s Prime Min, ister 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 UN Security 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 settlercolonial project, In- dia 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. 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 skipped it since Article 370 was read down in 2019. MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy felicitates Arjun Erigaisi from Hanamkonda and D Harika from Khammam on Friday for winning gold medals at the FIDE Chess Olympiad recently. The state government has announced a reward of `25 lakh each for the duo currency and hawala routes to purchase seven wristwatches. The Customs department had earlier summoned Harsha Reddy in connection with these wristwatches, as it suspects they were smuggled into India. The ED suspects that the `5 crore paid by Harsha Reddy to purchase the seven wristwatches through cryptocurrency and hawala routes is just the tip of the iceberg. The ED suspects that hundreds of crores changed hands in the smuggling racket. Sources revealed that the ED believes Harsha Reddy acquired the watches from Hong Kong-based Indian luxury watch dealer Muhammed Faherdeen Mubeen through Alokam Naveen Kumar, an intermediary who confessed to facilitating the sale through cryptocurrency and hawala transactions. Sources said that Harsha Reddy has been identified as the buyer of the watches through Naveen Kumar. Meanwhile, speculations emerged in political circles that the ED is probing a link between Raghava Constructions and Shirdi Sai Electricals, which allegedly obtained fake guarantees in the name of a European bank. According to sources, a “significant” hoard of cash has been found during the searches conducted by 15 teams of officials from the ED’s Delhi zonal office. However, there was no official word on any seizure from the ED. Sources say it is likely that the searches will continue until Saturday morning. Zelenskyy accuses peace merchants of having Nobel dream Y E S H I 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 WORRYING TREND Central govt’s total debt shoots up 25% to `176 lakh crore D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi 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 government 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 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. 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%.
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