12112024-TTC-01.qxd 11/12/2024 12:23 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 313 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ISHIBA RE-ELECTED PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN WORLD /thetribunechd SECURITY FORCES HALT ANTI-TERROR OP TO RESCUE TREKKERS J&K INFLOWS IN EQUITY PM: OBC UNITY BEHIND SCHEMES RISE 21% CONG’S ELECTORAL IN OCTOBER BUSINESS BANKRUPTCY BACK PAGE tuesday | 12 november 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Just notices, no action: SC raps Punjab, Haryana on farm fires 51st CJI Sanjiv Khanna sworn in Says both reluctant to prosecute farmers despite flagrant breaches Satya Prakash SEEKS AG’S RESPONSE TO CENTRE’S DECISION Tribune News Service President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath of office to Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the 51st CJI at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. PTI REPORT BACK PAGE Foreign Secy Misri granted extension New Delhi: The tenure of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has been extended till July 2026. He was scheduled to retire on November 30. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the extension in service to Misri, a 1989-batch IFS officer. Misri had assumed charge as the Foreign Secretary on July 15. He has held important positions in the past. He has served both in the MEA and the PMO. — TNS Vistara set to bid adieu to the skies New Delhi/mumbai: The nearly 10-year-old Vistara is set to bid adieu to the skies as the carrier will operate its last domestic and international flights as an independent airline on Monday night. Vistara flight UK 986 will fly from Mumbai to Delhi and UK 115 from Delhi to Singapore. It will be the last time that the flight code “UK” will dot the firmament and from Tuesday, Vistara flights will have the new code “AI2XXX”. — PTI DA case: SC protects Chahal from arrest New Delhi: The SC on Monday protected from arrest Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, former media adviser to the then Punjab CM, Capt Amarinder Singh. He is accused of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. “In the meantime, no coercive measures must be taken against the petitioner provided he extends all cooperation during the investigation and trial,” the top court said. INSIDE Curfew in Manipur district as CRPFguns down 10 militants Tribal outfit cries foul, announces shutdown today Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 11 Ten militants armed with sophisticated weapons were killed in retaliatory fire after they attacked a CRPF post at Jakuradhor under Borobekra police station in Manipur’s Jiribam district around 3 pm on Monday, officials said. Though the officials did not confirm the identity of the militants, tribal body KukiZo Council alleged its village volunteers were killed by CRPF personnel. The council put the count at 11. Hours later, the Manipur Government imposed an indefinite curfew across Jiribam district as the tribal body declared a shutdown in the state from 5 am to 6 pm tomorrow. In a post on X, the Manipur Police said, “The CRPF post was attacked by armed militants and the security forces retaliated New Delhi, November 11 The Supreme Court on Monday once again questioned the governments in Punjab and Haryana over their reluctance to act against farmers indulging in stubble burning, which adversely affected the air quality in Delhi-NCR. “Even today we find reluctance on the part of governments in taking action under the Section 14 of the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021. We have observed in earlier orders that instead of direct prosecution, states are still busy just issuing show-cause notices despite flagrant breaches. States owe explanation to us on nonprosecution,” a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said. “How can this happen? How come this increased during Diwali? Why are you sparing your officers? They are sparing the farmers. Farmers are filing applications before us because they fear things. And now you all continued on page 8 Manipur’s Leitanpokpi village, where the militants were killed in an encounter with CRPF personnel on Monday. ANI strongly. CRPF constable Sanjeev Kumar sustained a bullet injury and has been evacuated to Silchar Medical College in Assam. After the firing ceased, the area was searched and the bodies of 10 militants were recovered.” The gunfight lasted 45 minutes and the situation was brought under control after the militants were neutralised, said officials. A huge cache of arms, including three AK-47 automatic weapons, four selfloading rifles, two INSAS, an RPG, a pump action gun and magazines, were recovered, they said. Operations were continuing to flush out militants and reinforcement teams consisting of Assam continued on page 8 edit: manipur’s misery Punjab readies Sukhna eco plan Zone to cover area within 1 km to 3 km from wildlife sanctuary Rajmeet Singh ISSUE MIRED IN CONTROVERSY Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 11 The Punjab Forest Department has proposed to set up an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) falling within 1 km to 3 km around the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The department will conduct an aerial survey to digitally define its boundary. Though some farm houses of influential persons would fall in the proposed ESZ, the ■ A few years ago, there was a dispute between Punjab and Chandigarh over an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) around Sukhna ■ Punjab wanted to declare area within just 100 m of the sanctu- ary as an ESZ to ‘facilitate’ Tata Camelot project in Kansal ■ In 2019, the project was struck down by the SC, citing interests of 95 Punjab MLAs who were to get flats in the housing scheme aerial survey would enable the department know the precise status of construction activity in areas under the zone. A draft of the proposal to notify the ESZ has been sent to the state Cabinet for approval, said a senior government functionary. continued on page 8 70% Hry in BPL category, 75L added in 2 yrs Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Hisar, November 11 Over two-thirds of Haryana’s population is living below the poverty line (BPL), suggests data available with Aadhaarenabled Public Distribution System of the state Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department. As many as 1.98 crore (70 per cent) people figure in the BPL bracket out of an estimated 2.8 crore state population. What is even more startling is that around 75 lakh people have been added to the category in the past two years. In December 2022, the depart- STATE BPL POPULATION District F’bad Hisar Mewat Karnal Sirsa State Nov 2024 14,29,691 13,55,505 13,49,804 11,85,310 10,67,556 1,98,90,964 Dec 2022 8,21,656 8,16,195 8,77,538 8,64,264 8,11,159 1,24,52,579 ment had listed nearly 1.24 crore people — 44 per cent of the total population — under the category. Their numbers have risen by nearly 26 per cent over the past two years. The numbers bely the Haryana Government’s claim of ushering in a rapid pace of SPIKE SURPRISING, ANOMALY POSSIBLE My dept isn’t involved in data collection. The rise in beneficiary numbers is surprising. I will flag this to CM for possible anomalies. ❝ Rajesh Nagar, MINISTER FOR CIVIL SUPPLIES development in the state. Expressing surprise at the figures, Rajesh Nagar, Minister for Civil Supplies, says: “The department is not directly involved in the collection of data, which is provided by the Citizen Resources Information Department (CRID). It is surprising that the number of beneficiaries has risen by 75 lakh in two years. I will take up the matter with the chief minister to flag any possible anomalies in the compilation of data.” The state offers certain benefits to those on the list, including 5 kg grain (wheat/bajra) per person free of cost, besides two litres of mustard oil at subsidised Rs 40 and 1 kg sugar at Rs 13.5 per BPL card every month. Various departments run other schemes catering to the BPL families. CM Nayab Singh Saini had recently continued on page 8 c m y b ■ Top court asked the Punjab Stubble set on fire at Harpalpur village in Patiala. FILE PHOTO Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, to respond to the Centre’s decision to reject the state government’s demand for ~1,200 crore towards incentives for farmers to dissuade them from stubble burning ■ The court also questioned the governments of Punjab and Haryana for lack of action against the officials not enforcing the ban imposed on stubble burning No religion encourages pollution: SC Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 11 Noting that no religion encouraged activities that caused pollution, the Supreme Court today directed the Delhi Government to decide within a fortnight on extending the firecracker ban throughout the year. “Prima facie, we are of the view that no religion encourages any activity that creates pollution. If firecrackers are Moots year-round cracker ban in Delhi burnt in this fashion, it also affects the fundamental right to health of citizens,” a Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka said. The Bench asked the Delhi Government to take a call, in consultation with all stakeholders, by November 25 on banning firecrackers in the national capital throughout the year. It also asked neighbouring state governments to respond to the issue of banning the manufacture, sale, storage and bursting of firecrackers in their areas. The Bench pulled up the Delhi Police for failing to comprehensively implement the firecracker ban in the national capital, calling it an “eyewash”. It asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to continued on page 8