FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard DEVELOPED NATIONS TOLD TO HONOUR CLIMATE FINANCE PLEDGES AT COP29 SOLOMON ISLANDS WORLD’S LARGEST CORAL DISCOVERED Scientists say they have found the world’s largest coral near the Pacific Islands, announcing on Thursday a major discovery “pulsing with life and colour”. PAGE 9 A group of developing countries including India told developed nations to honour commitments to provide climate finance during COP talks in Baku $1 TN NEEDED PER YEAR TO COPE WITH WARMING A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS SECOND EDITION OF THE RNG SAHITHYA SAMMAN TODAY PA R A M I TA G H O S H @ New Delhi I DEALLY, works of literature should never have to compete, but what would literary prizes be without such competition? The second edition of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman instituted by The New Indian Express group will on Friday unveil the names of winners across three categories from among some of India’s most exciting voices in fiction and non-fiction. At the ceremony to be held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, a citation, a trophy and a cash prize will be award, ed to each of the three winners. The selection process kicked off in July with a long list of prospective winners based on suggestions and submissions from senior editors from each of TNIE’s 30-plus centres across the country — in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and The Morning Standard and Sunday Standard in Delhi — as well as from publishers. The list was finally whittled down to a shortlist by an internal jury . In the non-fiction category four books were , in the fray — The Day I Became A Runner by Sohini Chattopadhyay The Yellow Sparrow by , Santa Khurai, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit, and Neerja Chowdhury’s How Prime Ministers Decide. The fiction section had three contenders — Acts of God by Kanan Gill, The Scent of Fallen Stars by Aishwarya Jha and Western Lane by Chetna Maroo. Decisions on these two segments apart, the jury had also the task of zeroing in on one among a shortlist of literary luminaries for a Lifetime Achievement Award, the top honour instituted in the name of the group’s iconic founder Ramnath Goenka by TNIE Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Kumar Sonthalia. Chaired by Pavan K Varma, former Ambassador and author, the external jury consisted of former foreign secretary and writer Vikas Swarup and the popular writer on history Manu S Pillai. They were joined by an internal jury comprising Editor Santwana Bhattacharya and Consulting Editor Ravi Shankar for extensive deliberations. The non-fiction prize, in particular, was most keenly contested and led to a nail-biting finish. Await the names to be unveiled at the award ceremony today!  NEW DELHI  J8.00  Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) said developed nations must not dilute their obligations to provide climate finance under the Paris accords. It comes as a new report by the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance said $1 trillion will be needed every year by 2030 to help developing countries cope with the effects of global warming PAGES 12 AFSPA back in 6 areas of Manipur Situation continues to be volatile with intermittent firing in parts of the troubled state, says Centre M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi WITH the situation in Manipur continuing to be grim, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday re-imposed the tough Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in six police station areas in the Imphal valley after declaring them as disturbed areas. The announcement came on a day when there was no trace of six Meiteis — three women and three children — missing after Monday’s gunfight in Jiribam district that left 10 ‘militants’ dead. The police said search operations were continuing even as political parties joined various organisations in demanding the release of the six captives. Till now, most of Manipur was in the disturbed areas category except for 19 police stations in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley . The geography of the disturbed areas has now been extended to the jurisdictions of Sekmai and Lamsang police stations in Imphal West, Lamlai in Imphal East, Moirang in Bishnupur, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi, and Jiribam police station in five districts. The imposition of AFPSA is warranted to carry out well-coordinated operations to maintain the security situation and contain the activities of insurgent groups there, the ministry said in its notification. A truck damaged after militants set it on fire, in Jiribam district | PTI The ministry said Manipur continues to be volatile with intermittent firing in violence prone areas in the fringe areas of Bishnupur-Churachandpur, Imphal East-Kangpokpi-Imphal West and Jiribam districts. There was active participation of insurgent groups in heinous Autopsy report The autopsy report of a 31-year-old tribal woman killed in Jiribam district on November 7, revealed that she was subjected to thirddegree torture and suffered 99% burns Mahesh Khichi of AAP elected mayor in close-contest poll City in ‘Red Zone’ WITH AQI 424 GRAP III IMPOSED WHAT’S NOT ALLOWED Ban on BS-lll petrol, BS-IV diesel vehicles Inter-state buses from NCR, except electric, CNG and BS-VI diesel, prohibited from entering city P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi Stringent ban on construction, demolition Suspension of mining-related activities Online classes for students up to class 5 Daily water sprinkling on major roads DECISION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION FOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT CAQM issues an advisory to residents encouraging them to reduce outdoor activity and a cut-down on vehicle emissions | PTI Ban on diesel car, construction as capital air remains most foul I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THE national Capital’s ‘severe’ air quality for the second day on Thursday prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Sub-Committee on Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to impose Stage-III of the revised GRAP in the entire Delhi-NCR region with effect from 8 am, November 15. Enhanced anti-pollution steps will include a ban on construction and demolition activities, road-paving, restrictions on boring and drilling work. All government, governmentaided and unaided private schools of the directorate of education, MCD, NDMC and DCB schools have been directed to discontinue physical classes acts of violence. AFSPA empowers officers of the armed forces to “fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death” after giving due warning against “any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area” if they are of the opinion that it is necessary to maintain public order. The law protects officers from prosecution. “No prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.” Online learning back All schools up to Class 5 will switch to online learning till further directions, CM Atishi said. All govt, aided and unaided private recognised schools of MCD, NDMC and DCB schools to discontinue physical classes. till further orders. The CAQM orders have also issued an advisory to the residents encouraging them to reduce outdoor activity and a cutdown on vehicle emissions. Petrol vehicles from the older emission norms BS-III and diesel vehicles of BS-IV category will not be allowed in Delhi and parts of NCR such as Guru- gram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar. On Thursday morning, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai had said GRAP-3 would not be implemented due to expected improvement in air quality . “From Thursday wind speed , is expected to pick up. The maximum temperature recorded today is 29 degrees C. The temperature is expected to rise to 30 degrees C. The CAQM met on Wednesday and it was decided that GRAP III curbs will not be imposed as yet,” said Rai. Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi called Delhi a “gas chamber.” “Coming back to Delhi from Wayanad where the AQI is 35, was like entering a gas chamber,” she posted on social media platform ‘X’. P4 AAP councillor Mahesh Khichi was elected the mayor on Thursday edging past BJP’s Kishan Lal by just three votes, in a boost to the ruling party ahead of the Assembly polls. Khichi secured 133 votes, while Lal won 130, with two votes deemed invalid. Meanwhile, AAP’s Ravindra Bhardwaj was elected unopposed to the post of deputy mayor after BJP’s Neeta Bisht withdrew her nomination. This year, the position of mayor was reserved for a Dalit candidate. The polls, initially scheduled for April, had been repeatedly delayed amid a standoff between AAP and BJP. The delay was compounded when Arvind Kejriwal was taken into custody in an excise policy case, stalling the final sign-offs required to schedule the election. As a result, the new mayor will have a tenure of just five months. The Congress boycotted the elections with its councillors walking out of the House before the voting process could begin. In addition to the elected councillors in the MCD House, seven Lok Sabha MPs (all from BJP), three from Rajya Sabha (all from AAP), and 14 MLAs (13 from AAP and one from BJP) nominated by the Assembly Speaker were eligible to vote in the election. Former BJP councillor and East Delhi mayor Satya Sharma served as the presiding officer. Sharma oversaw the December 2022 mayoral elections, which were marked by disputes and procedural delays. “I would like to thank the leadership of my party, especially Kejriwal Ji, for raising a mere party worker like me to the position of mayor,” Khichi said after the win. House panel not to call Buch for its next meeting P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, headed by Congress leader K C Venugopal, has decided not to summon Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch for its next meeting on November 19. Buch, who is facing allegations of conflict of interest raised by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the panel on October 24, but she skipped the meeting at the last hour citing personal reasons. The meeting was postponed after officials informed the PA C a b o u t Buch’s inability to attend the meet. Venugopal later said the Sebi chair person had sought exemption from appearing before the panel but he denied the request. Although her no-show could be considered as contempt of the panel, Venugopal said the committee took a lenient view on grounds of the official being a lady . According to the schedule published on the Lok Sabha website, the PAC has decided to call representatives of the coal ministry on the financial scam involving Dewan Housing Finance Corporation for its next meeting on Tuesday. The subject list has no mention of summoning Buch and Sebi officials. DALLA BE EXTRADITION TO SOUGHT BY INDIA India said it will seek the extradition of Arsh Dalla, the de facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force, after his arrest in Canada. He was designated as a terrorist by India in 2023 | P7 Karnataka SIT to probe Covid scam against BSY Row over Centre nod to new EXPRESS NEW SERVICE @ Bengaluru BALL IN SIDDU’S COURT Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will soon take the steps to form the SIT, law minister Patil said THE Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government on Thursday decided to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged irregularities in the Covid-19 management and misappropriation of funds by the previous BJP gov ernment. Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting here on Thursday the state’s law minister H K , Patil said that the decision to set up the SIT is based on the interim report of Justice John Michael D’Cunha Commission’s report. Constituting the SIT suggests the Congress government intends to prosecute BJP leaders, including former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and exhealth minister B Sriramulu for their purported role in the alleged Covid scam in 2020. The SIT will have three police officers headed by an IGP. The team will peruse the charges in the D’Cunha Commission’s report, including import of 3 lakh PPE kits at inflated prices from China. Recently, re por ts citing leaked portions of the D’Cunha report said it recommended prosecution of Yediyurappa and Sriramulu. But both the BJP leaders rejected the charges claiming they only tried to save lives. The state government had formed the commission to probe the alleged irregularities in Covid-19 procurements. It submitted the interim report on September 1. Subsequently, a cabinet sub-committee headed by deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar examined the commission’s report and presented its views before the cabinet on Thursday Based on the recom. mendation of the sub-committee, the Cabinet decided to form the SIT, Patil told reporters. He claimed the Public Accounts Committee headed by him had discovered the nexus between the politicians and officials, resulting in corruption. He said when PPE kits were available for `330-400 per unit domestically, three lakh of them were bought for `2,117 per unit from China. The report has a mention of payment of `6.93 crore to private labs by flouting norms, `4.48 crore to eight labs that were not accredited by ICMR, he said. EXPRESS READ CONCEDES AMID PROTEST BY ASPIRANTS UPPCS exams in single day EMERGENCY LANDING AT RAIPUR Hoax threat grounds flight ED MOVES HC IN WAQF BOARD CASE Agreeing to the demands of aspirants after protests, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Thursday postponed the Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer exams, and announced that it will hold the Provincial Civil Services Preliminary Exam-2024 on the old pattern in a single day. | P8 A bomb threat that led to a Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight making an emergency landing at Raipur airport on Thursday turned out to be a hoax. The accused passenger, Animesh Mandal, told a crew claiming there is a bomb (dynamite) placed inside the plane. The accused from Nagpur was arrested. A city court on Thursday ordered the release of AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan on bail in a money laundering case tied to alleged recruitment irregularities during his tenure as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board. After the ruling, ED approached the HC, challenging the order to release Khan. | P4 Amanatullah granted bail Haryana Assembly building INTER-STATE CONFLICT With MoEF clearance, Haryana can build its own assembly building in Chandigarh UT The present Assembly building also hosts Punjab House Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966, but it hasn’t got its own Assembly building All Punjab parties oppose concession to Haryana, saying it will weaken its claim on Chandigarh H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) has granted environmental clearance for land offered by Haryana to the Chandigarh Administration in exchange for land designated for a new assembly building complex. This could snowball into a major political slugfest between Punjab and Haryana. All political parties in AAP-led Punjab, including the BJP, oppose the move, saying Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana has no right over it. Sources said that the MoEF on Tuesday issued a notification clearing a proposal for transferring 12 acres to Chandigarh in lieu of land allotted to Haryana for building its own assembly building. In July last year, Chandigarh Administration decided to allot 10 acres to Haryana in lieu of 12 acres adjacent to the tech Carved out in 1966 When Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966, it was promised that Chandigarh would be handed over to Punjab after some time. Until Haryana built its own capital, Chandigarh would remain Union Territory. However, 58 years have passed, and Chandigarh has not been handed over to Punjab. park that falls in Haryana. The decision to allot land in Chandigarh to Haryana, which was carved out of Punjab in 1966, carries political symbolism. Any concession to Haryana is perceived in Punjab as a weakening of the border state’s influence over the UT. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar opposed the Centre’s move and sought PM Narendra Modi’s intervention. Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa called the decision an affront to Punjab’s rights. SAD’s Daljit Singh Cheema termed the decision a violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966.