The Supreme Court today asked the animal rights organisations to make representations before the Centre regarding three notifications declaring Nilgais, monkeys and wild boars as vermins, with the Animal Welfare Board of India terming it as an “arbitrary” decision.
The board, which is a statutory advisory body on animal welfare laws and promotes animal welfare in India, questioned the notifications issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declaring these animals as vermins for one year in the states of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
“The arbitrariness is there. We have seen the video.
There has to be a basis. How can the Ministry do this? There has to be compassion towards animals,” the lawyer appearing for the board told a vacation bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and A M Khanwilkar.
However, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said the board has not challenged these notifications.
The bench said it would hear the contentions of the board when the main matter is heard.
The bench, which refused to issue notice on the petitions, asked the Centre to consider the representations within two weeks and take appropriate steps as required.
During the hearing, the bench posed several queries to the petitioners on whether these notifications specifically talk about forest areas.
“Prohibition (on hunting) will apply to forest area or animal habitat and not outside that. Absolute prohibition applies to animal habitat only. You cannot hunt them in their home. Suppose they are found outside their habitat, then how to deal with it,” the bench asked.
Responding to the query, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who appeared for one of the petitioners, referred to killing of Nilgais in Bihar and said “there are scientific ways to deal with such situations. Wild animals cannot be killed like this.”
The first notification issued by the Ministry dated December 1, 2015, declared Nilgai and wild boar as vermin in some districts of Bihar for one year.
The second notification dated February 3 this year declared wild boar as vermin in some districts of Uttarakhand for a period of one year, while the third notification, issued on May 24 declared rhesus macaque (monkey) to be vermin in some districts of Himachal Pradesh.PTI
In a controversial remark, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath has said Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa was part of a “conspiracy for Christianisation of India”.
“Teresa was part of a conspiracy for Christianisation of India. Incidents of Christianisation had led to separatist movements in parts of North-East, including Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland,” the Gorakhpur MP said.
Addressing a Ram Katha programme here on Saturday, he said, “You all are unaware of the situation in NE. You should visit there to see the real situation.”
Last year, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had in a similar comment said Mother Teresa’s service to the poor was aimed at converting them to Christianity.
On the issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Adityanath said no one can stop it from being constructed.
“When they could not stop kar sewaks from demolishing the Babri mosque, how will they be able to stop us from carrying out construction,” he said.
On alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana, he said they were forced to leave Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and at that time no one raised the issue of “intolerance”.
“Exodus of Hindus from Kairana is a result of pseudo- secularism and appeasement policies pursued by different governments in Uttar Pradesh…Because of this, the population of Hindus which was once 68 per cent has come down to 8 per cent (in Kairana),” he alleged.PTI
Three District Reserve Group (DRG) personnel were today injured in a fierce gunbattle with Maoists in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, police said.
The face-off took place during the wee hours in the forest of Kilam Becha village when a joint squad of the state’s DRG and local police was carrying out an anti-Naxal operation in the region, Special Director General of Police, Anti-Maoist operations, D M Awasthi told PTI.
While they were cordoning-off the forest in Kilam Becha, a group of armed rebels opened indiscriminate fire on them leaving three DRG jawans injured, he said.
However, when the security personnel retaliated heavily, the Naxals fled from the spot.
Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured jawans were evacuated from the forest. They are being airlifted to Raipur for treatment, Awasthi said.
The injured personnel have been identified as – sub-inspector Pushpraj Nagwanshi, assistant sub-inspector Awadh Ram Sahu and constable Vinay Singh, police said.
Nagwanshi sustained critical injuries in the incident.
Police suspect that some Naxals might have also been injured or killed in the gun battle as blood stains were found at the spot, he said.
A combing operation has been launched in the region, the police official said.
A joint team of security forces from Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts had launched the anti-Naxal operation yesterday in the bordering areas of the districts, located around 400 kms from Raipur.
During the operation, exchange of fire between the security personnel and Naxals took place at various places.
Besides, a Maoist camp was also unearthed by the security forces in a separate encounter in the district, Awasthi said.
Senior minister Gopal Rai was relieved of the charge of the Transport Department as sought by by him on health grounds and the portfolio has now been given to his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.
Last week, Rai requested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to relieve him from the responsibility of Transport Department on health grounds as he had recently undergone a major surgery.
Jain, who is known to be close to Kejriwal, already holds key portfolios of PWD, Health, Power and Home. The departments left with Rai now include Labour, Irrigation and Flood Control, General Administration Department (GAD), Development and Employment.
“The Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi with Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to allocate portfolio of Transport Department to Satyendar Jain, Minister,” a notification issued by GAD yesterday said.
Jain had temporarily taken care of the transport department for about 20 days when Rai had gone under a surgery to get a bullet removed from his neck and then physiotherapy treatment in Hyderabad.
Rai yesterday said he had requested the Chief Minister to relieve him from the Transport Department portfolio as it had a very heavy workload.
He has been undergoing physiotherapy, which is expected to last three months, at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and is housed in the hospital.
The two phases of the odd-even scheme were implemented under the leadership of Rai as Transport Department was involved in the execution of the road-rationing plan on the ground.
Last month, he had announced Premium Bus Service Scheme to encourage the car users to leave their vehicles and use public transport.
However, the scheme came under scanner of Delhi Government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) as Lt Governor Najeeb Jung had refused to give his go-ahead to the scheme.PTI
He might have beaten Sachin Tendulkar’s record of being the youngest to 10,000 runs but England captain Alastair Cook says he is well aware that he is nothing like the “incredibly talented genius” from India and has a long way to go before matching up to him.
Cook became the 12th player in history to score 10,000 Test runs during England’s nine-wicket win against Sri Lanka at Durham last month but he is nearly 6,000 runs short of Tendulkar’s record aggregate of 15,921 runs from 200 matches.
The left-handed opener, 31, broke Tendulkar’s earlier record of being the youngest to score 10,000 Test runs by more than five months.
Cook, who has now scored 10,042 runs in 128 Tests, said Tendulkar’s record Test runs are a long way off for him as of now.
“Six thousand runs is a long way away. It was set by an incredibly talented genius. I’m no genius and Tendulkar is, so that is a long way ahead,” Cook said at the Lord’s ahead of the third Test against Sri Lanka.
“I want to play for England for as long as I can and at the moment I’m really enjoying it. I am really motivated and hungry and where that takes me who knows.”
“I’ve never lived my life by saying where I want to get to publicly. In private you have a few goals you want to try and achieve, but at the moment a lot of my goals are very immediate with this England team and as a captain that takes me away from personal milestones as a batter.”
The England skipper has 28 Test hundreds to his name at an average of 47, whereas Tendulkar bowed out of Test cricket with a record 51 centuries at an average of nearly 54.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, the first man to score 10,000 Test runs, said last week that Cook had it in him to set a new aggregate record for most Test runs because of his age and the fact that England play more games over the long format than many other nations.
CBI today questioned Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in connection with its probe into allegations of disproportionate assets amassed by him during his tenure as Union Minister.
CBI sources said the 81-year-old Chief Minister appeared for questioning at the agency headquarters here.
The agency had initiated an inquiry which had allegedly showed that as Union Minister during 2009-2012 (UPA rule), Singh had allegedly accumulated assets worth Rs 6.03 crore (approx) in his name and in the name of his family members which were found to be disproportionate to his known sources of income, CBI has said.
The FIR filed with a designated court in Delhi under the Prevention of Corruption Act, named Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent Anand Chauhan and Chunni Lal Chauhan.
The allegations have been refuted by Singh.
In a statement, CBI spokesperson had said it was further alleged that Singh had invested his unaccounted income in LIC policies in his name and in the name of his wife and other family members through a private person by showing the same as agricultural income.
“This was done by creation of a MoU purportedly dated June 15, 2008 for maintenance of an apple orchard, with the said private person (Chauhan) for a period of three years. The private person had allegedly deposited Rs five crore cash (approx) in his own bank account and debited the same through cheques for purchasing various LIC policies in their names,” CBI had said.
It had said Singh allegedly attempted to legitimize the same as agricultural income by filing revised Income Tax Returns in 2012.
“The agricultural income as claimed by him in his revised ITRs was not found to be tenable. The then Union Minister had allegedly accumulated other assets disproportionate to known sources of income,” CBI has alleged.PTI
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded a court-monitored investigation into the allegations against former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse, who stepped down after a host of allegations including irregularities in a land deal.
“We are not happy with Khadse’s resignation. It appears that BJP wants to protect him. That is why when he addressed the press conference, he was flanked by two senior BJP leaders,” AAP leader Ashish Khetan said here.
“Why are they not registering FIRs in three cases against him. In all three cases there should be FIRs and there should be court-monitored investigation which is not happening,” he said.
“Everybody has a feeling that they are trying to protect him. They should put him behind bars and they should register cases and investigate thoroughly,” he said.
Responding to a question, Khetan said, in Maharashtra, if the second most powerful minister after CM, is so corrupt you can imagine what is happening in the government.
The senior BJP leader resigned on Saturday in wake of a series of allegations including irregularities in a land deal in Pune, getting calls allegedly from fugitive Dawood Ibrahim’s residence in Karachi on his phone besides the alleged bribe sought by his personal aide.
Following this, CM Devendra Fadnavis announced an inquiry by a retired high court judge into the allegations against Khadse, as sought by the senior leader himself.PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted the Muslim community on the beginning of Ramzan and hoped the holy month deepens the bond of brotherhood and the spirit of harmony in society
“As the holy month of Ramzan commences, I convey my greetings to the Muslim community,” he said in an official statement.
“May Ramzan deepen the bond of brotherhood and the spirit of harmony in our society”, he said.
The Prime Minister is currently in the US as part of his five-nation tour…PTI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that there is “complete jungle raj” in the national capital, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung of “failing to control deteriorating law and order”.
Referring to the case of murder of a 50-year-old woman and her two daughters at their residence in North-East Delhi’s Brahmapuri area yesterday, he urged both the PM and the LG to do “something (to control crime)”, saying that “(see) what is happening in Delhi”.
“Complete jungle raj in Del. LG/Modi ji failed miserably.
What hv they done to control deteriorating law n order? (sic),” Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.
“This is 2 years of Modi raj,” he said, referring to the murder case.
In another tweet, he said, “LG sahib/ Modi ji, pl do something. Ye delhi mein kya ho raha hai (what is happening in Delhi).”
AAP has been demanding that the control over Delhi Police which directly reports to the Union Home Ministry, be handed over to the Delhi government.
Last month, the Delhi government had released a draft bill on full statehood to Delhi, seeking to bring police, land, municipal corporations and bureaucracy under its control, and invited suggestions from the public.
Kejriwal had slammed Delhi Police following the murder of 19-year-old Meenakshi who was stabbed to death in Central Delhi’s Anand Prabat area in July last year.
“The law and order situation is deteriorating in Delhi every day. Delhi Police comes under the Prime Minister. Either he should do something or Delhi Police should be handed over to the Delhi government,” he had said after meeting Meenakshi’s family members.
He had also said, “If the police is not answerable to the Delhi government then how will it be held accountable? Right now, Delhi Police is a law unto itself.
Mumbai, June 05, 2016: Reliance Energy, as an environment conscious company, is celebrating World Environment Day 2016 by increasing mass awareness on the importance of preserving our environment by staging Wildlife Preservation Awareness Skit at Sanjay Gandhi Nation Park on 4th June and 5th June, 2016.
Reliance Energy, Mumbai Distribution an arm of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd., distributes power to two third of Mumbai, keeps on carrying out activities to promote conservation of environment.
The skit appeals to visitors to do their bit for preserving all species and make individual effort to safeguard them for our future generations.
Our unique planet has been created for all species alike and they have together adorned this earth. Annihilation of these species is because of human beings’ actions, and hence it is our responsibility to preserve them.
On the occasion, a Reliance Energy spokesperson said, “Reliance Energy is an environment conscious company and we have been taking several initiatives to preserve our environment. This unique initiative of imparting learning through skit will encourage viewers to take care of their environment by not littering garbage. We have also been taking several business measures like net metering as an environmentally conscious company.”
Reliance Energy’s sustainable initiatives towards Environment.
As a part of commitment towards the environment in the areas of business operations, Reliance Energy employees regularly visits Mumbai’s iconic Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivali and have cleaned it by removing and collecting the plastic and solid waste from various sites.
Till date, more than 340 Company employees have collected over 700 Kgs. of solid waste and plastic from various sites within the park and handed over the same to the SGNP Authorities for its scientific disposals.
The drive is part of Company’s one of the several activities under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan of the Govt. of India.
The drive has been planned in phased manners and at regular intervals.
Company will continue with the drive in coming days too, with the objective of making the iconic place of tourists’ interest plastic free zone.
To make it a people’s movement, Reliance Energy has also engaged with a theatre group, which is performing a street play to create awareness on preserving greenery and wild life in the SGNP as well as at other locations.
Key highlights of the drive till date:
Till date, Reliance Energy officials voluntarily and actively participated in the drive for cleaning the Sanjay Gandhi National Park Area contributing more than 800 man-hours.
More than 700 Kgs plastic and solid waste was collected and the areas were cleaned.
Company employees identified the prime areas of tourists’ interests within the National Park, where the waste accumulation is on higher side and focused the cleaning activities on such areas.
These areas include Tiger Safari Point, Dahisar River Bed, Kanheri Caves, Krishnagiri Train Station, Boating Point, Yeoor Hills and community area like Nava Pada, Kombda Pada.
Reliance Energy employees also visited various local communities within park area to conduct training sessions to spread awareness among them as well as the visiting tourists.
Reliance Energy employees also weeded out the unwarranted grass on the path leading towards the Mahatma Gandhi Smarak (Memorial).
In another parallel activity with NGO Hariyali, more than 200 employees have planted over 5,000 saplings at the NGO managed plantation site at Bhavale Hills, Bhiwandi and in nurseries at Thane, Mulund and Rabale.
Earlier on the occasion of 2nd October 2015, Gandhi Jayanti, the day that coincides with the first anniversary of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, Reliance Energy family joined hands to participate in the cleanliness drive across their respective office locations. Over 1,600 people comprising employees, contract workers and housekeeping staff across 32 key office locations spread across 400 sq. km of its licensed area in the suburbs of Mumbai participated in the drive cleaning their office premises and the surrounding areas including nearby roads, societies, bus stops, public parks, play grounds etc.
Company initiative has been greatly acknowledged by Sanjay Gandhi National Park and NGO Hariyali authorities.
Reliance Energy, as a responsible Corporate Citizen, has always been supportive and participative in the cause of National interest, such as World Environment Day, Energy Conservation Week, World Water Day, Earth Hour; Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, etc.
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