logo
Govt approves amendment to 3 labour laws, restructure revenue dept

Govt approves amendment to 3 labour laws, restructure revenue dept

Time of India3 days ago

Bhopal: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the restructuring of the offices of the principal revenue commissioner and the commissioner of land records besides amendments of three labour laws to suit industries.
The cabinet meeting was held at Pachmarhi to commemorate the valour and sacrifice of Raja Bhabhut Singh, the tribal ruler who stood and fought against the British empire to safeguard 'jal, jungle and jameen' (water, forest and land).
The cabinet also cleared the proposal for transfer of the Pawarkheda Composite Logistics Hub Project, currently being implemented by M/s Kesar Multimodal Logistics Ltd to M/s DP World Multimodal Logistics Pvt Ltd.
It also cleared the setting up of the "agritech hub / innovation hub for agriculture" at Indore.
According to the state govt, the offices of the principal revenue commissioner and the commissioner of land records would be restructured to meet modern day needs. The restructured body will be called the office of the commissioner, land resource management, with a main and an auxiliary headquarters.
Under the new structure, the positions of superintendent and assistant superintendent of land records will be aligned with those of tehsildar and naib tehsildar respectively.
The additional tehsildars and naib tehsildars will be assigned judicial and non-judicial duties such as protocol, law and order and surveys. Having a dedicated tehsildar for judicial functions will facilitate daily proceedings in revenue courts, leading to faster disposal of revenue-related cases, said an official press release.
To simplify procedures and reduce compliance burden on small and medium industries, the cabinet has approved amendments of three labour laws including Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, The Factories Act, 1948 and Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
The Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC) under the department of science & technology will be the State's implementing partner for "agritech hub / innovation hub for agriculture" at Indore. A sum of Rs 2 crore will be provided to IIT Indore during the financial year 2025-26 for the establishment of this hub. The project supported by the ministry of electronics and IT, GoI, with an approved cost of Rs.14.98 crore will be implemented by IIT Indore in collaboration with ICAR-IISR Indore, ICAR-CIAE Bhopal and C-DAC Pune.
One of the key objectives of the agritech hub is the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Agriculture at IIT Indore. This centre will launch 46 advanced agritech programmes, support 40 innovations, file 25 patents, incubate 8 startups and facilitate 10 technology transfers and licensing agreements through startups. In addition, the hub will accelerate the development of genomics and phenomics for improved crop traits, precision agriculture and drone-based imaging, emerging technologies for seed quality testing and high-performance computing, big data analytics, and machine learning for advanced agricultural research and productivity enhancement.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Govt launches portal for Waqf properties
Govt launches portal for Waqf properties

Hindustan Times

time41 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Govt launches portal for Waqf properties

The Union government on Friday launched the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) portal, a centralised platform aimed at creating a digital inventory all Waqf properties, with minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju calling it a 'historic' move that would ensure Waqf assets are utilised effectively and fairly for poor Muslims. 'The UMEED portal will add a new chapter in the history of Waqf property management and administration in India. It will not only bring transparency but will also help the common Muslims, particularly women and children,' Rijiju said after launching the portal. He was accompanied by minister of state for minority affairs George Kurian. Calling it a historic step, Rijiju emphasised that the UMEED central portal — developed by the ministry of minority affairs — is more than just a technological upgrade. 'It is a symbol of the government's firm commitment to safeguarding the rights of minority communities and ensuring that community-owned Waqf assets are utilised effectively and fairly, for the poor Muslims, for whom, it was originally meant,' the Union minister said. The central portal, named after the eponymous UMEED Act of 1995, is intended to streamline the management of Waqf properties, ensure real-time data collection, and provide open access to verified information. It also aims to improve greater transparency, accountability, and public participation, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that all Waqf properties across the country are required to be registered on the portal within six months from the date of launch. Rijiju said that all state waqf board representatives, who participated in the portal launch virtually, have been informed to keep the six-month deadline in mind, while pointing out that not adhering to the same would cause additional delays and 'trouble' for the ministry. Registrations will be carried out by the respective state Waqf boards. Properties that remain unregistered beyond the deadline, and extension, if any, will be classified as disputed and referred to the Waqf tribunal, officials said. Ministry of minority affairs secretary Chandra Shekhar Kumar said the UMEED portal will mandate submission of official documents for registering a Waqf property, aiming to prevent the inclusion of 'illegal or encroached' land. For properties lacking such documentation, he added, the mutawalli will be required to approach the waqf tribunal for verification. Notably, the portal also includes a field that asks whether the waqf property is located on government land. 'Since land is a state subject, it will ultimately be up to the state government to confirm or deny whether the land in question is indeed waqf,' Kumar told HT. The portal launch comes in the backdrop of the enactment of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on April 5 this year. Several petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf Act are pending before the Supreme Court. The development comes a day after the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) opposed the launch of the portal in view of the petitions against the Waqf law being pending before the apex court. Rijiju, however, said, 'I hope the court recognises that this is a landmark law, and it has now been enacted. The opposition must accept this fact and cooperate with the government to ensure smooth implementation. As for the Waqf rules, it is a natural process—we are actively working on it.' According to the guidelines, properties must be registered with detailed descriptions including dimensions, ownership documents, and geotagged locations. Properties recorded under the names of women will not be eligible to be declared as Waqf. Ministry secretary Kumar said that women, children, and economically weaker sections will be among the primary beneficiaries of Waqf assets. The portal generates a 17-digit unique identification number for each property. It features dropdown-based structured data input, integration with GIS mapping and e-Governance tools, and an online grievance redressal mechanism. Public users will have access to basic property information. A three-tier user verification process has been instituted. The 'Maker' is a mutawalli or an authorised person of the Waqf Board who will initiate data entry. The 'Checker' is a district-level officer or a designated official to verify the data. The 'Approver' is the CEO or another officer authorised by the State or UT Waqf Board who will grant final approval. All data on the portal will be governed by existing data protection and privacy regulations. A toll-free helpline has been made available for technical assistance and support.

The Train to Kashmir
The Train to Kashmir

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

The Train to Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two specially designed Vande Bharat trains between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Srinagar on Friday. The inauguration of a direct rail link to the Valley is a historic milestone that is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the development, trade, and tourism of Kashmir, and its closer all-round integration with the rest of the country. A very long journey The first railway line in the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was built by the British in 1897 over a distance of 40-45 km between Jammu and Sialkot in the plains. In 1902 and 1905, a railway line was proposed between Rawalpindi and Srinagar along the course of the Jhelum, which would have connected the Kashmir Valley with the railway network of undivided India. But Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir was in favour of a Jammu-Srinagar line via Reasi, and neither project progressed. After Partition, Sialkot went to Pakistan, and Jammu was disconnected from the rail network of India. Until the inauguration of the Pathankot-Jammu line in 1975, the railway station nearest to Jammu and Kashmir was Pathankot in Punjab. In 1983, work began on a railway line between Jammu and Udhampur. This 53-km line was supposed to be completed in five years, but ultimately took 21 years. With work still underway, the central government announced, in 1994, the extension of this line from Udhampur to Srinagar, and onward to Baramulla. This was the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project, which was approved in March 1995 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore. In 2002, the USBRL was declared a national project, and sections of the line became operational over the years that followed. The USBRL is finally complete now —272 km of tracks built at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore, passing through 36 tunnels and over 943 bridges, bringing Katra and Srinagar within 3 hours of each other. An engineering feat The Himalayas are young, and the geologically unstable Shivalik Hills and Pir Panjal mountains lie in the seismically most active Zones IV and V. The terrain is difficult and sees heavy snow in winter, and presented serious challenges in the construction of bridges and tunnels. Among the several firsts of this remarkable achievement of railway engineering are the world's highest railway arch bridge, its arch rising 359 metres above the bed of the Chenab in Reasi district; the first cable-stayed bridge of the Railways on the Anji Khad, also in Reasi district; and the country's longest transport tunnel, 12.77 km long, in Ramban district. Development benefits Two Vande Bharat trains in each direction will cover the distance between Katra and Srinagar in about three hours, halving the time taken by the road journey. The trains will run even in deep winter, providing round-the-year all-weather connectivity to the Valley. The train will be extended soon to Jammu Tawi, which will make it possible to roll into Srinagar directly from almost anywhere in the country. The potential of the train in revolutionising tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has been repeatedly stressed. Over time, the USBRL is expected to have a major impact on the economy of the Union Territory, facilitating hassle-free transport of goods such as apples, dry fruits, pashmina shawls, handicrafts etc., to other parts of the country in the shortest possible time and at lower costs. The cost of transporting items of daily use to the Valley from elsewhere in the country is also expected to go down significantly.

Justice Janarthanam, a quota warrior, is no more
Justice Janarthanam, a quota warrior, is no more

Time of India

time5 hours ago

  • Time of India

Justice Janarthanam, a quota warrior, is no more

Chennai: Former judge of Madras high court , Justice M S Janarthanam, known for his work on the reservation front and who had studied and recommended a 3% internal reservation for arunthathiyars among the Scheduled Castes, passed away on Friday. He was 89. Justice Janarthanam served in the high court from 1988 to 1998. He was appointed Tamil Nadu Backward Class Commission chairman in 2006 and served in that role until 2015. Chief minister M K Stalin said Justice Janarthanam would be accorded state honours and that he would personally attend the last rites, in recognition of the judge's contribution to social justice. "It was based on his recommendation that reservation was implemented for Muslims, Christians, and arunthathiyars in Tamil Nadu," Stalin said in a condolence message. Justice Janarthanam headed the state commission for backward classes and also was the one-man commission constituted by then chief minister, M Karunanidhi, to study the educational, social, and economic backwardness of the arunthathiyar community, which was part of the Scheduled Caste category. In Aug 2024, a seven-judge bench of Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice of India, Justice D Y Chandrachud, upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo The Tamil Nadu govt had passed the Act based on the recommendation of the commission headed by Justice Janarthanam, providing a 3% internal reservation to the arunthathiyar community within the 18% quota provided for the Scheduled Caste in 2008. The Act brought together seven scheduled castes (SCs) — arunthathiyar, chakkiliyar, madari, madiga, pagadai, thoti, and adi andhra — as arunthathiyars for the sake of reservation on a preferential basis. Justice Janarthanam also served as president of the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. "He was a firm but gentle human being. I have been associated with him since he was a registrar in Madras high court before his elevation as a judge of the court. His demise is a loss to the legal fraternity," advocate-general P S Raman said. Describing him as a shining example of the chairman of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said Justice Janarthanam recommended a 10.5% reservation for vanniyars. CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said: "The passing of such a figure is a great loss to both the judiciary and democratic movements fighting for social justice." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store