Punishing IAS, IPS officers in MP for irking BJP-VHP members is reprehensible
ThePrint story about SPs and DCs in Madhya Pradesh being shunted out for displeasing BJP-VHP members shows a disturbing trend. Officers owe allegiance to India's Constitution, not ruling parties. Punishing them for doing their duty is reprehensible. CM Yadav would do well to heed PM Modi's Civil Services Day speech.
Militancy vs terrorism a principled battle for Indians. Western media can't brazen through anymore
Militancy vs terrorism debate isn't just semantics. It's a principled battle Indians have waged with the Western media since 1990s. In the social media era, it's impossible to brazen through such questions. This isn't about India's rising influence. Indians comprise a sizeable chunk of their digital readership. Brown Lives Matter.
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Hindustan Times
25 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Govt plans to replenish green cover, plant 100 million trees in state
MUMBAI: After chopping nearly 500,000 trees for infra projects in the last year, the state government has decided to plant a hundred million trees this year under a campaign called 'Green Maharashtra, Prosperous Maharashtra'. The decision was taken at a meeting on Wednesday, and a target of another hundred million trees has been set for next year as well. CM Devendra Fadnavis said the campaign would succeed only if tree plantation became a public movement, and asked citizens to participate. In the first term of the BJP government from 2014 to 2019, the then forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had announced a target of planting 330 million trees, a claim contested by the Congress. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government had announced a probe into this. But after it lost power in 2022, the probe panel gave a clean chit to Mungantiwar. 'To achieve the goal of 33% forest cover, the campaign must continue for the next 20 years in mission mode. In the past eight years, Maharashtra has planted a large number of trees, successfully meeting earlier targets of 330 million and 500 million saplings. Hence, this year's target is achievable,' said a press note issued by the government. Claiming that Maharashtra was leading in increasing forest cover in the country, Fadnavis emphasised that tree plantation was essential for maintaining the environmental balance. 'Saplings that are at least 1.5 years old should be planted to ensure survival, and the survival rate should be increased by using artificial intelligence,' he said. 'Tools like remote sensing and satellite imagery should be used to ensure transparency.' The forest department, in a presentation, said that as per national standards, at least 33% of total land needed to be under forest cover. India has 25.17% of forest land while Maharashtra has 21.25%. The department said there was much scope for plantation outside forest areas such as areas next to national highways and expressways. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said that indigenous and shade-giving trees needed to be planted along highways but potential road expansions in the future also needed to be considered. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar launched a tree plantation and monitoring system developed by the PWD at the meeting. The government has made it clear that several departments must allocate land and ensure quality saplings by developing nurseries. It has emphasised that tree species should be planted based on regional conditions and said that full use of the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) funds should be made available for this work. The responsibility for planting trees along national and state highways as well as pilgrimage routes will now be with the forest department. With growing industrial development in Gadchiroli, plans are afoot to plant 10 million trees there next year. The forest department has been instructed to run special campaigns in Marathwada, especially in districts like Beed and Latur, where tree cover is very low. A senior IAS officer said that it was the forest department's job anyway to arrange plantation drives. 'The department runs away from this responsibility and dumps it on various municipal corporations and councils,' he said. Dr Yogesh Salphale, an environmentalist from Chandrapur, said that the target of 100 million trees was too large for the authorities to manage. 'Instead, they should preserve large trees which they chop, claiming they are in the way of infra projects,' he pointed out. Suresh Chopane, another environmentalist, said that plantation was more vital in cities, where trees are routinely chopped. 'Mumbai has become a heat trap,' he said. 'In the 1950s and 1960s, temperatures never exceeded 37 degrees centigrade. Now we have crossed 40 degrees centigrade. This is urban heat and more trees are definitely needed.'
India Gazette
38 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"Everyone, whom we met, condemned terror attack in Pahalgam": All-party delegation member V Muraleedharan
New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): BJP leader V Muraleedharan, member of Group 7 of the all-party delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, arrived at the Delhi airport late Wednesday night after visiting key global capitals as part of Modi government's big diplomatic outreach to highlight India's stand on terrorism. He said during their visit they interacted with a cross-section of persons, including those from the government, and conveyed the message that the terrorism that India is subjected to is a result of Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism. The delegation visited key global capitals during their visit as part of the Modi government's big diplomatic outreach following Operation Sindoor, which was launched by the Indian armed forces in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. He told reporters, 'In the four countries that we visited, we had very highly productive meetings. We interacted with a cross-section of persons, including those from the government, the parliament, the civic society, and academics, and the message that we conveyed was that even though terrorism is a global menace, the terrorism that India is subjected to is a result of Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism. He also rebuked Pakistan and said everyone they met during their visit condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam 'State-sponsored terrorism will not be found anywhere else other than that sponsored by Pakistan, and there was a consensus that there is a need for a global initiative against such forms of terrorism. Everyone whom we met, in their strongest words, condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam. Our visit was very successful...' The all-party delegation led by Supriya Sule also includes Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, Manish Tewari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Lavu Sri Krishna devarayalu, Anand Sharma, former Minister of Commerce & Industry, V Muraleedharan, Former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Syed Akbaruddin, Former Permanent Representative of India to the UN. The delegation aims to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism while engaging with leaders in key multi-party delegation, consisting of seven groups led by one MP each, has been initiated to counter global misinformation and highlight India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism. (ANI)
India Gazette
38 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Population Census 2027 to be held in two phases along with enumeration of castes; Opposition parties accuse government of delay
New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): The central government on Wednesday announced that the Population Census-2027 will be conducted in two phases and will also include the enumeration of castes. Opposition parties accused the government of further delaying the nationwide enumeration exercise. The Ministry of Home Affairs made the announcement in a statement, mentioning that the census will follow different reference dates depending on the region, in accordance with logistical and climatic factors. 'It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with the enumeration of castes,' the statement said. Reacting to the announcement, Congress said that the government was further delaying the already late census. DMK alleged that the census would be held after the proposed delimitation and that there was a plan to reduce Tamil Nadu's Parliamentary representation. According to the MHA statement, the reference date for the 'Population Census-2027 will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027, for most parts of the country.' However, for the Union Territory of 'Ladakh, and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026.' The government has also indicated that a notification of intent to conduct the census, adhering to the above-mentioned timelines, will be published in the Official Gazette on June 16, 2025. This will be done under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, which governs the legal framework for the decennial census exercise in census, due in 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 is slated to be one of the most comprehensive data-gathering exercises undertaken by the Indian government. Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, last Census of India was conducted in 2011 in two phases, namely i) Phase I - House Listing (HLO) (1 April to 30 September 2010) and (ii) Phase II - Population Enumeration (PE) (February 9 to February 28, 2011) with reference date - 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2011, except for snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh for which it was conducted during September 11 to 30, 2010 with reference date as 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2010. Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases in a similar manner with phase I during April-September 2020 and second phase in February 2021. All the preparations for the first phase of the Census to be conducted in 2021 were completed and field work was scheduled to begin in some States/UTs from April 1, 2020. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country, the census work was postponed. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that there is really no reason to delay the Census, which was due in 2021, for another twenty-three months. 'The Modi Government is capable only of generating headlines, not meeting deadlines,' he said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the Indian Constitution mandates that delimitation must follow the first Census after 2026. 'The BJP has now delayed the Census to 2027, making their plan clear to reduce Tamil Nadu's Parliamentary representation. I had warned about this. It is now unfolding,' he said in a post on X. He also hit out at AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami. 'By siding with the BJP, Palaniswami is not just silent but complicit in this betrayal. It's now clear that he has surrendered to Delhi's domination. The people of Tamil Nadu are united as one in their demand for a Fair Delimitation. We need clear answers from the Union Government,' he said. (ANI)
