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Kargil, Ladakh bodies begin three-day protest

Kargil, Ladakh bodies begin three-day protest

Economic Times4 days ago
Synopsis
The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Apex Body Leh (ABL) initiated a three-day hunger strike in Kargil, demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Held at Hussaini Park, the protest highlights the delay in dialogue with the central government regarding Ladakh's demands.
AP Srinagar: A three-day hunger strike began in Kargil on Saturday to press for the demands of statehood for Ladakh and for including the region in the sixth schedule of the Constitution.
The hunger strike was organised by the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Apex Body Leh (ABL) at Hussaini Park in Kargil. The two bodies are protesting the delay in the dialogue process by the central government to discuss the demands of the people of Ladakh. "Together, we can build a future where Ladakh governs Ladakh. Three-day hunger strike (in support of) statehood for Ladakh, (its) inclusion under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil regions and establishment of a public service commission (PSC)," read a banner jointly put up by the KDA and ABL at the venue of the hunger strike.
Prominent KDA members carrying placards, some of which read 'end colonial treatment restore democracy, statehood - Sixth Schedule and strong Ladakh', gathered at the venue and chanted slogans, marking the beginning of their three-day hunger strike.
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Mumbai Eastern Waterfront is the last chance for the city to save itself
Mumbai Eastern Waterfront is the last chance for the city to save itself

Hindustan Times

time31 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Mumbai Eastern Waterfront is the last chance for the city to save itself

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(Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) What makes this public land holding extremely significant is that other than the A ward it lies adjacent to the most impoverished wards of the city which have minimal public amenities, facilities or utilities, and even more importantly, it lies at the interface between Mumbai city and the hinterlands of Mumbai Metropolitan Region which are projected to house a population of 30 million by the year 2030. This long harbour fronting land also forms Mumbai's first line of defence for any climate related disasters on the eastern side. Hence, the EWF provides a huge opportunity for Mumbai, the last opportunity, to address deficiencies in the city and adjacencies, such as the much-required public open spaces, augmented public amenities, utilities and services, create employment, education, water transportation and healthcare facilities for both the city, the region and beyond. It is an opportune location for creating the link between Mumbai and the new airport in Navi Mumbai, the growing JNPA port land and the Panvel-Vasai multi-modal corridor and can tie together the local public transport, the water ferries to the Konkan, the Metro lines and the trans harbour links into a major hub for the city and region. However, although the MbPA land is very much a part of Mumbai, it falls under the purview of central government due to the prior shipping operations, and now instead of being returned to the city, it is being planned autonomously by the central government without any heed to its importance of being integral to opening up the east-west movement between Mumbai and MMR. And this, despite planning being a state subject under the Constitution. Technically, the port was given this land by the state in the late 1860s for the public activity of shipping. And now, with much of it no longer being used for its original purposes of shipping, sea trading and logistics operations, it is being used sub-optimally, and lot of it is either lying vacant or being squatted upon. So, since this land is no longer required for the original stated purpose, it should be returned back for the city's purposes. This was clearly stated in the then PM's directive, during the formation of JNPT. As the MbPA's activities shift to JNPT, the land of MbPA will be brought forward for greening of the Mumbai city which was woefully inadequate for the city's population even then. Non-port usage allows for activities such as urban planning, infrastructure, economic, environmental, housing development, tourism etc. These are also provided for under the BMC Act of 1888 and the MR&TP Act of 1967, hence, it is not justified that the Port Trust overlook the non-port related usage, by overriding the constitutional provisions. All reports on revival of this public land including the University of York Dissertation Report (1997), EWF publication of UDRI (2002) and the Rani Jadhav Committee Report (2014) recommend integrating it symbiotically with Mumbai city. Despite this, already the Masterplan of 2018 for the port land was an attempt to monetise this land. However, at least it retained the larger picture for EWF which was that it would seamlessly connect to the DP 2034 of Mumbai. But this most recent initiative of leasing land ad hoc for what is best perceived as under-valued monetary gain, virtually negates any efforts of the last two and half decades to integrate EWF with the city in a planned manner. In line with the government's recent trends of monetising public land, even the MbPA's land is being doled out to private interests, under the guise of perceived public good, whilst rendering huge losses to the public exchequer. The emphasis seems to be more on commercial development for the purpose of profiteering, as opposed to the Rani Jadhav Committee (2014) that looked at commercial zones to build a fund for self-financing the plan. Further, this ad hoc doling out of public land parcels for lease will only make the task of utility and service delivery extremely difficult, especially to industrial parcels of land with 100-year-old amenities and utilities, extinguishing any hope for the city to reorganise itself and provide open spaces, amenities, utilities to the exploding urban form of the inner city. It is an earnest request to the decision makers to rethink this strategy in light of the stresses in the city and the inevitable climate change. Moreover, it really is a necessity to urge the State Government and local authorities i.e. the BMC to intervene and get the land back for Mumbai where it is so urgently required rather than letting it out to the highest bidder who will use it in the most lucrative commercial form with scant regard to public aspiration and requirement. Considering the lease is tagged at a highly under-valued average rate of less than ₹900/sq. ft., on the face of it, it appears to be designed as a bonanza for private interests. If one looks at this from a global planning perspective, most major port cities across the world have learnt from past mistakes and calibrated their master plans – be it London, Hull or Liverpool in the UK, Baltimore or Seattle in USA or Rotterdam, Bilbao and Amsterdam in NW Europe or Singapore and Hong Kong in SE Asia – to reinterpret and redefine defunct dock areas to integrate them into the city as major green lungs for augmenting recreation, culture, education and hospitality or tourism uses. Now it is time for Mumbai to confront this flawed usurping of city land. Mumbai needs to ensure that parochial planning and greed does not write the fate for this precious land as it once did for the defunct mill lands. We need to lay down the path for the city to rejuvenate itself by ensuring that the last opportunity does not become a missed one. This 18 km of contiguous land which is three times that of the mill lands, lying along the waterfront and has huge amounts of infrastructure in place should be rightfully adopted by the city to create a sustainable, appropriate and inclusive master plan, integrating Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Mumbai city. Pankaj Joshi is a conservation architect and principal director, Urban Centre, Mumbai

SC to set up panel to name Kerala varsity heads
SC to set up panel to name Kerala varsity heads

Hindustan Times

timean hour ago

  • Hindustan Times

SC to set up panel to name Kerala varsity heads

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would set up a search committee for the appointment of vice chancellors to two universities in Kerala to end a stalemate between state government and the governor and told the two sides to submit four names each within a day for consideration as members of the search panel. SC to set up panel to name Kerala varsity heads A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said, 'In the larger interest, since you have not been able to arrive at a consensus, we will appoint a Search Committee.' The five-member search committee will have four members along with a nominee of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The court asked the lawyers representing the two constitutional authorities to suggest four names each out of which the court will constitute the committee. On July 30, the court had expressed anguish over the prevailing stalemate over the appointment of vice chancellors to the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Digital University of Kerala. It had directed the process of appointing regular V-Cs to commence soon and urged both sides to avoid confrontation and work harmoniously without bringing in politics keeping the best interests of students and the institutions in mind. On Wednesday, two weeks after its last order, the court observed, 'We are requesting you with folded hands. The Chancellor (Governor) and government should sit over a cup of coffee and resolve this. Why create this stalemate at the stage of appointment of the Search Committee.' Attorney General R Venkataramani appearing for the governor Rajendra Arlekar said that pursuant to the last order, the Governor held extensive consultations with the state government. He told the court that, as directed by the court,, the Chancellor issued an order extending the tenure of temporary V-C at APJ Abdul Kalam University till the appointment of a regular V-C. The state opposed this notification claiming that the Chancellor did not consult the state before issuing the notification. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta appearing for the state along with advocate CK Sasi said, 'Section 13(7) of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Act, 2015, allows appointment of VC to be recommended by the state. There is no power struggle but the Chancellor wants to ensure there is no role of the Kerala government in appointment of V-C. So the very nature of appointment affects federal structure envisaged under the Constitution.' The court told AG Venkataramani that its July 30 order had reproduced section 13(7) of the Act emphasising that the procedure as per law should be followed. However, since it was undertaking the process of appointing regular V-C on its own, it said, 'It is our request to the state. Don't precipitate the issue with regard to temporary V-C appointments. Let us put an end to this impasse.' AG Venkataramani pointed out that the similar issue prevailed with regard to temporary appointment of V-C for Digital University, governed by Section 11(10) of Digital University Act, which is akin to section 13(7). He informed the court that the Chancellor has been receiving requests from the V-C complaining about no financial audit being done at the University for the past five years. Gupta said that the unilateral approach adopted by the Governor was struck down by the Kerala high court last year,which held the constitution of the Search Committee to be contrary to the statute. He said that the state on July 12 initiated the process for having a Search Committee to appoint regular V-Cs, but the Chancellor formed a separate committee. The AG clarified that the committee proposed by the Chancellor is as per the UGC regulations. However, Kerala government maintained that the power to constitute a Search Committee belongs to the state. The proceedings before the top court were initiated by the Chancellor challenging a July 14 Kerala high court decision setting aside his order appointing V-Cs to the two universities. The high court order came after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government objected to the November 27, 2024 notification on V-C appointments issued by the governor. The legal tussle between governor and state government over appointment of V-Cs is not limited only to Kerala. The top court is also considering a petition filed by the West Bengal government challenging the inaction of the Raj Bhavan to clear names of V-Cs for 36 universities in the eastern state. After the court intervened and appointed former CJI UU Lalit to head a panel for selecting V-Cs for each university, 34 appointments have come through.

Govt not interested in deciding who eats what, says CM
Govt not interested in deciding who eats what, says CM

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Govt not interested in deciding who eats what, says CM

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