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Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Daily Briefing: Row over voter list revision
Good morning, India entered the second Test of the England series with unusual team picks. The decision to leave out a seasoned player like Kuldeep Yadav, especially in the absence of fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, for a lesser spinner, Washington Sundar, has made one thing clear: Team India is looking to score runs and not take wickets. However, Shubman Gill, facing criticism for the puzzling selections, silenced the doubters with his bat. At the end of Day 1 in Birmingham, he remained unbeaten on 114 from 216 balls. As National Sports Editor Sandeep Dwivedi put it, it was truly worthy of being called a captain's knock. Aside from Gill and his 99-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, the top order collapsed quickly. Much now rests on the reshuffled lower order. Also read: Is India's decision not to play Bumrah and Yadav a smart punt or unwisely defensive move? Dwivedi writes. On that note, let's get to the rest of today's edition. The Election Commission (EC)'s revision of Bihar's electoral rolls, which will eventually cover the rest of India, has caused a stir in political circles. Ten Opposition parties of the INDIA bloc have written to the EC, stating that the exercise could 'disenfranchise 2-3 crore voters in the state'. They warned that people would struggle to produce documents required to prove their citizenship on such short notice. Notably, the 'special intensive revision' began on June 25, and the final electoral roll will be published on September 30. Bihar is due for state elections before November. Challenges: In addition to the Opposition, BJP's NDA allies in the state have also expressed concerns over the exercise despite publicly backing it. Some wonder if the EC can complete the revision quickly, ensuring no genuine voter is left out. Others have flagged that voters may not be motivated to do the extra legwork of finding the documents since a voter ID was not linked to any government benefits. The process: Voters must fill out an enumeration form when a Block Level Officer visits their home. Those added to the electoral roll after January 1, 2003, must also provide proof of citizenship. The EC initiated this revision considering the large-scale additions and deletions to the electoral rolls in the last 20 years. The frequent migration of populations may have also resulted in potential duplicate entries. The site of The Beatles' spiritual awakening, the Chaurasi Kutiya ashram, famously known as the Beatles Ashram, is due for a makeover. The revamp of the ashram, located inside the Rajaji National Park in Rishikesh, became a matter of departmental tussle, documents obtained by The Indian Express under the Right to Information Act show. The Uttarakhand Finance department had flagged the state Tourism department's selection of Bimal Patel-led and Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Ltd for the project. Though the Finance department eventually cleared it, it set certain conditions. Read on. No go: As it carves out a trade deal with Washington, New Delhi has set 'red lines' on certain farm products on which it imposes both tariff and non-tariff restrictions on these goods. These include corn, ethanol, soybeans and dairy. My colleague Harish Damodaran takes a closer look at each of these sectors and why India may resist allowing greater access to the US. Cutting delays: Several files pertaining to inter-ministerial subjects like national policies and schemes remain pending with the central ministers. For the first time, the Cabinet Secretariat has sent letters to their offices, asking them to clear the backlog as soon as possible. Read up: Since the 1990s, Kerala has become India's most literate state. Under the Centre's 2022 literacy programme, Mizoram has pipped the southern state into India's 'first fully literate state'. How did the state achieve this milestone? Sukrita Baruah reports. Pool in? A land pooling policy in Punjab, which aims to pool over 40,000 acres of farmland for housing purposes, has run into trouble. Though the policy envisions voluntary participation from landowners, critics argue that it needlessly diverts fertile agricultural land for urban use. Read more about the policy and its criticisms. 🎧 For more details, tune in to today's '3 Things' podcast episode. Zooom…: Your bike taxis are safe for now! New guidelines from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have allowed states to permit the commercial use of non-transport motor vehicles. Ride aggregators like Rapido, Ola, and Uber have faced flak for using white-plate, privately registered motorcycles as bike taxis. However, customers have embraced the ride option for cheaper travel costs and reduced travel time in some cases. Sean 'Diddy' Combs, a hip-hop mogul, captivated the world's attention for the past few months for all the wrong reasons. Combs was arrested on several charges in September 2024 after two of his former girlfriends alleged that he forced them to partake in drug-fueled sex parties. A flurry of criticism — and memes — flooded the Internet in the months after. On Wednesday, Combs was cleared of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, but was found guilty of lesser prostitution-related offences. Combs continues to remain in jail and faces a potential 20-year prison sentence. That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Express RTI: Uttarakhand finance dept questioned Beatles ashram revamp by Bimal Patel firm, state govt gave go-ahead
The Uttarakhand Finance department had flagged the selection of Bimal Patel-led and Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt Ltd by the state Tourism department for the revamp of Chaurasi Kutiya ashram, popularly known as The Beatles ashram, without a tender, reveal documents obtained under the RTI Act. The documents, reviewed by The Indian Express, show that the Tourism department justified the selection of HCP through single-source procurement by pointing to the complexity of the heritage cum eco-tourism project, and the expertise of the 'world-class' company, which had executed major projects such as the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and the Central Vista redevelopment near Parliament. While the Finance department did come around to clearing the project, it recommended obtaining a priori the approval of the Forest department, and asked the Tourism department to ensure the rate reasonableness and the fees paid to the company, the documents showed. Following rounds of discussion, the Uttarakhand Cabinet approved hiring HCP as the consultant on August 3, 2023. The Beatles ashram is situated inside the Rajaji National Park in Rishikesh and was visited by the British band in 1968. While the cost of the consultancy is Rs 1.9 crore for the master plan lump sum and a fee of 4.75 per cent of the actual cost of the project for supervision support, Rs 15 lakh was levied for a one-day workshop, site visit, and broad design framework report. This was borne by the Tourism department, while the cost for the actual project will be borne by the Forest department. The complex has nearly 25 buildings, of which 12 will be revamped in the upcoming project. The actual project cost is over Rs 98 crore. The project will primarily involve the retrofitting of structures by strengthening the reinforced concrete beams and slabs. When contacted, Anand Patel, who helms the project at HCP, said that they received a request from the Tourism department in late 2021. 'We declined it then because the architectural intent was unclear. We visited the site twice or thrice, and in 2023 again, they requested and we submitted a proposal,' Patel said. On the conditions set by the Finance department, Patel said he was unaware. 'The conditions by the Forest department were factored in, and our agenda is to make the buildings safe and improve awareness on yoga, art, forest, and wildlife of the area,' he said. The bone of contention between the Finance and Tourism departments was over Rule 59 of Chapter 4 of the Uttarakhand Procurement Rules, 2017. This rule states that services from a single-source consultant can be obtained only after due justification is recorded and approval is obtained from the competent authority. For projects exceeding Rs 25 lakh, approvals from the administrative department and the finance department are mandatory. In giving the approval, then finance secretary, Dilip Jawalkar, said in his June 20, 2023, letter that the consultancy fees should be justified on the basis of the firm's agreements with other governments, wherein the same firm has secured the work through a competitive process. He also said that the department should justify the rate reasonableness based on a market survey and after comparison with the rates discovered through a bidding process for similar or comparable assignments for the Uttarakhand government. 'The department should get a formal consent from the Forest department before taking the proposal before the Cabinet, since the general impression is that the Forest department keeps changing its decisions and fails to honour its commitments,' he said. One of the officers in charge of the consultancy process, Satish Bahuguna, said that the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board was not aware of the 'opinion' of the finance department on the matter, and whether the market survey suggested was conducted. 'This is the opinion of the department. If it goes to the cabinet and approval is given, the decision stands over any suggestions,' he said. Jawalkar told The Indian Express that their responsibility is to 'give advice on the file of the department'. 'What department does subsequently is not in our purview,' he said. The then tourism secretary, Sachin Kurve, did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment. Aiswarya Raj is a correspondent with The Indian Express who covers South Haryana. An alumna of Asian College of Journalism and the University of Kerala, she started her career at The Indian Express as a sub-editor in the Delhi city team. In her current position, she reports from Gurgaon and covers the neighbouring districts. She likes to tell stories of people and hopes to find moorings in narrative journalism. ... Read More
