What's the use of Cabinet post, if I can't help Adivasis: Minister Danasari Anasuya
She wondered as to what is the point of holding the post of Cabinet minister when she cannot even ensure access to basic healthcare and education in Adivasi areas.
The minister was speaking at the inaugural of a regional workshop on Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) scheme organised by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and hosted by Telangana government here on Friday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
Mamata govt's lack of data-driven discourse leads to Bengal DA crisis
With the West Bengal government failing to meet the deadline for paying 25 per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears to the state government employees by the midnight of June 27 as directed by the Supreme Court, economists and insiders from the system said the basic flaws lie in the lack of data required for calculating the accurate dues and payout from state exchequer. The first flaw, according to economists, is a persistent lack of clarity in the formula applied for calculating or determining the DA rates for state government employees, both in the context of the previous 5th Pay Commission and in the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission. Had the state government followed the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) as the benchmark for calculating and determining DA for the state government employees, such a lack of clarity could have been easily overcome by now, economists feel. AICPI is followed as the benchmark for determining the DA rates by the Union government and most state governments. Nationally, AICPI is the accepted formula for this purpose. However, the West Bengal government is not agreeable to accepting AICPI as the benchmark in fixing the Dearness Allowance rate for its employees. Hence the lack of clarity and data-driven discourse continued, which ultimately resulted in conflicts between the state government and its employees. Currently, the West Bengal government employees receive Dearness Allowances at the rate of just 18 per cent, as against 55 per cent received by their counterparts in the Union government and even many other state governments. With the Supreme Court deadline of June 27 at midnight for payment of 25 per cent DA arrears to the state government employees already over, the West Bengal government has already made a plea to the apex court seeking six months of additional time for paying the same. Secondly, the exact number of beneficiaries in the state government, who were supposed to benefit from this Supreme Court order, as well as the category-wise breakup of beneficiaries, is not at all clear as of now. Naturally, with the lack of clarity in the numbers under these two heads, there is also a lack of clarity and data-driven discourse on the payout from the state exchequer for each category and subsequently the total payout under all the categories combined. Already, confusion has surfaced over the pressure on the state exchequer to pay the 25 per cent DA arrears to the state government employees as directed by the Supreme Court. While one section within the state finance department claims that the payout will be a little over Rs 10,000 crore, another section quotes the figure to be slightly less than Rs 12,000 crore. Economists said that had there been enough clarity in the data under the heads mentioned above, this confusion would not also have arisen. Economists also feel that the hush-hush approach of the West Bengal government in portraying the actual arithmetic on this count has resulted in this lack of clarity and data-driven discourse. For a long time, the state government had not even made the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission, the latest, public. The recommendations were made public only after a single-judge bench of Calcutta High Court directed the state government to do so. While passing the order the single- judge of Justice Amrita Sinha observed that since Pay Commission documents were not included in the classified category, maintaining such secrecy in the matter by the state government was unnecessary. As regards the members of the state cabinet including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, all have maintained a brooding silence in the matter. On the issue of dearness allowance, the Chief Minister just said once the state government would move as per law.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Punjab: SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia sent to judicial custody
A court in Punjab's Mohali district on Sunday sent Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia to judicial custody for two weeks in a disproportionate assets case . Amid tight security arrangements, Majithia was produced before the court. Speaking to reporters after the court hearing, public prosecutors Ferry Sofat and Preet Inderpal Singh said Majithia has been sent to judicial custody for two-weeks and will be lodged in New Nabha Jail . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Save Up to $3.5k on a 10kWh Solar Battery Now Australian Solar Batteries Get Quote Undo Earlier on July 2, a court here had extended the vigilance remand of Majithia by four more days. The next date of hearing is July 19. Live Events "During investigations many things have come to the fore during (Vigilance) remand period," Sofat said. Preet Inderpal said under the provisions of the law, if an investigation agency feels that (Vigilance) remand is again required based on new facts coming to the fore during investigation, an application can be moved before the court to seek the remand. Majithia's counsel Arshdeep Singh Kler claimed the investigating agency does not have anything to back their case. "The government only wants to suppress the voice of the Akali Dal. The police did not have proof in drug case till today and now in the disproportionate assets case they did find any asset. They only created media hype around the case," Kler alleged. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested Majithia on June 25 in the DA case allegedly involving laundering of Rs 540 crore of "drug money". Majithia had recently also moved the Punjab and Haryana High court against the DA case, in which the next date of hearing has been fixed for July 8. Majithia on July 1 moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the DA case, calling it " political witch-hunting and vendetta" for being a vocal critic of the current dispensation. In his petition, he sought appropriate relief against "illegal" arrest and subsequent remand granted in the FIR registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. "The said FIR is a result of political witch-hunting and vendetta, initiated by the present political dispensation with the sole object of maligning and harassing the petitioner who has been a vocal critic and political opponent," read the petition. The petitioner submitted that the FIR registered against him is "patently illegal" while his arrest was carried out in "gross violation of settled legal procedures". In the fresh FIR registered against Majithia, the VB claimed that preliminary investigations revealed that more than Rs 540 crore of "drug money" has been laundered through several ways and it was allegedly facilitated by Majithia. This FIR against Majithia stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by a Punjab Police special investigation team into the 2021 drug case. In 2021, Majithia was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The action was taken on the basis of a 2018 report of the anti-drug Special Task Force. Majithia spent more than five months in Patiala jail and walked out of prison in August 2022 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail.
Hans India
a day ago
- Hans India
Rs 16.43 cr worth funds sought for pending bills
Khanapur: Local MLA Vedma Bojju Patel on Saturday submitted a petition to the State Tribal Welfare Secretary Sarath Kumar and Finance Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultaniya in separate offices in Hyderabad, requesting immediate release of pending bills worth Rs 16,43,87,000 related to the construction work of houses constructed by PVTGs Kolam, Thotilu, Chenchulu and Kondaredlu ITDA CCDP in the joint Adilabad district. Speaking on the occasion, the MLA said said that the PVTGs had built houses on loans and requested that the funds be released quickly. Later, Kumar and Sultaniya responded and said that they would work to ensure that the funds are sanctioned within a month.
