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Scroll.in
25-06-2025
- Scroll.in
Orissa HC orders state government to pay Rs 10 lakh for illegal demolition
The Orissa High Court has ordered the Odisha government to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation for illegally demolishing a structure belonging to a community centre. Of the Rs 10 lakh, Rs 2 lakh will be recovered from the salary of a tehsildar, the court said in its June 20 order. Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi said that the court had taken serious note of the conduct of the tehsildar, 'whose actions in this case reflect a steady and conscious departure from the standards expected of a responsible' official. 'When judicial directions were first issued, there was an opportunity to act with restraint and deference to the process of law…' the bench said. 'It was a deliberate act taken while judicial consideration was still underway.' The community centre in Cuttack district's Athagarh was located on a plot of land that was classified as a grazing ground, which falls under the 1972 Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act. The centre purportedly existed in some form since 1985. It was reconstructed between 2016 and 2018 using public funds sanctioned under the state government's Ama Gaon Ama Vikas Yojana and the Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development Fund. While the authorities had never objected to the structure in the past, encroachment proceedings were initiated in July 2024 under the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act. The petitioners in the matter had challenged the encroachment notice in the High Court, which had rejected the plea citing a lack of evidence of continuous possession and absence of resolution, among other reasons. The petitioners had challenged the rejection of their plea before the sub-collector, who was the appellate authority. In November, the High Court had directed the authorities not to evict the community centre while the appeal was pending. However, a fresh eviction notice was issued in December. When the notice was challenged, the High Court reiterated its stay on December 13. The same day, the sub-collector reserved the order on the appeal and a demolition notice was attached. The following morning, the structure was demolished. The petitioners alleged that they were not given time to challenge the demolition notice and vacate the premises. To this end, the petitioners had filed a contempt plea. The High Court said in its June 20 order that the authorities had not only breached procedural safeguards mandated by the Supreme Court, but also shown disregard for constitutional processes. In November, the Supreme Court had said that processes must be followed before removing allegedly illegal encroachments. The structure was demolished while the appellate authority had not pronounced its final order, the High Court said. '...when the hearing concluded and the order was reserved, the tahasildar proceeded not with circumspection, but with haste,' the court said in its order.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
State didn't release any funds for new development projects in last two years, alleges MLA
The State government, led by the Congress, did not release any funds for undertaking new development projects in the coastal belt during the last two years. Hence, the MLAs in the coastal region did not lay foundation stones for new infrastructure projects, Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath alleged here on Thursday. Addressing the press, the MLA alleged that, except for each MLA's annual Local Area Development Fund of ₹2 crore, the State government did not release any additional funds during its two-year tenure. Mr. Kamath alleged that the State government has reduced the compensation amount payable for property damage due to rain-related incidents. Thus, it has done injustice to those who suffered damages, he said. The government has stated that it can not release the compensation amount as per the guidelines of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the MLA claimed. Mr. Kamath alleged that the agenda for the meetings of the Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is decided in Bengaluru, not locally. 'When decisions are taken in Bengaluru, the relevance of MUDA is under question,' the MLA said. Jail jammer Mr. Kamath alleged that the government is not bothered about addressing the mobile network problems faced by people residing in the areas surrounding the district jail in the city. The network problems increased after the jail installed a jammer inside the jail. Though people have protested, the government has not taken it seriously to provide relief to the people. The MLA alleged that the State government wants poor people to remain homeless as it has not implemented Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0 in the State. Hence, the beneficiaries under PMAY-U have not been identified. Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharat Shetty alleged that the MUDA and Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) offices have turned out to be 'collection centres.' Dr. Shetty alleged that there is a dearth of medicines in primary health centres in the city, and in some cases, doctors spend from their pockets to give medicines to patients, he claimed. The MLA said that the district in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao is not taking MLAs into confidence and holding any meeting involving MLAs to review damages to properties due to natural calamities. 'Corruption has doubled under the Congress administration,' the MLA alleged. Protest on June 23 Satish Kumpala, president of the Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP, said the party will hold protest demonstrations in front of the MCC office at Lalbagh on June 23, to 'highlight the State government's failures'.
India Gazette
22-05-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu meets Union Minister CR Patil; seeks support on Kishau, Renuka projects
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 22 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss key water resource projects concerning the state. The chief minister advocated for the protection of state's rights in the Kishau Hydro Electric Project and emphasised the need for a favourable funding pattern. He said that the financial burden of the Kishau Project should be borne entirely either by the Government of India or by the major beneficiary states such as Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. During the meeting, CM Sukhu also raised critical issues concerning the Renuka Dam project. He called for due consideration of the Local Area Development Fund and the free power component. He said that while hydro projects are essential for national development, the environmental and social impacts must also be addressed and the affected states should be fairly compensated. Apart from this, the Chief Minister requested the early release of the pending amount under the Jal Jeevan Mission for the state. Union Minister CR Patil assured CM Sukhu of all possible assistance and cooperation from the central government. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena; Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister, Ram Subhag Singh; Resident Commissioner, Meera Mohanty and Secretary to the Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar were also present during the meeting. Earlier on Wednesday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the import duty on apples from 50 per cent to at least 100 per cent to discourage the import of apples from Turkey and to safeguard the interests of the apple growers of the state. He also urged that quantitative restrictions should be imposed on imported apples, an official release said. In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh is known as the country's 'Apple Bowl' and is famous for producing delicious varieties of apples. The apple is the prime cash crop of the State and generates an income of about Rs. 4500 crores annually. He said that about 10 lakh man-days are generated due to the apple crop, thereby providing direct and indirect employment to more than 2.50 lakh families. (ANI)
Hans India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Himachal CM bats for protection of state's rights in Kishau, Renuka hydropower projects
New Delhi: Emphasising the need for a favourable funding pattern from the Centre, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Thursday met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil and advocated the protection of the state's rights in the multi-purpose Kishau and Renuka Dam hydropower projects. Besides the Kishau project, then Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on August 28, 2018, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh in New Delhi for the construction of two other major projects being envisaged in the Upper Yamuna reaches. They are the Rs 3966.51 crore Lakhwar Multi-Purpose project and the Renukaji Multi-Purpose project. At the meeting with Union Minister Patil, Chief Minister Sukhu said the financial burden of the Kishau project should be borne entirely either by the Centre or by the major beneficiary states -- Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The Chief Minister also raised critical issues concerning the Renuka Dam project. He called for due consideration of the Local Area Development Fund and the free power component. He said that while hydro projects are essential for national development, the environmental and social impacts must also be addressed, and the affected states should be fairly compensated. Besides, the Chief Minister requested the early release of the pending amount under the Jal Jeevan Mission for the state. Union Minister Patil assured the Chief Minister of all possible assistance and cooperation from the Central government. The Kishau project, which includes the construction of a 236-m high concrete dam across the Tons, a tributary of the Yamuna in Dehradun district, will create an irrigation potential of about 97,000 hectares, make available 517 MCM drinking water, and generate 660 MW of power. The Renukaji project, which has been conceived as a storage project on the Giri, also a tributary of the Yamuna in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, envisages the construction of a 148-m high rock-filled dam for the supply of 23 cumec water to Delhi and will generate 40 MW of power during peak flow. As per the pact of 1994, separate agreements will have to be made between the six basin states for each water storage project in the upper reaches of the Yamuna. After completion of all these storage projects in Upper Yamuna Basin (including Lakhwar), the total benefits in terms of additional irrigation potential created will be 130,856 hectares, water availability for various uses will be 1,093.83 MCM, and power generation capacity will be 1,060 MW.
