Latest news with #SoP
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SoP soon for implementation of provisions of Assam Cattle Preservation Act
Guwahati: The Assam government will come up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) to implement the provision of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act of 2021. The law restricts slaughter of cows and eating of beef within 5 kms radius of temples, namghars (prayer halls) and other religious sites. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said there is an attempt to spread communal hatred and sensitive areas are chosen. There were recent incidents of throwing beef in some Hindu religious places in districts like Dhubri, Goalpara, Lakhimpur and Hojai. 'The incidents this year took place just after the Eid-Ul-Zuha. We already have this Assam Cattle Preservation Act 2021. This Act prohibits slaughter of cows and eating of beef within a 5 kms radius of the temples and other religious sites. However, the administration did impose it strictly this time. But now we are going to ensure that the Act is implemented strictly across the state.' He added all the districts will be sent the SoP for implementation. The Assam Cattle Preservation Act of 2021 banned cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in majority and within a five-km radius of a temple or Satra (Vaishnavite monastery). Live Events The Assam Cattle Preservation Act of 2021 also regulated the transportation, and slaughter of all cattle, and sale of beef and beef products in the state. In December last year, the Assam cabinet decided to amend the 2021 act and put a restriction on public consumption of beef also. Accordingly, sale and consumption of beef became prohibited in public places such as restaurants and hotels.
Mint
17-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Facing road construction quality issues, Centre takes away state PWD and state department's powers for bidding out NHs
The Centre has withdrawn the powers of state PWDs (public works departments) and road construction departments (RCDs) to independently issue bid documents for national highway projects in their states, according to a directive by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH). Instead, they will now consult MoRTH's regional officers (ROs), who will evaluate all state-issued bids, recommend necessary changes, and actively participate in resolving legal and arbitration disputes related to national highway works, the directive said, a copy of which was seen by Mint. The new process will be applicable to all highway projects, including those costing less than ₹100 crore but excluding maintenance works. Further, ROs would need to be consulted at every step in the case of contractual disputes and arbitration. MoRTH is preparing a separate, detailed standard operating procedure (SoP) for dealing with arbitration matters that will soon be issued. Also read: Bhel likely to be tendering agency for EV charging stations under PM E-drive Queries emailed to MoRTH remained unanswered. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is responsible for highway construction across the country. However, it often works with state-level agencies for bidding, processing, and building specific highway sections within their states, along with other agencies like NHIDCL and MoRTH's construction wing, The ministry's directive pointed out that 'in several projects pertaining to NH works implemented by State PWDs/RCDs, critical lapses have occurred due to lack of due diligence". That has led to disputes, legal complexities and financial liabilities for the central government, the directive noted, adding that ROs are not consulted or involved during bidding or in the courts, and the disputes are dealt with mechanically without safeguarding the interests of the Centre. The directive has been sent by the MoRTH to secretaries and chief engineers of all states and Union territory PWDs, RCDs and departments dealing with national highways. According to Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, senior director & global head at Crisil Intelligence, scrutinising all proposals from all state governments has its merits and demerits. 'The merits of such an exercise could mean avoidance of construction of parallel and competing roads, having a uniform bid awarding process across the country, and standardization of processes and bid documents, among other things," Padmanabhan said, adding that on the flip side, an additional layer of scrutiny and capacity augmentation at the central level would be needed. Suprio Banerjee, vice president and co-group head at rating agency Icra Ltd said that these measures are likely to increase the award timelines, but project execution is not likely to be hampered while adhering to the norms or standards stipulated by the road ministry. Also read: Nitin Pai: Train more civil engineers to solve our infrastructure crisis 'Also, the involvement of ROs in all legal contractual processes is expected to streamline the disputes adjudication process while avoiding the need for repetition," Banerjee said. 'Land acquisition being a state subject, the coordination between central and state government departments remains crucial to expedite the ROW and other associated approvals." However, Shailesh Agarwal, partner for risk consulting (infrastructure) at EY India sounded a cautionary note when he said that uniform documents don't necessarily mean smoother highways. 'Ultimately, true quality improvement depends on regular quality controls, digitalisation, and accountability at the ground level," he said. 'Due care must be taken to ensure that the new system doesn't become a fresh bottleneck." The disputes process With regard to contractual disputes and arbitration, it has been decided that state PWDs/RCDs would not pursue such matters independently without consultation with ROs. All replies, statements of defence, and written submissions intended for courts / arbitrations shall be vetted by the ROs and returned after scrutiny with comments or amendments before submission within a period of 15 days failing which the replies, statements or submissions may be deemed cleared. The ROs would also be free to engage legal experts from NHAl-empanelled law firms for advice and support. The highway building plan In FY26, MoRTH proposes to construct about 10,000 km of highways, per the outcome budget 2025-26. As highway construction in the country matures, the liberal growth in construction is expected to slow and the focus will shift towards highway maintenance and enduring quality of construction. Out of 146,195 km length of national highways (NH) network in the country, damages have been reported in about 1% of the stretch every year, according to data from MoRTH. The conditions of NHs are assessed from time to time by the MoRTH and its various executing agencies. Also read: Ajit Ranade: West Asia's upheaval intensifies India's challenges of geopolitics The maintenance works on NHs are accordingly taken up from time to time to keep the NHs in traffic-worthy condition. According to MoRTH, the ministry spent nearly ₹6,500 crore on highway repair and maintenance in FY24. A similar level of expenditure is also expected to be incurred in the current fiscal.
New Indian Express
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Speaker UT Khader urges HM G Parameshwar to order inquiry into IPS officers for failure to curb hate crime
MANGALURU: Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader has urged Home Minister G Parameshwar to order an inquiry into the failure of previous Mangaluru city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal and Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Yatish N to curb hate speech and inflammatory posts on social media. This comes after the murder of rowdy-sheeter and Hindutwa activist Suhas Shetty. Talking to reporters, Khader said he had asked these officers to take strict action against hate speech and inflammatory posts that had peaked in social media after Suhas' murder and added that they had expressed helplessness to do so, citing loopholes in the laws. Comparing them with Sudheer Kumar Reddy and Dr Arun K, who replaced them, Khader said the strict actions initiated by the new set of officials has reduced the hate speech and inflammatory posts by over 90 per cent now. Stating that all IPS officers clear the same exam and go through the same training, he asked them why the previous officials failed to curb the crime. There should be action against them following an inquiry by a top-ranking official, he said and also stressed the need for the home department to come out with a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for the police officers to deal with specific crimes.
New Indian Express
11-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
LSGD launches anti-corruption overhaul to strengthen internal vigilance system
The minister warned that officers who fail to carry out inspections will face action. As per the new reforms, each vigilance officer will now be assigned specific local bodies and will be responsible for monitoring their operations using K-SMART and track file movements and delays. The LSG Department has issued a new weekly schedule for vigilance officers that includes two days for waste management-related inspections, three days dedicated to vigilance operation and remaining days for clerical and administrative tasks. A new colour-coding system - Red, Yellow or Green - will be introduced as part of the reforms and based on file pendency, corruption cases and complaints both employees and local bodies will be colour-coded. This will be made visible to the public and will form the basis for action against repeat defaulters. The minister said that a new standard operating procedure (SoP) will be developed for this. As many as 97 individuals with corruption allegations have been found across the state. The minister said that reforms must yield visible results within three months. The minister said that the upcoming amendments in the Panchayat Raj Act will empower internal vigilance officers by providing more authority and resources to the vigilance set-up.
New Indian Express
02-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tambaram corporation staff crunch hits command centre success
Ward 38 councillor C Saranya, who belongs to the ruling DMK, criticised the civic body's inefficiency in addressing grievances. She said the civic body does not have the proper equipment to clear the silt from the UGD. 'How can they address the bigger issues that would affect residents,' she asked. AIADMK floor leader G Sankar told TNIE, 'Actually the corporation is struggling with a small number of staff to carry out even their regular duties. When this is the case, how can they address the grievances of residents.' Other councillors also echoed the same view and said that an acute staff shortage in all departments prevented the corporation from addressing the grievances of the public. However, in some cases, residents said the system helped fix accountability on officials and get issues resolved faster. Speaking to TNIE, Murali Deskian of Thiruchendurnagar 2nd Street, who raised a grievance on drainage overflow, said earlier it would take a few days to resolve such complaints but now it was addressed within five hours. 'I wish the same kind of response is maintained for all complaints across the corporation limits.' The officials said that according to the SoP, the grievance is first forwarded to field staff to attend, then to supervisor-level officers to ensure it is addressed, and finally it would be cross-checked by senior officials like assistant engineers. A senior TCMC official said the ICCC allows real-time tracking of civic issues and it helps in improving accountability across departments. 'By integrating service requests and responses, we aim to bring efficiency and transparency to urban governance. Public feedback helps us identify lapses and improve further,' the official said.
