Rane calls for Prohibition in vidarbha -‘It’s rubbing slat to wounds of Dying vidarbha farmers ’ - VJAS
Nagpur : December 11, 2009
When all study panels that include
1.TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES.
2.INDIRA GANDHI INSTITUTES OF DEV.
3.NATINAL COMMISSION OF FARMERS
4.PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT.
5.STATE MEGA SURVEY 2 MILLION FARMERS .
6.GOKHALE’S INSTITUTES OF MANAGEMENT.
7.YASHADA PUNE.
8.RAMBHAU BHALAGIPRABHODHINI.
9.REPORT OF MPCC .
10.SAKAL NEWS PAPER REPORT.
10.REPORT OF AMRAVATI,NAGPUR AND PKV VARSITIES (TOTAL-24).
11.DR.NARENDRA JADHAV COMMITTEE REPORT.
(Most of reports are available on Govt. official website)
In addition to these high profile report there are more than 200 reports of various Indian and international groups ,NGO, financial institutes, writers and analyst papers are available on farmers suicides including presentation of papers of Maharashtra administration to PMO on agrarian crisis and remedial measures asked forbut all these reports none of the report says that social engineering problems are main issue of vidarbha cotton farmers suicides .
All committees and reports the most common reasons of west vidarbha cotton farmers’ on going suicides are
1.DEBT AND POOR INSTITUTIONAL FINANCE .
2.CROP LOSS AND PROMOTION FAULTY AMERICAN BT. COTTON TECHNOLOGY IN DRYLAND AREA OF VIDARBHA.
3.LACKS OF IRRIGATION AND MASSIVE BACKLOG
4.COTTON PRICE
5.NO FACILITY OF COTTON PROCESSING IN VIDARBHA
6.LACK OF SECONDARY SUPPORT BUSINESS TO THE COTTON FARMERS.
7.POOR HEALTH SERVICES, POOR RURAL EMPLOYMENT .
8.MONOCROP PATTERN.
9.SOIL DEGRADATION, DEFORESTATION, POOR INFRA STRUCTURE
10.CONTINUOUS NEGLIGENCE OF LOCAL TO THE REGION
But none of the report neither mention the liquor consumption is major issue orsuggested that liquor should be banned in six of the most affected districts.
Now when state is failed to provide and relief on economic front andfacing public outrage and opposition criticism over the agrarian crisis and rampant farmer suicides in Vidarbha, revenue and relief & rehabilitation minister Narayan Rane has suggested that liquor be banned in six of the most affected districts which is very unfortunate .
“It’s like rubbing salt to the wounds of the dying vidarbha farmers.this is attempt to divert the main cause of farm suicides in cotton growing region of Maharashtra which is only releted to wrong selection of technology and impact subsidies given to American farmers hence cotton afrmers needs protection on that front along with restoration of banking credit” Kishore Tiwati Vidarbha Jan andolan Samiti informed today.
The observation of made byRane in a letter to chief minister Ashok Chavan on Monday, that addiction to liquor is one of the main reasons for the suicides is completely untrue as state official chart contradicts the facts
Here is the truth
YEAR
NO. OF FARMERS SUICIDES
NO. OF FARMERS NON-ALCOHOLICWHO COMMMITED SUICIDE
NO. FARMERS MENTIONS AS HABITS OF DRINKING LIQUOR WHO COMMMITED SUICIDE
2004
456
420
26
2005
666
416
50
2006
1886
1741
145
2007
1556
1434
122
2008
1680
1550
130
2009
916
838
78
Vidarbha Jan andolan Samiti has urged Maharashtra Govt. to look in to the factsthat such baseless suggestions made by Ranewill divert focus from the main issues of
Farmers suicides in vidarbha and open the new front of discussion for babus ,hence askedstate toarrange to ignore his letter ,tiwari added.
विदर्भमेंनवंबरमें६३किसानोंनेकीआत्महत्या-नई दुनिया http://www.naidunia.com/Details.aspx?id=106700&boxid=29712026 मुंबई (ब्यूरो)। राज्य के विदर्भ और यवतमाल जिले में किसानों की स्थिति बद से बदतर होती जा रही है। नवंबर में इन दोनों जिलों में ६३ किसानों ने आत्महत्या की है। २८ नवंबर को सात किसानों ने आत्महत्या की। विदर्भ में अब तक ८९५ किसानों ने आत्महत्या की है। वर्ष में अब तक ९०२ किसानों ने आत्महत्या की। २००५ से अब तक इस इलाके में ७२६६ किसानों ने आत्महत्या की। आत्महत्या करने वाले सभी किसानों के नाम नईदुनिया को प्राप्त हुए हैं।
विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समिति के अध्यक्ष किशोर तिवारी ने नईदुनिया को बताया कि विदर्भ में लगभग दो मिलियन हेक्टेअर सोयाबीन और ३.२ मिलियन हेक्टेअर बीटी कॉटन की फसल पर अकाल की मार पड़ी है। फसल नष्ट होने की वजह से किसानों ने जो कर्ज दिया था उसे वह चुका नहीं पा रहे थे। इसी कारण किसानों ने आत्महत्या की। उन्होंने आरोप लगाया कि मुख्यमंत्री अशोक चव्हाण को विदर्भ के अकालग्रस्त किसानों या आत्महत्या किए किसानों के परिजनों से मिलने का वक्त नहीं है।
किशोर तिवारी ने प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह को पत्र भेज कर आत्महत्या करने वाले किसानों की सूची भेज दी हैं। साथ ही पत्र में उन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री से अकालग्रस्त इलाकों के किसानों और उनके परिजनों को आरोग्य सुविधा. खाना, नौकरी और पीने का पानी जल्द से जल्द मुहैया कराने की गुजारिश की है।
VJAS urged UPA chief smt.sonia Gandhi to respond on Hindu report on media manipulation by chief minister Ashok Chavan Nagpur-November 30th 2009
Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti has urged UPA chief smt.Sonia Gandhiji to respond on the shocking report of media management by Maharashtra chief Minister Ashok Chavan by using money power which has spoiled the integrity of impartial media during last assembly election time .The paid news culture is not new in elections and all parties and all news papers and news channels are involved in this dirty game of money politicise but this time magnitude of corruption in mass media was too high to tolerate and it has influenced so much that now a days activist are finding difficult to publish the social issue and they can't raise any political issue against the ruling parties as some of contracts and loyalties are till continue or asking for package or envelope has very common as management of media group has lost morality to question the staff reporter who is asking money for publishing news of social importance moreover one can say mass media has been mockery in the democratic system and it is matter of national shame. we are asking UPA chief smt.Sonia Gandhiji intervention in this matter as Hindu today report and p.sainath's article is focused on unfair practices of Maharashtra chief Minister Ashok Chavan and violation of moral code of conduct by him is matter of serious concern as for next five years UPA are patron of India democracy hence we are reproducing serious allegation here QUOTE ==========
Maharashtra Chief Minister’s election expense accounts at odds with huge ‘news’ coverage
— PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE The front page of the Ashok Parv (Era of Ashok) supplement, which must have cost a fortune.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan spent a mere Rs. 5,379 on newspaper advertisements during the recent State Assembly election, by his own claim. And he spent another Rs.6,000 on cable television ads. These figures are clearly at odds with the unprecedented media coverage the Chief Minister got during the election campaign. The Hindu has gathered 47 full newspaper pages, many of them in colour, focused exclusively on Mr. Chavan, his leadership, his party and government. These appeared in large newspapers, including one ranking amongst India’s highest circulation dailies. However, they were not marked as advertisements.
By his own account, candidate Chavan spent less than Rs. 7 lakh on his election campaign overall during the Assembly polls. The spending limit imposed on contestants is Rs. 10 lakh. Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 stipulates that candidates must submit their campaign expenses accounts to the district election officer within 30 days of the declaration of results. Apart from a signed statement and summary, the candidate must submit the accounts in the format of “Register for Maintenance of Day to Day Accounts of Election Expenditures by Contesting Candidates.”
The Chief Minister won the Bhokar Assembly seat of Maharashtra’s Nanded district against an independent candidate by a margin of over one lakh votes.
The Hindu has a copy of Mr. Chavan’s account. Two RTI applications were filed by the newspaper’s correspondents in Delhi and Mumbai. Two more were filed by Mr. Shivaji Gaikwad of the Kisan Sabha in Bhokar (Mr. Chavan’s constituency) and by Mr. Gangadhar Gaikwad of the DYFI in Nanded. The Nanded district election officer responded most promptly and Mr. Gangadhar Gaikwad received the statement on Thursday. This is a significant step. Unlike the affidavits declaring their assets, the expenditure sheets of candidates do not mandatorily appear on the ECI’s website.
Perhaps they should. Mr. Chavan received astonishing media coverage during the campaign. The newspapers carrying those many full pages on him nowhere marked them as advertising. In other words, this material ran as ‘news.’ Had it been advertising, it would have cost crores of rupees.
Mr. Chavan states that he placed six newspaper advertisements with that Rs. 5,379. All these were in a minor Marathi daily, Satyaprabha, in Nanded district. However, the flood of full pages on Mr. Chavan and his party, hailing this as the “Era of Ashok,” and the “Era of Development,” ran in Marathi newspapers like Lokmat. If advertising, this would have cost lakhs of rupees. Lokmat is the fourth largest daily in the country and the top-circulated one in Maharashtra (NRS 2006).
The huge mismatch between the account’s stated Rs. 5,379 and the dozens of full pages of ‘news’ in The Hindu’s possession will surely re-stoke the debate over what has now come to be called ‘paid news.’
The same exclusive report, with different bylines, in three rival dailies. Swathes of advertising dolled up as news stories. Is ‘paid news’ getting institutionalised?
— PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE The same story on Ashok Chavan appeared in three rival dailies word for word (only the headline differed in one). It was bylined in Pudhari, attributed to “Special Correspodent” in Lokmat, and went without a byline in the Maharashtra Times. Nowhere does the word advertisement figure alongside these ‘news’ stories.
“Young dynamic leadership: Ashokrao Chavan,” read the headline of a prominent news item in the Marathi daily Lokmat (October 10). That was 72 hours before the people of Maharashtra went to vote in the State Assembly polls. The item was attributed to the newspaper’s "Special Correspondent," making it clear this was a news story. The story showered praise on the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for having achieved so much for so many in so few months. The same story also appeared word for word the same day in the Maharashtra Times, a leading and rival Marathi daily. Two minds with but a single thought? Two hearts that beat as one?
A cute and comforting thought. Except that the very same story (again word for word, only with a different headline) had appeared three days earlier in the Marathi daily Pudhari (October 7). In that case, with a reporter’s name at the bottom of the item.
In the Maharashtra Times, the piece ran without a byline. But again, as a news story. There is no mention of the word advertisement or sponsored feature next to the item in any of the newspapers. And unless the bylined reporter of Pudhari moonlights as” Special Correspondent" for Lokmat, while also being a ghost-writer for the Maharashtra Times, the appearance of the same piece verbatim in the three rival newspapers does seem odd. But maybe not so odd? Mr. Chavan seems to have gained greatly from what is now called ‘package journalism’ or ‘coverage packages.’
A limited check by The Hindu turned up around 47 full pages of ‘news’ (quite a few of them in colour) centred on Mr. Chavan and his fine qualities as a leader. These mostly appeared between October 1 and 12 in more than one paper but mainly in multiple editions of Lokmat. (These 47 pages are barely a third of those actually published in that period.) The pattern seems to have been set with a launch on September 12 of a four-page colour supplement titled Ashok parv (The Era of Ashok). And then followed up with a full page almost every day in October till voting day (October 13) titled “Vikas parv” or The Era of Development. The Vikas parv pages, too, are centred on Mr. Chavan. And, of course, the achievements of Maharashtra under the Congress.
This flood of ‘news’ did not harm Mr. Chavan’s prospects. He won the Bhokar Assembly seat of Maharashtra’s Nanded district by defeating independent candidate Madhavrao Kinhalkar by a margin of over one lakh (120,849 against 13,346) votes.
In strict terms, the unprecedented coverage the Chief Minister received during the poll campaign cannot be called advertising. None of those full pages bears that word. And his “day to day accounts of election expenditures” do not reflect any real spending on ads. All candidates are required by law to submit their campaign expenses accounts to the district election officer within 30 days of the declaration of results. Mr. Chavan’s accounts, which are in The Hindu’s possession thanks to an RTI application to which the appropriate authorities responded with commendable speed, claim a total expenditure of just Rs. 11,379 on advertising. Indeed, he had a mere six advertisements in print and these cost a trifling Rs. 5,379. (The rest was spent on slots on cable television.) Moreover, all his print ads went to a single newspaper, Satyaprabha. That is a small daily in the district of Nanded. Yet Mr. Chavan was the focus of scores of full pages in very major dailies. If those had been ads, they would have cost crores of rupees. More so given the large newspapers they featured in.
Lokmat is a very popular Marathi daily newspaper. It ranks as the 4th largest circulated daily in India while being numero uno in Maharashtra, with more than ten million readers (NRS 2006). The Maharashtra Times is no small-town sheet either. It too has millions of readers and is part of India’s largest newspaper group. (Our limited check turned up ‘news’ of this kind in many other dailies. However, in some we were able to get through most of the issues between Oct. 1 and 12. Piles of the rest, from 18 other newspapers across the state, lie with us for scrutiny.) If Indian-language papers ran most of such ‘news,’ that was mainly because they were the preferred platform to reach voters during election time.
At market rates, say industry insiders, placing a four-page colour supplement in all 13 editions of a newspaper like Lokmat could cost an advertiser between Rs. 1.5 crore and 2 crore. “Also,” says an executive who has worked in this field, “this was election time. It comes once in five years. Forget about discounts, the rates climb higher in a seller’s market.” But never mind the supplements. The pages titled Vikas parv ran very frequently in Lokmat in October till almost voting day. (We have 35 such pages that ran between Oct. 1 and 12).
The cost of these alone, if they were advertising, would have been hugely above the election expenditure limit. Of course there could have been, as the executive concedes, special deals struck between the advertiser and the newspaper. (Incidentally, a member of the family owning Lokmat, Congress MLA Rajendra Darda, has joined the Ashok Chavan Ministry with full cabinet rank. He was a Minister of State in the earlier government. His website describes him as Vice Chairman & Joint Managing Director. It also calls him “a driving force behind Lokmat’s success for the last 35 years.”)
Two enterprising dailies handled their ‘paid news’ differently. They required each ‘advertiser’ to buy thousands of copies of the paper. That way, they made their money, while showing higher sale numbers. Crucially, not a single newspaper carrying this kind of material runs the word advertisement with such ‘news’ items. The post-poll period has seen some debate in the State over what is now called the ‘paid news’ industry. Many believe that this time the news media went further than ever before in passing off advertising as news. And that the practice has moved from petty corruption of a few journalists to a media-run game worth hundreds of millions of rupees.
— PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE This is a sample of of the `Vikas parv' (Era of Development) pages that ran during the polls. Such full pages, if advertisements, are very expensive, especially given the extensive use of colour.
Govind Talwalkar, a distinguished leader of Marathi journalism, now retired, is amongst those deeply upset. He wrote in anguish from the United States to The Hindu saying “this is a perfect case for a CBI inquiry...Never in such a long career have I found journalism reduced to such a degrading and reprehensible state.” Mr. Talwalkar was active in the profession for over 50 years. For 27 of those, he served as editor of the Maharashtra Times.
Many others are disturbed. “But will those running the new ‘industry’ give it a name upfront?” asks one editor. How do we calculate in ad rates the value of what is nowhere marked as advertising? Even if a 30-40 per cent premium was tagged on for elections? When countless other ‘news stories’ like these often appear besides genuine news reports? This reporter, aided by journalists from different parts of Maharashtra, has acquired an impressive collection of such ‘news items.’ Besides, poll-time ‘coverage packages’ now include multiple exposure in print, on television — and online.
What can be done about this fairly new trend in electoral campaigning and media coverage of candidates?
The constitutional jurisdiction of the Election Commission, which has been elaborated in several judicial decisions, is the “superintendence, direction and control” of elections. This means its authority to act directly on the rights and wrongs of an election ceases once the results are declared. However, during the election process, it could do much more than it has done so far. It can be at least as tough on big time overspending, which makes a mockery of legal spending limits, as it is on relatively minor things, for instance wall writing, graffiti, and pamphlets. The ECI knows better than anyone else that the overwhelming majority of submitted expense accounts are false.
The ECI can of course conduct a study of, or hold a workshop on, the misuse of media in various States during the 2009 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. So can the Press Council of India.
But under the electoral law, an election can be “called in question” only by an election petition filed by a candidate or elector in a High Court within 45 days of the election of the returned candidate. Section 123(6) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951 makes it clear that “the incurring or authorising of expenditure in contravention of section 77” is a corrupt practice, which can form the matter of an election petition. If that happens, with the necessary evidence on the alleged corrupt practice, things could get rough. Mr. Chavan and several newspaper and television groups could find themselves between a rock and a very hard place. No matter which way you cut it.
If it was advertising, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is in a spot. Pleas of ‘well-wishers’ fêting their hero in print won’t wash. The Rs. 10-lakh-expenditure limit stands breached. If the defence were that the party did this on the Chief Minister’s behalf, it would mean the Congress party in the State would have to own up to faking advertising as news to mislead voters. If the ‘coverage packages’ were sponsored, it would still leave open the question of who paid how much to whom. Was it ‘news,’ then? If it was ‘news,’ the reports we have compiled must rank amongst the most remarkable ‘news’ judgments ever. With different papers publishing the same stuff with differing bylines. With the content reeking of sycophancy.
If this was advertising, many candidates — not only Mr. Chavan — would be found way beyond the election expense limit. If it was not advertising, then it was ‘paid news,’ a term now firmly embedded in the media lexicon. If it was advertising, why was it not clearly marked as such? That’s a question media owners and journalists would have to answer. For dressing it up it as news was to bring wrongful and undue influence to bear on the voters. If it was advertising, were the ‘advertisers’ properly billed for their ads? If not, we could be looking at illegal cash transactions and tax evasion that runs to millions of rupees. If it was ’paid news,’ then both media outlets and politicians are guilty of much more than financial wrongdoing. They would have to answer for the profound damage done to the democratic process.
VJAS has send the letter and news item copies to UPA chief smt.Sonia Gandhiji to arrange the detail inquiry of this news item as it reflects massive corruption in the PDF Govt. and hostile administrative environment that we will give long term setback to congress not only in Maharashtra but in all India. The trend set by the Maharashtra chief Minister Ashok Chavan will certainly destruct the democratic setup of this country hence this requisition.
रिलायन्सलायवतमाळजिल्ह्यातीलअडीचहजारएकरजमीनफुकटातदिल्यावरूनमुख्यमंत्रीअशोकचव्हाणसंकटातजमीनघोटाळाप्रकरणाचीचौकशीकरण्याचीकिशोरतिवारीयांचीमागणी यवतमाळ :- यवतमाळ जिल्ह्यातील डोंगरगांव परिसरातील शेकडो एकर जमिन महाराष्ट्र प्रदेश काँग्रेसचे अध्यक्ष माणीकराव ठाकरे यांना सर्व नियम धाब्यावर ठेवून नाममात्र दरात देण्याचे प्रकरण चर्चेत असतांनाच महाराष्ट्राच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी ऐन निवडणुकीची आचार संहीता लागण्यापूर्व अनिल अंबानी यांच्या उद्योग समुहाला यवतमाळ जिल्ह्यातील केळापूर तालुक्यातील चनाखा, घुबडी, निमडेली व कारेगांव या खेड्यातील अडीच हजारावर एकर जमिन फुकटात दिल्याचे प्रकरण समोर आले असून ही जमिन देण्यासाठी महाराष्ट्राच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी मोठ्या प्रमाणात भ्रष्टाचार केला असून या सर्व व्यवहाराची चौकशी करण्याची मागणी विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे नेते किशोर तिवारी यांनी एका पत्रकाव्दारे केली आहे. यासंबंधी 31 आँगष्टला निघालेल्या जि. आर. प्रमाणे यवतमाळ जिल्ह्यातील आदिवासी भागातील चनाखा, घुबडी, निमडेली व कारेगांव या गावातील अंदाजे 10 कि.मी. पेक्षा जास्त लांबीच्या 1008 हेक्टर म्हणजे अडीच हजार एकराचा पट्टा खनिज खनन करण्यासाठी सरकारने अर्ज बोलावले होते व या अर्जाची सुनावनी 21 जुलै 2009 ला मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी स्वत: केली होती यामध्ये एकूण आलेल्या 38 अर्जामधून 30 लोकांनी आपली बाजू मांडली होती व या पट्टयातील 450 लाख टन खनिजावर आपला दावा करण्यासाठी प्रतिवाद केला होता मात्र मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी आपला आदेश क्रमांक एमएमएन - 1009/सी.आर. 2939/ आय एन डी-9 देत असतांना गुजरात अंबुजा, ए.सी.सी. सारख्या पाच कंपन्यांनी या भागात आपले सिमेंट कारखाने टाकले आहे तर रिलायन्स सिमेंटसह 10 उद्योग समुहानी नविन सिमेंट प्लान्ट टाकण्याचा प्रस्ताव सादर केला तर 7 स्टील व लोहखनिज तयार करणाय्रा कंपन्यांनी अर्ज सादर केले आहे मात्र सरकारने यापैकी फक्त संचीत इस्पात, मुरली उद्योग, श्री सिमेंट, ए.सी.सी. सिमेंट, लाप्रिजी इंडिया, अंबुजा सिमेंट व रिलायन्स सिमेंट यांचाच विचार केला व इतर अर्ज खारीज केले या 7 कंपन्यांचा मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी आपल्या आदेशामध्ये ए.सी.सी., अंबुजा, श्री सिमेंट सारख्या कंपन्यांना डावलुन रिलायन्सला हा पट्टा देण्याची जी कारणे दिली आहे ती संशयास्पद असून हा पट्टा निवडणुकीच्या तोंडावर कोणताही अनुभव नसलेल्या रिलायन्स ग्रुपला देतांना भ्रष्टाचाराचा संशय येत असल्याची दाट शक्यता किशोर तिवारी यांनी वर्तविली आहे. या खनन पट्ट्याला पर्यावरण खाते व वन विभागाची कोणतीही परवानगी नसल्याचे या आदेशामध्ये स्पष्ट करण्यात आले आहे. ज्या 10 कि.मी. च्या परिसरात ही नविन खान येत आहे त्याच्या एका बाजूला टिपेश्वरचे अभयारण्य असून दुसरीकडे पैनगंगा नदी आहे अशा परिस्थितीमध्ये या ठिकाणी एवढे मोठे खनन करण्याची परवानगी भारत सरकारच्या पर्यावरण व वन खात्याकडून कशी मिळणार असा सवाल सुध्दा किशोर तिवारी यांना केला आहे. निवडणुकीच्या तोंडावर अडीच हजार एकर जमिनीचा पट्टा रिलायन्स सारख्या जगातील सर्वात श्रीमंत उद्योग समुहाला फुकटात देण्यामागे महाराष्ट्राच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी निवडणुकीमध्ये खर्च करण्यासाठी शेकडो कोटीची माया जमविली असून हे सर्व प्रकरण आपण मुंबई उच्च न्यायालयाच्या नागपूर खंडपिठात या व्यवहाराची पारदर्शता व गुणवत्ता सिध्द करण्यासाठी नेणार असल्याची माहिती किशोर तिवारी यांनी यावेळी दिली.
VJAS demands probe 1008 hector land allotment to Reliance in Yavatmal
Dust over the decision Maharashtra chief minister ashok chvan to grant Rs.88 crore land in farm suicide hit yavatmal district to MPCC President Manikrao Thakare is till notgathered another decision over of Mahrashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan to grant more 1000 hector land to Anil Ambani’s M/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd around villages Chanakha, Nimdeli, Gubri and Koregaon the same area in yavatmal district tribal belt where agrarian crisis is at it’s peak and area known as epicenterof farmers suicides of vidarbha .Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS) has alleged that Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has favoredM/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltdin exchange multi-thousandcrore deal for himself and his congress party just before the assembly election and demanded detail probe in to land deal.
“This is gross misuse of power and floating the rules farmed by central and state Govt. for mining and setting up the thermal power plant as whole 1000 hector area 10 k.m. patch lect side is ‘Tippeshwar reserved forestand right side is Wainganga River hence EIA clearance and forest ministry clearance is impossible. we have poper locusin this case and will move the high court against this illegal order ” Kishore Tiwari Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS) informedtoday.
Mahrashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has orderedunder section of 11(2) of the MMDR Act, 1957 to grant Mining Lease for Lime Stone to M/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd., Navi Murrbai over an area of 1008.33 H/R situated at Mauza Chanakha, Nimdeli, Gubri and Karegaon, Taluka Kelapur, District Yeotmal on25thaugust 2009 just before the code of conduct is imposed by Election Commission of India .
VJAS in letter to Lokaukatta has madehas made series of allegation to claim the decision to grant the mining lease was malafideand ill managed as while giving the order Mahrashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan
Observations are :-
I quote
On perusal of the records and taking into consideration oral / written submissions of the applicants and going through the provisions of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and Mineral Concession Rules, 1960,1 have made following observations:-
(i) At Mauze Chanakha, Nimdeli, Gubri and Koregaon the area available for grant of ML for Lime Stone is 1008.22 H./R.
(ii) Since the area under consideration for grant of P.L. has been notified u/s 11(2) and 11(4) of the MMDR Act, 1957, the selection of applicant will be governed by the relevant Rules and Regulation. This selection will have to be made in consonance with guidelines issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Mines letter No. 7160/2006-MIV, dated the 24.06.2009.
2. The Inter-Se-Merit Chart has been formulated and appended herewith as Annexure 'A' which includes the reasons for acceptance / rejection of particular application. It may be noted that it is vital part of this Order. It is seen there from that:-
(a)Following applicants have already established Cement Plants in the State or in other States:
(1)M/S.GUJARAT AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD., MUMBAI
(2M/S.MURALI AGRO PRODUCTS LTD., NAGPUR
(3)M/S.SHREE CEMENTS LTD., BEAWAR, RAJASTHAN
(4)M/S. ACC CEMENT I TD., MUMBAI
(5)M/S. LAFARGE INDIA PVT.LTD., MUMBAI
(b)Following applicants have proposed to set-up Cement Plants:-
(1)M/S.GRACE INDUSTRIES LTD., NAGPUR
(2)M/S. BLA CEMENT PVT.LTD.,MUMBAI
(3)M/S.ANIK INDUSTRIES LTD., INDORE, M.P.
(4)M/S.SARTHAK INDUSTRIES LTD., INDORE, M.P.
(5)M/S. NECO INDUSTRIES LTD., NAGPUR
(6)M/S.RELIANCE CEMENTATION PVT.LTD., NAVI MUMBAI
(7)M/S. EMAMI CEMENT LTD., KOLKATA, W.B.
(8)M/S.BHATIYA INTERNATIONAL LTD., NAGPUR
(9)M/'S. TAJ LIME INDUSTRIES, TA!. WANI, DIST. YEOTMA!
(10)M/S. SURJAGARH STEEL & MINES PVT.LTD.
(c)Following applicants are Iron/Steel/Power manufacturer and needs Ore as-one of the ingredient for manufacture of Steel:-
(1)M/s.New India Mining Corporation
(2)M/s. Ispat Industries Ltd., Mumbai
(3)M/s. Sunflag Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Mumbai
(4)M/s. Virangana Steel Ltd., Nagpur
(5)M/s. Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd., New Delhi
(6)M/s.ChamanMetalicsPvt.Ltd., Kolkata
(7)M/s. Uttam Galva Steel Ltd., Mumbai
(d) Rest of the applicants are either going to establish Lime base small units or proposes the trading of the mineral or proposes to utilize the mineral in their sister concern.
CONCLUSION
1.In Maharashtra the Vidarbha Region is industrially backward. Therefore, it is worthwhile to encourage to set-up mineral based industry in the said area. This will facilitate economic growth of the said Region as well as will help to create employment.
2. It is seen from the Inter-Se-Merit Chart and Observations made above that theapplicants mentioned in para 2(a) and 2(b) of the Observations prevails over other applicants as all of them do have requisite technical expertise, sound financial position and capacity to make huge investment to carry out mining activities and to establish the End Use Project or to utilize the mineral for expansion of their existing units. Thus it means that here exist more than one applicant who do have capabilities as mentioned in Section 1 1(3) and as a result of this choice of applicant has become difficult. Since these eligible applicants are co-equal in terms of their chronology. In this situation, the Guidelines laid down by Government of India, Ministry of Mines vide their letter dt. 24.06.2009 indicates that the choice has to be made on objective selection criteria in transparent manner. Normally the recommendation of the State Government in this regard is acceptable if comparative chart of all applicants on criteria enumerated in Section 1 1(3) of MMDR Act is available and the State Government has passed reasoned orders for acceptance of a particular applicant and for 'rejection of the remaining applicants.
3. In view of above the cases of eligible applicants are analysised as follows:-
(a)M/s.Sanchit Ispat Pvt.Ltd.-,Nagpur intends to expand the capacity of their
existing unit by 2.2 MTPA.But actual execution of the expansion
activity seems to be at primary level.Hence their requirement of Ore is
not of immediate concern.Their case will be considered at appropriate
time. Hence I do not consider them for grant of M.L.
(b)M/s. Murali Industries Ltd., Nagpur -has been granted PL/ML for Lime
Stone / Dolomite over an area of 11,89 sq. kms. having geological
reserves upto 128.669 million tones.Out of this they have yet to explore
the area over 9.85 sq.kms.They propose to expand their present capacity
of 3 MTPA up to 11 MTPA.But at present, they do have sufficient
reserves and their case can be considered when they will explore the
entire area already granted to them. Hence I do not consider their case for
grant of M.L.
(c)M/s.Shree Cement Ltd.,Beawar, Rajasthan- have established two Cement
Plants.It is not clear from their submission whether they require the Ore
for their present units or for expansion activities.It is not known the
present availability of Ore with them. As such applicant has not properly
justified their claim for grant of M.L. Hence I do not consider their case for grant of M.L.
(d)M/s. ACC Cement Ltd., Mumbai has already been granted M.Ls over an
area of 16.13 sq.kms.As per the available record 70.00 MT estimated
Lime Stone deposits are yet to be explored by the Company. The present
consumption in present Unit is 1.00 lakhs MTPA. Now they propose to
set-up 2 MTPA Clinkering Unit and demanded ML for the purpose.But
it is clear from above information that they do have enough reserves of
Lime Stone.Therefore, their claim for ML is not of immediate concern.
Hence I do not consider their case for grant of M.L.
(e)M/s.Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai- is a part of Lafarge Group having
origin in the France.No doubt they are global leaders in the field of
manufacturing the Cement and allied activities and are capable to procure
the mineral from other sources.They have proposed to establish 1.6
MTPA Clinker Plant with investment of Rs. 1400.00 crores.They do
have capacity and capability to execute the project.But so far they have
not taken any steps to set-up the plant in the State.In view of this their
claim will be considered at an appropriate time. Hence I do not consider
their case for grant of M.L. over the area applied by them.
(!)In Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts M/s.Ambuja Cement hold Mining Leases over an area of 17.91 sq. kms. having approximate geological reserves of 190.38 million tones. At present they are operating one unit of cement production of 2.85 MTPA capacity in Chandrapur.According to N.C.B.M. norms their total requirement is of 459 million tones.This indicates that the Company has still to explore full capacity of the area, I do not consider their case for grant of M.L.
4.I have gone through the submissions made by the applicants who have proposed toset-up Cement Plants with sizableinvestment.While considering these cases weightage has been given to parameters laid down in Section 11(3) of the Act and preparedness of the applicant to establish project. No doubt applicants mentioned in para 2(b) of the Observations are eligible, but except M/s. Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd. the preparedness of rest of them is either at primary level or some of them have showed only intention to set-up the project.Therefore their cases are not of immediate concerned.Hence I do consider them for grant of M.L.
Mumbai a subsidiary of Reliance Group which is now merged in M/s. Reliance
Cementation Pvt.Ltd. has been granted ML for Lime Stone and Dolomite of Mukutban deposits which approximately have 30 million tone geological reserves. It is proposed to set-up 5 MTPA cement plant in Yeotmal district (D+ Category i.e. industrially most backward district) in Vidarbha Region. As per NCBM norms this plant will require 537 MT resources of Lime Stone Ore. They have also proposed to set-up two Cement Grinding Units and 600 MW Power Plant with total investment of Rs. 6000.00 crores in the State.It is also submitted that they have obtained Mining Plan approval from IBM,
land required for compensatory afforestation have been identified and is being purchased, proposal for diversion of Forests land is submitted, meeting with MOEF Committee has been scheduled to finalize environmental clearance, established site at Mukutban / Butibori for Cement and Power project, already applied for Coal linkage and requisite machinery is being obtained. So far they have invested Rs. 25.00 crores. They have signed MoU with the State Govt. for setting up Mega Project. Thus they have taken positive steps and made sincere efforts to set-up the assured project. It may be seen that so far applicant has been granted M.L. in which the the resources are up to 30 Million tones. However, to meet the vast shortfall in reserves and set-up a new field cement plant in Yeotmal Dist. additional mineral leases are required. Additional mineral concession in terms of M.L. for un-interupted supply of Ore for production of Cement is utmost necessary. In view of this I am satisfied that M/s. Reliance Cementation Pvt. Ltd. is most eligible applicant for grant of M.L. over the area applied by them.
weightage to logical end use of the Lime Stone for production of Cement in the interest of Public at large. Hence I do not consider the cases of applicants mentioned in para 2(c) and 2(D) of Observations for grant of M.L. to them.
7.In view of above I pass the following Order in the matter:-
1.Ordcr U/s. 11(2) of the MMDR Act, 1957, I grant Mining Lease for Lime Stone to M/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd., Navi Murrbai over an area of 1008.33 H/R situated at Mauze Chanakha, Nimdeli, Gubri and Karegaon, Taluka Kelapur, District Yeotmal as indicated in the MAP (Annexure 'B') appended herewith.
2. M/s. AAA Traders which was merged with M/s.Reliane Cementation Pvt.Ltd. was earlier granted M.L. in Yeotmal Dist. With the grant of this M.L. over 1008.33 H/R, the total area exceeds 10 sq.kms. Since prior approval of Govt. of India is required the State Govt. recommends permission for prior approval under Rule 6 Sector 2(b) of MMDR Act.
NOC's from the Central Govt., State Govt and Lc^al Authorities where necessary be obtained by the applicant.
Place : Mumbai(Ashok Chavan)
Date 25/08/2009Chief Minister of Maharashtra
UNQUOTE
VJAShas urged lokauktta to look in to all aspects ofgivng order to M/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd., Navi Murrbai as giving mining lease of 1000 hector land where as requirement of land has to be viewed seriously and amount of lease to be recovered from theM/s.Reliance Cementation Pvt.Ltd., Navi Murrbai is almost free hence reasons given for rejection of other parties are not convincing more over the decision before the election is creating lot scope for smelling the corruption as this chief minister has granted lot lease in such manner which are also matte of investigation ,tiwari added.
“we want all farmers and tribals should updated regarding environmental impact damage to the forest as public hearing were not conducted before such serious decision are taken .we welcome the industries but not at the cost of agriculture and with such massive deep rooted corruption and megaland scam in the name of development” Tiwari said.
Massive failure ofcotton crop in 34 lakh hectares in cotton growing region of maharashtrahas received very sharp reaction from farmers of vidarbha and marathawada region,urging the union Govt. review their decision of giving commercial trials to American cotton seed giant Monsanto and to impose the complete ban of killer Bt. cotton seed .the resolution of sending requisition through maharashtra Govt. passed to day in first cotton farmers rally in Pandharkawada (Yavatmal)which has epicenter of from suicide since 2005 after the commercial trials ofmuch controversial genetically modified seed popularly known as Bt.cotton seed granted now after 5 yearsmore than 7400 farm suicides and Rs.20 thousand crore relief packages this year as per predicament of the state cotton federation that there is a big loss to cotton crop, along with demand farmers to ban the killer bt. Cotton seed they have also demanded that the government should arrange to seek compensation to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore from Bt cotton seed manufacturers and insecticide, pesticide makers for the losses suffered by farmers,. farmers' protest forum Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti(VJAS) President Kishore Tiwari informed in the press note to day.
"In the state government-sponsored campaign, over 24 lakh farmers took to genetically modified seeds in 34 lakh hectares. The campaign was led by its own seed company Mahyco which is among those that have obtained license from a multinational company for its Bt cotton seeds. The gullible farmers fell prey to the advertisement blitz by the seed companies which claimed that Bt seeds would give bumper crops even in rain fed areas like Vidarbha where irrigation facilities are abysmally low,'' president Kishore Tiwari alleged . Addressing a farmers protest rallycotton farmers have given proof of crop loss and it is estimated that the cotton farmers' total expenses thus added up to Rs 9,170 crore including the additional expenditure on costly pesticides and insecticides that were used in large quantities as the cotton crop had a variety of infestation right from the start. "While the agriculture department advisory clearly states that Bt seeds cultivation could be risky in rain fed areas, the government did little to discourage farmers who gave up food crops like jowar and maize and shifted to Bt cotton growing as a cash crop and this has collapsed the economy of the region and is main reson of despair and distress leading thousands of cotton farmers suicides , said Tiwari.
Cotton farmers urged today that "It is now the state government's vicarious liability. It should take strong action against the Bt seed manufacturers as well as chemical pesticide companies who made huge profits at the cost of farmers. The yields are as low as 25% in some area. Farmers who were dreaming of high yields of 20 quintals an acre got only two quintals. The state government can drag these companies to the Monopoly and Restricted Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) citing the misleading advertisements," said Tiwari.
"If the state government fails to act, VJAS will move before the MRTPC in the matter, as done by the Andhra government against the Bt seed company before the MRTPC which helped drastically reduce the seed in the year 2005 but this year maharashtra is adopting same relief policy which was adopted in 2005-06 under which it paid Rs 216 crore as compensation to Bt.cotton growers whose crop suffered damage from 'lalya' (micronutrient deficiency that reddens the leaves and stunts plant growth),
"Instead of wasting public money, the government should legally force erring seed companies and recover the losses on behalf of farmers. we have collecting fact sheets from the thousands of cotton growers and these conventions of cotton growers, yeaterday Thursday at Pandharkawda and today on Friday at Kinwat in Marathwada region of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavanare for the purpose of facilitating documentation of the losses suffered by the farmers that data will be handed over to the government in the hope that it would act against the companies," said Tiwari
Hundreds of vidarbha farmer’s widows to urged union Govt. to raise cotton MSP to Rs.3500 per quintal after With the state cotton federation now officially acknowledging a big loss to cotton crop, over 24 lakh farmers in 34 lakh is facing crop loss and in addition to urgent relief aid farmers needs hike in cotton MSP and this demand was made byBebitai bais president of vidarbha farmers widows association in day long hunger strike agitation in pandharkawada today .
VIDARBHA JANANDOLAN SAMITI PRESIDENT – KISHORE TIWARI, B.E. (Mech.Engg.), M.B.A., LL.B., M.A. (Pub. & Admn.), M.A. Sociology, M.I.S. (USA), Fellow - I.E.H., Fellow – Institution of Engineers (India)- CHARTERED ENGINEER BACKGROUND : Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti is fighting for the cause of common man since 1998. Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti is constantly pursuing its battle on various fronts like – a.Administrative b.Judicial c.Quasi-judicial d.Legislative e.Parliamentary f.International levels PUBLIC ISSUES : 1.Farmers suicides 2.Mal nutrition of Tribals. 3.Plights of Rural economy 4.Drinking water 5.Right to Food 6.Right to Education 7.Problems of Minorities 8.Issue of Separate Statehood to Vidarbha THE EFFECT OF MOVEMENT : The continued follow up and Jan Andolans of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has resulted in many success broadly classified as – 1.Waiver of small farmers crop loans 2.interest remission to marginal farmers 3.right to food to the lacs of tribals. 4.Primary Education to every rural students. 5.Farmers packages 6.BPL benefits to thousands of poor families. 7.Justice to unwed mothers
