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   Rajasthan bandh evokes mixed reaction

      V.Raje

  JAIPUR, May 20. 2013 (PTI): The state-level bandh call given by BJP, to protest the CBI chargesheet against senior party leader Gulab Chand Kataria in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, on Saturday evoked mixed reaction in parts of Rajasthan. Markets in many areas remained shut but there was no impact on public transport and offices as well as other services.
  BJP activists in groups took rounds in the market to make sure that the bandh gets successful. Police said that the bandh was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. In Bikaner and Jodhpur division also, many markets remained shut but transportation was not affected. 
  "Kataria was implicated falsely in the case and this was done at the behest of Congress," BJP's state general secretary Kalicharan Saraf said. He said that several teams in all the divisions have been formed to make the bandh successful. 



  World Heritage Sites status sought for 6 Rajasthan forts

  CHENNAI, May 9, 2013: India has nominated a group of six hill forts in Rajasthan and the Great Himalayan National Park in HP as candidates for World Heritage Sites this year. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee at its meeting in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh next month will decide on conferring the status on them.
  The five Rajasthan forts were nominated last year too, but UNESCO rejected them. This year, the government added the Jaisalmer fort, reworked the documents and renominated the five. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which evaluates the cultural properties for UNESCO, inspected the sites last year, and their final  recommendation will be known on May 17. India has 29 world heritage sites — 23 cultural and six natural properties.Source: The Hindu

  Rajasthan leaves many states behind in renewable energy

  Jaipur, April 24, 2013: Rajasthan has pushed back several developed states in achieving the targets for renewable energy and has emerged as one of the top states in promoting “clean energy”.This has been revealed in a recent report issued by Green Peace India titled “powering ahead with renewables- Leaders and Laggards”. 
  Report says that Rajasthan was amongst top states in achieving the targets (Renewal Purchase Obligation) set to harness renewable energy including solar energy, Wind Energy and Bio mass energy. While the state target set by various regulators was fixed at 5% and national target was 7% Rajasthan achieved 6% as renewable energy. 
  This implies that state has been making serious efforts to reduce its dependence on coal based thermal electricity plants and relying more on the use of solar wind and bio mass energy which are regarded as clean source of energy as they do not pollute the environment.  Report says that Rajasthan achieved this status because it’s blessed with enormous potential in solar energy. 
  Notably, till 2004 there was a single policy for renewable energy with no distinction between solar wind and bio mass however this changed after 2004 when separate policy for all these sources of renewable energy was made with more stress on each energy source. However, still there is lack of much public awareness in using these sources for electricity purposes and people tend to rely more of traditional methods. To make the use of solar energy popular in the state recently energy department has offered to public to install a small solar plant having a capacity of 1 KW which they can install on the roofs of their homes. “The plant costs around 70000 of which govt will be giving 50% subsidy this will help in popularizing the use of solar energy in the state,” said SK Aggarwal, principal secretary, energy department. Source: DNA 

  Illegal miners kill Rajasthan forest guard, three arrested

   Jaipur, April 20, 2013: A forest guard in Bundi district, Rajasthan, was battered to death late Wednesday night when he and his colleague had gone to raid an illegal mining site in a forest area. Shayar Singh, 50, and forest outpost in-charge Virendra Singh had received a tip-off that illegal mining of sandstone was being carried out in Bapadu forest area.
  They had gone there to investigate when they found over half a dozen men transporting sandstone from a mine. When the duo in plainclothes on a motorcycle tried to approach the miners, they attacked them. Shayar Singh was battered by the attackers and hit on the head. He died on the spot while Virendra managed to escape from there. Later he informed the police and senior forest department officials. A team was sent to the spot to nab the illegal miners.
  Three persons have been arrested so far while two others, including a woman, are absconding. The accused have been charged with murder and a case has been lodged against Durga Shankar, Ram Swarup and Pappu Gurjjar, all residents of Gopalpura. The police are on the lookout for Ram Swarup's wife and Mangilal Balai, both of whom were also involved in the incident. Source: Indian Express

   Mukundara Hills is Rajasthan's third tiger reserve
  Jaipur, April 14, 2013: After Ranthambhore and Sariska, Rajasthan will now be home to a third big cat habitat-the Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve. The new tiger reserve, located chiefly in Rajasthan's Hadoti region, was notified by the state government on Thursday. The Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve will be spread across four districts-Kota, Bundi, Chittorgarh and Jhalawar-covering an area of 759 sq km. It will boast of a core area of 417 sq km and a buffer zone covering 342.82 sq km.
  The reserve, expected to ease the big cat population pressure in Ranthambhore, will cover the existing Darrah, Jawahar Sagar and Chambal wildlife sanctuaries. Currently, the Ranthambhore tiger reserve is home to 50 tigers while Sariska tiger reserve has nine big cats. State governments are authorised, on the recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, to notify an area as a tiger reserve under section 38 V of theWildlife Protection Act, 1972.
  Earlier last month, union minister of environment and forests Jayanti Natarajan had informed the Lok Sabha that the NTCA had given in-principle approval to five new tiger reserves-Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Ratapani (Madhya Pradesh), Sunabeda (Odisha), Mukundara Hills (Rajasthan) and Satyamangalam (Tamil Nadu)
  The Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve currently does not have a tiger population of its own but serves as a natural extension to the Ranthambhore tiger reserve and big cats from the state's premier reserve often stray into the MHTR area for breeding. The NTCA already recognises the MHTR as an extension of the core area of the Ranthambhore tiger reserve. The government had issued a preliminary notification naming the reserve “Rajiv Gandhi National Park”. However, before it could issue a final notification, the code of conduct was imposed in view of the 2003 assembly elections. Source: The Hindu

  Rajasthan launches free diagnosis scheme
  JAIPUR, April 8, 2013: A free diagnosis scheme which had been on a trial run since April 1 would be launched throughout Rajasthan in a phased manner from Sunday on the eve of the World Health Day. Under the scheme, patients can undergo 57 free diagnostic tests at government hospitals linked to medical colleges. Another 44 tests would be offered free of cost at district and satellite hospitals. The scheme's second phase would start from the Doctors' Day on July 1, when 25 essential diagnostic tests would be available free for patients in government community health centres. In the third and final phase to be launched on Independence Day, the scheme would cover all primary health centres and dispensaries where patients can undergo 15 basic diagnostic tests free of cost.
  Rajasthan had earlier become the first state to launch a free medicine distribution scheme in October 2011. Besides this, the state offers free doctors' consultations along with emergency ambulance services. "There were difficulties in implementing these schemes, but the government is prepared to tackle them; lakhs of people have benefited from our welfare schemes," chief minister Ashok Gehlot said after inaugurating the latest scheme. Officials said 8 crore patients have been benefited from the Mukhya Mantri Free Medicines Scheme since its launch on October 2, 2011.Officials said almost two lakh people are taking advantage of the scheme daily. Patients are being provided 400 most essential generic medicines free of cost across 34 district stores and over 16,000 distribution centres.
  Under the scheme, a woman who delivers a girl child at government centres is granted Rs 2,100 cash. The government has promised Rs 2,100 for vaccination. Once the girl turns five, the state would provide the final 'encouragement' amount of Rs 3,100 for education. Source: The Times of India

   Governor extends wishes on eve of Rajasthan Foundation Day 

   Jaipur, March 31, 2013: Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva conveyed her greetings to the people on the eve of state foundation day on March 30. Highlighting developments and growth potential of the state, Alva in her message stressed that the challenges lie ahead needed to be addressed. She mentioned transformation in desert areas by Indira Gandhi canal, industrial growth and financial boom prospects by Delhi Mumbai Freight corridor, Oil refinery project, flagship schemes and programmes of the state government. “The state today is poised for prosperity,” she said. However, Alva said infant morality rate, life expectancy and literacy rates continue to cause concern.     
  “The governance at all levels- political leadership, bureaucracy and professionals, including teachers, doctors and engineers-should be responsive to the need of vulnerable sections, in order to build a truly inclusive society,” she added. Rajasthan is celebrated the 64th foundation day on March 30.

   Cairn begins gas sale from Rajasthan block, pitches for speedy project approval 

  Barmer, March 24, 2013: The Cairn-ONGC joint venture (JV) in the Rajasthan`oil block has begun commercial gas production. Cairn India pitched for`speedy regulatory approval for making the Rajasthan block the largest in`the country.
  "Our gross Rajasthan development investment to date is more than Rs.18,000 crore and we intend to invest over Rs. 6,000 crore in exploration`and development activities during 2013-14," Cairn India CEO P Elango`said. The JV can produce more "provided we get timely regulatory`approvals. We can make` `the`largest`producing field in the country", he added. "(We) will let Vedanta go in a big way and there will be no obstruction (of approval), big or small," Oil Minister Veerappa Moily said. Vedanta Resources is the majority stake holder of Cairn India.
  Mr Moily also said that the government is "working on a plan to attract more investment into the oil and gas sector" so that "by 2020, we can reduce oil imports by 50 per cent". Meanwhile, Anil Agarwal, executive chairman at Vedanta Resources, said
the company (Cairn) will bring technology and people to raise output (from the Rajasthan oil block). "We want operational freedom to operate in the Rajasthan block," Mr Agarwal, however, added. Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, said that the approval for a refinery in the area had been granted and the refinery will bring more economic growth in the state as it will require an investment of over Rs. 40,000 crore. Cairn is the 70 per cent stakeholder in the Rajasthan oil block as the operator and ONGC has a 30 per cent stake and is the licencee. Source: NDTV

   Rajasthan's first woman 'coolie'
  
Jaipur, March 20, 2013: A 33-year-old Manju, the mother of three is a coolie at the Jaipur station, offering to carry the heavy luggage of passengers for a small sum of money. After her husband died a year ago, Manju took his job, becoming Rajasthan's first woman coolie. With her husband's brass tag plate, numbered 15, attached to her arm, Manju started working at the Jaipur railway station last week.
  "I had no choice. In my village, there is no employment or a livelihood. Farming is not enough to support us as our fields are barren. So what could I do," she says. Lacking the physical strength that the male coolies possess, she opts for lighter bags and packages. "Sometimes I earn Rs. 50, sometimes 100. And on some days, nothing at all; that's when I get slightly tense," she adds.  Breaking into a traditional male bastion has been Manju's biggest challenge. However, she says she is yet to encounter any kind of harassment in the one week she has worked at the station. She works from 5 pm to 9 pm when the station is at its busiest. The security personnel at the station and her male colleagues keep an eye on her to protect her from any kind of danger. In fact, she says she would not have managed without the support of the male coolies, who help her by giving tips on which trains to approach and also sometimes pass on clients to her. "She is like our daughter; we will take care of her," a senior coolie, Phool Mohammad, says.
  Many passengers at the station, who at first are taken aback when Manju approaches them for business, lavish praise. "We had a woman President and women even fly planes. So why not a woman coolie," says a commuter. Source: NDTV

   HPCL sign a MOU with the Rajasthan government to set up Rs 37,000 cr oil refinery
  NEW DELHI, March 14, 2013: State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) plans to invest Rs 37,000 crore in setting up a nine million tonne oil refinery and a petrochemical complex at Barmer in Rajasthan.  The company will on March 14 sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan government for setting up the refinery-cum-petrochemical complex, a source privy to the development said.  HPCL board earlier this week approved setting up of the complex costing Rs 37,000 crore. Also, it approved expansion of the Bhatinda refinery in Punjab from 9 million tonne to 11.2 million tonnes. The Bhatinda refinery is operated by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, an equal joint venture of HPCL and steel baron Lakshmi Mittal. HMEL had last year commissioned the Rs 21,500 crore Guru Govind Singh refinery at Bhatinda. 
  Sources said half of the crude oil requirement at the proposed refinery at Barmer is to come from the neighbouring oilfields of Cairn India. The rest will be imported crude. The MoU signing in Jaipur will be attended by Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. HPCL, they said, has asked the state government to extend fiscal benefits like the ones extended by Gujarat and Orissa to new refinery projects, to make the Barmer unit viable. The concessions include 50 per cent exemption in excise duty and the state government picking a small stake in the project.
Originally, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), which owns 30 per cent interest in the Barmer oilfields of Cairn India, had in 2005 committed to build the refinery but later started soft-peddling the project.Last year, HPCL entered the fray and has proposed to take 51 per cent stake in the project. ONGC  which originally had the authorisation from the government for processing the Barmer crude at the proposed refinery, too is now keen to take a stake in the project. 
  Cairn India, which holds 70 per cent interest in the fields, currently produces about 175,000 barrels per day oil (8.75 million tonnes a year) from the Rajasthan fields and has potential to go up to 300,000 bpd (15 million tonnes). Vedanta Resources , which in 2011 acquired Cairn India  for USD 8.67 billion, too is interested in taking a small equity of 2-3 per cent in the project.  

  Budget: Gains and losses for Rajasthan
  Jaipur, March 01, 2013: There is nothing specific about Rajasthan in Union Budget of finance minister P Chidambaram. However, state will benefit from increased allocations in infrastructure and social sector. The biggest gain would be in health sector as Jodhpur AIIMS would start next year. Union health ministry had set up AIIMS in six cities, including Jodhpur. Now, FM has allocated Rs1,650 crore of which Jodhpur AIIMS would get Rs275 crore. Also, health and family planning ministry has received Rs37,330 crore while new National Health Mission has been allocated Rs21,239. Rajasthan is expected to receive a big pie. Dr Virendra Singh, superintendent, SMS Hospital, said, “Medical colleges have received allocations.  The budget is good for health sector.”  Rajasthan may get a major chunk of national highways. About 5,000 km roads would be constructed in five states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP and MP. The state had proposed 7-8 projects. Since, Union surface transport minister CP Joshi belongs to Rajasthan, chances are state will get the maximum. The projects are expected to clear in a few months. In housing, urban poor will get 11,000 homes as Rs2,000 crore has been proposed. Around 10,800 homes will be built in state. For basic facilities in Raj cities, Rs700 crore has been proposed. In JNNURM, the Centre provides 70% to 80% money. Source: Daily Bhaskar
  Swine flu threat rises in Rajasthan, 111 dead so far
  Jaipur, February 19, 2013: Sudden spurt in swine flu (H1N1) in Rajasthan claiming 111 lives during the past 49 days of 2013, including 32 during the past fortnight, has assumed scary proportion making the desert state worst hit. 150 people lost their lives due to swine flu since April last year. So far at least 828 positive cases of the virus have been identified in the state since April, 2012. They include 500 cases identified during the past 48 days alone.
  This seems to be too much for the state government to handle as the department of medical and health seems to be at its wit's end and could hardly act beyond rituals of holding review meetings. While the state was hit by the virus on a massive scale as back as in 2009 when 198 people had died, it took so long for state's principal secretary, health, Deepak Upreti to impress upon his health officials the importance of screening all the students of the school once a student of that educational institution reported positive. He called a review meeting of the department on Sunday when he directed his staff  that once a positive case was noticed in a locality the entire neighborhood in a radius of 50 metre must be screened for the virus.
  Though such advisories make good inputs for official files and media reports but they have little to do with department working in the field. Despite a rise in virus affected people'™s number the official machinery has failed in taking effective preventive measures. An earlier advisory of conducting surveys of areas from where positive cases were reported met same fate. Government hospitals in districts were found treating positively tested or suspected patients with general patients in the same wards instead of creating isolation wards. Even in the state premier hospital,  Sawai Man Singh hospital of Jaipur, such a situation continued for quite long. In this background it was not surprising that two IAS officers, Vipin Chandra Sharma and Navin Mahajan, and even medical students recently tested positive in the state. Source: India Today

   Pollution: Rajasthan among worst offenders 
  
JAIPUR, February 7, 2013: The environment report card is out and Rajasthan is among the worst performers in the country. A latest compendium of "Environment Statistics India 2012" released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MOSPI) indicates that Rajasthan's environment situation is appalling.
  The state has the fifth highest consumption for pesticides in the country. This despite Rajasthan's contribution to agriculture being under 10% nationally. Moreover, agrarian states like Punjab and Haryana have witnessed a dip in usage of pesticides even as it goes up in Rajasthan. The report noted that the due to excess use of pesticides, organisms develop resistance and lead to major health issues. "The pesticides used in agriculture sometimes go into the food chain or in water bodies which may result and become health hazards, the report said.The statistics also reveals that 21% of the total land in the state is under mining, which exerts huge pressure on bio-diversity. The total number of mining leases issued in the state in year 2009 was 2,068 and in the year 2011 this figure jumped to 2,696. The total area covered under mining activities stands at 1,07,000 hectares, making Rajasthan the leading state in the sector. Figures for water conservation are also alarming in Rajasthan. The withdrawal exceeds the replenishing of ground water resources. Source: The Times of India 
 
  Gurjjar quota in government jobs, educational institutes stayed by High Court

  Jaipur, January 30, 2013: The Rajasthan High Court has stayed the government decision to allot 5 per cent reservation to special backward classes in government jobs and educational institutes in the state. The move was expected by the Gurjjar community, who were included in the SBC category in an effort to appease them.
  A special bench of Justices Narendra Kumar Jain and J K Ranka heard a PIL filed by one Mukesh Solanki and stayed the government's decision on Monday. The next hearing is slated for February 19, till when the government cannot implement the quota. The bench noted that with the 5 per cent quota, total reservations in the state crossed the 50 per cent mark, which was against the law. On November 28, the state government had approved an OBC commission's report recommending 5 per cent reservation for SBCs in government jobs and educational institutions. The government accepted the report, with the quota coming in over and above the existing 49 per cent reservation already implemented in the state. Before this, the state had 21 per cent reservation for OBCs and another 28 per cent for SC/STs.
  The state Cabinet decided to include five communities under SBCs - Banjara/Baldia/ Labana, Gadia Lohar/Gadolia, Gurjjar/Gujjar, Raika/Raibari and Gadaria/Gayari and instructed the Personnel Department to accordingly amend the service rules.The Gurjjar community led by Kirorilal Bainsla had clamoured for additional reservation within the 50 per cent framework anticipating intervention of the court. On Tuesday, Bainsla said the court's decision had strengthened his resolve to fight for reservations for his community. "We will now contest elections and win 23 seats. We will fight as Independent candidates and have no allegiance to the Congress, BJP or any third front," he said. Source: Indian Express

  Justify reservation beyond 50% capital in state: HC to Rajasthan
 
Jaipur, January 24, 2013 (PTI): The Rajasthan High Court today asked the state government to justify the 68 per cent reservation and explain as to why 'in the absence of justification' the excess reservation be not stayed for the time being. The division bench, comprising justices NK Jain and J K Ranka asked Advocate General G S Bapna to come prepare to justify government's stand on the reservation tomorrow.
  The court also sought state's explanation as to why, by way of an interim order, the excess reservation granted on the recommendation of State Backward Class Commission beyond 50 per cent ceiling be not stayed. The order came on a petition filed by one Mukesh Solanki. R D Rastogi, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that the 5 per cent reservation was granted to 5 communities under the head of special backward classes in the state that minclude Gujjar community. 
  On November 29 last year, the state government had accepted the state OBC commission report, paving way for 5 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutes to five communities, including Gujjars, under Specially] Backward Category. "These castes were very much included in the quota of 21 per cent reservation meant for other Backward Classes, but still new term 'special backward class (SBC)' was created to give reservation to the castes like the Gujjar community,"] said Rastogi. The counsel for the petitioner said that according to the Supreme Court
judgements the upper limit fixed for reservation is 50 per cent. "But the state government gave 5 per cent reservation to Special Backward Classes that included gujjar, and 14 per cent more reservation to economically backward classes raising the available reservation graph from 49 per cent to 68 per cent which is beyond the permissible limit," said Rastogi.  

   Rape cases in Rajasthan: 50 pc still await justice, 40 pc dismissed as 'false'
 
Jaipur, January 16, 2013:* Fifty per cent rape cases in Rajasthan still await justice and forty per cent cases are dismissed as 'false' by the police in the state. Outraged people protested outside the Sodala police station in Jaipur against an officer who refused to register a case of sexual assault on an 11-year-old by a construction worker. His explanation was that 'it wasn't a rape after all'.  Meena Yadav, Councillor, victim's neighbour, Jaipur, said, "The officer said he couldn't register a report as there was no rape. Should the police wait for a rape to happen before registering a case? How is this fair? The victim's father had a harrowing time for three days and the police too kept threatening him."
  After the protests, a case of sexual assault was registered, but the police station in charge Mangu Singh, has not even been suspended. Instead a case of disrupting peace was filed against the protesters. Giriraj Meena, IG police, Jaipur, said, "This matter is under investigation, we are looking into the allegations, anyone found guilty will be punished."  CNN-IBN found that women's desks, mandatory for Jaipur's police stations were not really in place. CNN-IBN also found that women's desks, mandatory for Jaipur's police stations were not really in place. CNN-IBN's reality check of women's desks across at least six police stations across Jaipur shows the same picture - empty rooms with stray pieces of furniture and sign boards lying unmanned, unattended almost everywhere. Two of Jaipur's women police stations have men in charge of them. Shortage of women in the police could be why Rajasthan is fourth in crimes against women. Numbers show chargesheets are filed only in half of the rape cases registered, Rajasthan police finds four out of 10 rape cases to be 'false', leading to a poor conviction rate. Source: ibnlive.in.com  

  Severe cold wave in Rajasthan   

  Jaipur, January 8, 2013: Biting cold conditions continued to affect normal life in Rajasthan where Churu recorded night temperature below zero degree Celsius for third consecutive day. Harsh cold conditions prevailed in most parts of Rajasthan on Monday where six cities was recorded below minus 1 degree .Fatehpur was at minus -3.5 degrees Celsius, Churu at -2.7 degrees Celsius, Pilani at -1.4 degrees Celsius, Jobner at -1.2 degrees Celsius, Chagan at -1 degrees Celsius and Mount Abu at -0.5 degrees Celsius. Bikaner recorded 0.4 degree Celsius while mercury in Karauli and Nagaur plummeted to 0.6 and 0.7 degrees Celsius respectively, according to the Met department here. Sriganganagar was recorded at 0.4 degree Celsius and Jaipur was recorded at 2.3 degree Celsius  First time snow was observed over the sand in desert in the sekhawati region. 

 

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