THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE 25 | 27 JAN 2012
PC in Home Minister Mode
By Staff Reporter
Ban on Recruitments:"There is a general restriction as per the guidelines on employment but there is no general ban on creating posts. We are creating new posts for the Directorate of Disaster Management for Andaman and Nicobar Islands ," said P Chidambaram, speaking to the press at Raj Niwas on 23rd Jan 2012.
NPR and Aadhar Controversy:
On the controversy around Aadhar and NPR, he said that NPR is mandated by an Act, mandatory for residents of India and issued by Registrar General of India
No Influx in the Islands :
The issue of population influx and the demand for implementation of Inner Line Permit, which features in many representations made to the Home Minister has been laid to rest with P Chidambaram refuting the issue saying that as per Census 2011, there is only gradual growth of population in the Islands and there is no influx of population. Hence, he felt that there is no need for implementation of Inner Line Permit.
On ATR and Buffer Zone:
The Supreme Court has ordered closure of two stretches of Andaman Trunk Road - 43 kms and 13 kms, which will divide the road into three bits. Various suggestions are made by different organisations. However, in the light of the case in subjudice, it won't be prudent to make a comment on this issue. He further said that no feasibility study has been conducted for an alternate route. On Buffer Zone, he said that the Regulation was made as per the requirement of protection of Jarawa tribe. Since the matter is in court, I will not comment on it.
On Mainstreaming of Jarawas:
Mainstreaming is a complex issue and is misunderstood. Jarawas are a very old tribe. If the Jarawas want something, its for them to decide. The Government of India's policy is that Jarawas should decide their own pace and it may take many years. He also said that nothing will be imposed upon them by the Govt.
On Alternative Land
As there is acute shortage of revenue land, and about 95% of land is under forest cover and other similar categories, it won't be possible to provide alternative land to the tsunami affected farmers. As Tsunami was a natural disaster, it is the obligation of the Government to provide compensation. P Chidambaram said that an overwhelming majority of the affected farmers are willing to accept the compensation package of Rs 9.39 lakhs per hectare, he appealed all political parties through the media to convince the remaining farmers and take the compensation. He also assured that the government has no plans of acquisition of the submerged land.
On Soaring Airfare:
P Chidambaram made it very clear that airfares are fixed by the airlines and government has no control over it. He also said that there is subsidy on ship tickets between Island-Mainland sector. However, he said that if the number of flights increases the fares will naturally come down. On stretcher patients' airfare he said that it is also decided by the airlines. It doesn't matter whether UPA or NDA is in power.
On CSC and Privatisation:
He said that Common Service Centre (CSC) is a project of Ministry of IT and part of e-governance and is run on PPP mode, and it has nothing to do with privatisation. With no. of CSCs it would provide employment to the people of the Islands .
On Assembly for the Islands
Home Minister P Chidambaram said that at present there is no proposal for an Assembly for the Islands .
On Lokayukta for Union Territories
Let a strong Lokpal Bill be passed by the Government and the government will think about the authority for the Union Territories
On Container Trans-shipment Port in Campbell Bay
He said that it is just an idea, which needs vigorous study. Such projects require thousands of crores of rupees and should require careful study.
On Medical College for the Islands :
He said that there are lots of issues which are being sorted out for medical college in the Islands .
He also spoke about the proposed Food Security Act and the proposal for free ration to police personnel.
No comments:
Post a Comment