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مارس 30, 2022

Assam, Meghalaya sign pact to resolve border dispute in 6 locations; Amit Shah terms it ‘historic’

“It is a historic day for dispute-free Northeast,” said Shah, adding that since 2014, the Narendra Modi-led government has been working towards the “peace and development” of the Northeast. “In July last year, I had met the chief ministers of the Northeastern states in Meghalaya, and appealed to them that these [border] issues be resolved. I am happy that this [agreement between Assam and Meghalaya] has been achieved in such a short time,” he added.
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Since July last year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma have been in talks to resolve the long-standing dispute along its 884-km-long border, which has witnessed flare-ups frequently.
While there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states, in July 2021, both governments identified six areas (Hahim, Gizang, Tarabari, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata, Ratacherra) for resolution in the first phase.

According to the final set of recommendations made jointly by both the states earlier in January, out of the 36.79 sq km of disputed area taken up for settlement in the first phase, Assam would get full control of 18.51 sq km and Meghalaya 18.28 sq km. Tuesday’s agreement was signed on the basis of these recommendations.

The next step in the process will involve delineation and demarcation of the boundary by the Survey of India (SoI) in the presence of representatives of both the governments. It will then be put up in Parliament for approval. Government officials said that this might take a few months.
(Photo: Twitter/@AmitShah)
“We knew resolving all twelve areas of differences at one go would be difficult, but if we approached it one by one, then it would be possible,” said Sarma, addressing the press in New Delhi after the agreement was signed. He added that in the next six to seven months, the second phase of resolution would commence for the remaining disputed sites.

ExplainedBigger challenge aheadDuring British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which later became separate states. Meghalaya was carved out of Assam in 1972, and has held a different interpretation of the border since. Over the years, frequent flare-ups have been reported along its 884-km-long border. In all, there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states — while the resolution of the first six is a significant development, the remaining six areas are more complex and may prove to be a bigger challenge.

Meghalaya CM Sangma said the agreement would not have been possible without “political will and leadership.” “Over the months, the committees formed by the respective state governments travelled extensively through the disputed sites and spoke to the villagers… it is because of this hard work that we have managed to reach a consensus,” he said.

Following the initial meeting in July between Sangma and Sarma, another five rounds of meetings were held in the following months. Subsequently, minister-level regional committees formed by both the states made frequent visits to the disputed areas and submitted reports based on five mutually agreed principles: historical perspective, ethnicity of local population, contiguity with boundary, peoples’ will and administrative convenience.
A number of attempts had been made in the past to resolve the boundary dispute between Assam and Meghalaya. In 1985, under then Assam chief minister Hiteshwar Saikia and Meghalaya chief minister Captain WA Sangma, an official committee to resolve the issue was constituted under former Supreme Court Chief Justice YV Chandrachud. However, a solution could not be found.

A senior government official from Assam involved in the matter had earlier told The Indian Express that there was a vital difference between attempts made by the previous government and this one, since the problem had now been “broken down to chewable bits”, and the “low-hanging fruits had been identified first.”
“Among the four states Assam has border disputes with, Meghalaya was the softest to handle and the six areas taken for study did not have large differences,” he had said, adding that the frequent meetings among the two CMs (Sangma and Sarma have met as many as eight times since July) also went a long way towards a significant progress in the talks. “The remaining areas of dispute are more complex,” he said.

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مارس 26, 2022

Delhi Budget increased by 2.5 times in seven years: Kejriwal

“In 2015, when we presented the first Budget, it was Rs 31,000 crore. Now it’s Rs 78,000 crore. There has been a 2.5-fold increase in seven years. This is no less than a miracle,” he said.
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Thanking Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – who also holds the finance portfolio – for the Budget, he added, “We aim to create 20 lakh new jobs in the next five years. Just saying it takes courage. This was not an electoral promise, this was the Budget. And we have presented the framework to create jobs. This is an innovative and bold Budget.” The government will focus on eight sectors for job creation – retail, food and beverages, logistics, supply, travel and tourism, entertainment, real estate and green energy.

Addressing the issue of unification of the three municipal corporations in Delhi, Kejriwal said, “The MCD Bill has been brought to stop the elections. There are two main things in the Bill. One, the number of wards has been reduced from 272 to 250. What is the benefit? There is no logic. There is only one reason, there will be delimitation. Had the number been same, there would be no delimitation. If that happens, the elections will be pushed for 1-2 years. Second, the entire MCD will be run by the Centre, this is against the Constitution. Once the Bill comes, we will study it. If need be, we will challenge it in court.”
Kejriwal briefly outlined the government’s plan to redevelop five traditional markets, create a bazaar portal which will open up global markets to Delhi traders, setting up a garment hub in Gandhinagar, developing traditional food hubs and food trucks that will operate till 2 am, and redevelopment of non-conforming industrial areas.

The chief minister said the Budget not only takes into account job creation, but also takes care of increasing costs by providing free education, free health, free electricity, free water, and free travel for women. He also spoke about creating roads, sewer systems and water pipelines in unauthorised colonies as well as cleaning up the Yamuna.
When asked about his statement on the controversy surrounding the film The Kashmir Files, he said during the press conference, “In the last 20-25 years since the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, the BJP has been at the Centre for 13 years. In the last eight years, the BJP has been at the Centre. Has even one family been rehabilitated in Kashmir? No one. What the BJP has done is politicise the issue,” he said.

“And now after that, they want to earn crores by making a movie on their pain. Over Rs 200 crore has been earned. It is criminal to make money with a picture on the pain of any community. This is not right. The country will not tolerate it. We only have two demands: put this movie on YouTube so everyone can watch it; second, whatever has been earned should be used for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. And third, concrete steps should be taken so that Kashmiri Pandits can go back to their homes,” he asserted.

مارس 5, 2022

Explained: Why the Delhi government banned discounts being given by liquor shops

Delhi’s new liquor policy has been at the centre of controversies ever since it came into effect, with the Opposition — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress — holding regular protests over it.
However, a new tussle has now emerged between the policy maker — the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government — and the license holders after the government placed a ban on discounts and rebates given by liquor shops, finding the decision arbitrary and against the policy. At least 17 alcohol companies have filed a petition against the government over the matter.

What does the new liquor policy say about discounts?
Under the new policy’s clause 3.5.1, all the L-72 licensees were permitted to give discounts, rebates and concessions on the MRP of liquor as fixed by the excise commissioner. According to the vendors, they paid excise duty upfront and 10 per cent extra, besides the license fee under the new policy, considering it would give them more leeway to operate.

Under the discounting scheme, while some retail vendors were allowed to give a one-plus-one (buy one get one free) offer and 40-50 per cent discounts, others were given permission for a two-plus-one (buy two get one free) offer and 40-50 per cent discount, among other concessions on the MRP.
According to the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), discounts were proposed and permitted in the bidding process itself. The policy also proposed to start beer=vending machines and sale of liquor in tetra packs. Vendors say that the step to ban discounts may have reduced crowds but hasn’t stopped anyone from drinking. They added that people have started going to Gurgaon for cheaper liquor.
Further, the city government also made several changes under this policy, from closing all government shops and paving a way for private sectors to take over the retailing in Delhi. It also introduced air-conditioned premium vends with a walk-in facility, similar to showrooms, but none have started yet. It also proposed to slash the age limit for drinking from 25 to 21 to bring it at par with neighbouring states. However, an official order is yet to come in this matter. The dry days were also reduced to only 3 from 21, like in Punjab and Haryana.

Why did the government ban discounts?
To stop overcrowding and long queues outside liquor shops, the Delhi government on February 28 issued an order to all the license holders to stop discounts, rebates and concessions given on the MRP. Recently, when the retail vendors license holders filed a petition against the government, the state counsel said that the discounts lead to a drinking problem in the city.
“It has been brought to notice of the department that as a result of the discounts being offered by the licenses through their retail vends, there are instances reported of large crowds gathering outside liquor shops leading to law and order problems and causing inconvenience to the local population of the area. It is also to be kept in mind that the covid situation is not over yet and danger of the covid still persists and therefore huge crowds are likely to aggravate the rise of covid cases in the city,” the order read.

The government added that discounting was also leading to an unhealthy market practice deployed purely for short-term business gains by some licensees, causing distortions in the market.
It stated that its intent on allowing discounts was to promote consumer choice and healthy competition, and not determination of price by market forces.
A senior Excise official said, “The government has rights to update, amend and make changes in the policy.” However, the sources added that changes have also been made in view of the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections as RWAs and people complained about crowding and opening of liquor shops in residential areas. The BJP and Congress have also upped the ante, making the new liquor policy a key agenda for their MCD poll campaign.
Why were traders giving such high discounts?
According to the vendors, they gave out the discounts to recover losses they faced during the lockdowns, when shops were shut for more than a month ahead of the new policy being implemented. They also said that the discounts helped them stop customers from buying liquor from neighbouring cities such as Gurgaon, where it is cheaper as compared to the national capital.
“We paid excise duty and had the right to give discounts. It helped boost our business in the last one month. Even in January, liquor shops were facing losses due to time restrictions owing to the Covid-related restrictions. The government has the right to make changes but when the licensees have paid crores, then it is ultimately their losses to bear. Before taking a step, they should have at least consulted them,” a retail vendor said.
According to sources, the discounts on liquor prices boosted the business of the liquor industry, and sales went up by almost 200 per cent.
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