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Indu Mills decision today

After a decade of demands that Indu Mill land be handed over for Ambedkar memorial, Centre to announce decision today.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

At last, and a day before the followers of Dr BR Ambedkar congregate on Chaityabhoomi, Dadar, to pay their respects on the late leader’s death anniversary, the Centre will announce the handover of the 12.5 hectares of Indu Mill land in Parliament today.

Yesterday, Union Minister for Textiles and Industry Anand Sharma met a delegation of Congress MPs from Maharashtra and assured them that an annoucement on the transfer would be made on the floor of Parliament today. National Textile Corporation (NTC) is expected to hand over all of the land – last year, activists of the Republican Sena, an outfit headed by Dr Ambedkar’s grandson Anandraj, had camped inside the Mill land premises for over a week after reports of the NTC handing over only four hectares of land.

The handover is significant, and the Centre’s hand has also been forced by the impending December 6 event at Mumbai. Dalits comprise an estimated 12 per cent of Maharashtra State’s population, and this group can swing things against or for the Congress in the 2012 general elections.

 

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Indu Mill land issue heats up

Dalit organisations warn of forcible occupation of Indu Mill land, Government says final decision will be taken before December 6.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

December 6 is a special date for dalits across the country – on this day, lakhs of dalits make the pilgrimage to Chaityabhoomi to pay homage to Dr  BR Ambedkar. This week, as the city’s security personnel gear up for the rush of pilgrims, there is another issue likely to create a ruckus in Mumbai – the handover (or not) of the Indu Mill land for a memorial dedicated to Dr Ambedkar.

The issue is about 10 years old. Dalit organisations in Maharashtra, primarily the Republican Party of India (RPI) and the Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, have been demanding that 12.5 acre of Indu Mill land at Dadar be handed over to them for the building of the Ambedkar memorial, however the Centre and the State have not yet taken a decision on the same. Two days ago, nine dalit organisations in the State declared their intention to come together and fight for the land – they have demanded that the land be handed over before December 6 this year, or else they would forcibly occupy it.

To this, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has assured that a final decision would be taken before December 6. Last year, dalit organisations had forcibly occupied the land for two weeks, before the State managed to pacify them.

Chavan had a meeting with Anand Sharma, Union Cabinet Minister in charge of Commerce, Industry and Textiles, in New Delhi, yesterday. After the meeting, Chavan said, “Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved of the idea of erecting a memorial on the Indu Mill land, in principle. Naturally, there is no legal issue that we need to sort out. The Centre and the State will see to it that there is no legal hassle in erecting the memorial at the site. However, I urge all parties concerned to not politicise this issue.”

The twist in the tale is that the land is currently in the possession of National Textile Corporation (NTC), which is reluctant to hand over the land to the State Government, citing that it wants a compensation to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. The State has countered this by saying that the compensation would not exceed Rs 1,000 crore. After the meeting today, Sharma said, “The memorial will certainly be constructed, but we are in the last stages of sorting out the transfer issue. This is why the final decision has taken some time.” The Central Government wants to keep the ownership of the land, while the State is willing to develop the memorial on it.

Chavan said that the technical issues regarding the reservation of the land and the question of how to make changes to the reservation had caused delays in the final decision. Both he and State Home Minister RR Patil have urged leaders to exercise restraint. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Patil is reviewing security arrangements for December 6 in the light of this development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ajit Pawar returns?

Two months ago, Ajit Pawar resigned as the State’s Deputy Chief Minister after allegations of corruption. Is he returning soon?
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

A series of scams and financial irregularities committed by the State in irrigation led to the September 25 resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Yesterday, a white paper on irrigation was placed before the State Government, and it does not mention any of the irregularities committed by the Water Resources Department, that was headed by Pawar. With just days to go before the Winter Session of the State Legislature takes place in Nagpur, the big question is:

Is Ajit Pawar coming back?

Pawar, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is nephew to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, is said to be desperate for a comeback, but the Government will have to play its cards right, especially with the Session coming up on December 11. There were talks in the NCP camp of Pawar’s comeback even before the white paper meeting took place last evening. It is also doubly suspicious that the white paper seemingly skirts all issues of corruption and merely lists the projects approved by the State in the last decade. The fact – and this was what made Pawar resign this year – that as much as Rs 35,000 crore has reportedly been siphoned off by the politician-contractor nexus in dud irrigation projects in the last 10 years, finds not the remotest mention in the white paper.

The NCP is reportedly already proclaiming that the reentry of Ajit Pawar into the State’s politics, in an official capacity, is only a matter of time, and that the timing would be decided by Sharad Pawar. However, any haste in the matter will reflect badly on the Government, say observers.

With a very ‘white’ white paper presented, and which glosses over any wrongdoing on the part of politicians and State bureaucrats, it seems that the entire exercise will only serve to bring Aijt Pawar back.

(Picture courtesy hindustantimes.com)

 

 

 

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Dhada Hospital remains open despite bandh

Shaheen Dhada’s uncle kept clinic open despite a total shutdown in Palghar. Meanwhile, cops and special security units maintained security.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

True to its word, the Shiv Sena enforced a total bandh in Palghar yesterday, to protest against the suspension of two senior police officials in the Facebook arrests case of two Palghar girls, Shaheen Dhada and her friend Rinu Srinivasan. However, despite a complete lockdown – shops, industrial units and other establishments were closed and transport was off the roads – Shaheen’s uncle, Dr Abdul Dhada, kept his clinic and medical dispensary open. Police personnel were posted outside the clinic to provide security all day.

After Shaheen was pulled up by the Shiv Sena for questioning the shutdown of Mumbai after the demise of Sena chief Bal Thackeray on November 17, 2012, a group of Shiv Sainiks had ransacked Dr Dhada’s clinic. Though the charges against the two girls have been all but dropped and 10 arrests have been made in connection with the vandalism at the clinic, no compensation has been given to Dr Dhada yet.

The rest of Palghar remained indoors, however. Heavy security was deployed all over the area and no untoward incidents were reported. The Shiv Sena yesterday reiterated its demand that the State revoke the two police officers’ suspension.

(Picture courtesy rediff.com)

 

 

 

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Why not on Kohinoor Mill land, Joshi sir?

Congress alleges that Manohar Joshi doesn’t want the proposed Bal Thackeray memorial to come up on the Kohinoor Mill land.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It has been just days after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s death, but the political mudslinging is plumbing newer deaths. The demand that a memorial dedicated to Thackeray be set up at Shivaji Park, where the Sena founder was cremated on November 17, 2012, has attracted its share of controversy already. The latest is the State Congress’ allegation that Manohar Joshi is insistent on the Shivaji Park site because he doesn’t want it to be set up at Kohinoor Mills, a land which he owns.

It may be remembered that the demand for a Bal Thackeray memorial was first mooted by Joshi, a senior Sainik and ex-Chief Minister of the State. While the demand was upheld by the Shiv Sena and approved in principle by the NCP, the Prithviraj Chavan-led State Government maintained that while it had no opposition to the memorial being built, the Shivaji Park site could not be immediately approved in lieu of several legal tangles.

To this, Joshi said that the Shiv Sena was prepared to “even take the law in its hands” over the memorial issue.

‘Why insist on Shivaji Park?’

Joshi’s comment drew a sharp response from the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), whose spokesperson Sachin Sawant issued a statement yesterday. “Manohar Joshi has been a former Lok Sabha Speaker. Such language (of taking the law in their own hands) is not expected of him,” Sawant said. “It is difficult to understand why Joshi sir is insisting on Shivaji Park for the memorial. Many have voiced their opinion that the memorial can also be built on the Kohinoor Mill land. We feel that Joshi does not want the memorial to come up on the ‘Kohinoor’ of his wealth, which is why he is trying his best for Shivaji Park,” he added.

Sawant also said, “The Shiv Sena played its politics in the name of Shivaji, for 46 years. However, even Balasaheb Thackeray would not have been pleased with the tussle over his memorial, and the insistence on it being at Shivaji Park and nowhere else.” He added that the Chief Minister had made the position on the issue very clear. “If anyone insists on going against people’s wishes (Shivaji Park residents have consistently opposed the idea of the memorial), the State Government will have to take stern action against them,” he said.

(Picture courtesy PTI)

 

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CM trying for green nod for Chaityabhoomi

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan asks for second phase beautification proposal to be submitted for environmental clearance.

On Friday, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan asked the BMC to submit a revised proposal for the second stage of the Chaityabhoomi revamp project, for environmental clearances. As per the project scope, Phases II and III will involve constructing a walkway that projects into the sea and runs parallel to the coast. While Phase I is said to be complete, the remaining phases have been delayed owing to permissions not being granted on proposals submitted earlier by the MoEF – the land, and all three Phases, fall under the purview of CRZ laws. However, a proposal for green clearance can now be resubmitted owing to a realigning of CRZ-II laws in 2011.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has set aside Rs 21 crore for the beautification project, while the State Government has granted Rs 25 crore for it. Rs 8.33 crore has been spent on Phase I.

In the remaining phases, it is proposed to expand the existing stupa without touching the original structure, a circular meditation space next to the stupa, water fountains at certain spots, landscaping, and most importantly, the construction of a cantilevered walkway projecting out into the sea. Yesterday, Chavan also asked BMC chief Sitaram Kunte to verify the ownership of the area.

A latter part of the project includes a proposed Vipassana centre, a residential space for visiting monks and pilgrims, and a library of Dr BR Ambedkar’s works. Chaityabhoomi is known for being the last resting place of Dr Ambedkar.

‘Trying to expedite Indu Mill land transfer’ 

Though there is no definite date on it yet, Chavan yesterday said that he was trying to expedite the transfer of Indu Mill land (which is adjacent to Chaityabhoomi) for a world-class memorial dedicated to Dr Ambedkar. “Our Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has given a positive response to the proposal, and we are studying how to make this happen,” Chavan said yesterday.

(Pictures courtesy www.deccanchronicle.com, www.timesofindia.com)

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