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l THURSDAY l APRIL 25 l 2013

CM announces Rs 500-cr relief for chit fund investors

Will raise part of the amount from additional tobacco tax

CPM wants CBI to probe chit fund scam

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, APRIL 24

DEBABRATA MOHANTY

SC order has opened Pandoras box in Orissa

THE SUPREME COURT judgment last week directing Orissa to hold gram sabha meetings in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts over whether bauxite mining can be allowed in the Niyamgiri mountains has opened Pandoras box for projects in the state. Though Vedanta and the Orissa Mining Corporation hailed the judgment as a window of opportunity after years of glo-om, the SC order asking the gram sabhas to decide on the cultural and religious rights of Dongaria Kondhs over the Niyamgiri mountain plateau may have made things more complex. The NC Saxena Committee was the first to say, in August 2010, that bauxite mining in Niyamgiri would deprive the Dongarias of their rights over the mountain, sealing the fate of Vedantas 1-million-tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi. The Ministry of Environment and Forests subsequently reThough Vedanta and jected the companys application the Orissa Mining for final forest clearance for its minCorporation hailed ing project. the judgment as Days later, Congress leader a window of Rahul Gandhi had descended on opportunity, the SC Lanjigarh and backed the MoEF order asking gram decision, while promising the tribals that he would be their emissary sabhas to decide on in Delhi. Its quite another matter cultural, religious that in the two years hence, Rahul rights of Dongaria has never returned to Lanjigarh to Kondhs over Niyamgiri enquire about the same tribals. mountain plateau may Since then it has been downhill have made things for Vedanta in Kalahandi, left more complex scampering for bauxite from all over the country till finally closing the refinery. The closure has also severely affected the operation of its aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda district. If the gram sabhas to be supervised by a district judge appointed by Orissa High Court indeed decide against mining in Niyamgiri, it would almost be the end of the road for Vedanta, the single biggest industrial investor in Orissa in the past 10 years. Vedanta can challenge the gram sabha decision in the SC, but that would again be a time-consuming process hitting the companys bottomline. The SC judgment may have also added more obstacles to mining projects elsewhere in the state. The Khandadhar mines of Sundargarh district, where Posco plans to seek iron ore for its steel project, is also an area rich in biodiversity. Educated by the Niyamgiri experience, local politicians are already setting the stage for a similar fight here. Perhaps aware of the difficulties ahead, the state Steel and Mines Department has said Orissa would henceforth not commit any mining leases to companies hardly a development that would draw investment to this backward state. Debabrata is a special correspondent based in Bhubaneswar
debabrata.mohanty@expressindia.com

SWINDLE
KOLKATA, APRIL 24

THEGREATBENGAL

SABYASACHI BANDOPADHYAY N order to provide some relief to the investors of Saradha Group, which went bust last week, the state government is going to build a Rs 500-crore fund to be distributed among the poorest of the investors. The government will impose an additional 10 per cent tax on tobacco to mop up a part of the money about Rs 150 crore. We will rustle up the remaining amount from some other source, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday. At present, the state government charges a tax of 25 per cent on tobacco. You should smoke more so that we can collect the money, Mamata said, tongue firmly in cheek. The money will be in addition to the sale proceeds of the Saradha Groups property. The government will shortlist beneficiaries from among the names of investors who will enrol with the Justice Shyamal Sen Inquiry Commission, set up to probe the scam and suggest remedial measures. The commission will fan out in districts and will receive complaints from people who have been affected. Advertisements will be run in the print media shortly. From among the names forwarded by the commission we will select those who have been worst affected, who have lost everything, Mamata said. She chose the occasion to lash out at the Centre and erstwhile Left Front government for their alleged indifference

Agents of Saradha Group protesting in Kolkata. to the menace. The Left Front government sat quietly while chit funds cropped up. They should have passed the Bill much earlier. The Central government, which is deducting money from our revenue for repayment of loans, has been silent while the chit funds did their murky business here. Now you are firing salvos at us, Mamata said. She reiterated her governments stand that whoever is involved in the scam

PARTHA PAUL

will not be spared. The CPM never arranged for the return of money to the investors of Sanchayeeta that went bust in the 80s. The death of its founder was unnatural; nobody knows whether it was suicide or homicide. Now the same people are creating trouble on the streets, Mamata said. The state government is convening a special session of the Assembly on April 29 to pass a new legislation to rein in the non-banking financial institutions, she added.

WITH the Trinamool Congress on the back foot after the revelations made by Saradha Group CMD Sudipta Sen, the CPM on Wednesdaywentonanoffensive against its rival demanding a CBI inquiry into the chit fund scam. CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said the Trinamoolcannotwashitshands as right from the beginning it wasajointventurebetween the TMC and Saradha Group. We are demanding a CBI inquiry immediately because it is a case of large scale criminal misappropriation of fund. And it is not confined to West Bengal alone. It affects Assam and Jharkhand as well. It has inter-state implicationsandotherramifications. The Centre should order a CBI inquiry without delay, he said. Asked about the revelations made by Sen in his letter to the CBI and demands for the resignation of the two TMC Rajya Sabha MPs who havecomeunderthescanner, Karat said let the CBI investigate. He quickly added, Right from the beginning it was a joint venture between the Trinamool Congress and the Saradha Group. It needs to be investigated fully. TheCPMhasbeenaccusing the Trinamool Congress governmentofsupportingchit fund companies and had even taken up the matter with the Prime Minister last year.

Gogoi too seeks CBI probe

GUWAHATI: A day after Saradha Group CMD Sudipta Sen was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir for his alleged involvement in a multicrore financial scam across several states, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi late Wednesday night announced that his government was seriously contemplating to move the CBI against this and several other companies involved in swindling public money. Interestingly, Sen in his letter purportedly written to the CBI has named a minister of the Gogoi cabinet among the politicians who had allegedly milked the company for money. This has triggered off a political storm in Assam with opposition parties and the local media speculating who is the minister involved in the scam. ENS

The chit fund companies have been close to Trinamool... that is very clear, senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said. While Left Front MLAs from Bengal met the PM in August last year,adelegationofLeftMPs had met him in December seekingtheCentresinterventiontosafeguardtheinterests of small investors. Yechurysaidtheprevious Left Front government had in 2003 brought a Bill the WestBengalProtectionofInterest of Depositors in FinancialInstitutionsActtoprotect the interests of small investors,especiallyfromchit fund companies.

The receptionist who became No. 2, was gifted a flat by Sen

that Debjani left for Delhi by an 11.30 am flight to join her boss in New Delhi. ArpitasaidDebjanimovedtothe DEBJANI Mukherjee, the 27-yearold executive director who accom- new flat at Kasba about a year and a panied Saradha Group CEO halfago.Herancestralhouseisalsoat Sudipta Sen to J&K, was gifted a Kasba. She said that Debjani joined flat in a south Kolkata by her boss. the Saradha Group as a receptionist, and quickly rose to the rank This was disclosed by of an executive director. Arpita Mukherjee, her Asked about the cousin who stays with Deflat, Aprita said, It was a gift bjani in the same flat and to my sister from her also works for the boss. And how many cars Saradha Group. was she gifted? Arpita said: The police said that I am aware of only one, documents seized so far DEBJANI Maruti Swift. indicate that Debjani was MUKHERJEE However, The Indian inadecision-makingposition in the company and was virtu- Express found a white Scorpio ally number two in the hierarchy. Of- WB-22 U 6741 parked outside the ficially, she got a salary of Rs 1 lakh in flat. It was registered in the name of cheque and another Rs 1 lakh in cash Saradha Construction Company. per month, besides other perks. The other Scorpio that was found in However, Arpita claimed that Deb- Sonamarg, J&K, had the next regisjani had not been paid her salary tration number WB-22U 6742. Arpita was joined by two lawyers since January. She wanted to resign, butSendidnotacceptit,Arpitasaid. Anirban Guha Thakurta and AbArpita, 23, who appeared before hisekh Mukherjee who claimed the media on Wednesday with her that Debjani was their client. They face covered, alleged that Sen had said Debjani had called Abhisekh trapped Debjani after she was called from a Sonamarg hotel before being to Delhi for an important meeting arrested. She had called from the on April 11. Debjani did not go with cellphone of a hotel attendant. It Sen in the Scorpio vehicle as the po- seemed she was under some sort of illice have claimed, she said, adding legal confinement, said Abhisekh. MADHUPARNA DAS
KOLKATA, APRIL 24

TMC MPs assured my business will be protected: Sen to CBI

Assam Minister took Rs 3 crore from me over a period of six months, he says
NEW DELHI, APRIL 24

PRIYADARSHI SIDDHANTA SUDIPTA Sen, promoter of Saradha Group, has claimed that Trinamool CongresssRajyaSabhamembers,Kunal Ghosh and Srinjay Bose, assured him that his business interests will be protected as they have a very close connection with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an 18-page letter to the CBI, Senhasallegedthatanumberofpoliticians from Bengal and Assam took payments from him on various pretexts.Significantly,hehasalsoattached namesofseveralothermulti-levelmarketing companies in the state where some of his associates have joined and he describes as corrupt. About the two MPs, he claimed thatinthepasttwoyearshehaspaidRs 20 crore, most of the payment made by cheque or RTGS. Sen noted that various times they have taken cash under various causes.. not less than Rs 2 crore per month. The letter alleged that Ghosh was given a new car with allowances for fuel and a drivers salary. Theletter,signedoneachpage by Sen, said that he had purchased a television channel, Channel 10, for Rs

CHARGES BASELESS: KUNAL GHOSH

KOLKATA: Following a letter written by Sudipta Sen, Saradha Group CEO, to the CBI, in which he has accused TMCs two RS members for having blackmailed him, there is reportedly a clamour within the party for action against the duo. However, when contacted, TMC RS member Kunal Ghosh said, I have heard about the letter. These are baseless allegations. I used to be a salaried employee. I am not a shareholder, neither a director of the Saradha Group. When Sen started the media wing, I was not there. I was later hired as a professional. My jurisdiction was editorial content. I did not have access to the accounts of the media wing. I did not have right to sign a cheque. When I was hired, I was not an MP . So the party does not come into the picture. ENS

Newborn sold for Rs 8 lakh on Facebook, four arrested

Delhi-based couple who wanted to adopt the baby yet to be arrested
RAAKHI JAGGA
LUDHIANA, APRIL 24

A NEWBORN boy in Ludhiana was sold to a Delhi-based couple for Rs 8 lakh through a deal struck on the social networking site Facebook. The incident came to light when the babys mother, Nooran, filed a complaint with the police that her baby went missing from the hospital where he was born on April 3. The newborn was sold to one Amit Kumar, who wanted to adopt a baby with his wife. The deal was struck by hospital attendant Gurpreet. The police have arrested Gurpreet, the boys maternal grandfather Feroze Khan, his friend Irfan and nurse Sunita Rani for selling the baby. But Kumar is yet to be arrested. The baby has been found from Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi and returned to his mother. The child was allegedly abducted by Feroze Khan on April 10 and sold with the help of Sunita and Gurpreet. Gurpreet had sent the babys pictures on Facebook to a friend, following which, a deal was struck with the couple for Rs 8 lakh, said Ludhiana Police Commissioner

Ishwar Singh. A few months ago, I had separated from my husband and came to my parents house. On April 14, I gave birth to a boy at Satyam Hospital. After delivery, I was told that my baby is dead. Later on, some people at the hospital told me that my father had sold the baby to nurse Sunita Rani, Nooran said. Sunita was paid Rs 70,000 by Gurpreet, from which, she paid Feroze Khan Rs 45,000. However, the family did not know that the deal was struck for Rs 8 lakh. As of now, the nurse and Feroze Khan are saying that the child was sold for Rs 70,000 but we do not believe this. Gurpreet had struck a deal with the Delhi-based person. Once he is brought to Ludhiana, we will be able to reveal what he actually paid for the baby, said ADCP N K Sharma. While Rs 45,000 has been recovered from Feroze Khan, Rs 25,000 have been found on Sunita. Noorans father, reportedly a drug addict, has told the police that he wanted to get the baby adopted as he did not want to bear the expense of raising a child. Sunita advised him to sell the baby.

24croreandspentanotherRs50crore to rebrand it. But Ghosh allegedly made him sign away the same for a meagre amount of Rs 55 lakh, which can never happen. On the Banerjee connection, Sen said with the execution of this agreement to finance the newspaper, they (the MPs) will protect my business fromthegovernmenti.e.stateandalso

Central and... they assured me that they have a very close connection with present CM of West Bengal i.e. Ms Mamata Banerjee. According to Sen, his travails beganwhenhebeganinvestinginthemedia. He alleged that at the behest of Ghosh, a newspaper in the state unleashed a campaign against him. Feeling vulnerable against the alleged sustained campaign, Sen said he was compelledtoenterthemediabusiness in the state. Saradha at one stage had become one of the largest chit fund companies in eastern India with interests in construction, realty, tourism, hospitality, agri-business, besides media. Urging the CBI to expeditiously conduct a probetounravelthetruth,Senalleged thathewasforcedtotakeoveralossmakingmotorbikemanufacturingunit in Polba near Singur by a business lobby close to the Trinamool government. He alleged a minister in Assam government, whom he referred to as Himanta Biswa Sarma, had dramatically cheated him. He alleged that Sarma took about Rs 3 crore over a period of six months along with expenses for international flight by Sarma son.

First underground naval base hits hurdle as MoEF opposes diversion of reserved forest land
ANUBHUTI VISHNOI
NEW DELHI, APRIL 24

4 minors raped in Bihar, Ukhand

DEHRADUN, PATNA: Four minors were raped in separate incidents in Uttarakhand and Bihar, the police said on Wednesday. The incidents were reported from Haridwar and Nainital districts of Uttarakhand and Sheikhpura and Araria districts of Bihar. In the first incident, a 10-year-old girl was raped allegedly by a youth in her village near Roorkee in Haridwar district. Her family members filed a complaint with the police who have taken the accused, Ravindra alias Chu-gga (30), into custody. In another incident near Beriparav gate in Nainital district on Wednesday, an eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her maternal uncle, police sources said. In Bihar, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by two persons at Pharpur in Sheikhpura district, police said on Wednesday. Another girl of same age was raped by eight persons at Sisauna in Araria district last Saturday. SP Akhtar Hussain said they were awaiting the medical PTI examination report.

INDIAS first underground strategic naval base that was to house its nuclear-armed submarine has run into a tangle over green norms with the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) opposing the diversion of over 600 hectares of reserved forest land citing a strong possibility that it may affect the water table and soil moisture content in the area. The proposed expansion of the base at Rambilli near Visakhapatnam, that will consist of underground pens to house nuclear-armed submarines and protected harbours for warships, is currently under the scanner of MoEFs Forest Advisory Committee.

The project for setting up of a Naval Alternate Operating Base (NAOB) involves diversion of 676.12 hectares of forest land in Rambilli and Kalavalapalli reserved forests of Visakhapatnam division. It would be similar to Chinas base at Hainan Island that houses nucleararmed submarines and first came to light four years ago through satellite imagery. The Indian project involves a number of strategic constructions of undisclosed cost and nature. In the non-technical area, several buildings administrative wings, communication buildings, technical storage ares, hardware rooms, water supply pumps, fire fighting pumps, garages, accommodation and transit facility will be built. The Forest Advisory

NAOB project

involves diversion of 676.12 hectares of forest land in Rambilli and Kalavalapalli reserved forests of Visakhapatnam division
Committee of the MoEF decided in a meeting last month to seek the views of Andhra Pradesh government on the issues raised in the Southern Zone site inspection report before taking a final decision. The Southern Zone site inspection report points out that the two reserved forests covering the reserved forest area in question, is spread across two large-sized hills which also constitute the

catchment areas for the agricultural land under cultivation in the region. If the two hills, consisting of natural forests, are diverted, it may have deleterious effect and impact on soil moisture content and water table in the surrounding areas having housing colonies as well as cultivated agricultural lands, the report says. It may also have a tangible, intangible as well as untenable effects on the wells, borewells, tube wells, water tanks/water bodies etc, the report adds. It further says that the degraded land proposed to be utilised for compensatory afforestation is also not suitable as these forests are full of natural native species and in parts already covered under forest plantations through various state and

Central government schemes. Still other sections of this degraded land are either prone to shifting cultivation or encroached upon. The environmental impact of the project will entail a diversion of over 53,000 trees. The forest land is also home to over 300 peacocks, common native birds, lizards, rattle snakes, cobras, significant native avi-fauna and flora like sandalwood trees. The regional forest officers also point out that the user agency has failed to consider the alternative revenue land available on the sea shore along the east coast in Visakhapatnam district for NAOB Phase II. It adds that while NAOB Phase I is a rather massive integrated plan, NAOB II has been added suddenly as an afterthought.