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Team Anna points to challenges on political road Soon after Team Anna decided to explore the political alternative,

anti-corruption activists Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, whose fast entered the fifth and ninth day here on Thursday, pointed to the challenges of electoral politics !rimary among the concerns raised "y #r Hazare and #r Kejriwal were the selection of candidates with excellent credentials, creating chec$s and "alances on elected functionaries, and the pro"lem of tac$ling money power that dominates elections today #r Hazare said he would not fight elections or vie for political power A letter signed "y retired Supreme %ourt judges & ' Krishna (yer and ) Santosh Hegde, *eneral +retd , & K Singh and Admiral +retd , 'am Tahiliani, former %hief -lection %ommissioner . # /yngdoh, social activist Sandip !andey, political commentator 0ogendra 0adav, actor Anupam Kher, and many other "ureaucrats, activists, and academicians criticised the political esta"lishment for not responding to the demands of ordinary citizens for a strong anti-corruption legislation They re1uested the four activists +including #anish Sisodia and *opal 'ai, to call off their fast 2(nstead, we call upon them to focus their energies on creating an alternative political force that is democratic, accounta"le, ethical and non-violent and capa"le of leading an electoral revolution to democratise and decentralise power and ma$e the power structures of the country more accounta"le to the people,3 the letter said (mmediately after the letter was read out "y #r Kher, Team Anna mem"er !rashant 4hushan came on stage and re1uested (A% supporters to use social networ$ing services and write to (A%5s email address, post on its 6ace"oo$ page, reply to its Twitter handle and send text messages to express their opinion on the anti-corruption movement ta$ing a political turn #r Hazare said7 2( have realised that neither this government nor the 8pposition will pass the .an /o$pal 4ill ( feel entering politics is the correct and only option 3 He, however, voiced his misgivings -ven good people who got elected changed colours once in positions of power, he felt 2(t is common to hear a"out /o$ Sa"ha candidates spending 's 9:-;< crore How do we elect =<< candidates without spending much money>3 #r Hazare placed the onus of the movement on the youth and said it would succeed only with decentralisation of power #r Kejriwal said7 2How do we find patriotic candidates with good character> Today we have 9?; #!s with criminal and corruption charges against them @e will let down people if our own candidates "ecome li$e present-day politicians 3 2@e are not loo$ing for political power changing hands 8ur aim is systemic change,3 he said, while re1uesting people to write in their opinions AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA PM eases land transfer to speed up PPP projects Special %orrespondent Share B %omment B print B TC !rime #inister #anmohan Singh on Thursday lifted the "an on transfer of government-owned

land, relaxed the land transfer policy, and did away with the need for %a"inet approval for certain categories of projects, including pu"lic-private partnership, with immediate effect The policy on land transfer has "een relaxed 2so that infrastructure projects aren5t held up "ecause of procedural delays,3 says a statement issued "y the !rime #inister5s 8ffice 'elaxing the "an for certain categories of projects, the !#8 hopes, will 2speed up the award of !!! projects from this month onwards, significantly 3 The "an on transfer of land was imposed last year, except transfer of land from one department to another with %a"inet approval Stressing that it led to 2long delays3 in awarding concessions for infrastructure projects that are executed especially in !!! mode, the !rime #inister has done away with the need for this process, provided these projects are within specific valuations This decision will "enefit road, railways, ports, civil aviation and metro projects Transfer of land from one department to another wing will "e executed under normal government rules, and to a concessionaire within a limited value, provided the project is cleared "y the !u"lic!rivate !artnership Approval %ommittee and "y the 6inance #inister and ministries concerned Similarly, the 'ail /and Development Authority +'/DA, has "een allowed the use of rail land in accordance with the provisions of the 'ailways Amendment Act, ;<<: and the rules framed thereunder, and guidelines of the 'ailway #inistry AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Grid collapse: Poor load management, not overdrawing, to blame? ' 'amachandran During distur"ances on .uly =< and =9, there was heavy power flow of 9<<< #@ on the 4ina*walior-Agra line The grid collapse on two consecutive days E the )orthern *rid on .uly =< and the )orthern, -astern and )orth -astern grids on .uly =9 E has "een widely attri"uted to overdrawing of power "y the )orthern States, Fttar !radesh in particular 4ut is that the real reason> An examination of relevant data would suggest that something else, and not overdrawing, was the real reason for the collapse And that the !ower *rid %orporation of (ndia /td +!*%(/,, which owns and manages the power grids, failed to prevent the collapse in spite of several expensive e1uipment that are supposed to "e in place to monitor the grids !ower fre1uency reflects the "alance "etween load and power generation in the grid at a given instant and the fre1uency would drop if there is an im"alance caused "y overdrawing somewhere along the grid This can affect the 1uality of power supply and the sta"ility of the grid To maintain the security of the grid, the permissi"le fre1uency "and specified "y the (ndian -lectricity *rid %ode +(-*%, of the %entral -lectricity 'egulatory %ommission, effective #ay =, ;<9<, is GH : to :< ; Hz /et us see what the grid fre1uency situation was just "efore the grid distur"ance actually occurred on .uly =< at ; =: a m According to the data availa"le from the !ower System 8peration %orporation /td +!S8%, of the !*%(/, the grid fre1uency at ; =; a m on .uly =< was GH ?I Hz This is as good as it can get against the ideal fre1uency of :< Hz (n fact, data o"tained from the )T!% Dadri thermal power plant from 9; midnight on .uly =< up to

the tripping instant shows that the fre1uency was extremely sta"le till the grid collapsed, with a fre1uency minimum of GH J; Hz at 9; ;: a m and a maximum of :< <H Hz at 9; :< a m This range is well within the tight norm specified "y the (-*% The same was, in fact, true on .uly =9 as well @hen the distur"ance occurred at 9 p m , the antecedent fre1uency was GH IG Hz Also, it was not a case of generating stations pumping in more power to the grid to restore the "alance and the grid fre1uency Supply from Dadri during that time suggests that generation was actually "eing reduced (n fact, it would seem 1uite odd to say that there was overdrawing of power at ; =< a m on a rainy day (t is true that farmers do use power at night to pump water "ecause of low tariff, which also allows the grid to maintain a certain "alance, "ut it cannot "e imagined that there would have "een overdrawing "y the farming community on a rainy night According to experts, however, grid fre1uency is not the only parameter that warns you of an impending grid distur"ance There can "e other reasons such as a single-line overloading, which is 1uite distinct from general overdrawing from the grid This can "e due to poor load management "y the load despatch centre concerned This is what seems to have happened As per the information availa"le from the !S8%, during "oth the distur"ances, there was heavy power flow of 9<<< #@ on the G<< $& 4ina-*walior-Agra line Though there are two circuits availa"le on this line, one circuit has "een under outage since .uly ;I for upgrade to the J?: $& level The loading capa"ility or the permissi"le limit, $nown as Surge (mpedance /oading +S(/,, on this single circuit line is ?H9 #@ So the overloading was "y more than =<< #@ Similarly, overflow was seen in many circuits in the -astern sector as well though not as drastic They were of the order of ::< #@ against an S(/ of :9: #@ (nterestingly, there was a warning of an impending disaster the previous day itself when a similar power overflow occurred on the same line at = 9< p m on .uly ;H and there was a 2near-miss3 situation %learly, the load despatch centre did not heed this warning, trace the cause and "e prepared for such an eventuality The immediate response of the load despatch centre in such a case of power overflow should "e to ma$e other parallel lines on that corridor availa"le for diverting the increased flow or trip an operational line off the grid or as$ some utility to increase generation so as to restore the "alance %learly, none of these was implemented, which reflects on the poor load management system in place -ven more interesting is the fact that these two instances are not the first such occurrences on this line This line seems to have some pro"lem and has "een acting li$e some $ind of a "loc$age in the networ$ A similar near-miss situation occurred on )ovem"er ;I, ;<<H, when the same circuit carrying around 9<<< #@ tripped on one of its phases This had led to su"se1uent cascade tripping of other parallel lines in the corridor However, the system survived "ecause of support from generators and 1uic$ operator action (n the current incident, which also led to the cascade tripping of other lines in the )orthern grid on .uly =< and, "ecause of synchronous interconnectivity with the -astern and )orth--astern *rids, tripping of the entire )orth--ast-)orth--astern *rid on .uly =9, this could not "e managed and collapse prevented The reasons for this are what need to "e esta"lished AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Who pa s in case of accident at !udan"ulam, as"s PM Activists citing concerns a"out the fate of local residents in the event of an accident at the Kudan$ulam nuclear power plant received a "oost from an unexpected source with !rime #inister #anmohan Singh 1uestioning the Department of Atomic -nergy5s decision to waive its legal right to claim damages against the )!!5s 'ussian suppliers

8n Thursday, )DT& disclosed that Dr Singh, who is also the #inister for Atomic -nergy, has o"jected to a re1uest "y the )uclear !ower %orporation of (ndia /td E the operator of the Kudan$ulam facility E to waive its right to recourse under Section 9J of the )uclear /ia"ility Act if an accident in the yet-to-"e-"uilt units = and G results from faulty e1uipment A senior !#8 official confirmed to The Hindu that the !rime #inister had raised certain 1uestions and that the DA-5s answers were "eing awaited Fnder the terms of the Decem"er ;<<I (ntergovernmental Agreement +(*A, "etween 'ussia and (ndia for the supply of units 9 and ;, the entire lia"ility "urden for accident-related damage must "e "orne "y the (ndian operator Fnder 'ussian pressure, the DA- and )!%(/ agreed last month that the same lia"ility condition would carry over to units = and G despite the provisions of the )uclear /ia"ility Act, which "ecame law in ;<9< The DA- told the %a"inet %ommittee on Security that this was permissi"le since (ndia had already committed itself in ;<<I to ma$ing the (ndian operator fully lia"le for any damages resulting from an accident According to )DT&, the !rime #inister as$ed the DA- how the provisions of the ;<9< Act could "e overruled and suggested the matter "e referred to the #inistries of /aw and .ustice and -xternal Affairs (n his notings, he also expressed the fear that other supplier nations would demand that )!%(/ grant them a similar exemption from those provisions of the law that they did not li$e Article 9= of the (ndia-'ussia (*A on KK 9-; states7 2The (ndian side and its authorised organisation at any time and at all stages of the construction and operation of the )!! power units to "e constructed under the present Agreement shall "e the 8perator of power units of the )!! at the Kudan$ulam site and "e fully responsi"le for any damage "oth within and outside the territory of the 'epu"lic of (ndia caused to any person and property as a result of a nuclear incident occurring at the )!! 3 The fuel loading for KK9K;, "oth 9<<< #@ &&-'s, will commence in mid-August and the first unit is expected to 2reach criticality3 "y the end of Septem"er A formal agreement for KK=KG has yet to "e signed at the apex level and the !rime #inister5s 1ueries suggest the lia"ility issue remains as "ig a hurdle today as it was in .uly ;<9<, when The Hindu first reported the 'ussian demand for exemption 'outine matter7 DA2This is a routine matter and it is not as sensational as it is made out to "e,3 DA- head ' K Sinha told The Hindu on Thursday evening when as$ed to comment on Dr Singh5s 1ueries 2The !rime #inister is our #inister-in-charge This matter is routine %ertain clarifications have "een sought on this issue and we are providing it from the Department Lof Atomic -nergyM,3 said #r Sinha AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Pune blasts probe trail brings police to #idar Staff %orrespondent They collect details a"out Dayanand, who was injured in @ednesday5s incident !olice officials from #aharashtra were here on Thursday, as part of the investigation into the !une "lasts This follows the revelation that Dayanand 4havurao Kar"ari, tailor who was injured in the "lasts, hails from Kohinoor village in 4asava Kalyan talu$ in 4idar district

The officials visited the village on the Karnata$a-#aharashtra "order and spo$e to Dayanand5s parents, two elder "rothers and neigh"ours 2According to information availa"le till now, Dayanand is a victim and not a suspect,3 (nspector*eneral of !olice +northeastern range, # @azir Ahmed told The Hindu Dayanand, =;, is called N*ora5 for his fair complexion and villagers recall him as a caring and friendly person Dropping out of school after Standard &(, he left home for #um"ai 9? years ago He wor$ed as an apprentice at the tailoring shop of his "rother-in-law Kishan 4iradar, who hails from Sarjolaga village in 4asava Kalyan talu$ Dayanand stayed in #um"ai for 99 years and later left for .ordan to wor$ as a tailor in an apparel company 24ut he returned to (ndia within a year after he had differences with the H' agency that had sent him to .ordan,3 according to sources After returning from .ordan, he shifted to !une, where he has "een living for four years now The last time he visited Kohinoor was when he was married two years ago )either Dayanand nor his relatives have any history of crime or law and order violation They are not $nown to "e mem"ers of any organisation "ased on ideological or caste groups, say police AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Private firms can$t claim mining rights, rules court /egal %orrespondent #ines, minerals are community resources, should su"serve common good !rivate companies cannot claim any right of exploitation of minerals and the state can impose a "an on private mining notwithstanding its "eing permitted earlier, the Supreme %ourt has held 2(f a decision is ta$en to "an private mining of a single minor mineral for conserving it, such a "an, if it is otherwise within the "ounds of the authority given to the government "y the statute, cannot "e said to involve any change of policy,3 said a 4ench of .ustices ' # /odha and H / *o$hale The 4ench said mines and minerals 2constitute the material resources of the community Article =H+", of the Directive !rinciples Lin the %onstitutionM mandates that the state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distri"uted as to "est su"serve the common good Article =H+c, mandates that state should see to it that operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment 3 8n the contention of mining companies, appellants in the instant case, that the state could not go "ac$ on its promise as they had legitimate expectations, the 4ench said7 2The doctrine of promissory estoppel cannot "e pressed into aid to compel the government or the pu"lic authority to carry out a representation or promise which is contrary to law or which was outside the authority or power of the officer of the government or of the pu"lic authority to ma$e 3 The case was filed "y #onnet and several other companies, aggrieved over the withdrawal of the recommendations E made "y the .har$hand government E to grant them licence for exploitation of minerals The %entre rejected the proposals on the ground that su"ject area was under reservation and not availa"le for exploitation "y private parties Su"se1uently, the State withdrew the notifications issued in favour of the companies The

.har$hand High %ourt upheld the decision Dismissing the appeals against this judgment, the Supreme %ourt said, 2All that the State government has done is to act in furtherance of the policy of the statute and it cannot "e faulted for the same 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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