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TOI : PUNE: Months after the Bombay High Court imposed restrictions on Pune Tree Authority’s powers to grant permission for cutting trees, the PTA is all set to appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court.

It was on May 6, 2009 that the HC had first issued an order restricting the Pune Municipal Corporation’s tree authority from granting permission to cut trees within its limits without the court’s approval.

The order was passed after the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Pune-based environmentalist Deepak Balkrishna Vahikar regarding felling of 1,522 trees by the civic body.

Although the PMC appealed against the order, the HC stood its ground and issued a revised interim order on July 8, stating that the tree committee should first carry out a survey taking the assistance of an expert body and submit its report to the court, after which only those trees that are dangerous to life and property will be cut.

The HC had noted that these orders were passed in the interest of maintaining the ecological balance within and beyond Pune’s urban agglomeration.

Now, the civic body is set to approach the Supreme Court. It will argue that all its decisions regarding the felling of trees, are taken after taking the rules and regulations into consideration.

PMC’s garden superintendent Bhanudas Mane told TOI that they are soon going to appeal in the SC, citing the reasons for cutting trees and the number of trees that have been cut in the last few years.

“We are going to contend that the permission to cut trees is either given because they are dangerous to life and property or for development works. Even in the second case, we try to save as many trees as we can by changing road designs. There is no indiscriminate cutting. Moreover, we will bring to the court’s attention the fact that we…More

TOI : PUNE: Despite the state government’s assurance that 1,603 tonnes of red gram (toor dal) would be provided for distribution among those with above the poverty line (APL) ration cards in Pune district, the district collectorate here has received a mere 17 tonnes so far.

Fresh supplies of red gram and other foodgrains to fair-price shops was expected to start by September 1, but this has now been delayed by at least a week, according to sources in the state ministry of food and civil supplies.

Ravindra Kulkarni, deputy district collector told TOI, “The requirement of Pune district alone is around 1,603 tonnes of red gram, of which the first batch of 637 tonnes was supposed to be received before September 1. At present, the total stock available is just 17 tonnes, which is insufficient. The same is the case for other commodities like palm oil, rice and wheat, which is supposed to be available for the 8.5 lakh ration card-holders in the city.”

Pradip Patil, district food distribution officer, maintained that the office was in touch with the Maharashtra State Co-operative Marketing Federation constantly, as it is the sole supplier of foodgrains. The federation is working as a nodal agency and sourcing the foodgrains for the government.

As per the state government’s decision, each APL card-holder will receive two kg of sugar for September and October at the rate of Rs 20 per kg. The government has decided to purchase 28,898 tonnes sugar for each month and will make it available for APL card holders, he said.

Speaking to TOI, managing director of Maharashtra State Co-operative Marketing Federation, R C Sagar said, “There were some problems in the sourcing and supply of the foodgrain. The problems have been solved and the distribution has started across the state. Pune could receive the first batch of the total allocation within a week. At present, we will…More

TOI : PUNE: The Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Parishad, a state-level body of school teachers, has urged the government to ensure that the number of teachers posted on election duty should not exceed 25 per cent of the teaching staff strength at the concerned schools. The state assembly polls are due for October 13.

Parishad vice-president Dnyaneshwar Bhange told TOI on Tuesday: “A majority of the Marathi-medium secondary schools in the city were facing problems as more than 50 per cent of their teaching staff had been posted on election duty. This includes, works relating to photo identity cards for voters, electoral rolls and duty on the polling day.”

Bhange added, “We made a representation to chief minister Ashok Chavan during his recent visit to the city, stating that instead of engaging over 50 per cent of the teaching staff from schools, the number be restricted to less than 25 per cent. This would enable the schools to take care of the academic work.”

Of the 1,248 aided and unaided secondary schools in the district, the city accounts for 325 schools. Academic work has badly suffered on account of the two-week closure between August 11 and 23 as part of the effort to check the spread of the H1N1 flu. Even before that, at least 12 schools had closed in phases between July 15 and 29 following occurrence of flu cases. All this has thrown the academic calendar into disarray.

A Supreme Court judgement in 2007 in the Election Commission of India vs St Mary’s school, New Delhi, provides that teachers cannot be put on election duty during teaching hours.

Bhange said, “There are practical issues even if the teachers are to be put on poll duty after the teaching hours. Besides, the administration needs to be selective while assigning teachers on such jobs.” More Stories from this section Ganesh’s visit draws to a close today 53-year-old…More

TOI : PUNE: Even as Congress leaders say that Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has lost ground in the state following the Lok Sabha elections, Pawar’s daughter MP Supriya Sule has a message for them “In his (Pawar’s) political career, he has seen many ups and downs. He has this ability to bounce back whenever he is underestimated.”

With Congress leaders in the state insisting that in a situation where the party high command decides to continue its alliance with the NCP for the state assembly elections, they should stake claim on more seats than contested for in 2004. Out of a total of 288 seats in the state, in 2004, the NCP contested for 122 and won 71, while the Congress contested for 166 and won 68.

However, in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress won 18 seats, while the NCP won only eight. As a result, the Congress leaders in the state want to have the upper hand.

“The NCP and its leaders have their following in place. If low performance or a setback in politics was a criteria to decide everything, the political career of my father would have ended in 1980,” Sule told TOI on Monday. She was referring to the dismissal of the Pawar-led government in the state in 1980. Pawar had become the chief minister of Maharashtra for the first time at the age of 38 years in 1978, by toppling the Congress government and joining hands with the Janata Party under the banner of the Progressive Democratic Front. In 1980, Indira Gandhi had dismissed Pawar’s government.

“Whatever the situation, no heed should be paid to sarcastic comments in politics,” she said.

Commenting on senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s and former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statements that the NCP should merge with the Congress, Sule said, “They are senior leaders and my father has himself repeatedly clarified this…More

TOI : PUNE: As the international pharmaceutical companies announced that they are ready to roll out their H1N1 vaccines between December and February, the city-based vaccine major Serum Institute of India (SII), which is among the three Indian pharma companies working on the vaccine, said that if everything goes as per plan, they will not wait for the March deadline and will launch the vaccine way ahead keeping pace with the international players.

Moreover, the SII has diverted Rs 1.6 million US dollars given by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for developing the avian flu vaccine for development of swine flu vaccine, said Rajeev Dhere, senior director of SII.

“With support from the WHO as well as the Government of India, we will be going in for toxicity study in animals in October and then conduct clinical trials on humans at the beginning of December. We will not wait for the March deadline given by the Indian companies. Our attempt is to launch the vaccine way ahead keeping pace with the international players,” said Dhere.

Moreover, the SII has veered the WHO’s financial assistance granted to develop and manufacture avian flu vaccine for development of H1N1 vaccine. “The WHO has requested the SII to take up the work of H1N1 vaccine on priority and asked us to redirect the funds meant for developing avian flu vaccine to the development of H1N1 vaccine,” Dhere said.

Elaborating on the scheduled plan of vaccine development, Dhere said “A month after the animal trials, a detailed report of toxicity as well as the immunogenicity of the vaccine will be submitted to Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for carrying out human clinical trials at the end of October,” said Dhere. “After obtaining necessary permission from DCGI, the human clinical trials will begin in December,” said Dhere.

“The vaccine has to go through the regular testing process but the DCGI has…More

TOI : PUNE: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced a special life insurance scheme for the underprivileged, those whose income patterns are highly irregular and unpredictable.

Partha Samal, senior divisional manager for LIC’s Pune divisional office, told media persons on Tuesday that the scheme will offer life insurance cover of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 to persons falling in this category for a nominal premium of Rs 15 per week onwards.

The scheme, targeted at the ABCD or bottom of the pyramid’ population, is being introduced on the occasion of LIC’s anniversary. “The person covered under this policy can pay a very small premium to get insurance protection of up to Rs 50,000,” Samal said, adding that considering the nature of the policy, the corporation has decided to market it through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working for the betterment of these people.

A policy-holder under this scheme will get the amount of the accumulated premium back at the end of the policy term, Samal informed. He said 25 NGOs have been identified by LIC for distribution of these policies.

Samal said that LIC’s Pune division has achieved a high 98 per cent death claim settlement ratio and claims worth Rs 260 crore (including death and maturity) were settled during the year ended March 2009.

Samal said LIC has maintained its leading position in the life insurance business with a market share of 60 per cent. The corporation has been able to attract investors to many of its guaranteed returns schemes as the interest rates on bank deposits have nose-dived, he said. Also popular is LIC’s pension plan Jeevan Akshay (now in its sixth series) because of its flexibility and relevance for the investors, he stated. More Stories from this section Ganesh’s visit draws to a close today 53-year-old man latest swine flu victim in Pune 7-yr-old girl succumbs to swine flu in city,…More

TOI : PUNE: The decision by the Republican Democratic Left Front (RDLF) to contest all 288 seats in the state assembly elections has become a cause of concern for Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) aspirants, since the Third Front is sure to make a dent in the Congress-NCP vote bank.

Around 17 political parties and organisations including the United Republican Party of India, Peasants and Workers’ Party, Janata Dal (S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Communist Party (M) and Raju Shetty’s Swabhiman Shetkari Sanghatana have joined hands to form the Third Front.

“The Third Front will make a dent in the Congress-NCP vote bank and this will directly help the BJP-Sena,” admitted a senior Congress leader. “Parties like the RPI have a scattered vote bank across the state which can disturb political equations, even though they are not capable of winning.”

In Pune city, RPI and Third Front voters have traditionally remained with the Congress. In fact, after the Lok Sabha elections, MP Suresh Kalmadi had admitted that the RPI had a major role to play in his victory.

Of the eight assembly constituencies that have been carved out in Pune, Wadgaon Sheri, Parvati, Hadapsar, Pune Cantonment and parts of Kadakwasla have pockets of RPI voters.

“In fact, in Parvati and Pune Cantonment, the RPI vote bank will play a decisive role,’ said a city Congress leader. “We are concerned, as the Congress wants to contest from these seats. We have expressed this concern to MP Suresh Kalmadi and we need to work out a formula, at least for Pune,” he added.

RPI leader Ramdas Athavale has said, “The Third Front will not help the Congress-NCP any way and will put in every effort to defeat them along with the BJP and the Shiv Sena.” More Stories from this section Ganesh’s visit draws to a close today 53-year-old man latest swine flu victim in Pune 7-yr-old…More

TOI : PUNE: Water conservationist and Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh will visit the Ujani dam on Sunday to intensify the agitation against the increasing pollution in the dam in Indapur taluka, about 100 km from here.

The state unit of Jal Biradari, an organisation founded by Singh in Rajasthan, has organised a meeting with residents of 75 villages in the command and catchment areas of the dam in Pune and Solapur districts, who are agitating against the water pollution.

The villagers alleged that the local self-government bodies at Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune and Daund have been releasing untreated sewage and industrial waste in the Mula-Mutha rivers, which merge with the Bhima river on which the Ujani dam is constructed.

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, the Jal Biradari announced that the scheduled meeting in Solapur would be the beginning of Jal Biradari taking up water-related issues in the state.

“The meeting would focus on gathering support from the urban areas and other non-political organisations to intensify the agitation against pollution of dam water. Besides Singh, Paritosh Tyagi, former chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, also will address the meeting,” said Narendra Chug, a member of the Pune unit of Jal Biradari.

Sandip Joshi, another member of Jal Biradari, said: “There are 75 villages in the catchment and command areas of Ujani dam, with a population of 1,500 to 2,000 in every village.”

Joshi added that, “Pune city receives 10-11 TMC water from the dam and releases 750 million litre per day (MLD) sewage into the river. The installed capacity of the sewage treatment plants in Pune is 450 MLD, but the plants operate up to 60-70 per cent capacity. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation also generates around 300 MLD sewage but can treat only 130 to 145 MLD.”

The Jal Biradari wanted to draw the attention of citizens of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad as the…More

TOI : PUNE: A breeding centre for endangered animals, collection of butterflies, museum housing models of extinct animals, a library and nature centre are some of the facilities that will come up at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-run Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo as the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) has approved a masterplan to redevelop the zoo.

Speaking to TOI, Subhash Dumbre, additional commissioner said, “Approximately Rs 15 crore will be spent on implementation of the master plan during next five years. The money will be spent on creating facilities as per the masterplan and provision will be made for the development of the zoo in next year’s budget. We will also start the redevelopment work next year.”

The total cost includes Rs 2.07 crore for building, Rs 3.37 crore for basic amenities and Rs 9.46 crore for wildlife related works (like cages and veterinary care facilities). The PCMC will receive Rs 5 crore grant from the CZAI. The zoo will house 20 types of reptiles, three types of amphibians and 10 species of water birds.

Giving details of the masterplan, Anil Khaire, director of the Bahinabai Chaudhary zoo said, “There will be a breeding centre for endangered amphibians. Here endangered species of frogs and toads of our region will be bred. A beautiful lake will be developed for water birds like moorhens, whistling ducks, ibis, herons and egrets. There will be a large enclosure for crocodiles and alligators. We will bring more crocodiles and alligators from other parts of the country through the CZAI.”

Khaire said, “There will be a butterfly collection and breeding centre. We will prepare an enclosure having a combination of natural and artificial habitats. Local varieties of butterflies will be bred here. There will be a separate cell for reptiles.”

Khaire stated that a museum housing models of animals that have become extinct will also be set up. “A nature and…More

TOI : PUNE: Since the Sambhaji bridge will be closed to traffic till the end of the Ganapati immersion procession, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has changed some of its bus routes on Thursday.

Buses going towards Kothrud, Karvenagar and Warje areas will start from the Sambhaji bridge, Garware college and Kothrud depot. Buses coming from Bhosari, Nigdi and going towards Katraj will go via the Shankarsheth road and Ramoshi gate, and when these roads are closed, will go via the Mahatma Gandhi bus stand, Westend, Pune station. After 5 pm, buses will terminate at the PMC Bhavan.

Buses coming to Shivajinagar from Katraj and Dhankawadi stand cancelled on Thursday. Instead, many of the buses will operate on the route between Swargate to Katraj.

The PMPML has said that buses will be diverted on other routes due to closure of certain main roads. Many buses will also be terminated at various central points, such as the PMC bhavan or near Sarasbaug. Buses will go via the normal routes once the roads are opened to traffic. More Stories from this section Ganesh’s visit draws to a close today 53-year-old man latest swine flu victim in Pune 7-yr-old girl succumbs to swine flu in city, toll 32 Unless it rains 400 mm, dams won’t be full Maki…More