Vikas Maitri
Voluntary Development Society in Jharkhand
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www.vikasmaitri.org |
website for rural and tribal development |
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Vikas Maitri |
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Voluntary Development Society in Jharkhand |
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Police say they are making all out efforts to nab and arrest Natarajan in the rape and sex scandal case but they admit they are unable to trace him. Why is police unable to arrest the accused even after so many days? An ordinary person could have been arrested just so and put in prison. Iron ore will not be exported says CM After protest by several people in
newspaper against the iron ore deal with L.N. Mittal by the Chief Minister
of Jharkhand in London, the Chief Minister has now assured through
newspapers that iron ore will not be exported from Jharkhand. Mittal proposes to export iron ore from Jharkhand Steel czar L.N. Mittal has submitted a draft proposal to the visiting Chief Minister of Jharkhand in London to set-up a 12 million tonne steel plant with a permission to export at least 30% of the iron ore mined by him. He has demanded 10,000 acres of land to set-up the plant. The Chief Minister should think in terms
of safeguarding the interests of the people of Jharkhand and not act for the
interest of a foreign firm which wants to exploit the ores from Jharkhand to
run industries abroad. Sushma Baraik a 22 year old woman has alleged that she was raped and sexually exploited by Parvez Hayat Dy. Inspector General of police and P.S. Natarajan Inspector General of police. Mr.Natarajan was caught pants down in a sting operation by media. A hidden camera was used to record his involvement with the woman. With the publication of pictures Mr. Natarajan was suspended from service and criminal charges have now been registered against both the high ranking officers. In her first information report Sushma has claimed that she had approached Hayat during his stint as DIG Palamau after she was raped by a junior police officer, who she had approached to bail out her jailed husband. Hayat then started exploiting her and took her to Delhi on pleasure trips. She then complained to Natarajan who was given the task by higher authorities to enquire into the allegation. Natarajan, however, absolved Hayat of the charges and began exploiting the woman himself. Innumerable women of Jharkhand come into the clutches of such high power exploiters. Mass awareness of rural people to put pressure on government to take preventive measures is the only solution to this problem and all voluntary organisations should join hands. Foreign trip of Jharkhand Ministers A state delegation including Chief Minister, Home Minister, Finance Minister and Mining Minister of Jharkhand is likely to fly to Europe on August 2, for a week long trip to Britain, France and Switzerland. The purpose of the trip is "holding meetings with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and some prominent industrialists." Initially the Central Government was unwilling to give permission to one minister for his reported "unpunctuality, non-adherence to schedules and protocols" during his earlier visit to Singapore, Malaysia and Australia in May this year. The minister had led a five member delegation to study the modern sports complexes in those countries. But the result of his study tour are yet to take shape in Jharkhand. The State Government has withdrawn Rs.700 thousand from the contingency fund to meet the expenses according to a newspaper. Earlier Government was
criticized even by party members for purchase of expensive cars. The world's third richest
Indian, L.N. Mittal whose 35 billion dollar company Mittal Steel is
interested in setting up an integrated steel plant in Jharkhand. Mr.
Mittal even invited the Chief Minister of Jharkhand Mr. Arjun Munda to come
to London for a visit. Mr. Mittal said he has already communicated his
intention of investing in Jharkhand to the Central Government. The Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act 1992 made it mandatory on State Government to hold Panchayat election in the stipulated time. In tribal areas P.Es Act 1996 further ensured that people get more local autonomy through the Panchayat as per the traditions of tribals. However, Jharkhand a tradionally tribal dominated region has failed to implement this very important law which has a direct bearing on people's life. The Jharkhand high court on Monday censured the State Government for the delay in holding Panchayat elections despite two directives of the court. The first deadline set out by the court was March 31, 2004. When nothing happened April 2005 was set as the new deadline. The court orally observed that it seems
the constitutional machinery in the State has failed. The Court asked
the Government counsel as to why the issue should not be referred to the
Central Government for a debate in Parliament. Former DM of Patna Dr. Gautam Goswami finally surrendered to court and was put in prison. He is accused of misappropriation of funds amounting to more than 10 million rupees meant for flood relief work during his stint as District Magistrate of Patna last year. He was the most visible face of the massive flood relief operation. He coordinated relief efforts involving the Indian Government, Indian Army and International Aid Agencies. Alex Perry and Arvind Adiga both of TIME magazine were very much impressed by his work. Arvind Adiga even wrote an article: "Gautam Goswami: Laying down the Law". Goswami received the TIME magazine's "20 under 40 Asian Hero Award" 2004. Mr. Goswami says he is innocent. Only time can tell the truth. Review on Human Rights: Year Book Mission 2005 I wrote a small article relating to Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for publication in Human Rights, Year Book Mission 2005 in German. Article 10 of the above Declaration says "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him." By presenting a case, I have shown that how adivasis often do not get a fair and impartial hearing regarding their rights, criminal charges are leveled against them and they often do not get the benefits of development. Those who read German should get the book "Menschenrechte - Jahrbuch Mission 2005, Missionshilfe Verlag, Hamburg", pp. 178-179. |