The Hindu : New Delhi News : Cabinet nod for extending President’s rule in Jharkhand

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 04, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Cabinet nod for extending President’s rule in Jharkhand

Special Correspondent

To withdraw Bill for transferring ‘sports’ to Concurrent List

Amendments to the Rubber Act, 1947 and Rubber (Amendment) Bill of 2009 approved
Nod for signing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with South Korea

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has decided to seek Parliament’s approval for the extension of President’s Rule in Jharkhand for another six months beyond July 18, when the present proclamation will come to an end.

The decision follows a report from Governor Sibte Razi last month recommending the extension on the ground that the political impasse in the State continued and no political party or group had staked claim to form a new government.

Union Minister and Cabinet spokesperson Ambika Soni said the Assembly would continue to be under suspended animation. President Pratibha Patil imposed the President’s Rule for six months on January 19, following the fall of the Shibu Soren-led United Progressive Alliance government. Attempts to form a new government over the past six months have been futile.

Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the meeting decided to withdraw the Constitution (61st Amendment) Bill for transferring the subject ‘sports’ from the State list to the Concurrent List of the Constitution, on the ground that no political consensus could be reached despite repeated efforts over the past 20 years. The Bill has been pending in the Rajya Sabha since 1988.

The Cabinet took up the issue of setting up of a South Asian University under the auspices of SAARC and approved the payment of India’s contribution of $239.9 million, which amounts to 79 per cent of the total cost. The first tranche of $9.46 million would be disbursed soon to ensure that it became operational by July-August next year.

The university would come up on a 100-acre land next to the Indira Gandhi National Open University here.

It also gave its approval for implementing a new and improved tripartite memorandum of understanding format linked to funds flow among the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, State governments and the Tiger Reserve Management. The MoU would lay out the responsibilities and reciprocal commitments of each of them so as to foster public accountability and strengthen tiger conservation efforts in the country in both designated tiger reserves and other tiger bearing forests.

It gave the nod for increasing the estimated cost for the project to construct a multi-storeyed modern command hospital complex and associated accommodation for the Northern Command at Udhampur to Rs. 232 crores. It cleared the setting up of a plasma fractionation centre at Chennai at a cost of Rs. 250 crore. It will have the capacity to process more than 1.5 lakh litres of plasma. It will manufacture all important plasma derivatives, which are presently being imported at high costs. It will be operated on a self-sustained, non-profit model in the public sector. The time frame for setting up of the facility will be co-terminus with phase III of the National AIDS Control Programme, which is 2007-12.

The Cabinet approved certain amendments to the Rubber Act, 1947 and the Rubber (Amendment) Bill of 2009, which include changes in the definition of small growers and a provision for setting up a single fund called Rubber Development Fund in the place of the existing General Fund and Pool Fund. The small growers will now be defined as owners, whose estate did not exceed 10 hectares as against the existing limit of 50 acres. Further, the Cabinet approved the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with South Korea.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs also met on Thursday and approved certain changes in the financial restructuring package for Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company, which includes conversion of the non-plan loan of Rs. 2.51 crore towards salary, wages and other dues of the employee for the period from October to December 2007 into equity.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi