Navjot Singh Sidhu sends resignation letter to Amarinder
Chandigarh: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a day after he announced that he had resigned from the state cabinet.
"Today I have sent my resignation to the Chief Minister Punjab, has been delivered at his official residence...," he tweeted.
Sidhu, who has been at loggerheads with Singh and was stripped off key portfolios in the cabinet reshuffle on June 6, had written a letter to then Congress President Rahul Gandhi on June 10.
He had met Gandhi in Delhi on June 9. "I hereby resign as Minister from the Punjab Cabinet," Sidhu had said in the letter, which he made public through Twitter on Sunday.
In another tweet, Sidhu had said he would be sending his resignation letter to the chief minister.
Singh had divested Sidhu of the Local Government and Tourism and Cultural Affairs departments and allotted him the Power and New and Renewable Energy portfolio.
Portfolios of several other ministers too had been changed in the reshuffle exercise. Ever since the portfolio reshuffle exercise, the Punjab minister and his wife Navjot Kaur have been maintaining a distance from the media.
Sidhu, a former BJP leader who had joined the Congress just ahead of the 2017 Punjab assembly polls, has been having differences with Singh for sometime now.
The tension between Singh and his cabinet colleague had come to fore last month when the chief minister blamed Sidhu for the "inept handling" of the Local Government Department, claiming that it resulted in "poor performance" of the Congress in urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls.
The cricketer-turned-politician, however, had said that his department was being "singled out publicly" while asserting that he could not be taken for granted as he had been a "performer throughout".
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Human-wildlife conflict: Karnataka minister calls for sterilisation of select species
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre on Wednesday said that rising human-wildlife conflict has created a need to consider sterilising specific species, and that the issue should be publicly debated.
He clarified that no decision has been made so far and that discussions will be held with officials and stakeholders.
"There is an increase in the number of select wildlife. In my opinion, putting some curbs on their numbers is necessary due to increased conflicts, loss of lives, and urbanisation. So there is a proposal to conduct sterilisation surgery or vaccination on select wildlife," Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment said.
Speaking to reporters, he added that no list has been prepared yet and that he plans to hold discussions on the matter with senior officials.
Noting that a related issue is pending before the Supreme Court, the minister said there are plans to submit a proposal after due deliberation.
"We intend to protect wildlife while ensuring that human lives are not lost. No decision has been made yet; it is still under consideration. In areas with a high number of wildlife, we are thinking about controlling it for a year or two. Other states are considering similar measures. There is a need for public debate on this," he added.
Khandre also said the government is seriously considering the voluntary relocation of forest dwellers who wish to move out of the forest. He has asked officials to prepare a list of those willing to relocate.
"Once the list is ready, I will discuss the required funding with the chief minister (Siddaramaiah), who also serves as Finance Minister, and the government will make a decision. Relocating forest dwellers will expand wildlife habitats and integrate those living without basic facilities into mainstream society," he said.
Expressing grief over the death of a coffee grower in Kodagu district due to a wild elephant attack on Wednesday, the minister said the government and the department are making every effort to prevent human-elephant conflict and assured that the government stands with the bereaved family in this difficult time.
"The government had planned to build a sanctuary to address the problem of elephants. There are some difficulties in obtaining permission from the central government. Once this is resolved, action will be taken to establish the sanctuary," he added.
