NGT clears decks for Yettinahole drinking water Project in Karnataka
New Delhi, May 24: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Friday cleared the decks for the Yettinahole drinking water project in Karnataka, refusing to set aside the sanction granted by authorities to it.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, however, directed the state forest department and the ministry of environment and forests to monitor the project and if they found that there were any violation, they are at liberty to take appropriate action against the project proponent.
"We feel that neither the appellant nor the original applicant had made out any case against the implementation of the project and set aside the sanction granted by the authorities for this project. So both the appeals as well as the original application lack merits and the same are liable to be dismissed," the bench said.
Besides Justice Goel, Justices S P Wangdi and K Ramakrishnan were part of the bench.
The tribunal also said that the document produced by the applicant show that the government as well as the authorities have called for necessary documents wherever they required clarification and only after getting those clarifications and the documents that they have granted the approval.
"The notification relied on by the counsel for the appellant as well as the applicant issued in the year 2015 on the basis of Dr. Kasturirangan Report on Western Ghats also didn't prohibit the project regarding drinking water purpose and only certain categories of activities specified therein alone were prohibited," the tribunal said.
The judgement came on a plea filed by environmentalists K N Somashekar and H A Kishor Kumar alleging that the project work was started by the Karnataka government without getting required permission from various statutory bodies and sought injunction restraining them from proceeding with the work without conducting the scientific study of environment impact on the Western Ghats.
The complainants claimed that Karnataka had proposed to undertake Yettinahole project through Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited in the bio-diversity rich Hassan district in the Western Ghats by diverting water from the west flowing tributaries of River Nethravathi.
The purpose of the project is to provide drinking water to several districts, including Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Ramanagara and Bangalore Rural.
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Hyderabad retired professor in coma left without pension; family struggles to pay Rs 25 lakh bills
Hyderabad: A 64-year-old retired professor from Osmania University, Mohammad Ansari, is battling for life in a coma while his family struggles to meet mounting medical expenses due to an unresolved pension dispute.
According to The Times of India, Prof. Ansari, a former linguistics teacher, fell critically ill about 10 days ago due to kidney and lung complications and slipped into a coma.
His family has already spent nearly Rs 25 lakh on treatment, with daily hospital expenses ranging between Rs 30,000 and 40,000.
"We have spent about Rs 25 lakh so far. The hospital is charging between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 daily. We don't have any money left. We can only afford a rehabilitation centre," said Fayyaz Ansari, brother of the retired Osmania University professor. He said that his brother had been running from pillar to post since 1996 to clear the anomalies in his service, but failed in his efforts.
Though he began working with the university in 1997 as part-time faculty and later became regular staff, the university reportedly agreed to consider his pension eligibility only from 2003, which he contested.
The family claims that despite court directions and intervention by an Assembly committee, the university did not recognise his service from 1996 for pension benefits.
"Despite selection, he was not given joining orders. He was forced to work as a part-time faculty. In 2003, after approaching the minority commission, the HC and the assembly, he finally got orders to join as full-time faculty," Fayyaz said.
Incidentally, even the LIC-linked pension, which was offered to those not eligible under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), was denied to him despite premiums being deducted for close to 15 years on the grounds that he already has OPS. The total amount paid towards the pension was returned in 2018.
Students and well-wishers have begun crowdfunding to support his treatment. Members of the Osmania University Students’ Joint Action (JAC) Committee urged authorities to intervene and release his pending benefits or arrange financial assistance.
The issue was also raised in the Assembly by CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao.
However, university officials maintain that pension from 1996 cannot be granted. Registrar G. Naresh Reddy said, "He was not on the varsity rolls then. How can it be considered? In fact, this issue was placed before the executive council and the govt multiple times and it was rejected."
He said that when it comes to the LIC-linked pension, it is the govt that has kept it in abeyance and that, along with Ansari, 10 other faculty members, who joined between 2001 and 2004, were waiting for it to be resolved.
