K'taka HC seeks response from Karnataka forest dept on speeding trains in Western Ghats region
Bengaluru, Mar 21: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the state forest department to submit a reply regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to limit the speed of trains on the Hospet-Vasco and Londa-Miraj routes during night time as it passes through dense forests of the Western Ghats.
The PIL filed by petitioner Giridhar Kulkarni came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi.
The court directed the Deputy Conservator of Forest, Belagavi, Haliyal and Dharwad divisions and the Director of the Kali Tiger Reserve to file their replies within two weeks.
The Union government has already filed its statement of objections claiming periodic meeting between railway officials and the forest department officials is being held.
The petition claims that despite directions by the Supreme Court to reduce the speed of trains passing through forests during night to avoid accidents involving wildlife, the trains on these routes continue to operate at high speed.
The petition claims that since 2014, deaths of 60 wild animals including two elephants, 49 Gaurs, five Sambar deer, one sloth bear, one wild dog, one wild pig and one deer, apart from reptiles and amphibians have been reported from these two railway lines.
"Failure of Railways to take necessary steps to avoid accidents of wild animals with trans despite several requests made, is in violation of precautionary principle and the principles of integrated equity and sustainable development upheld by the apex court in many cases," the petition stated, adding representations given to authorities over these issues have been ignored.
The petition also sought directions to the authorities to construct an alternate railway line between Belagavi and Dharwad, while abandoning these two existing lines.
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Kasaragod: ED books Kunhahmed Musliyar Memorial Trust for FCRA violation
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has registered a forex violation case against a Kerala-based charitable organisation for receiving Rs 220 crore from abroad in alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The investigation pertains to Kunhahmed Musliyar Memorial Trust located in Kasargod and its chairman Ibrahim Ahmad Ali, an NRI.
Searches were conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at two locations in Kasargod on Thursday in connection with the case, the ED said in a statement.
The Trust, according to the ED, received more than Rs 220 crore since 2021 from Ibrahim Ahmad Ali, which was reflected in the books of accounts as "unsecured" loans.
However, no loan agreement, interest rate terms, or repayment schedule were available, and no repayment had been made till date, the probe agency said.
The probe found that these funds were received by Ali from a UAE company named Universal Lubricants LLC.
In the absence of supporting documents and in view of the clarification given under a section of the FCRA, the said loan prima facie qualified as "foreign contribution" under FCRA, the statement said.
According to the ED, the Trust is "not registered" under the FCRA and does not possess the "mandatory permission" or a designated FCRA bank account to receive foreign contributions.
It was found that a part of these foreign contributions was "utilised" for the purchase of agricultural land in India, in violation of the existing regulations.
The search action found that the Trust received Rs 2.49 crore in "cash" from Ali in violation of FEMA provisions.
"During the search, incriminating documents, ledger accounts showing unsecured loans of Rs 220 crore, the cash book of the Trust, and a hard disk containing financial data were seized," the ED said.
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