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Railway Budget 2015: Prabhu announces slew of passenger friendly measures, but also hikes freight rates

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india-trains

New Delhi: Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech announced a slew of passenger friendly measures such as better ticket booking facilities and more general coaches for the benefit of travellers. Also in line with expectations, no hike in rail fares was announced.

Announcing multiple measures that are meant to improve passenger comfort Prabhu said, “We will throttle tout menace by increasing ticket booking time. We will raise reserved ticket booking window to 120 days versus 60 days now.” “We will ensure quick availability of passenger tickets. Also unreserved passengers can book tickets in 5 minutes,” he said.

Apart from this he said that Rs 120 crore will be spent to install lifts and escalators at major stations. Prabhu also said that more general class coaches will be added to benefit travelers.

Stressing on need to enhance customer experience, Prabhu in his budget speech said that Railways will hike allotment for passenger amenities by 67%.

Outlining his vision for Indian Railways, Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech talked about four main goals that PM Narendra Modi government will work on to get railways out of its abysmal state.

“We want to work on these four goals; to deliver a sustained improvement in customer experience; make railways a safer means of travel; modernise infrastructure of railways and expand capacity and finally make railways financially self-sustainable,” Prabhu elaborated.

Prabhu announced a 247 helpline for Indian Railways. “An all India 247 helpline 138 will be effective from 1/3/2015; Toll free No. 182 for security complaints,” Prabhu said.

Freight rates

Even as he chose to remain silent on freight in his speech and said he will keep passenger tariff unchanged, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu Thursday sought to hike goods rates on a host of items between 2.1 percent and 10 percent in his maiden budget, to garner 13.5 percent additional revenues on this count.

“Then freight structure for the Base Class-100 has been proposed to be increased by 10 percent,” an explanatory statement on freight, appended with the budget documents showed, indicating the hike sought in the most basic goods such as salt for human consumption.

The minister also proposed to reduce the number of classifications to ascertain freight rates, as also rationalise the distance slabs — a move that will see freight revenues jump from Rs.106,927 crore as per the revised estimates for this fiscal to Rs.121,423 crore.

Looking at some of the specific commodities, the revision in the class of freight and the tariff works out to 2.7 percent higher for cement, 6.3 percent for coal, 0.8 percent for iron and steel, 10 percent each for grain, pulses, urea and 0.8 percent for kerosene.

But in some cases there has ben a marginal cut as well – such as 1 percent for high speed diesel, and 0.3 percent for limestone, dolomite and manganese.

“Keeping in view the buoyant trend of freight loading during the course of the year, the revised target of freight loading for 2014-15 has been retained at the budget estimate level of 1,101.25 million tonnes,” said the explanatory statement on the budget.

The increment for 2015-16 has been kept to just 85 million tonnes.

(IANS)

Chhattisgarh govt order allowing employees to join RSS kicks up a row

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Controversy on the order erupted because the Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965 prohibits a government employee from taking part in politics

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Raipur: Chhattisgarh government has kicked up a controversy with a notification that allows its employees to join RSS and attend ‘shakhas’, evoking sharp criticism from the Congress which today demanded its immediate withdrawal.

The BJP-ruled state revoked the ban which was imposed during undivided Madhya Pradesh, barring government employees from participating in RSS’ activities, Special Secretary, General Administration Department, DD Singh said.

The order in this connection was issued by the department on February 23. It said, “as far as Rule 5(1) of Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1965 is concerned, its restriction does not apply to RSS.”

Slamming the Government decision, Congress said, “This is a blatantly illegal order. RSS is clearly a political organisation and also firmly believes in the establishment of Hindu Rashtra which is against the Constitution of India.”

“How can a government servant swearing allegiance and faith to the Constitution be a member of an organisation which is against the basic principles of the Constitution,” said Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit in Delhi.

Another spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, “It is a blatant attempt to politicise government servants and an attack on the Constitutional scheme of independence of bureaucracy. Chief Minister Raman Singh’s desperation to seek lost political ground will have catastrophic results for impartiality of administrative set up and delivery of citizen services. Indian National Congress strongly condemns such ludicrous decisions and demands immediate withdrawal of the government order.”

Former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi said, “It is an unconstitutional move. It will indoctrinate government servants. They will go to shakhas and will no longer remain impartial.”

In Raipur, T S Singhdeo, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly, said, “The order dilutes the difference between government and a political party. RSS has been claiming to be a social-service apolitical outfit but everyone is well aware of the fact that they are running the BJP from backdoor.”

“Hence, association of government employees with such organisation will harm the democratic process,” he said

The Chhattisgarh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965 prohibits a government employee from taking part in politics.

“No government servant shall be member of, or be otherwise associated with any political party or any organisation which takes part in politics nor shall he take part in, subscribe in aid of, or assist in any manner, any political movement or activity,” it said.

(PTI)

HC issues notice to centre on poor condition of beggars' homes

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Representational Image

Representational Image

New Delhi: The Centre and the Delhi government have been sent a notice by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday on a PIL seeking basic facilities at beggars’ homes in the national capital.

A division bench comprising of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw have asked for a response from the central government, Delhi government and Delhi police by April 22.

The PIL (public interest litigation) was pending before the Supreme Court since 2000. The apex court had it transferred to the Delhi High Court this year, asking to take appropriate action as the case relates to beggars’ homes in Delhi.

The PIL had sought for basic human and fundamental rights for the beggars in the national capital and also to make arrangements for “clean shelter, proper food, clothing and other necessary basic amenities including proper medical aid facilities to all the beggar institutions”.

It also sought appointment of visiting committees for periodic visits to these institutions and increase in the number of beggars’ homes in Delhi.

The PIL further sought directions not to keep juvenile criminals/insane beggars in the company of other beggars housed in the institutions.

Filed by one Karnika Sawney, the plea sought direction to the Centre for providing vocational training that would provide meaningful work and provision of payment of minimum allowance to the inmates for the work done by them.

(IANS)

Friction over India's beef trade heats up after attacks

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Rescued cattle are seen at a "goushala", or cow shelter, run by Bharatiya Gou Rakshan Parishad, an arm of the Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), at Aangaon village in Maharashtra February 20, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

Rescued cattle are seen at a “goushala”, or cow shelter, run by Bharatiya Gou Rakshan Parishad, an arm of the Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), at Aangaon village in Maharashtra February 20, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

by Meenkashi Sharma, Reuters

Mumbai: Hindu nationalists in India have stepped up attacks on the country’s beef industry, seizing trucks with cattle bound for abattoirs and blockading meat processing plants in a bid to halt the trade in the world’s second-biggest exporter.

The industry is predominantly run by Muslim traders and some groups in the majority Hindu population vehemently oppose it due to the revered status of cows. Beef traders fear that elements in the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be condoning the latest flare-up in protests.

There has been a surge of raids this month. An official at a beef transport group in Maharashtra state said around 10 vehicles travelling to Mumbai had been stopped, the animals taken forcefully and drivers beaten by members of Hindu nationalist groups despite carrying valid documents.

“We are doing everything legally, but these people harass us and disrupt our work for no reason,” said Mohammad Shahid Sheikh, president of the beef transporters’ group in Deonar, the site of India’s biggest abattoir on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Despite the sensitivities over the trade, India has become the world’s top beef exporter behind Brazil. Traders said the current attacks had not caused major disruption, but if they were to become nationwide could threaten the lucrative business.

A majority of India’s beef comes from buffaloes, which are not worshipped, but members of Hindu nationalist groups involved in protests such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) consider themselves protectors of both cows and buffaloes.

Some of these groups have close links with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Modi, who himself criticised the previous government for promoting a “pink revolution to butcher cattle and export meat”.

The attacks on beef traders are another example of Modi’s struggles to contain extremist elements of the BJP’s support base, whose strident behaviour is dragging on the government’s economic reform agenda.

Modi last week vowed to protect all religious groups after attacks on Christian institutions in New Delhi, which were partly blamed for the BJP’s drubbing in a state election.

The BJP’s national general secretary, Ram Madhav, declined to comment on the party’s stance on the beef trade and the protests, while Modi’s press officer did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comment.

Satpal Malik, a vice president of the farmers wing of the BJP, said: “We did say we would discourage beef exports and even the prime minister was against it, but I can’t comment on what we think of the issue now.”

CRACKDOWN?

Officials in Maharashtra – scene of some of the most violent protests seen to date – have pledged to arrest anyone found impeding access to slaughterhouses or disrupting cattle movement.

A circular had been sent to all the police units to enforce this and was due to be implemented immediately, said a senior police officer from Maharashtra, declining to be named.

Mohammad Ali Qureshi, president of the Bombay Suburban Beef Dealers Association, said that while beef processing has resumed at many facilities, he would back calls for a nationwide protest if fresh trouble breaks out.

“We will monitor the situation for a month and if the promises are not kept we will launch a nation-wide protest,” he said, in between sipping tea as butchers went about their job in Deonar.

But those opposed to the trade vowed to keep staging protests. Killing cows is legal in just two of India’s 29 states, though reports of illegal slaughter surface regularly.

“We don’t care if the butchers shut shop or announce a strike,” said Laxmi Narayan Chandak, head of the Maharashtra unit of VHP’s cow protection committee, which says it has been seizing cows held illegally for slaughter for years.

“The previous government supported the butchers to secure votes of the minority community but they have no support in the new government.”

India’s beef shipments in the last year to October rose to 1.95 million tonnes, 5 percent more than for the whole of 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A senior official at a leading Indian beef exporter said that exports had been rising because of robust demand from China and other big consumers.

“But if supplies are disrupted for a longer period then definitely it would hit our productivity.”

(Additional reporting by Rupam Jain Nair and Krishna N. Das; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Gavin Maguire and Ed Davies)

Congress to hold 'Zameen Wapsi Andolan' against Land Ordinance today

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zameen-wapasi

New Delhi: Demanding the withdrawal of the BJP government’s Land Ordinance which is being considered as anti-farmer, the Congress on Wednesday will hold a protest rally called ‘Zameen Wapsi Andolan’ at Jantar Mantar.

Top Congress brass, including president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh, Madhusoodhan Mistry, Ajay Maken, former Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khursheed, Jitender Singh, Raj Babbar, Deepinder Hooda, Sushmita Deb, will oppose the bill in public and hold a massive rally at around 12:00 noon.

“Congress is organising a mega rally, ‘Zameen Wapsi Andolan’, to oppose the BJP government’s draconian ordinance that intends to change the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 passed by the Congress government,” the party said in a release.

The party has also attempted for convergence of farmers from across the country to raise their voice in opposition to the ordinance.

“Senior leaders of Congress will be present to challenge this Ordinance. They will stand up for the 2013 law which was enacted by the UPA government to deliver equitable justice to the poor farmer and to empower the common man,” the AICC said.

Declaring that its opposition to the Land Acquisition Ordinance was non-negotiable, Congress attacked the BJP- led government for introducing the Bill in Lok Sabha on Tuesday to replace the ordinance despite three Union Ministers giving assurances suggesting that all stakeholders would be taken on board.

Party chief Sonia Gandhi at a strategy meeting in Parliament House in the morning yesterday had set the tone for the party’s tough stand on the land ordinance.

(Agencies)

PDP, BJP reach agreement to form coalition govt in J&K

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Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will be the Kashmir chief minister after his party reached an agreement for forming a government with Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), top party sources said on Saturday.

Sources close to PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who returned to winter capital Jammu Friday after spending a week in Mumbai, told IANS an agreement had been reached on all contentious issues between the PDP and the BJP.

“Yes, main agreement has been reached on the draft of the CMP (common minimum programme) on contentious issues like article 370, armed forces special powers act (AFSPA) and the plight of West Pakistan refugees.

“It has been agreed that without any written reference to it, both the parties would respect the wishes of the people of the state in consonance with the constitution of the country with regard to article 370,” a top party source told IANS.

As per the agreement, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed will be the chief minister for the full six years.

The PDP insider who is engaged with the BJP in the dialogue process on government formation on behalf of his party also said instead of accepting the demand that the AFSPA should be revoked from the entire state within one year, it has now been agreed by the two parties that a committee would be formed which would recommend gradual, but timely, revocation of the act from areas in the state.

Sources in the BJP said: “The PDP has agreed to the BJP demand that the CMP should accept that the problems faced by West Pakistan refugees should not be politicized, but treated as a humanitarian issue that needs to be addressed on humanitarian grounds.”

When asked to comment on media reports that government formation in the state was imminent because the PDP and the BJP had agreed on the draft of the common minimum programme (CMP) for governance, party chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar told IANS in winter capital Jammu: “I am meeting Mufti Sahib today and if anything has been worked out, we will hold a briefing about it during the day.”

Unlike his steady dismissal of any agreement with the BJP during the last nearly two months when he maintained the “structured dialogue between the BJP and the PDP had not even started”, Akhtar sounded less circumspect Saturday about his lack of knowledge regarding an agreement on the common minimum programme with the BJP.

West Pakistan refugees are those over 25,000 families who came to the state after the India-Pakistan wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971.

Since these people were not citizens of the erstwhile state of Kashmir as it existed before accession to India in 1947, they cannot vote in the state assembly elections, nor buy property in the state.

These refugees cannot apply for government jobs since all the state government jobs in Kashmir are reserved for permanent residents of the state.

As an anomaly, the West Pakistan refugees can vote in the parliament elections, but not in the state assembly elections since the state has a constitution of its own in addition to the country’s constitution and both apply concomitantly to the state.

With regard to the PDP demand on return of NHPC owned hydro-electric power projects in the state to state ownership, the sources said it had been agreed that the two would work together for central assistance for state ownership of these projects.

“The nuts and bolts job has been completed. All that now remains is an announcement on the agreement between the two which could be made within the next two to three days,” said sources.

The sources added that Mufti Mohammaad Sayeed would formally call on prime minister Narendra Modi after the PDP and the BJP announce having formalized the draft of the CMP.

(IANS)

Trinamool win Bongaon LS seat, state ruling parties triumph in bypolls

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Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (File/PTI)

Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (File/PTI)

Kolkata/Chennai/Hyderabad/Panaji/Itanagar/Mumbai: West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress retained the Bongaon Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP bagged two assembly constituencies in bypolls covering six states that saw the triumph of the states’ ruling parties and a poor show on the part of the Congress.

Apart from Bongaon, six assembly constituencies had gone to the hustings Feb 13. In the vote count, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won two, and the Trinamool, AIADMK, Telugu Desam and Congress triumphed in one assembly seat each.

Days after failing to open its account in the Delhi assembly polls, the Congress saw its candidates forfeit their deposit in both the Bongaon parliamentary and Krishnaganj assembly seats in West Bengal, was unable to open its account in Andhra Pradesh legislature, and bit the dust in Maharashtra and Goa.

All the seats including the Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency went to the parties which were in power in the respective states.

In West Bengal, the embattled Trinamool got relief by emphatically retaining both the parliamentary and the assembly seats.

In Bongaon, Trinamool candidate Mamatabala trounced her nearest rival Communist Party of India-Marxist nominee and former state minister Debesh Das by over 2.11 lakh votes.

The Bongaon bypolls, necessitated by the death of Trinamool MP Kapil Krishna Thakur, assumed extra significance for the ruling party after state minister and Kapil Krishna’s brother Manjul Krishna quit his post and joined BJP in the lead up to the election.

The BJP, which has been gaining ground in the state, finished second at Krishnaganj, pushing the CPI-M to the third spot. In Bongaon, the CPI-M narrowly succeeded in retaining the second position after a close battle with the BJP.

The Congress candidates lost their deposits and came fourth in both the seats.

In Nadia district’s Krishnaganj, Trinamool candidate Satyajit Biswas won by over 37,000 votes against his nearest rival Manabendra Roy of the BJP.

The Trinamool vote share dropped two percent compared to last year’s Lok Sabha polls, while the BJP’s vote almost doubled.

The twin electoral success boosted the Trinamool, which is also battling internal strife with one-time second-in-command and general secretary Mukul Roy distancing himself from the party.

Trinamool supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the twin victories as a “miracle”.

In the Maharashtra, BJP candidate Tushar Rathod, son of Govind Rathod, whose death last October necessitated the bye-election, won the Mukhed Assembly seat by defeating his nearest Congress rival Hanumantrao Patil Betmogrekar by 47,248 votes.

The BJP also tasted success in Goa, where Sidharth Kunkolienkar won the Panaji bypoll, defeating his nearest rival Surendra Furtado from the Congress by 5,368 votes.

The bypoll was held after the elevation of sitting legislator and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar to the union cabinet last November.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) retained the Tirupati seat.

Riding on the sympathy wave, M. Suguna of the ruling party won the by-poll caused by the death of her husband M. Venkatramna, defeating Congress nominee R. Sreedevi by over 1.16 lakh votes.

All other candidates including Sreedevi of Congress lost their deposit.

The Congress had no representation in the assembly. It drew a blank in general elections held in May last year as people vent their ire on the party for bifurcating the state.

The Congress’ consolation win came from the north eastern state of Arunachal, where its nominee Nyamar Karbak defeated his nearest BJP rival Bai Gadi by a margin of 119 votes in a five-cornered contest from Liromoba constituency.

Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK retained the Srirangam assembly constituency with a huge 96,000 plus margin margin over archrival DMK.

AIADMK candidate S.Valarmathi polled 151,561 votes while DMK’s N.Anand secured 55,045.

The assembly seat was earlier held by former chief minister J.Jayalalithaa and the bye-election was necessitated following her disqualification after her conviction in a corruption case and sentence of four years in jail.

In a statement issued in Chennai, Jayalalithaa thanked the voters of Srirangam for electing her party’s candidate.

(IANS)

AAP to appoint AIIMS whistleblower Sanjiv Chaturvedi as Delhi anti-corruption chief

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Sanjiv Chaturvedi to head Delhi's anti corruption bureau

Sanjiv Chaturvedi to head Delhi’s anti corruption bureau

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) plans to appoint as Delhi’s top anti-corruption officer a man who was recently shunted out by the central government. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who was removed as vigilance chief of AIIMS hospital, will head the Delhi anti-corruption bureau.

Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer who had uncovered several scams while posted in Haryana, was removed from the post of Chief Vigilance Officer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in August last year. His sacking led to a huge protest by AAP which accused the Modi government of removing him at the behest of some BJP leaders.

Chaturvedi’s removal had also drawn parallels with the repeated transfers of IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who had exposed a series of corruption cases in Haryana.

The AAP Cabinet, which will be sworn-in on Saturday at the Ramlila Maidan, is expected to make the decision next week.

(Agencies)

Modi won't be able to attend Kejriwal's swearing-in ceremony

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AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7 RCR. Photo: PMO Twitter account

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7 RCR. Photo: PMO Twitter account

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to attend Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and Delhi chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal’s oath taking ceremony on Saturday, party leader Manish Sisodia said on Thursday after a meeting with the PM.

The meeting which took place at the Prime Minister’s 7 Race Course Road residence lasted half an hour and was described as cordial.

“Unfortunately PM Modi will not be able to attend Arvind ji’s oath taking ceremony,” Sisodia, who accompanied Kejriwal, told reporters after the meeting with Modi.

Kejriwal extended an invitation to Modi for the ceremony but the PM is scheduled to travel to Maharashtra to inaugurate the new Krishi Vigyan Kendra building in Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar’s stronghold of Baramati on Saturday.

“We had a good talk with the PM and told him there is a full majority government at the Centre and in Delhi and this is a golden opportunity. It is an opportune time to grant full statehood to Delhi,” said Sisodia.

He said the PM assured them that the Centre will think on the issue of giving full statehood to Delhi.

Kejriwal’s meeting with the PM comes a day after he met Union home minister Rajnath Singh and urban affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu and sought full statehood for Delhi.

Speaking to home minister Singh, Kejriwal also underlined the need for “constructive cooperation” between the central and the Delhi governments and noted that political differences should not come in the way of taking the city forward.

Kejriwal will also invite his one-time colleague and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who was the BJP’s CM candidate in the Delhi polls. Bedi too had congratulated Kejriwal asking him to make Delhi a world-class city.

The AAP won 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi House on Tuesday, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed a distant second place with merely three seats. The Congress, reeling from a string of defeats since it was routed in the Lok Sabha polls, did not even open its account.

In the run-up to the Delhi polls, the battle for the city-state saw a fierce war of words between the PM, and Kejriwal, who lost to Modi in Varanasi in the April-May general elections.

But, Modi congratulated Kejriwal after the AAP’s poll triumph and promised him Centre’s co-operation in the development of Delhi.

(Agencies)

SC slams Centre: 100 Crore for R-Day parade, but no compensation to farmers

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Make in India tableau

New Delhi: The Supreme Court slammed the Union government today for spending crores on the Republic Day parade but delaying the payment of compensation to farmers for land acquired from them.

“You spend Rs. 100 crores on Republic Day parade but when it comes to payment of compensation to farmers, you file appeals,” Chief Justice HL Dattu told the Centre.

The court’s observation came during a hearing of the Defence Ministry’s appeals relating to compensation to farmers on land acquisition in cantonment areas in Punjab.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had awarded a substantial compensation to farmers and the ministry had appealed against it.

But the Supreme Court declined to interfere, saying, “farmers are deprived of reasonable compensation”. The government, the court said, spends “so much money on litigations” but “takes a different stand” when it comes to paying farmers.

The Chief Justice also criticised the Union government for not creating enough infrastructure for the functioning of tribunals. “If you are unable to provide accommodation, why create such tribunals?” the court said.

Justice Dattu said recently, a retired Supreme Court Judge who was appointed on a tribunal, was not provided accommodation.

“I am anguished that you are pushing them (Judges) to Commonwealth village. Why different treatment for them? You must create infrastructure before creating tribunals,” the court said.

(Agencies)

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