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Heritage tag for Western Ghats to be decided this week

[email protected] (The Hindu)
June 25, 2012

ghat

Kochi, June 25: The campaign for the nomination of 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats as a world heritage site will be renewed at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) which will begin at St. Petersburg on Sunday.

A decision on the nominated sites will be taken by a 21-nation panel including India. The task of the panel will be to “identify the cultural and natural properties of Outstanding Universal Value which are to be protected under the Convention and inscribe them properties on the World Heritage List.”

India has been campaigning for the inscription of the sites on the list since 2006. The 35th session of the WHC held in Paris last year had deferred its decision on nomination after considering a report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which evaluated the sites.

In its report, the IUCN had suggested that India “review and refine the scope and composition” of the sites and consider the recommendations the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). It was asked to “further refine the boundaries” of the sites to ensure the “exclusion of disturbed areas” and “enhance the contiguity and buffer zones of the nomination” based on the WGEEP recommendations.

India will take the position that the WGEEP recommendations shall not be linked to the evaluation of the ghats as the government has not taken a final decision on the report, which is kept in public domain for consultation. The recommendations on land use and controls on development would be applied to the sites once the decision is taken, according to a dossier to be placed before the WHC.

It will be stressed that the panel has not made any recommendation to refine the scope and composition of the nominated sites, which include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and reserved forests. Hence the question of compliance with the panel recommendations does not arise, the document said.

The Indian delegation to Russia include Jagdish Kishwan, Additional Director General (Wildlife), and S.K. Khanduri, Inspector General (Wildlife) of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, and V.B. Mathur, Dean, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun.

Sans settlements

On the IUCN suggestion for exclusion of disturbed areas from the nominated sites, India will take the stand that “the existing reservoirs, plantations and surrounding agriculture lands are in no way impairing the identified Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) of the nominated property and it continues to be an evolutionary ecotone.”

The continuous and purposeful engagement of the local communities and indigenous groups has been ensured at all phases of the nomination. The exclusion of the existing settlements from the nominated property would “lead to their displacement and would work against the bona fide interests of the local communities,” it will be argued.

It will be stressed that a “comprehensive three-tier mechanism for the improved coordination, integration and management of sites and safeguarding its OUV” is in place. The mechanism “fully meets the intended requirement of the overarching management framework proposed by IUCN” and “ensures continuous and increased engagement of all stakeholders including the local communities” in the management of the sites, according to the dossier.



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News Network
April 9,2020

Apr 9: A panel of experts in the Karnataka state has suggested that the ongoing lockdown should be continued in districts identified as Covid-19 hotspots, including Bengaluru, to limit the spread of the pandemic.

IT companies and government offices providing essential services should be allowed to function with 50% staff, according to the committee headed by Narayana Health chairman Dr Devi Shetty, which submitted its report to chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday.

It has also asked the government to ease restrictions gradually and take adequate care over the next six months to contain the outbreak. The committee urged the government not to permit AC buses and metro services till April 30 and allow private vehicles only on alternate days (even-odd number-wise) for two weeks after April 15.

The government must close schools and colleges till May 31 and allow only inter-state movement of goods transport. The government could allow non-AC shops to open. It has suggested that the ban on inter-state train and flight services should continue.

Education minister S Suresh Kumar, who is the state Covid-19 spokesperson, said the Cabinet, which is meeting on Thursday, may discuss the recommendations and take a view on de-escalation of the lockdown.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers through videoconference on April 11, after which the government will get an idea about the Centre’s thinking, he said.

While some states including Kerala, Maharashtra and Telangana have favoured continuation of the lockdown, Yediyurappa has not taken any stand publicly and has instead been implementing the Centre’s decision.

Six new cases

Karnataka on Wednesday reported six new Covid-19 positive cases, including that of a 65-year-old person in Kalaburagi, who died due to severe acute respiratory infection.

The health authorities have issued a notice to the private hospital -- where the deceased was initially admitted before being taken to a government hospital -- for not reporting the case to the government. The government has locked down the hospital, kept its entire medical team under quarantine, and police have registered a case of criminal negligence against the hospital authorities.

Of the other five positive cases, two had a travel history to Delhi, one had contact with a Dubai returnee and two others had close contacts with infected people.

This takes the total number of positive cases in the state to 181. Five people have died, while 28 have been discharged so far.

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News Network
July 27,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 27: Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that when COVID-19 has made life and livelihoods difficult, it is unfortunate that charges have been levelled of irregularities in the procurement of COVID-19 equipment.

"The Congress which has levelled charges against the ruling BJP has not so far filed a complaint with any investigating agency. Instead, the Congress has limited itself to getting publicity. On the other hand, the ruling BJP instead of coming clean by ordering a probe into the main charges is indirectly admitting the scam," Kumaraswamy said on Sunday.

"By washing dirty linen in public, both the Congress and the BJP are playing a cruel joke on people instead of protecting their lives," he said.

Hitting out at the BJP, he asked, "Why is it that the BJP is not ordering an investigation into the Rs 2,000 crore Covid 19 corruption charges levelled against the government by the Congress? Why is the government keeping quiet on the corruption charges?"

He said, "Is this the leadership provided by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa? There could be political pressure on seeking resignation of his Ministers. But why has no action been initiated against any officers? Is there any effort to destroy the evidence by retaining officers in their existing postings?"

"Hunger for publicity is evident when we look at the press conference by five Ministers at a time," he said.

The government has countered the charges of the Congress but backtracked on ordering an investigation, he said.

"Would this not give rise to suspicion that the government is involved in the scam?" he asked.

He also asked why Congress leaders have not filed a complaint before any investigating agency despite "possessing documents to prove the charges".

"Are the Congress leaders trying to get publicity or are they concerned about the welfare of the people? The Congress Legislative Party leader is seeking an account (Lekka Kodi) while the BJP president is seeking answers (Uttara Kodi). Is it enough to give such questions and answers?"

Is there a concrete legal plan to deal with the irregularities? he asked.

"Looking at the way the Congress leaders have addressed media conferences and taken to social media campaigns, it appears that they are trying to get publicity," he said.

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News Network
February 8,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 8: The BJP on Saturday drew flak on Twitter for taking a swipe at Muslim women who appear to be standing in a line to vote in Delhi's assembly polls. ""Kaagaz Nahi Dikayenge Hum" ! ! ! Keep the documents safe, you will need to show them again during NPR exercise (sic)," the party's Karnataka Twitter handle posted using the hashtag #DelhiPolls2020. 

The video, which appears to have been taken from one of the polling booths in Delhi on Saturday, shows burqa-clad women flashing their voter ID cards. While the threatening tone of the tweet is unmissable, the tweet contradicts the government's statement that no person needs to submit any documents during the house-to-house survey for updating the National Population Register (NPR) and that information provided by individuals would be accepted and recorded. 

The tweet has added to the prevailing confusion regarding the NPR exercise in the country. 

The NPR is a list of "usual residents" of the country. In 2010, the data for NPR was collected along with the house-listing phase of the Census of India 2011. The data was updated in 2015 by conducting a door-to-door survey.

Currently, it has been decided to update the NPR along with the house-listing phase of Census 2021 during April to September 2020 in all the states/union territories except Assam.

Most of the opposition parties see NPR as a prelude to the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC), which has been opposed by even NDA allies like the JD(U). The NPR questionnaire asked details like the birthplace of parents. In combination with the recently amended citizenship law, protesters fear that the registry might be eventually used for NRC. 

As a result, people, predominantly Muslims, have hit the streets as India witnesses one of the most widespread civilian unrest of recent times.

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