Tamil Nadu - Jan 2013

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JAN 2013 CURRENT AFFAIRS - TN

murugesansenthil.blogspot.com

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CONTENTS:-

# Topic Page No
01 TN proposes death sentence for rapists........................ 03
02 TN Minorities Panel reconstituted. 05
03 Pennycuick Memorial. 06
04 Chennais Sister City. 07
05 Republic Day Awards. 08
06 2013 Padma Awards from TN. 10
07 Multi-super speciality Hospital.. 11
08 TN Government Awards 15
09 Operation Hamla2.. 16
10 Delta farmers gets insurance cover.. 20
11 MoU between TN & Chhattisgarh . 23
12 36th Chennai Book Fair 31
13 Kattupalli Port.. 35
14 Students reading poor.. 36

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With more people calling for harsher punishment and speedier
justice in rape cases, Tamil Nadu has become the first State to
unveil an action plan for curbing sexual offences against
women. I n a 13-point plan, Chief Minister J ayalalithaa mooted severe
punishments like death penalty and chemical castration for sexual
offenders through amendments in Central Acts.
Expressing grief over the death of the 23-year-old gang rape
victim in New Delhi, Ms. J ayalalithaa said her government would set
up fast track Mahila courts in each district to deal with sexual crimes
against women, appoint women investigating officers and prosecutors
to make the police probe and trial more gender-sensitive. Efforts would
be made to expedite the trial by holding daily hearings. The Goondas
Act, a preventive detention law, would be amended to include sexual
offenders under the Acts purview.
Sexual offences against women would be considered grave crimes
henceforth; investigation would be supervised by deputy
superintendents of police. Women inspectors, or in their absence,
women sub-inspectors would assist the enquiry. Superintendents of
police and Deputy I nspectors General would conduct a monthly review
of such cases.
I Gs would submit a report in 15 days on the number of cases of
sexual crime under investigation and pending in courts to the
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order).
The Centre would be requested to bring in amendments to
introduce death penalty and chemical castration for sexual offenders
and prevent them from getting bail till the trial is completed. The State
government would bear the entire medical expenses of victims of sexual
violence and assist them in their rehabilitation. Like Childline, an
integrated womens helpline would be in place with the help of service-
minded individuals, activists working for welfare of women and
involving trained professionals capable of handling women in distress.
Efforts would be taken to install CCTV cameras in all public
buildings to easily identify those involved in crime against women.
Plainclothes policemen would also be deployed at sensitive installations
like malls and womens colleges to monitor the movement of those who
harass women.

TN PROPOSES DEATH, CHEMICAL CASTRATION FOR RAPISTS

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What is Chemical Castration? Chemical Castration involves
the injection of anti-androgen drugs every three months to reduce sex
drive, compulsive sexual fantasies, ad capacity for sexual arousal.

On a day when Chief Minister J J ayalalithaa announced an
action plan to make the State safe for women, a look at police records
capture the enormity of the challenge. Within 57 months from
J anuary 2008 to September 2012over 3,000 cases of rape were
reported in the State, while only around 270 were convicted. I n other
words, one in 11 cases alone reached finality. Legal experts cite various
As few as 25 countries apply the death penalty for non-homicidal rape.
They are: USA, China, Belarus, I raq, Egypt, J ordan, Kazakhstan,
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan,
Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan,
Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan.
The only major democracy in that list is the USA.

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factors for the low rate of conviction, right from under-reporting and
delay in reporting the incident and probe continuing till the case is
taken up for trial.
The experts say that in many cases, the victim does not report
the incident immediately to police, making it difficult to gather
evidence. They also blame the sluggishness of investigating agencies in
gathering evidence or obtaining forensic results, even when the
crimes are reported immediately. Delay in obtaining test results also
takes place due to a crunch in manpower or infrastructure.

REPORT CARD
(J AN 2008 SEP 2012)
Cases Reported 3, 060
Charge sheet Submitted 1, 700
Acquittal / Discharge 1, 217
Cases Pending
1, 747
Convicted Cases
270

The State government has reconstituted the Minorities
Commission and Bishop Dr M Prakash has been appointed chairman of
the commission. The chairman will hold officer for a period of 3 years
from J an 01, 2013.
Chairman:
Bishop Dr. M. Prakash
Member(s):
Alhaj S Syed Kamil Sahib
J ustin Selvaraj
Prof A M J ames
U Sudhir Lodha
K Kalamani
Sardar Manjit Singh Nayar

TN MINORITIES PANEL RECONSITUTED

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Chief Minister J ayalalithaa inaugurated a memorial for
Pennycuick in Lower Camp of Uthamapalayam taluk, Theni district.
Pennycuick was the British engineer who constructed the Periyar dam
in I dukki district of Kerala. Built at a cost of Rs.
1.25 crore on the premises of the Tamil Nadu
Generation and Distribution Corporation
(TANGEDCO) along the Theni-Kumuli National
Highway, the memorial has a bronze statue of
Pennycuick. Some old photographs and
memorabilia used by Pennycuick also form part
of the memorial. I n April, the Chief Minister
laid the foundation stone for the memorial.
Exactly a year ago, she announced the
construction of the memorial.
Narrating the history of the Mullaperiyar
dam and the struggle of the British engineer,
Ms. J ayalalithaa announced that the new
central bus stand under construction in Theni
would be named after Col. Pennycuick.
She said that, one should have courage,
mental stability and determination to succeed.
I f one possessed these qualities, success was
certain. The Mullaperiyar dam is an example of
this.
About Mullaperiyar Dam:- Made of lime and surki, the Mullaperiyar
dam was built during 1887-1895. I ts total cost was around Rs. 85 lakh.
The full reservoir level of the dam is 152 ft with capacity of 10.56
thousand million cubic feet (tmcft). Nearly 70,000 hectares of the
composite Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts form part of the
irrigation network. Following a controversy over the safety of the dam
in 1979, the water level was lowered to 136 feet as a temporary
solution. Since then, there has been no change in the level.

Usually public places are named after Indians. Probably for the
first time in the post Independence era, the Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu has fittingly named a public place in memory of a
British man. It is a welcome decision.

PENNYCUICK MEMORIAL

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After Kuala Lumpur in 2010, San Antonio in Texas is set to enter
into a sister-city agreement with Chennai Corporation. A 30-member
business delegation led by the mayor of San Antonio visited the
Chennai. San Antonio is one of the most populous cities in the United
States. Many detailed project reports readied by Corporation officials
have been shaped on projects implemented in San Antonio. Efforts to
restore the ecosystem in the Cooum River are likely to be based on the
model adopted in the city.
A team of officials from the State had earlier visited the U.S. to
study how San Antonio was restored. I t was based on their report that
projects such as the first nature trail with boardwalk were planned in
Chennai a few years ago. The Chennai Corporation, with the assistance
of private consultants has, also prepared a detailed project report on a
1.6-km stretch of the banks of the Cooum near College Road.
The sister city agreement is likely to be an ideal platform to
facilitate cooperation pertaining to environment, culture, tourism and
industry in the State. Chennai has sister city relationships with the
following cities of the world.

Country City State/Region Since
Russia Volgograd Volgograd Oblast 1966
USA Denver Colorado 1984
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Federal territory 2010
USA San Antonio Texas 2013

The co-ordination committee of various farmers associations that
met in Tiruchi has urged the State government to pass a unanimous
resolution in the Legislative Assembly, requesting the Centre to invoke
Article 262 (2) to settle the Cauvery issue.

What is Article 262 (2)? This provision empowers Parliament to
come out with a law that bars jurisdiction of courts including
the Supreme Court over matters concerning inter-state river
water dispute

CHENNAIS SISTER CITY
FARMERS PANEL URGES TO INVOKE ARTICLE 262(2)

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Six persons were presented the Anna Medal for Gallantry by
Chief Minister J ayalalithaa, among which the bravery shown by M.
Raja, a clerk working at the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Bank at
Thalavaisamuthiram in Tirunelveli district, stood out. He received Rs
one lakh and gold medal worth Rs 5,000.
According to the State governments citation, Mr. Raja acted
swiftly and overpowered a masked man who entered the office and
threatened to shoot the Assistant Secretary. The citation further said
that, this gave the terrified customers a chance to hide themselves even
as the masked man continued to fire till he exhausted all bullets.
Mr. Raja held the masked man in such a way that the bullets did not
hit anyone. But he suffered burn injuries on both palms as he had held
on to the barrel of the gun. His act saved Rs 16.52 lakh in cash and
jewellery worth Rs 5 crore.
Other recipients of the Anna Medal for Gallantry were late M.
Devaraj (Kancheepuram), late T. J awahar (Tiruvannamalai), L. Siva
(Erode), P. Thangavel, Plot Watcher, Palacode Range and Fire and
Rescue Station staff attached to Denkanikottai station.
The Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award was given to
M. Ayub Khan from Kumbakonam Town.
Gandhi Adigal Police Medals were given to for police officials who
have done outstanding work in curbing illicit liquor. The awardees are
N. Devarani, I . Eswaran, S. Vimala, K. Sakthivel and K. Stalin
Chandrasekar.
Farmer gets award for cultivation feat:-
At a time when paddy cultivation is no longer considered
lucrative and farmlands are being converted into housing plots,
Mr. P. Solaimalai, a farmer from Madurai, has achieved a rare feat by
producing 8,272 kg paddy per acre against the normal production of
about 3,800 kg per acre. He achieved it by using the System of Rice
I ntensification (SRI ) for cultivation. On Republic Day function,
Mr. Solaimalai received a special award from the Agriculture
Department on the occasion of Republic Day for getting the highest
yield under SRI .
He is the first farmer to receive the award, which carries
Rs 5 lakh cash and a gold medal worth Rs 3,500. Mr Solaimalai said he
bought CR1009 variety from Pattukottai and used it for cultivation
under SRI .
REPUBLIC DAY AWARDS

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He said that, the variety can be used only for making flour and is
not desirable for rice because of its size, unlike other paddy varieties
that could be harvested in 110 days; CR 1009 took 150 days for harvest.

Award Winners
Raja (Tirunelveli)
late M. Devaraj (Kancheepuram)
late T. J awahar (Tiruvannamalai)
L. Siva (Erode)
P. Thangavel (Dharmapuri)
Anna Medal for Gallantry
Team of 6 fire and rescue service
personnel
Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony
Award
M. Ayub Khan (Kumbakonam)
N. Devarani
I . Eswaran
S. Vimala
K. Sakthivel
Gandhi Adigal Police Medals
K. Stalin Chandrasekar.

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Padma Vibhushan: 0
Padma Bhushan: 02
Smt. Sree Ramamurthy J anaki Art
Shri. Ramamurthy Thyagarajan Trade & I ndustry
Padma Shri: 04
Shri. Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju Art
Shri. S K M Maeilanandhan Social Work
Ms. Rajshree Pathy Trade & I ndustry
Prof (Dr) T V Devarajan Medicine

Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund has signed an agreement
with German-government owned KfW bank. The agreement would
fetch an assistance of Rs. 520 crore for implementing the phase I I of the
Tamil Nadu Sustainable Municipal I nfrastructure Financing (SMI F-
TN) Project.
As per the phase-I I of the SMI F-TN, various infrastructure works
like drinking water, sewage and road projects would be implemented by
J une 30, 2018. The initiative come sin line with upgradation of
infrastructure of 10 cities in Tamil Nadu to international standards as
per the Vision 2023 document that was released by the Chief Minister
earlier.
The German development bank has already given Rs. 500 crore
for various infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu in J uly 2008.

ADGP (Coastal Security Group-Tamil Nadu) C Sylendra Babu
ADGP (Crime-TN), Prateep V Philip
I GP Vigilance and Anti Corruption, AM Gunaseelan
are among 88 officers who have been awarded Presidents Police
Medal for Distinguished Service on the occasion of Republic Day 2013.
Besides, 21 Police personnel of Tamil Nadu were also selected for
the Police Medals for Meritorious Service by the government this year.

2013 PADMA AWARD WINNERS FROM TN
GERMAN BANK TO ASSIST TN
POLICE OFFICERS: PRESIDENTS MEDAL

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Declining to interfere with a major policy decision of the
AI ADMK government, the Madras High Court upheld the shifting of
the Legislative Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex back from the
Omandurar Government Estate to Fort St. George and the plan to
convert the structure into a multi super-specialty hospital and a
government medical college.
Dismissing petitions challenging the shifting of the Secretariat
and the proposal to use the building as a hospital, a specially-
constituted Division Bench comprising J ustices K.N. Basha and N.
Paul Vasanthakumar said the decision to convene the sitting of
the Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat was purely a
matter of internal procedure adopted by the Legislature. This
court was not entitled to interfere in the said decision,
particularly when no violation of any constitutional provision
was attracted.
The decision to establish the hospital was announced in the
Assembly, which also approved it. I t was a policy decision to convert
the complex into a hospital. The court said the decision to convert the
structure could not be stated to be arbitrary. The policy would promote
and protect public interest, more particularly, weaker sections for
getting better and expert treatment for serious ailments.
I t is made clear that the government should take all necessary
steps for giving treatment to the poor and deserving people free of cost.
The petitions were filed by R. Veeramani and S.A. Miyajan.
Mr. Veeramani, contended that the governments decision was
arbitrary and opposed to public interest. The decision to convert the
Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex, which was specifically designed
and constructed for that purpose, into a hospital was due to non-
application of mind and based on no material.
Accepting the submission of Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi and
Advocate-General A.Navaneethakrishnan, the Bench said on a perusal
of Art.174 of the Constitution (Sessions of State Legislature,
prorogation and dissolution), it was evident that the Governor should
from time to time summon the House to meet at such time and place as
he thought fit. The provision nowhere stated that the same would apply
only for first sitting as contended by the petitioners counsel. The words
used were from time to time and to meet at such time and place.
Messrs.J ustices Basha and Paul Vasanthakumar said for implementing
HIGH COURT UPHOLDS SHIFTING OF ASSEMBLY COMPLEX

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the decision to establish a hospital, an expert committee was
constituted which visited the Omanthurar Government Estate along
with technical experts, including architects. Based on their opinion
further steps were taken for converting the A Block of the new
structure into a hospital. The governments decision was perfectly valid
and legal.
The government decision could not be stated to be arbitrary or
hasty without any material on record. I f a multi-super specialty
hospital was established, it would promote public interest. The
authorities had obtained environmental clearance and a no objection
certificate from the Fire and Rescue Services Department for the
conversion of the new building. Applications had been made to the
TNPCB and the CMDA.
As the issue of grant of environmental clearance for the
conversion was pending before the National Green Tribunal, the court
said it could not go into that aspect. I t was the authorities specific
stand that the present endeavour was not to make any new
construction, but only to modify the existing structure.
As per the submission before the court, the present government
had proposed to spend Rs.26.94 crore to change the Assembly complex
as a Multi-Super Speciality Hospital. Fort St. George would be
renovated at a cost of Rs.28 crore.

Work begins to convert into hospital:
Within hours of the Madras High Court upholding the
governments decision to convert the Assembly-cum-Secretariat
complex on the Government Estate on Anna Salai into a multi-super-
specialty hospital, the authorities lost no time in beginning
construction. Trucks carrying sand and other construction material and
earth-movers moved into the complex late in the evening and helmeted
workers and supervisors got busy. Officials said the work had begun on
both the hospital in Block A and the proposed medical college in Block
B.
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the new complex
in A Block on March 13, 2010. I n the new building, the first session
was held during April and May 2010, second session in November that
year, third in J anuary 2011 with the Governors address and the four
sessions was in February 2011.
The six-storey structure which spans an area of 9.3 lakh sq ft will
now house a super specialty hospital. SC too upholds the High Courts
judgment.

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Floors Treatments
Ground Emergency & Outpatient ward, Cardiology,
Cardiothoracic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery
I Clinical outpatient ward, surgical oncology, hand
reconstruction surgery and vascular surgery
I I Diagnostic labs (microbiology and pathology labs),
administration office
I I I
I V
General War
V Special Ward
VI Operation Theatre
Block B Medical College (to be built)

THE MAKING OF A HOSPITAL: A 5-YEAR SAGA
J une 2008: Former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi lays foundation
stone
March 2010: Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurates the
complex
February 2011: I nterim budget presented in the new Assembly
May 2011: Chief Minister J ayalalithaa abandons secretariat complex
and takes oath in Fort St. George
August 2011: J ayalalithaa announces a multi-specialty hospital and
medical college in the secretariat premises
J anuary 30, 2013: Begins to work as hospital

Chief Minister J ayalalithaa said that, a memorial for Karikalan,
the Chola king who built the Grand Anicut (Kallanai) across the
Cauvery, will be set up to honour his selfless service. She said this,
while she inaugurated the memorial for Col. Pennycuick in Theni, who
built the Mullaperiyar dam.
Chief Minister said that, the Grand Anicut, which the Chola king
built 2,000 years ago, is not only the oldest dam in the country but also
an engineering marvel. The dam is beneficial to crores of people even
today.

MEMORIAL FOR KARIKALAN

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Farmers welcome Chief Ministers announcement:
Farmers in Thanjavur district welcomed the announcement by
Chief Minister for the memorial for Karikalan. Farmer association said
that besides building and perpetuating the memory of Karikalan, the
right tribute to him will be to protect the irrigation system he bestowed
on us. I t should be maintained properly. The memorial was a welcome
move and it should bring into the minds of the people about the
importance of irrigation. The demand for memorial for Karikalan had
been pending since 1996.

As expected, a vast majority of those who
thronged beaches and other public haunts in
the city on Kaanum Pongal travelled by MTC
buses. And this helped the transport
corporation rake in nearly a crore more on a
single day. An MTC official said that, MTC
earned Rs. 3.3 crore when over 37 lakh persons
travelled by bus. On other days, MTCs daily
earnings total up to Rs. 2.5 crore.
The MTC has a fleet strength of 3,637
buses. Apart from the nine buses which were
sent for routine fitness tests, the full strength
was pressed into service. The official also
added that, the situation today is better than,
say, two years ago, when there were nearly 300
buses lying unused. MTC also raked in a mean sum by levying fines on
ticketless commuters. A total of Rs. 1.62 lakh was collected.
The most fine was collected from Anna Nagar roundabout
about Rs. 7,000. Such checks are carried out during festivals when
patronage for MTC increases. Further, in a bid to increase revenue,
MTC will request the police to bar share autorickshaws from parking in
and around bus stands. They eat into the MTCs revenue in a big way.
The transport department has stopped issuing permits to share
autorickshaws. MTC has also shifted focus to better maintenance of its
fleet and crew. The entire work force has been divided into morning
and night shift teams, on a rotational basis. Also, special squads have
been formed to monitor the maintenance of the buses.

PONGAL GIFT: MTC COLLECTS RS 1 CRORE IN SINGLE DAY

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The State Government has chosen Communist Party of I ndia
(CPI ) State secretary D. Pandian for its Annal Ambedkar award this
year. The award winners that are instituted in the name of Tamil
scholars and national leaders are,
Kalaimamani N. Murugan (Seyon) Thiruvalluvar award
K. Samarasam Thanthai Periyar Award
K.R.P. Manimozhiyan Perarignar Anna Award
Singaravadivel Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Award
Bharathi Kavalar K. Ramamurthi Mahakavi Bharathiar Award
S.N. Kandasamy Paavendar Bharathidasan Award
Prema Nandakumar Thiru.Vi.Ka Award
N. Rajagopalan (Malayaman) K.Aa.Pe. Viswanatham Award
D Pandian Annal Ambedkar Award
The awards carry a cash component of Rs 1 lakh, one sovereign
gold medallion and certificate.

Tamil Nadu government has appointed the former Chief
Secretary of the State, Mr. Debendranath Sarangi as advisor to the
State Government with effective from J anuary 1, 2013. As per the
government order, Mr. Sarangi will be in the cadre of Chief Secretary,
and will hold the post for one year or till the need for it cease,
whichever is earlier. He held the post of Chief Secretary for one year
and a half.
Only occasionally does the government create the post of Advisor,
that too, in the grade of Chief Secretary. I t is a customary practice to
create such a post when the State is under Presidents rule.
An officer of the 1977 batch I ndian Administrative Service,
Mr. Sarangi retired after serving as Chief Secretary since May 2011.
The new Chief Secretary of the State is Ms. Sheela Balakrishnan.

TN GOVERNMENTS AWARDS
DEBENDRANATH SARANGI ADVISER TO TN GOVERNMENT

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The Union Tourism Ministry has selected the Mamallapuram
temple complex, along with nine other heritage sites in the country
under its Clean I ndia campaign. Launched as a pilot project at Qutub
Minar during May 2012, the campaign is aimed at increasing tourist
arrivals, creating or improving basic infrastructure at these places and
providing a hygienic environment. I n the first phase, the Ministry has
identified 36 monuments.
The Ministry facilitated the adoption of 10 important
Archaeological Survey of I ndia (ASI ) monuments by the I nstitutes of
Hotel Management (I HM) and the I ndian I nstitute of Tourism and
Travel Management under Campaign Clean I ndia. The Quality Council
of I ndia (QCI ) will carry out an independent and objective evaluation of
the state of cleanliness specific to each monument chosen for adoption.
I t will classify the improvement over the adoption period either as
average, good, very good and excellent. Based on the QCI classification,
the Ministry will extend awards with citation to adopters.
Tamil Nadu Tourism department had suggested several heritage
sites in the State, including Brihadeeswara Temple, Srirangam Temple
complex, Vellore Fort and Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple but yet
to get the notification.

I n an attempt towards assessing the preparedness of the Chennai
City Police in case of a terrorist attack, a 48-hour mock operation, code
named Hamla 2, commenced in Chennai city (J an 03, 2013 J an 05,
2013). The drill took the citys residents by surprise but was highly
successful.
Police teams combed the airport, railway stations, hospitals,
beaches and other vital installations and apprehended 17 decoys.
Hamla 2, an operation orchestrated by the Chennai City Police
in coordination with the Indian Navy, the Indian Coast Guard
and the Coastal Security Group, kickstarted in Chennai and along
other costal locations of Tamil Nadu up to Kanyakumari. This follows
Hamla 1, which took place six months ago.
The drill that is being carried out in various stages includes the
deploying of police teams to protect high value targets, collecting of
intelligence on the coast line, interception of intrusions, detection of
any sabotage material and interrogation of intruders.
MAMALLAPURAM TEMPLE: PART OF CLEAN INDIA
OPERATION HAMLA 2

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Nilgiri Tahr, the State animal of Tamil Nadu, is likely to be
spotted again on the Glenmorgan Mountains in The Nilgiris and
Thirukurungudi ranges in the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
(KMTR), both original habitats of the Tahr until it went out of sight
some years ago. Acting on the suggestion of the Standing Committee of
the National Board for Wildlife (NBW), the Ministry of Environment
and Forests has written to the State Forest Department for the
reintroduction of the Nilgiri Tahr in these two ranges. I t was A.J .T.
J ohnsing, former Director of Wildlife I nstitute of I ndia, who suggested
that the Tahr be first introduced in Glenmorgan Mountain from
Mukuruthy National Park, a known habitat of the Tahr in the Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve, and thereafter plan reintroduction in KMTR.
Both Thirukurungudi and Glenmorgan were original habitats of
Nilgiri Tahr, say wildlife officials in the State. I n KMTR,
Thiruvannamalai Mottai, Nandoothi Moottai and Panchamthangi
Moottai were the three original habitats. Till 1995, the animal was
sighted in these places. However, there are no direct sightings in any of
these areas now and there are indications of its presence in
Thiruvannamalai Mottai and officials believe a small population of
Tahr could be still living there.
These areas have rocky patches and grass lands above them. I n
Thiruvannamalai Mottai area, northern and eastern portions were full
of rocky patches and the southwest corner is covered by Shola forests.
Hence, the place was once the ideal habitat for Tahrs, said a senior
officer. Glenmorgan near Mukurthi National Park in The Nilgiris was
also originally a Tahr habitat. Later the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board
took over some areas to construct quarters for their staff. This, and the
regular forest fires in the area must have driven the Tahr population
away from the habitat, says a former wildlife warden.
Now the quarters have been abandoned but a critical habitat
study has to be done before translocating a sizeable number of Tahr
from Mukurthi National Park to Glenmorgan.

REINTRODUCE OF NILGIRI TAHR IN TWO RANGES

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Chief Minister J ayalalithaa said a Tea Cluster-Common
Facilitation Centre would be set up near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore
at an estimated cost of Rs. 15 crore to give a boost to tea industry in the
Nilgiris. Participating in the Golden J ubilee celebrations of the Kundah
I ndustrial Cooperative (I ndco) Tea Factory at Yedakad about 30 km
from Udhagamandalam, she said the centre would have facility for
storing, blending, testing and marketing.
A new I ndco factory would
be established at Nanjanad near
Udhagamandalam at an
estimated cost of Rs. 5 crore to
cater for the growers. Listing the
steps taken to help small tea
growers of the Nilgiris during her
tenures, Ms. J ayalalithaa said
for the first time in the world
Teaserve, an auction centre
in the government sector, had
been opened in Coonoor in
October 2003.
Pointing out that the
objective was to help the
producers realise fair prices, the
Chief Minister said she was
gratified that over the last ten
years it had been doing well. I n 2005 a Small Tea Growers Protection
Scheme had been introduced and subsidy at the rate of Rs. 4,200 per
acre had been disbursed to 50,152 growers.
Considering favourably a demand of tea manufacturers, the
government had ordered the reduction of value added tax on processed
tea from 4% to 1%. Subsidy had also been provided to upgrade the
machinery in the cooperative tea factories in order to improve the
quality. I n the current tenure, steps had been taken to give an
additional amount of Rs. 2 a kg of raw tea leaves to the members of the
15 I ndco tea factories. I t had benefited 22,000 growers to the tune of
Rs. 17.20 crore.
A grant of Rs. 5.46 crore had been released to the I ndco factories
to modernise their machinery and increase the production capacity.
BOOST FOR TEA INDUSTRY: RS 15 CRORE CLUSTER

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Efforts of the government apart, the I ndco factories should evolve new
ways to increase their sales. Drawing a parallel, she said in 2001, her
government had introduced the Ooty Tea concept and sold the brand
through the Public Distribution System. Over the last 12 years, 317
lakh kg of tea had been produced under the scheme and sold for Rs 280
crore. From the profit earned Rs 26 crore had been shared with the
I ndco members.
Urging the tea growers and producers to help achieve the goals
set under the governments Vision 2023 programme, Ms. J ayalalithaa
declared that she was ready to extend all possible assistance to them.
They must work hard and be self confident. Ms. J ayalalithaa released a
golden jubilee souvenir, launched the sale of new 250 gram pouches of
Ooty Tea and inaugurated the sale of Ooty Tea through Aavin outlets.

As many as 90 bids have been received by the Tamil Nadu
Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for a quantum
of 500 megawatt (MW). This is in response to the TANGEDCOs tender
for the purchase of solar power to the tune of 1,000 MW.
Technical bids were opened by the TANGEDCO officials in
charge of the tender. After scrutiny, price documents of eligible bidders
will be taken up for consideration. The entire exercise of selecting
developers is likely to be completed in a month.
The floating of bids was carried out as a sequel to the Solar
Energy Policy of the State government which was unveiled a few
months ago. As per the policy, high tension consumers including
information technology parks and special economic zones and low-
tension commercial consumers have to meet three per cent of their
energy requirements through solar energy by the end of this year and
six per cent from J anuary 2014.
As the TANGEDCO is the agency to administer solar power
obligations (SPO), it has decided to facilitate prospective investors by
procuring energy generated from their plants through long-term power
purchase agreements. Besides, the HT and LT commercial consumers
can fulfil their obligations by purchasing power from the Corporation at
tariff applicable to solar power. I t is for these reasons that the tender
has been floated. After the selection of developers is done next month,
power purchase agreements (PPA) will be signed in a couple of months.

TANGEDCO RECEIVES 90 BIDS FOR SOLAR POWER

- 20 -

At least 1.75 lakh more farmers in the Cauvery delta have been
brought under the net of insurance cover for their samba crop. During
2011-2012, around 3.5 lakh to 3.75 lakh farmers enrolled themselves
with the authorities for crop insurance. For the current year, as per
provisional figures, the number is 5.4 lakh.
The increased coverage has been attributed to the State
governments intensive drive to achieve universal coverage of farmers
in the delta, which covers Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam
and Tiruchi districts besides Chidambaram and
Kattumannarkoil taluks of Cuddalore.
On Dec 2012, Chief Minister J ayalalithaa announced a package
of measures to the delta farmers including the governments decision to
provide insurance cover to all farmers in the delta. As on that date,
about 1.7 lakh farmers had gone in for crop insurance cover. When the
deadline for insurance coverage was over on December 31, the figure
was 5.4 lakh. (Even this figure is provisional as some more proposals
through banks have to reach the insurance authorities).
Of the five districts, Thanjavur accounts for a maximum number
of farmers covered with about 1.89 lakh. The figures for other districts
are Tiruvarur 1.36 lakh; Nagapattinam 1.16 lakh; Cuddalore
73,380 and Tiruchi 26,130. The achievement of such a large number
was possible due to a combination of efforts by the Agriculture
Department along with other agencies concerned including the district
administration. As many as 1,217 facilitation centres were opened for
enrolment of farmers for the insurance cover.
The other significant aspect is the coverage of non-loanee farmers
for crop insurance. As regards loanee farmers, it is mandatory that
they take insurance cover. Of about 5.4 lakh farmers, non-loanee
farmers account for 3.92 lakh. Towards universal coverage, the State
government has remitted about Rs. 27.67 crore to the Agriculture
I nsurance Company of I ndia. The per-acre sum insured had been kept
at Rs. 8,692. Besides, under the State Disaster Relief Fund,
compensation for paddy would hereafter be Rs. 5,000 per acre instead
of the earlier Rs. 4,000 per acre to Rs. 5,000. Totally, the farmers, in
the event of crop loss, would get Rs. 13,692 per acre. The insurance
cover has been taken under the National Agricultural I nsurance
Scheme and its modified version.

DELTA FARMERS GET INSURANCE COVER FOR SAMBA CROP

- 21 -

Chief Minister J ayalalithaa constituted a high-level
committee under the chairmanship of Finance Minister
O. Panneerselvam to study further relief to be provided to
farmers in the Cauvery delta region. She also announced a Rs. 300-
crore scheme to distribute Pongal gifts to 1.84 crore ration-card holders.
The gift package, each costing Rs. 160, will include one kg raw rice, one
kg jaggery and Rs. 100 for buying other ingredients for Pongal. She
said that, this will ensure that people will happily celebrate the Pongal
festival.
Ms. J ayalalithaa said she had already ordered relief to the extent
of Rs. 13,692 per acre under crop insurance scheme and disaster relief
fund. The high-level committee, she said, would study the drought
situation and crop loss and make recommendations regarding taluks
and unions that should be declared drought-hit areas.
She said, relief should be given to farmers in due time based on
the recommendation. My government will also ensure that farmers are
not subjected to any difficulty and release relief in a fair manner. She
said the committee would include the Electricity Minister, Municipal
Administration and Rural Development Minister, Housing Minister,
Agriculture Minister, Co-operative Minister, Food Minister and
Fisheries Minister. The Revenue Administration and Relief
Commissioner will be the member secretary and secretaries of the
departments concerned will be ex-officio members.
The Chief Minister said in order to provide compensation to
farmers who had lost livelihood and were facing unemployment, the
government would undertake works for desilting water bodies to
ensure effective water management to create large-scale employment
under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
She said due to the failure of the North-East monsoon and Karnatakas
refusal to release water as per the distress sharing formula, there was
a delay in releasing water from Mettur dam and the water already
released was also stopped. She said, this has affected samba cultivated
in the delta region and thaladi in the tail-end region.

PANEL FORMED TO STUDY MORE RELIEF FOR FARMERS

- 22 -

Taking advantage of its excellent connectivity across Tamil
Nadu, the state-owned State Express Transport Corporation (SETC)
has begun a courier service, in a move to diversify its business and earn
more revenue. I n a public-private partnership venture, SETC has
launched the low-cost 7c courier service, which will cater to 10 city
corporations in the state, apart from Bengaluru in Karnataka.
The courier charges are as low as Rs 7 for a 250 gm package for
any distance, and the 1,256 buses of SETCs fleet will be used for the
service.
SETC floated a tender last year and finalised the bidder. I t
agreed to share its fleet for the logistics operation under a PPP model,
said an SETC top official in Chennai. Chennai-based V-Speeds
Logistics won the bid and rolled out an economically viable logistics
option.
The service is aimed at utilising the SETC fleet in an efficient
and cost-effective manner. Our motto is same day delivery. The courier
booking centres are conveniently located near SETC depots across the
state. SETC was the obvious choice when it came to offering an
economically viable courier service across the state. 7c delivers
consignments of up to 25 kg.
The waybills for the package are bar-coded and delivery is confirmed
via SMS or e-mail, minimising possibility of loss of consignments.
SETC officials said they have ensured that there is no discomfort to
passengers or the crew due to courier service, as all packages are
loaded on buses hours before passengers embark and unloaded only
after they disembark.

According to a study, Tamil Nadus renewable energy potential
has been estimated at over 7,20,000 MW, comprising mainly solar
photovoltaic (259,000 MW), onshore wind (196,854 MW) and
Concentrating Solar Power (78,505 MW).
The Action Plan for Comprehensive Renewable Energy
Development in Tamil Nadu states that even if 20 per cent is
achievable, the State could produce up to 140,000 MW of power from
green energy sources by 2020 to meet the 15 per cent target set by the
National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
SETC UNVEILS NEW LOW-COST COURIER
RENEWABLE POWER POTENTAIL OF TN: 7.2 LAKH MW

- 23 -
Tamil Nadu has a huge potential for off-grid solar applications.
I n fact, the rooftop photovoltaic installation potential for the State,
based on the gross availability of concrete roofs, is about 30,000 MW,
according to the study. New regulatory measures like feed-in tariffs for
rooftops or net metering can significantly alter the scenario by reducing
the financial viability gap.
Tamil Nadu could be expected to produce 36,000 MW of
renewable energy in the next 10 years. And each mega watt of
renewable energy could generate 10 jobs and by next 10 years. I n other
words, the State can create 3.6 lakh green jobs within 10 years.
Turning to the solar water heating potential for the State, the
report states that 16.15 million square metre solar energy collector
area would translate into a water heating potential of 33 million litres
per day. The study also assessed the solar water pumping potential at
7,041 MW. This would result in substantial savings in electricity and
grid losses, it said while stressing the need for a taluk level study to
assess actual substitution potential.

State Energy Minister Mr. Natham R Viswanathan met
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Mr. Raman Singh and expressed his
States willingness to establish a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh
to overcome the power shortfall in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu
government wants to establish a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh
to overcome shortfall of power in the southern state.
Tamil Nadu is at present facing a shortage of 4,000 MW and
Viswanathan invited the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister to ink a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) to install a power plant. The
minister also said that according to the energy policy of the
Chhattisgarh government, the host state would get priority to buy the
first 30 per cent of total generation of power, while 7.5 per cent of
power will be sold at variable cost only.
During the discussion, Raman Singh said that the Union Coal
Ministry had allocated coal block Gare Pelma Sec-2 in Chhattisgarh for
mining to a joint enterprise of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board and
Maharashtra State Mineral Corporation Limited, Maha-Tamil
Collieries Limited, in August 2006. According to the agreement, Tamil
Nadu has 78 per cent partnership in mining while Maharashtra has
22%.

TAMIL NADU & CHHATTISGARH MOOTS POWER PLANT

- 24 -

Despite Tamil Nadus repeated pleas, the Central government
has not yet notified the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes
Tribunal. The rights of Tamil Nadu over Cauvery water should be
ensured, Chief Minister J ayalalithaa said at Kodanad near Kotagiri in
the district, while launching the distribution of special Pongal pack.
The failure of the monsoon had raised doubts over the survival of the
crops in the delta region.
She said that, the government would fully compensate whatever
loss was incurred by the farmers. Further, a committee headed by
Finance Minister Mr. O. Paneerselvam had been formed to identify
areas to be declared drought-hit. The committee would also work out
how much more compensation could be given to farmers.
The Chief Minister said that as the government was keen that all
sections of society should celebrate Pongal, it had been decided to give
1.84 crore rice-drawing card holders covered under the Public
Distribution System (PDS) the special pack worth Rs.160 which
consisted of one kg of raw rice, one kg of sugar and Rs.100 in cash.
Ms. J ayalalithaa also distributed free saris and dhotis to a few
beneficiaries.
FARMERS WILL BE FULL COMPENSATED

- 25 -

I n the new publication of voters roll list for the state, as many as
11 lakh names of voters in the State have been removed from the roll.
This is an outcome of a household survey undertaken by the poll
authorities as part of the summary revision of the roll during October-
December last year. As usual, the reasons of death and migration of
voters within or outside the State, also hold good this time too.
I t is in Tiruvallur district that a maximum number of deletion
had taken place. A little over 99,000 names had been removed from the
roll. Chennai came next with 83,510 and Vellore 79,590.
As part of the revision, the details of around 22 lakh electors had
been included. Women outnumbered men with the admission of
about 11.43 lakh applications. In the case of men, the figure of
addition was 10.63 lakhs. Three hundred and forty three
applications of transgender had been accepted. Kancheepuram
accounted for the maximum number of inclusion of names with
1.54 lakh followed by Chennai 1.46 lakh and Vellore 1.42 lakh.
The net increase of electors had been witnessed in
Kancheepuram with around 1.28 lakh. Tirunelveli came second with a
net addition of 99,593 electors and Coimbatore 98,611.
At the time of publication of the draft electoral roll in October last, the
State had about 5.04 crore electors. According to a release issued by the
CEO, the total number of electors to total population ratio in
Tamil Nadu, as per the final roll, is 69.22 per cent, which was is
in line with the census ratio of 18+ population to total
population.
WOMAN VOTERS OUTNUMBER MEN IN TN POLL ROLL

- 26 -

These days, electricity consumers in parts of the State other than
Chennai have some respite from the acute power shortage, as the
duration of load shedding has gone down considerably. What was 12
hours to 14 hours a day three months ago is now seven to eight hours.
I n parts of Coimbatore, the duration is even lesser around five hours.
Significantly, the consumers are being subjected to less load shedding
in the night.
I n October, they had to endure six-hour-long load shedding
between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., whereas it is three hours now experiencing,
according to a source. The decrease in the duration of load
shedding has come at a time even as the authorities are
maintaining 12-hour three-phase supply to agriculturists in the
Cauvery delta. In addition, the average daily energy
consumption is around 210 million units (MU), about 30 MU
higher than that of October.
The improvement in the supply position has been attributed to a
host of factors. Thermal power plants of the Tamil Nadu Generation
and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) are producing more. On an
average, they are generating around 2,500 megawatt (MW), whereas
they were producing about 1,800 MW three months ago. The quantum
of electricity purchased through power exchanges has gone up. At
present, it is in the range of 470 MW to 725 MW. Three months ago, the
State was able to get 80 MW to 270 MW.
Since the middle of December, 150 MW is being procured from
the Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco) during 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 7
p.m. to midnight. This arrangement will go on till March 31. Besides,
by participating in an e-bidding, the TANGEDCO has been able to
secure up to 430 MW capacity of inter-regional transmission for
February.
The possibility is being explored to buy additional power from co-
generation plant owners, using coal, during crushing and non-crushing
seasons. The authorities have tied-up with a private power producer
whose plant in Saminatham of Tuticorin district is about to be
commissioned. This will enable the supply of 150 MW.
An additional unit of 600 MW at the Mettur Thermal Power
Station is expected to generate power within J anuary. I nitially, 400
MW will be produced. One such unit at North Chennai Thermal Power
Station is expected to generate around 250 MW by the end of J anuary.
LESSER DUARTION OF POWER CUTS ACROSS STATE

- 27 -
As regards the Vallur project, jointly implemented by the TANGEDCO
and NTPC, the first unit of 500 MW, which is generating 300 MW on
an average, will run on full load by J anuary end. Another unit of 500
MW is expected to commence production next month with about 300
MW. I n the case of Vallur, the share of Tamil Nadu from each unit is
about 350 MW when the unit produces to its capacity.
I f these plans fructify, the State will get at least 1,000 MW by the
beginning of March. As of now, the State is able to meet its demand to
the tune of 9,500 MW.

LOAD SHEDDING: A COMPARISON
Period Morning Peak
(MW)
Evening Peak
(MW)
8 3, 238 2, 943
9 3, 227 2, 210
October 2012
10 3, 193 4, 084
8 2, 152 2, 327
9 2, 351 1, 969
J anuary 2013
10 2, 052 1, 861
Morning peak: 7-50 a.m; Evening peak: 6-45 p.m

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J J ayalalithaa has given the go ahead
for the Chennai Corporation to set up as many as 1,000 tiffin centres
across the city. The outlets are aimed at providing nutritious and
healthy food to the slum dwellers, daily wage earners and unorganised
workers in the city at a subsidised price.
J ayalalithaa gave the administrative approval for the first phase
of the project, which will see one tiffin centre set up in each of the
Chennai Corporations 200 wards. These centres would sell each idli for
Rs 1, sambar rice for Rs 5 and curd rice for Rs 3.
She also ordered the setting up of a committee under the City
Health Officer to supervise the functioning of these centres.
J ayalalithaa also ordered the allocation of 500 metric tonnes of rice to
the Chennai Corporation for use in these tiffin centres. The statement
confirmed the governments commitment to ensure healthy and
nutritional food is available to those from the lower economic sections.
1000 TIFFIN CENTRES IN CHENNAI

- 28 -
The statement noted that a majority of those who lived in the
citys slums were daily wage earners, manual labourers and drivers,
and that the number of migrant labourers who stay in the city for a
short period has gone up. These sections are unable to spend enough on
food because of their low earnings. The Corporations 1,000 tiffin
centres are expected to benefit these daily wage earners, manual
labourers, cart pushers, rickshaw pullers, auto drivers and other
unorganised workers.

Children less than eight years of age may not be permitted alone
in swimming pools of amusement parks, hotels, apartments, schools or
other similar institutions in the State. The government, which is set to
approve one of the first comprehensive regulations for pools ever
formulated by a State, may empower pool managers to permit such
less-than-eight-year-old children in pools only under parents
supervision.
A team of urban planners, fire and rescue service personnel,
Education Department officials and representatives of the Sports
Development Authority of I ndia has incorporated such
recommendations in the draft of the comprehensive regulations sent for
government approval.
The pools to be regulated after government approval will include
all those artificial waterbodies measuring more than seven square
metre with a minimum depth of 60 cm.
All amusement parks with pools will have to appoint a doctor to
monitor users round-the-clock. Pool managers will have the
responsibility of permitting users or denying permission. Legal action
may be initiated against pool managers who fail to permit users
according to the proposed regulations.
The recommendations have been made to ensure that pools have
enhanced safety provisions. The need for regulations gained
momentum after the government last year framed a Bill detailing
safety norms to be followed with regard to swimming pools in schools.
The recommendations are in response to the death of a nine-year-old
boy in the swimming pool at PSBB School, K.K. Nagar in August 2012.

KIDS UNDER 8 MAY BE BARRED FROM SWIMMING POOLS

- 29 -

Sharing Tamil Nadus concern over the poor realisation of water
through the 152-km-long Kandaleru-Poondi Canal, Andhra Pradesh
agreed to take immediate steps for early completion of repair work on
the canal. A decision to this effect was taken at the 42nd meeting of the
inter-State Liaison Committee at Fort St. George, Chennai. Chief
Secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Sheela Balakrishnan
and Minnie Mathew, both belonging to the 1976 batch of officers of the
I ndian Administrative Service (I AS), led their respective teams.
A breach of the canal in
Uppalamadagu near Kalahasti
in Andhra Pradesh has led to
the sharp reduction in the
inflow. Even though 600 cubic
feet of water (cusecs) is being
released from the Kandaleru
dam [the terminal storage
point in Andhra Pradesh on
the Krishna water supply
system], the realisation of
water by Tamil Nadu has been
around 150 cusecs. As an alternative measure, water is being conveyed
through pipelines at the point of Uppalamadagu.
At the meeting, Tamil Nadu urged the neighbouring State to
have the repair work completed by summer. I t even volunteered to
extend help in the quick execution of the work, according to an official
release. Tamil Nadu wanted at least 350 cusecs to be realised at its
end.
The meeting also decided to constitute a standing committee of
technical experts, which would include Chief Engineers in the
I rrigation department of the two States besides the Chief Engineer of
the Chennai Metrowater. As Chennai is the beneficiary of the Krishna
water supply system and Chennai Metrowater is responsible for
drinking water supply to Chennai, the water agencys representative
has been included.
The release stated that as the Kandaleru reservoir had a storage
of 17.6 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) against its capacity of 58.6
tmc ft, a request was made to AP to ensure the release of water till
October; provide about 8 tmc ft more for the current year and give 12
ANDHRA PRADESH: AGREES TO COMPLETE CANAL WORK EARLY

- 30 -
tmc ft for the entire year of 2013-2014. As of now, Tamil Nadu received
3.9 tmc ft against its share of 12 tmc ft. Tamil Nadu also called upon
Andhra Pradesh to make arrangements for storing five tmc ft in
Kandaleru for release during J anuary-April.
The Andhra Pradesh officials informed their Tamil Nadu
counterparts that their government was examining operational rules
governing the release of water to Tamil Nadu.

The diesel price revision of Rs 11.67 per litre is expected to hit
further the cash-strapped Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.
According to a top official in the
corporation, the decision to hike
the diesel price has come at a time
when the TNSTC was facing a
crisis.
The additional burden due
to the revision from Rs. 49.80 per
litre to Rs. 61.67 per litre would
force the corporation to cough up
Rs. 58 crore per month for diesel
throughout the State. The
corporation operated 22,300
vehicles from its depots covering
90.20 lakh km in all districts in the State. The total diesel consumption
was around 48,000 kilo litres per month for the corporations entire
fleet, which serviced 2.20 crore passengers every month.
After a long gap of 11 years, the State had effected a revision in
bus fares in 2011, when the price of diesel per litre was Rs 43.83. Now,
there is a hike of 40 per cent after the revision. The Union government
announced that for bulk consumers, who include Railways, State
transport undertakings, defence, cement and power plants and mines,
the price revision came into effect without subsidy, while for private
consumers, the revision was a meagre 45 paise per litre.
Senior trade union activist V. Pitchai of the CI TU condemned the
latest hike in diesel prices. I n normal trade practice, for bulk purchases
the price is less, while for retail purchase it is higher. I n this case, the
Centre had dealt a blow to the State transport undertakings by lifting
the subsidy.
ADDITIONAL BURDEN FOR TNSTC

- 31 -
The TNSTC was already in the red and its normal functioning
was difficult. With the severe hike, the corporation might find the going
tough. TNSTC Staff Federation State joint general secretary S.
Sampath said the corporation operated on a no-profit basis, with the
sole aim of serving the public. The government offered many sops to
different sections of society.
A senior official in the Madurai TNSTC said that the corporation
would consider scaling down its operations, especially on less profitable
routes.

The 36th edition of the Chennai Book
Fair came to a close, with more than 9 lakh
visitors getting an opportunity to browse
through 10 lakh titles over the course of 13
days. The fair, held at the YMCA Grounds
in Nandanam, had 746 stalls and their
combined sales touched around Rs. 12 crore.
R.S. Shanmugam, president of the
Booksellers and Publishers Association of
South I ndia (BAPASI ), which organised the
fair said that, what began with just 22 stalls
in 1976 has grown today to over 700 stalls.
He added that, on J anuary 19 alone, there were over 1 lakh visitors.
The fair has become a forum where discussions are held with authors
on various issues. Many of them picked up Tamil novels especially
Sivagamiyin Sabatham and Ponniyin Selvan. The book fair had
something for everyone. From kolam books with up to 1,000 different
patterns to water-colouring books for Rs. 23 each, children and adults
alike were enthralled by the range of titles on sale. Many parents
picked up for children were world maps and globes. (Nearly 2500 maps
sold in 13 days of the fair) And sales personnel say that every year, the
book fair has only been seeing an increase in sales figures and numbers
of visitors. Approximately, every year there is an increase of 20 per cent
in sales. Madras High Court judge D. Hariparandaman said that even
small books reflected the society of the time they were written in. He
said that books brought in change, and that they had even on occasion,
led to a change in governments. I n her address, Madras High Court
judge S. Vimala said she was happy to see such large crowds at the fair
buying books.
36TH CHENNAI BOOK FAIR

- 32 -

I n a few years, the
expanded city can hope for
improved water supply,
thanks to yet another
desalination plant.
Chennai Metrowater has
initiated process to set up
the third desalination
plant in the city. The
water agency recently
appointed a consultancy
firm to prepare a detailed
project report for the
proposed plant at
Pattipulam along the East
Coast Road. The plant will
have the capacity to treat
200 million litres a day (MLD) of seawater. This is twice the capacity of
the desalination plants at Minjur (in pic) and Nemmeli. The latter will
begin operations soon.
Aecom I ndia Private Limited along with GHD Pty Limited,
Australia, and Watek Engineering Corporation, USA, will prepare the
project report on the feasibility of a desalination plant at Pattipulam
which is four kilometres away from the Nemmeli plant.
The demand for water has grown by leaps and bounds after the
recent expansion of the city. There is a shortfall of nearly 360 MLD
owing to demand from various quarters, including bulk consumers,
adjacent municipalities and industries. Nearly 831 MLD is supplied to
the expanded city.
While the Minjur plant generates 100 MLD of treated water to
cater to the northern parts of the city, the one in Nemmeli, which is to
be commissioned in the next two months, will serve the southern parts
of the city, including Tiruvanmiyur, Velachery and fast-developing
suburbs along the I T corridor. Officials of Metrowater said that as
there are no other reliable sources for augmenting the city water
supply and bridge the widening gap between demand and supply. To
meet increasing demand in the future, the proposed plant at
Pattipulam can be expanded to treat 400 MLD of seawater.
THIRD WATER PLANT FOR CHENNAI CITY

- 33 -

Nearly 200 landless women and widows in eight districts of the
State have been working under the umbrella of the Tamil Nadu
Womens Collective network to do farming and allied activities for
the last three years.
I nterestingly, when vast tracts of lands are being sold off to
realtors in the name of development, thus bringing down cultivable
areas, the womens collective has been instrumental in identifying
wastelands. I t has also identified lands that have been left fallow by
owners in Tuticorin, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Salem, Tiruvannamalai,
Vellore, Kancheepuram, and Thiruvallur districts to help single,
widowed women in the villages take up cultivation.
The land is taken on a three-year lease and women are trained
by experienced and well known experts in A-Z of crop cultivation
techniques, making bio-inputs and ways to prevent infestation using
their own bio pest repellents.
The main aim of collective farming is to discourage migration
from villages and to provide food security to the families. The institute
conducted a study in 13 villages to understand the lifestyle of destitute
and widowed women. The study found that many of these women have
either small pieces of fragmented rain-fed lands, or no land at all.
The majority of them did not have the required investment for
growing crops and many of them did not have access to proper water
sources. Empowerment of rural women has always been an important
agenda in our collective. We conduct annual meetings in our office and
several women attend these meetings. During one such meet, some of
them voiced their grievance that being the sole bread-winners for their
families, they were finding it difficult to lead their daily lives as they
could not get any work as labourers throughout the year. Though
sometimes they went to towns to work as construction labourers or
domestic help, they came back to their village after some time due to
health and family issues. Empowering such women posed a big
challenge for us.
The collective debated this problem for some years before it hit
upon the idea of forming the women into groups and helping them do
some agriculture-related activities.
The groups were also asked to identify fallow lands for growing
some crops, the size of the land, lease period, types of crop to be grown,
opening a bank account, revolving system of labour all under the
COLLECTIVE FARMING

- 34 -
supervision of the network. The network funded Rs. 10,000 to the
groups for all their farming related activities.
At present, the women do not market their produce grown
organically outside the village. The crop yield from collective farming
provides food for their family for at least 15 days a month.
Though the groups, at present, have not gained much financially, they
are confident of earning a decent income from selling their produce in
the future. Considering the high cost involved in purchase of seeds, the
network is planning to develop seed producers in their group and
establish a seed bank for their village.

The Madras High Court granted an interim injunction
restraining authorities from allowing anybody to carry on business and
run shops or eateries on the entire stretch of the Marina beach,
Chennai. The First Bench comprising the Acting Chief J ustice Elipe
Dharma Rao and J ustice Aruna J agadeesan passed the interim order
on a petition by one K. Balaji, president of Gandhiji Consumer Forum.
The Bench admitted the petition and posted the matter for further
hearing.
The petitioner, who is a lawyer, said the Marina beach, which
was the second longest beach in the world, was today the dirtiest
beach in the world. The beach was in a pathetic and shabby condition
and foreign tourists were afraid of visiting it. He said that, the careless
and negligent attitude of the authorities had affected the reputation of
the city.
According to the petitioner, several shops and vendors had been
allowed to do business all over the beach, with shops in temporary
structures and merry-go-rounds finding a permanent place on the
sands. Failure to implement the Food Safety and Standard Act had
allowed all sorts of unhygienic food to be sold. The eatables sold were
adulterated, substandard, unhygienic and injurious to health.
Newspapers had highlighted the pathetic condition of the Marina
beach.
He said that, to bring the beach to international standards and
restore it to its past glory as contended by the Chennai Metropolitan
Beach Committee, drastic steps should be taken.

MADRAS HC ASKS TO CLOSE EATERIES IN MARINA

- 35 -

Chief Minister J ayalalithaa inaugurated the Rs. 3,375-crore
Kattupalli minor port-cum-shipyard through video conferencing. A joint
venture between Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Tamil Nadu I ndustrial
Development Corporation (TI DCO), the minor port is spread over 1,143
acres in nearby Tiruvallur district and has a ship building yard, the
biggest in the country. The port can handle big cargo ships, vessels
carrying LNG and petroleum fuel and also has fabrication facilities for
ship building. I nternational Container Terminal Services 9I CTS),
Philippines, has been accorded to operate the container terminal.
While thanking the Chief Minister, company officials invited
traders to make use of the new facility that could be used an
alternative venue for Ennore and Chennai Port. While it might be too
early to say when the next vessel would arrive, an official hoped that
exim activities would pick up in the coming months. Meanwhile,
Ennore Port officials have decided to convene a meeting of trade
representatives within a fortnight to hear their grievances. Once again,
Port users have called for widening the North Chennai Thermal Power
Station road as the Tiruvottiyur-Ponneri-Panchetti road is likely to
become busy due to container traffic.
Cement plant at Karur: Ms. J ayalalithaa also inaugurated a cement
plant set up by the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited at
Kagithapuram in Karur district through video conferencing. Built at a
cost of Rs. 100 crore, the plant will be the first to use lime sludge and
fly ash from the residue of the paper factory. The plant would provide
employment to 300 persons.

KATTUPALLI PORT

- 36 -

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012 shows that,
Tamil Nadu is edging closer to attaining 100% enrolment and children
are joining school earlier even in rural areas, but the reading and
arithmetic skills of students continue to remain poor.
Tamil Nadu has shown further improvement in student
enrolment compared to last year, with the percentage of children not in
school going down from 0.9% in 2011 to 0.6% in 2012
Less than 45% of children in Class 1 can identify alphabets in
their mother tongue, while only 3% of Class 2 students can read their
Tamil textbooks. ASER 2012 does not find significant improvement in
reading skills of students compared to last year.
Less than 50% of Class 1 students can recognize numbers 1 to 9.
By Class 5, only 13% know division, only 16% of Class 3 students can
do simple subtraction. The difference in arithmetic skills among
children going to government and private schools is only around 10%.
Tamil Nadu has been ahead of most other states while
introducing reforms in school education. I ts paid off in enrolment rates,
but the latest survey tells the story that, Children are coming to
school but learning nothing. The survey also says that, teachers in
government schools dont insist the children to study. They consider
teaching a profession that pays well. Whether a child learns or not
depends on whether the teacher is interested. There is nobody to
question them about the progress of the child. Private school teachers
are more committed because the management holds them accountable.
I n rural and semi-urban areas, there is no distinction between private
and government school teachers. Many small private schools recruit
teachers with a poor academic record for low salaries. They are not
qualified to handle children. Every fortnight primary and upper
primary government school teachers attend training to implement
reforms. Many attend only because the education department insists on
it. They chat, giggle, sleep or complain about losing a weekend.
Is Right to Education a wrong one?
With Right to Education Act mandating that all children be
promoted up to Class 8, parents have nothing to gauge the progress of
their child. Only in high school, do teachers find that the child cant
even read a paragraph, or do solve simple arithmetic problems.

ENROLMENT IS UP, BUT READING IS POOR

- 37 -
Parents mentality:
I n urban and in big private schools, educated parents question
the teacher when the child does not study well. I n rural areas, the
parent thinks the child is not intelligent enough to cope with the
syllabus.

TAMIL NADU: Students comes to
school but learn nothing
Can the govt act now at l east? The
future generati on i s vi rtual l y l ost
ENGLI SH COMPREHENSI ON
Cl ose to 17% of Cl ass 8 students cant
read and understand smal l l etters
Class I V VIII
Cant read or write 58 5.2 2.1
Reads Capitals 15.8 9.8 4.1
Reads small letters 19.6 27.9 17
Reads simple words 5.6 33 30
Reads easy
sentences
0.9 24 46
READI NG
Onl y 22.5% of Cl ass 8 Students can
read Cl ass I texts
Class I V VIII
Cant read 56.6 3.3 0.6
Can read letters 29.6 6.6 1.6
Reads letters 9.9 26.6 10
Reads std I texts 3 33.6 22.5
Reads std I I texts 0.8 29.9 65
MATHS
Basi c ari thmeti c functi ons stump most
ki ds
Class I V VIII
Cant read nos 46 2.4 0.8
Can recognise 1-9 33.8 5.8 1
Can read 10-99 17.9 39.3 20.8
Can subtract 1.9 39.6 40
Can divide 0.3 13 37.4

- 38 -

News in bits and pieces:-

Chairman of TN Backward Commission:
J ustice M S J anarthanam
Chairman of TN Minorities Commission:
Bishop Dr M Prakash
Chairperson of TN State Commission for Women:
Visalakshi Nedunchezhiyan
Chairperson of TN Commission for Protection of Child Rights:
Saraswathi Rangasami

- 39 -

Tamil Nadu - Jan 2013

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JAN 2013 CURRENT AFFAIRS - TN

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