Chennai discussions II

[madurai veeran]

Its now the turn of Congress to flex its muscles after PMK

Having got the coimbatore and trichy corporations, congress seems greedy for power at the state.

The Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress, which is supporting the DMK Government from outside, is interested for power sharing and the MLAs have conveyed the demand in this regard to the party High Command, its legislature leader D Sudarsanam said today.

"We are a political party at the national level and interested in power. Even when small political parties want power why not the Congress," he told reporters, adding that "Congress was a political party and not a sanyasi mutt".

"The final decision in this regard, however, rested with party President Sonia Gandhi," he said after a meeting of the party MLAs.

"We have submitted the resolution seeking share of power to the High Command. You should ask the High Command about it," he said.

Sudarsanam said, "The UPA Government at the Centre is a good example showing that coalition governments can be successful." TNCC President M Krishnaswamy and party MLAs were also present.

The Congress which contested the Assembly elections with the DMK, has 34 MLAs. PMK with 18 members and Left parties with 15 MLAs are also supporting the DMK Government, which has 96 MLAs, 22 short of a simple majority on its own.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus...0611201656.htm

[wcgokul]

Chief minister M. Karunanidhi today sprang the shocker at a news conference, saying his government “will take the necessary legal steps soon to make Tamil the sole court language of Madras High Court”.

http://www.newasiatimes.com/news/reports/?report=11995

i sorta didn't like the headline . as for mr m.k., his act is going to spread a negative image to the rest of the country...

[vs007]

Originally Posted by goram_vlad

http://www.newasiatimes.com/news/reports/?report=11995

i sorta didn't like the headline . as for mr m.k., his act is going to spread a negative image to the rest of the country...

Plus two other minor issues of forcing Govt employees signing in Tamil and Mullaiperiyar dam issue. TN should try to resolve issues with Kerala peacefully.

Such kind of issues cause more distraction and takes some oxygen away from the Govt's focus on growth.

[madurai veeran]

Originally Posted by vs007

Plus two other minor issues of forcing Govt employees signing in Tamil and Mullaiperiyar dam issue. TN should try to resolve issues with Kerala peacefully.

Such kind of issues cause more distraction and takes some oxygen away from the Govt's focus on growth.

With respect to the dam issue TN should look for a peaceful solution as the lives of many people and farmers in the 5 districts (Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram) is dependent on it. Some of the actions of kerala govnt over the past few days is highly deplorable. I hope the supreme court decision is respected by the GoK, which permits water level to be raised to 142 feet.

[Anniyan]

India's Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of tens of thousands of illegal buildings in Madras, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state

The court also declared illegal a Tamil Nadu law allowing buildings that breach regulations to stand if a fee is paid.

A BBC correspondent in Madras says the city is notorious for violations of building by-laws - both by big builders and individual house owners.

Judges said widespread breaches of these laws had made Madras unliveable.

More than 60,000 structures are likely to be affected by the Supreme Court ruling.

The BBC's L R Jagadheesan says that between 1990 and 2005, the state government regularised thousands of illegal buildings under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act.

The law then allowed regularisation of illegal construction if the owner paid a fee to the local government.

The court has ordered the city administration to refund all fees collected for illegal buildings up to now, a sum estimated at about $ 72m.

A similar Supreme Court ruling has led to the demolition of several illegally constructed buildings in Delhi.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6181900.stm

[Babji]

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ories&Topic=0&

SC declares Chennai has become totally 'unliveable'
Saturday November 25 2006 00:00 IST Newindpress.com
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court has on Friday dismissed a batch of petitions filed by Tamil Nadu, Chennai Muncipal Development Authority and other property developers challenging the Madras High Court order declaring Section 113 A of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, as unconstitutional.

A Bench comprising Justice H K Sema and Justice P K Balasubramanyan made a few scathing remarks while dismissing the petitions.

The whole of Chennai has become unsuitable for living due to the flourishing illegal constructions and encroachments. "Let the people live in peace. Let this country survive. Let there be some discipline. You see the past and present. The whole city of Chennai is now unliveable because you allowed unauthorised constructions to flourish in violation of all building laws. Where is the need for building laws and where is the need for town planning? An exasperated Bench asked the counsel for the petitioners.

When senior counsel K Parasaran contended that the apex court had, earlier allowed the regularisation of the unauthorised constructions, Justice Balakrishnan said, "It was only a one-time measure. We cannot allow this to happen for all the times to come."

Counsel for the petitioners were dumb-struck at the stinging remarks made by the Bench in this regard.

Tamil Nadu had enacted "The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971" for a planned and a systematic development and the use of rural and urban land in the State.

In 1998, the state government had brought an amendment to the Act by inserting Section 113A. By virtue of this provision, the government or the authority authorized was given power to exempt any land or building or class of lands or buildings from all or any of the provisions of the Act by collecting a regularization fee.

On August 23, 2006, a Division Bench of the Madras High Court pointed out that the apex court in the Consumer Action Group case, upheld the validity of Section 113A of the Act only as a one-time measure and therefore buildings completed on or before February 28, 1999 alone are protected and those that were completed subsequently are not.

Special Leave Petitions were filed challenging this judgment. With the apex court dismissing these petitions today, the state government may have to refund Rs 800 crore collected by it towards regularization fee.

[madurai veeran]

The last time the relationship between Chennai and New Delhi has been so cordial was during the AIADMK-Congress alliance molded by the late M G Ramachandran and Indira Gandhi in the 1980s. If there is one decision that speaks volumes about the DMK-Congress relationship, it is the clearance and implementation in a short span of time of the Sethusamudram ship canal project, a century-old dream of Tamil Nadu.

The clearances for the large number of foreign direct investments (FDI), hundreds of kilometers of new highways, rail gauge conversion, port development, airport expansion, new special economic zones, textile, leather and footwear parks, flow of funds to the social sectors through the self-help groups, 'Sarva Siksha Abhiyan', educational loans etc speak volumes about the new bond established between the Central government and the DMK-led state government.

With 12 Union ministers from the state, holding important portfolios like finance, communications, shipping and environment in the Manmohan Singh government, many more such projects, programmes, investments and development schemes are expected to come to Tamil Nadu.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister and all senior leaders of the UPA consult the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on all matters of state, national and international issues, heralding a new chapter in the center-state relations.

Compare this with the terse statements and media confrontations and accusations raised by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa against the Central government and the Union ministers from Tamil Nadu. They were accused of stopping projects or side-stepping the state government.

Among several issues that rocked the Centre-state relations was the Union finance minister P Chidambaram's announcement in January 2005 about the distribution of the tsunami relief package through nationalised banks. Jayalalithaa accused Chidambaram of 'setting aside and completely ignoring the state government'. She wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to tame the finance minister and stop him from treading on the powers of the state government.

Jayalalithaa also fought bitter battles with the Union ministers from Tamil Nadu, especially those belonging to DMK. DMK ministers held the environment portfolio both in the NDA and the UPA government.

Jayalalithaa accused them of the delay in sanctioning the Pykara hydel project, derailing her pet new secretariat complex construction, and stalling the desalination project for Chennai water supply, to list a few.

The Central ministers too had their complaints against Jayalalithaa for losing out on major projects that would have come to Tamil Nadu if she had worked with the Centre. The most important among them is the flight of the 'Fab City' to Hyderabad. Union IT and communications minister Dayanidhi Maran had plumed for it on behalf of the state. According to him, Jayalalithaa's inaction saw the 'Fab City' moving to Andhra Pradesh.

But after Karunanidhi assumed power, he says, five major IT companies have signed agreements with the state government to put up projects in Tamil Nadu. Maran orchestrated the proceedings and investors poured into the state taking Chennai-Delhi relations to the pinnacle, some times at the cost of other states.

The Chennai-Delhi relations are at its best on several fronts. But the inter-state river water disputes with the neighboring states are posing new problems. The opposition party leaders, including Jayalalithaa and those from the BJP, often make political capital out of this DMK-Congress-Left Front dilemma.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_f...tent_id=147412

[Fusionist]

any views on the Hyundai car cops of Chennai ?

and about rich people, how about actors? superstars and the likes ? and the Amitraj brothers must be rich ?

[Anniyan]

Originally Posted by Fusionist

and about rich people, how about actors? superstars and the likes ? and the Amitraj brothers must be rich ?

Amitraj must be rich, but he is not a chennai resident. I think he lives in US.

He is a Sri Lankan Tamil, right? when did his family came to Tamil nadu?

[Fusionist]

Originally Posted by Anniyan

He is a Sri Lankan Tamil, right? when did his family came to Tamil nadu?

Is he ?

[madurai veeran]

Vijay Amirtraj is not a srilankan tamilian. He was born in Virudhunagar, a small town near Madurai. But to dispute my version in wikipedia its says he was born in Chennai.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijay_Amritraj

[Anniyan]

He was born in India but his (grand?)parents are from Ceylon i think.

[WillyWick]

My Town: Chennai
http://desicritics.org/2006/11/28/090151.php

[madurai veeran]

A nice article about the Mullaiperiyar dam issue.

SOUTHERN FACE-OFF, UPA ALLIES SPAR OVER KERALA DAM


http://www.tehelka.com/story_main23....UPA_allies.asp

[WillyWick]

Originally Posted by madurai veeran

A nice article about the Mullaiperiyar dam issue.

SOUTHERN FACE-OFF, UPA ALLIES SPAR OVER KERALA DAM


http://www.tehelka.com/story_main23....UPA_allies.asp

Nationalizing water resources???

Is that good?

[madurai veeran]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Nationalizing water resources???

Is that good?

Ya, that could be a way to solve lots of water related issues between states.

[Anniyan]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Nationalizing water resources???

Is that good?

there wont be any differece. A state with more MP's in the ruling party will influence the centre's decision.

[kannan infratech]

Nationalizing the rivers or connecting the northern rivers to the southern rivers seem to be a pipe dream.

I used to advocate these issues strongly among our consultants circle earlier. One of my consultant friends, who is incidentally a world renowned water management expert gave me a patient explanation for 15 mins with drawings and facts.

As per his reports, It is technically too risky (almost not viable) and financially not viable to link the northern rivers to the Southern rivers. Apart from that environmental issue will be a major impediment. Politically ???? Explosive!!!!.

He also has a long list of suggestions for the southern states. He feels that if these are followed strictly, no need for linking up the rivers. He has drawn references from ancient indian practices in water management which are much better than the current modern day practices. He has also done a lot of research in farming methods for south india.

Since he has restrained me from publishing his details, I am not able to do so.
I think that the southern states should collectively employ MS Swaminathan Research Foundation or any other reputed NGO to go into these aspects and come out with the suggestions. They should implement them also.

What will happen to Rajni's 1 Cr offer???

[madurai veeran]

Originally Posted by kannan infratech

What will happen to Rajni's 1 Cr offer???

It is and will always be safe in his pocket . Im sure this project like the Sethu samudhram project will take more than 100 yrs to materialise.

[madurai veeran]

Cuddalore, Dec 3 - As one drives down the East Coast Road from Chennai, towards Kanyakumari, the air becomes rancid past the small town of Cuddalore, about 350 km south. Your nose tells you, something is wrong here.

The clean breeze you expect to breathe whizzing past the shimmering azure water changes to a rotten egg smell that you are familiar with in school chemistry labs. The noxious smell lingers from Achaiyankuppam village to Semmankuppam further south.

The writing on the long wall you go past identifies the area as the State Industries Promotion Corp of Tamil Nadu's special economic zone, a government industrial site selected 35 years ago.

On Nov 22, a massive explosion rocked the SIPCOT estate around 12 noon. The blast took place at a newly set up oil boiler of the illegal Loyal Super Fabrics unit, and was followed by a ravaging fire.

According to the Sipcot Area Community Environment Monitoring - monitors, the fire was difficult to control. It took eight firefighting vehicles more than two hours to douse the blaze.

Activists say the Tamil Nadu government, the inspectorate of factories and the environment ministry in New Delhi are all ignoring numerous reports of pollution from factories in SIPCOT.

Phase I of the SIPCOT complex, spread over 519 acres, accommodates 53 units on the west of Uppanar. Phase II covers 200 acres and Phase III another 300 acres, near Periapattu village on the Cuddalore-Chidambaram highway.

In the neighbourhood, EID Parry, Arkema Peroxide, Clariant and Bayer make pesticides, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics, dyes and intermediates and textiles, discharging their deadly effluents in the sea at Rasapettai, where the water is deep red in colour.

'It won't be long before people will refuse to eat fish from the Cuddalore coast. Agriculture is no longer practised around the SIPCOT estate because toxic wastes have poisoned the land and groundwater', SACEM monitor M. Nizamudeen said.

Despite recommendations to the contrary by various expert agencies, the Tamil Nadu government has allowed Chemplast to set up a PVC factory, a marine terminal and desalination plant in Semmankuppam and Chitrapettai village.

A mega textile park by South India Mills Association is coming up close to the picture postcard village of Perangipettai, put on the world map due to the 2004 tsunami.

When the Madras High Court threatened to close down 737 polluting textile units in Tiruppur, the government decided to shift new dyeing industries to Cuddalore.

The government now plans to pump textile effluents from Erode and Tiruppur to the sea in Cuddalore, between Samiarpettai and Perangipettai.

'That means, the effluents will travel nearly 400 km to fall into the sea in Cuddalore,' says Shweta Narayan of Corporate Accountability Desk.

Effluents from the Ambur-Vaniyambadi leather tanneries are also scheduled to travel 200 km to the Cuddalore sea.

The Nagarjuna group is setting up a 6-million tones per annum petrochemical refinery in Thyagavelli village. This 'is the most frightening of the new proposals', says Narayan.

The deadly chemical ammonium perchlorate is used as a fuel in spacecraft and missiles and 'is a common and persistent groundwater toxin that can inhibit thyroid functioning', she notes.

Within 100 metres of this unit are a town bus stand, a house, an electricity board office and the edge of Semmankuppam village.

http://www.rxpgnews.com/india/Cuddal...ard_7021.shtml