She decided upon Manipur as her first destination amid reports that Congress candidates were being threatened by banned militant groups to either stay out of the poll process or pay huge money.

Incidentally, the Secretary-in-charge of Meghalaya, Maj Ved Prakash who conducted the vote in warring CLP is also leaving along with Mrs Gandhi for Imphal. He will be there for two weeks. Asked if the verdict would be delayed for a fortnight, Maj Ved Prakash told The Shillong Times that the sealed packet has in the meanwhile been submitted to Mrs Gandhi.

"All the inputs have been given to her and she can take a decision any time," he said adding "she will definitely take a decision on this issue."

He did not clarify if the sealed envelope containing votes was opened or not. "Everything has been handed over to Mrs Gandhi", was all he said.

The AICC secretary had declared that the leadership issue would be decided in the first week of this month. However, there were conflicting reports from the factions led by Mr J D Rymbai and Mr D D Lapang on this issue. Mrs Gandhi will visit Manipur again on February 11 to address a rally in Imphal.

It may be mentioned here that militant groups like the PLA, UNLF, KYKL and KCP have been threatening politicians, especially Congress candidates, in Manipur even as the State readies itself for the polls. The polls to the 60-member Manipur Assembly would be held in three phases on 8th, 14th and 23rd February. The party is hoping to return to power in the disturbed State.

There is a pressure group in the Congress, which has been working to take the Prime Minister to this north-eastern State, but security agencies are not in favour of such a move, sources said. Mrs Gandhi is tied up mostly in Manipur due to this factor, party sources said.

Claiming to be fully prepared to lead the State in the next term, PA Sangma said, "After 1972, this will be the first time when a single-party rule will take place in Meghalaya. I am confident."

Ruling out any pre-poll alliance with regional parties and the BJP, he said that the NCP would support certain Independents in Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Including three constituencies of Shillong, the party is looking to field as many as 15 candidates in Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

SHILLONG: Director of Health Services (DHS) Dr K H Lakiang has denied that there was any scam in the Health department in respect of the procurement of hospital equipment from two Delhi-based companies - Capital Surgicals and Uttam Industries, besides another firm M D Nongrum.

Speaking to The Shillong Times here on Friday, Dr Lakiang said that the decision to procure the hospital equipments or medicines from any firm is not done by the department but is in accordance with the choice of district indenting officers like District Medical and Health Officers (DMHO) and heads of government hospitals.

"The question of monopoly by any of the firms or suppliers does not arise. The DMHO or heads of hospitals indents the materials or medicines as per their requirement and based on that we give our approval. It is their choice and we cannot go against that as it will hamper health services and basic requirement," Dr Lakiang said.

On the delay to call fresh tenders for supply of various hospital equipment since 2002, the DHS said that the department had made a new policy for better health services in government hospitals in which medical specialists would be involved in the process of identifying and specification of equipments requirement in various hospitals before floating of the tenders.

"The process is still on and we expect to complete it within six months after the specialists have made their own specifications of what they really need, in order that the equipment so purchased really serve the purpose," Dr Lakiang said. He also said that tenders floated earlier had been discarded, "as they are outdated," and in order to comply with the new policy.

The DHSsaid that the rate of medicines is decided by the Purchase Committee and that rates are approved after due evaulation. He also said that old equipment which are lying unused in some hospitals are shifted to health centres where they would be needed, in order to make the equipment useful and to cut down wasteful expenditure.

Denying any foul play behind the incident as reported in some local newspapers, Mr Mawthoh quoted an MeSEB report on the incident which stated, "after thorough inspection by the MeSEB's Cherra Sub Division, it was found that the fire which occurred at the Shiv Mandir at MCCL on the midnight of January 31 was due to electric short circuit."

Meanwhile, a delegation of the office bearers of Central Puja Committee (CPC) led by Mr JL Das, Mr Basu Chakraborty and US Jha visited the temple on Friday at 9 p.m. to inquire about the report that the Shiva temple has been damaged by miscreants.

After an on-the-spot inspection and physical verification, the CPC came to the same conclusion as the police that the damage was due to electric short circuit, and was not intentional.

The CPC also said that it was also found that there was no damage to the temple or idols but some wall photos kept on the floor were burnt due to the short circuit. The photos had been kept on the floor as the temple was being painted. The CPC also met the secretary and other members of the temple to discuss the matter.

The CPC delegation terming the incident as unfortunate, decided to contribute in whatever way possible for the Shivaratri Festival in the temple on February 16. The CPC delegation also thanked the Home Minister, and the East Khasi Hills SP for his initiative for a spot inquiry. The CPC also urged the people not to panic, as earlier news reports appearing in a section of the press regarding foul play had no basis.

SHILLONG: In a sudden political development, the Congress party on Friday expelled senior partyman and Chief Executive Member (CEM) of Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) Mr Moonlight Pariat for his "anti-party activities".

Informing this to The Shillong Times, Jaintia Hills District Congress Committee (JHDCC) president Edmund S Lyngdoh said that the Executive Committee meeting of the party's district body held at Jowai on Friday had unanimously decided to expel Mr Pariat for violating party discipline.

"Mr Pariat has been expelled from the Congress with immediate effect and as a formality we will issue a show-cause notice which he has to reply within three days as to why he should not be expelled from the party for anti-party activities," Mr Lyngdoh said.

The district Congress chief also said that the first act of defiance of Mr Pariat was in the formation of the Jaintia Democratic Alliance (JDA) with other regional parties despite the fact that Congress has a majority in the JHADC with 21 members.

"Mr Pariat was asked by the JHDCC to do away with the alliance but he did not pay any heed. Early this year, the State party leadership had also issued guidelines not to form coalition with other parties, which had been intimated to him, but he chose to defy it. He also rejected the patch-up formula of the party for a compromise," Mr Lyngdoh alleged.

On the authority of the JHDCC to expel a senior partyman holding the post of CEM, Mr Lyngdoh said that the party's district body has the authority to expel any member who goes against party discipline adding that the MPCC had also given the power to take the decision.

Mr Lyngdoh also said that the same fate awaits eight other Congress MDCs supporting Mr Pariat "if they do not come back and comply with the party's directives". He however made it clear that at present, none of them would be expelled but the party would decide what steps are to be taken against them if they fail to respect the authority of the party.

Mr Lyngdoh also said that Mr Pariat had become an Independent MDC and as per rules of the House, he cannot hold any post in JHADC including the post of CEM. The party according to him will decide on election of a new CEM in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Mr Pariat told this reporter that in spite of being a member of the JHDCC, he was not invited to the meeting. "I was not invited to the meeting. I am not aware of their decision but I will not be cowed down. This is their games to ruin the party as a whole," he said. He added that eight other MDCs supporting him were also not invited to the meeting.

Political observers believe the action of the party against Mr Pariat would further widen the rift in the party in Jaintia Hills. The JHADC CEM had all along in the past made scathing attacks on Mr Nongtdu and Congress legislators from the district - Nehlang Lyngdoh and Shitlang Pale, of playing a 'dirty game' to remove him.

Addressing the gathering at the Annual Convention of the KHNAM, Umroi Constituency Committee, held at Mawlasnai on Friday, Mr Lyngdoh said that for the last 35 years, nothing had been done to improve the constituency. The poor roads were an example in this regard.

Mr Lyngdoh, who is also the Urban Affairs Minister, said, "The recent steps taken by the UPDS to resolve the problem of insecurity in Block I and Block II areas in Karbi Anglong with the help of the KHNAM has brought a ray of hope in the otherwise dismal situation."

Mr Lyngdoh added that the party was committed to find a solution to the vexed problem in the disputed areas of Karbi Anglong with the help of the UPDS but, "without the active support of the common people, the party on its own would not be able to push the issue forward," he remarked.

He said that the people need to elect more representatives from the party to enable it to prove that it was a party which worked for the betterment of the common man. He further pointed out that with only two representatives at present, the party has very less scope and opportunities to do something big for the masses.

Karbi Anglong People's Party (KAPP) Organising Secretary P Lamaria said that the Karbi and the Khasi-Pnar people along the inter-state border with Asom are always in favour of sharing the same platform.

"It is the vested interests who try to misinterpret the feelings of the two communities" Mr Lamarai said adding that the UPDS has written more than six times to the Government of India for a separation from the State of Asom. He said that even the KAPP supports the move of the UPDS as the people in Karbi-Anglong want to be separated from Asom.

"The KAPP also favours the stand of the KHNAM to start the peace process between the two communities," Mr Lamaria said.

He further claimed that the KAPP has been working on the peace process for a long time. Others who spoke on the occasion include KHNAM MLA Mr Lambor Malngiang, KHNAM MDC Mr Latiplang Kharkongor, KHNAM General Secretary Mr Erwin K Syiem Sutnga among others.

The last deadline to complete the formalities regarding the corporatisation was on December 9 last. With the extension, the Government hopes to finalise the corporatisation process by June next. Before the December deadline, the earlier deadline for corporatisation of State power departments in the country was June 9 last year.

Members of the consultancy firm Power Finance Corporation (PFC) preparing a report for the corporatisation had visited the state last year to seek clarifications while making the changes in the project report. Mr Verma said that MeSEB is looking into the third draft report submitted by PFC for necessary discussion.

The report will be publicised in government website for response and suggestions from the public for a period of one month. The Cabinet would take a final decision after getting suggestions from various quarters duly examined by the State Power Department.

According to the proposal, there will be three internal departments or profit centres which are generation, transmission and distribution.

The power production of the project is expected to be around 240 Mega Watt. There are enough coal reserves in Garo Hills, which can at least produce 1,000 MW or more of thermal power on a long-term basis. The project has been cleared by the National Committee on Environmental Planning and Co-ordination of Department of Science and Technology.

Even as the State has developed only hydel power, a mixture of both thermal and hydel power generation is likely to ensure a reliable power system in the State. There should be a proportion of 60 per cent hydel power production and 40 per cent thermal.

In the absence of sufficient rainfall, thermal power can be used, he said.

A project report for a 120 MW thermal power station to be located at Nangalbira, South Garo Hills, which has provisions for expansion to 240 MW, gained importance after it was realised that the power generated could save the State from purchasing power from other agencies.

The thermal power station scheme envisages the installation of 4x30 MW, which would use coal from West Darrangiri coalfields. The thermal station site is close to both coal and water sources, which would cut down transportation costs.

Meanwhile, the MeSEB officials will soon meet to discuss the ways and means to address the issue of power shortage in the State. Mr Verma said that the Board would also look into the possibilities of relaxing the power cut during the examinations. He said the MeSEB was exploring the possibilities of at least mini-hydel projects, and also the speedy implementation of other projects.

Chief Minister JD Rymbai is the Chairman of the committee and the members include Urban Affairs Minister Paul Lyngdoh, Housing Minister Irene Lyngdoh, MP from Shillong Parliamentary Constituency PR Kyndiah, MLAs of Greater Shillong Area, Principal Secretaries of Urban Affairs, PHE, Finance and Chief Executive Officer of Shillong Municipal, WL Lyngdoh. The Commissioner and Secretary of Urban Affairs Department is the Member Secretary of the Committee.

The main objective of the Steering Committee is to identify, decide and prioritise the city improvement projects for Shillong for inlcusion in the JNNURM, to recommend projects to the Central sanctioning and monitoring committee for sanction, to monitor implementation of projects under the Mission and to review the progress of urban reforms.

It may be mentioned that Shillong has been identified as one of the 63 cities in the country to be developed under the JNNURM. The funding pattern under the scheme is 90 per cent Central Government and 10 per cent State Government share, which is a special incentive for the North Eastern states. The proposed estimate for development of Shillong city under the Mission is Rs 2268.52 crore. The nodal agency for the implementation is the Meghalaya Urban Development Agency (MUDA).

The meeting was attended by Home Minister RG Lyngdoh, Urban Affairs Minister Mr Paul Lyngdoh, Parliamentary Secretary Lambor Malngiang among others.

Noted among those who have applied for the NCP ticket was the sitting MDC from Siju constituency and former CEM of Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) Alphonse A Sangma (he applied for the party ticket for Baghmara).

The NCP plans to announce its candidates for the 24 Assembly constituencies in Garo Hills on the 28th of this month.

For Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the party is expected to begin the process of inviting applications from February 7.

Shillong: In an effort to promote agriculture and other allied sectors in the State, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research in collaboration with NABARD, Shillong has identified Saiden village in Ri-Bhoi district as an e-village.

The farmers in the village are being provided with a computer, which has Internet connection so that they can access information relating to the different aspects of agriculture, especially marketing, which is expected to benefit the farming community.

The main objective of this initiative was to provide the latest information on market price, improved technology, advisory service and to facilitate the discussion and understanding of issues of mutual concern and to provide links to neighbourhood cluster and associations websites, Government entities and other related information.

The e-village status to Saiden village war formally launched by the Chairman of Meghalaya Ecomomic Development Council, Mr DD Lapang at Saiden village on Friday at a function organised by ICAR, Umiam.

Mr Lapang thanked ICAR and NABARD for having identified Saiden village as the first e-village in the North East. He said that Ri-bhoi district has a great potential for the development of agriculture, horticulture and other allied sectors.

The former Chief Minister emphasised that with the launching of the e-village, the farmers of the area can access information through the Internet about different aspects of agriculture like crop types, seeds, pesticides, fertilisers, disease protection and market prices and many other related information.

Mr Lapang said that with the presence of the information facility in the village, the farmers will be equipped with information especially with regard to the market aspect in which the farmers will have to depend on middlemen who been exploiting the farmers while marketing their produces. He also appealed to the financial institutions to extend their support to the farmers and to provide speedy financial assistance when they require.

ICAR Director, Dr KM Bujarbaruah informed that the facility would reduce the involvement of middlemen in the marketing aspect. He also said that it would also provide information to the farmers about different Agriculture Schemes both of the Central and State Government of which many farmers are not aware. Dr Bujarbaruah also informed that in due courses, other villages in the State would be adopted as e-villages.

Shillong: For the first time ever, a two-day 'Chugan Festival', the post-funeral festival of the Atongs was held at Karukol, a small hamlet with modest population located at some 15 kms away from Baghmara, the headquarter of South Garo Hills recently.

The festival was organised by the Southern Youth and Cultural Organisation, an organisation based at Karukol. Tourism Minister RG Lyngdoh graced the concluding function as the chief guest while Chairperson Meghalaya Tourism Development Council Mrs DC Marak attended as the guest of honour. The first day of the festival was inaugurated by Co-Chairman of State Level Public Grievances Committee Sengman R Marak.

Mr Lyngdoh in his addressed expressed pleasure to associate himself in such a colourful event adding that one must take pride in one's culture and tradition. He said Garo Hills, especially, South Garo Hills has much to offer in terms of development of eco-tourism and if given proper attention, could become a good tourist destination. 

He urged upon NGOs of the area to submit proposals to the Government for the development of necessary infrastructure for tourism industry and assured that the Government would certaintly help if it is found viable. Emphasising the need for maintenance of peace for development, Mr Lyngdoh said that confrontational attitudes and agitations of like bandhs serve no purpose but bring only destruction.

Mrs Marak in her brief speech said that materialism and influence of other cultures has corrupted the innocent minds of the Garos in the recent years and added that progression in live and preservation of one's valued culture could go hand in hand without actually diluting or destroying the latter or both. She also informed that Garo Hills has tremendous potential for development of agriculture and tourism.

It may be mentioned that the Atongs are one of the many sub-tribes of Garos inhabiting the Siju and its surrounding areas of South Garo Hills.

If and when ordinary mortals like you and me buy land, we search high and low for an affordable piece, hire brokers, make several trips to different sites, and borrow bank loans, which we must repay through our nose over 10 or 15 years. Besides these high transaction costs in time and money, we also pay stamp duty to the government, which is usually a good eight per cent of the land's value. None of this applies to India's biggest business house (and one of its oldest industrial families), namely, the Tatas, at least as far as the Singur car project is concerned. The Tatas are no ordinary mortals. In fact so special are they that West Bengal's Left Front woos them with the choice of six different sites, besides the Uttarkhand and Orissa governments. They choose one at Singur, next to an expressway, in one of Bengal's most fertile tracts, just 45 km from Kolkata. But they do so after stipulating a series of conditions.

The government must procure the land for them. This will cost it Rs 140 crores. But the Tatas will pay only Rs 20 crores, after five years. They will pay no stamp duty. They must have a contiguous plot of 997 acres (almost 400 hectares, or 40 lakh square metres). No Indian car factory has anything approaching this area. (Even Tata Motors's giant Pune factory has only 188 acres, including housing for employees.) The factory proper, say the Tatas, will have a built-up area of only 1.5 lakh sq m, or under 4 percent of the land acquired. The land must be fenced off and protests suppressed.

The Tatas mendaciously accused their competitors of fomenting the protests, but couldn't name them when challenged. That's not all. The Tatas demanded compensation for sacrificing the 16 per cent excise duty exemption offered by Uttarakhand for locating the car factory. This means upfront infrastructural assistance worth Rs 160 crore on a Rs 1,000-crore project. Besides, the hyped-up Rs 1 lakh car will probably cost a fair bit more. It be must be cross-subsidised. So, says The Statesman, the Left Front government has gifted 50 acres of prime land to the Tatas in Rajarhat New Town and another 200 acres in the Bhangar-Rajarhat Area Development Authority for building IT and residential townships. This is an obnoxious, sweetheart deal. The Left Front government isn't promoting healthy development or even straightforward risk-taking capitalism. It's the most detestable form of risk-free investment which dispossesses people to generate super-profits.

The Tatas claim the project will directly generate 2,000 jobs and indirectly, 8,000. But noted economist Amit Bhaduri estimates it will produce just about 300, besides indirect employment for 1,000. In the process, Singur's flourishing economy, where two-thirds of land is multi-cropped with vegetables and paddy, will be devastated, along with the livelihoods of landowners, sharecroppers (bargadars), but of landless workers and rural artisans. Singur will witness counter-reform, a reversal of the most successful land reform ever undertaken in West Bengal. Even the bargadars share in the land (75 per cent, against the absentee landlord's 25 per cent) will be reversed in the land compensation formula. No wonder, the West Bengal government had to resort to repression, including mass arrests, Sec 144 and physical attacks, to enforce the sweetheart deal.

Singur's injustice was soon compounded by the government's ham-handed attempt to take over an even larger 10,000 acres at Nandigram for a Special Economic Zone for Indonesia's unsavoury Selim Group. Here, the resistance was even more fierce. It came not from the Trinamool Congress, but from the Left, including the Communist Party of India, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Far Left. Nandigram, at the heart of the Tebhaga movement of the 1940s, is a CPI stronghold. Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee had to admit that Nandigram was a mistake. But he blamed the Haldia Development Authority for it: for issuing the land acquisition notification without authorisation. This won't wash.

The involvement of Communist Party (Marxist) cadres, the police, and the very composition of the Authority, militate against the explanation. Nandigram is part of the larger SEZ syndrome which afflicts India. SEZs have become the main instrument of dispossession of peasant farmers. They are a despicable combination of private greed and state collusion. SEZs, as this Column argued in mid-September, are costly ways of promoting enclave-style elitist export-oriented indust-rialisation. They'll grant wholly undeserved tax cuts to promoters and inflict a loss upon the exchequer, estimated by the Finance Ministry, at a horrifying Rs 160,000 crores. Yet, the government has approved 237 SEZs with 34,509 hectares and notified 63 of them. Another 165 SEZs have been approved in principle, for which another 148,663 hectares is to be acquired. Applications for another 300 are pending. SEZs have not proved a success in most countries, including China. In fact, Shenzhen, China's best-known SEZ, has turned out a nightmare for workers. The mere loss of an identity card can turn them into destitute overnight. Above all, SEZs are a gigantic real estate scam. Most are meant to grab land close to the big cities and extract monopoly profits.

SEZs also put the cart before the horse: displacement without prior rehabilitation, with potentially disastrous social, cultural and political consequences. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has himself acknowledged this by calling for a humane approach to resettlement. The government is now redrafting the National Policy for Resettlement and Rehabilitation. Its Group of Ministers has temporarily put the SEZ land acquisition process on hold. It knows pushing acquisition could cost the United Progressive Alliance dearly in the coming elections. The Congress party has made an internal assessment of SEZs in a 16-page document prepared by Mr N Veerappa Moily. This says that SEZs will create conflict due to dispossession and displacement, including urban conflicts through infrastructure bottlenecks. They (SEZs) have the potential to cause embarrassment to the government of the day.

The publication of a story quoting this assessment has certainly embarrassed the UPA! Although Mr Moily has publicly dissociated himself from it, the judgment is basically sound. But the UPA is fighting shy of radically revising its SEZ policy. It has only called for a cap on the number of SEZs. What is needed is the scrapping of SEZs altogether because they are economically irrational, socially divisive, and thoroughly inequitable. This is not to argue against industrial projects perse. We must vigorously promote industry, but with a balanced, reasoned approach. We must make it mandatory for the government to consult the people likely to be affected in advance, and establish institutional norms for compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation. Equally crucial is thorough socio-economic examination of the consequences of industrial projects and strict environment regulation.

It won't do to commandeer land first and then look for ways of compensating the affected people. It's especially inadvisable to offer them equity shares in companies related to the projects that take away their land. This will, in most cases, transfer risks to vulnerable groups who are least capable of making decisions about stocks and shares. The number of shareholders in India is a minuscule 30 million; most people don't understand share markets. Offering shares could be an option in rare cases, where organised cooperatives exist, which are run by financially literate volunteers accountable to the gram sabha, and who have a proven commitment to collective welfare. That concept includes not just landowners, but also the landless and other economic actors, from the sanitation worker to the mechanic, and from the ironsmith to the barber, whose livelihood depends on the rural economy.

However, supporters of industrialisation-at-any-cost, including Mr Bhattacharjee, contend that very little fallow land is available in India (in West Bengal, only one per cent of the total), and hence cultivable land must be 'sacrificed' to industry. Historically, they say, industrialisation has never been painless. It has always extracted a price from peasants, even in the USSR and China. India follows that model of expropriation. This argument is profoundly mistaken, because it imposes pain disproportionately on the weak. Industrialisation in much of the West did expropriate the peasantry through enclosures, systematic impoverishment, and mass-scale human rights violations. The same happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin. But we should not imitate and repeat the blunders of a period when democracy was non-existent and human rights unknown.

In India, we have launched a Grand Endeavour based on the aspiration to modernise society and develop the economy in balanced, equitable ways within a robustly democratic and inclusive framework which respects human rights and social justice.

We have a unique opportunity to create a shining example of inclusive industrialisation for the world. We must not turn our face against the Grand Endeavour. (IPA Service)

There is not even an iota of doubt that the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2007 that opened with much fanfare at Davos, a well- known mountain resort in Switzerland, ended in a fiasco. For five days (24-28 January) 2400 participants from as many as 90 countries (among whom there were 24 heads of states or governments and 85 cabinet ministers, besides religious leaders, media magnates, representatives of NGOs and, of course, the bigwigs from the corporate world) put their heads together to produce something concrete and inspiring but utterly failed. This was simply because the contradictory viewpoints defied reconciliation. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, WEF and its guiding star Prof. Klaus M. Schwab, with full backing from the Swiss government have been trying their best to usher the developing countries into a global system, dominated by western corporations.

The underlying philosophy is the same as that of the Washington consensus. What the World Bank stated in a document relating to India on the occasion of the Davos meet made it crystal clear. It underlined that the salvation of India lay in promoting private sector-led growth, improved macro management, greater integration with the global economy and flexible monetary and fiscal policies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated the Davos meet. She was invited to do so because she is president-designate of G-8 countries summit that is to meet in coming June in Heiligendamm (Germany). She promised to do her utmost to strengthen the terms of global investments in de eloping countries. In her own words, For all countries, economic growth remains the precondition to achieve more employment, a higher standard of living and higher productivity. Economic growth in developing countries requires investments that can be had only by inviting the foreign corporations to invest.

The salvation lies in getting as much foreign direct investment as possible and for this such terms and conditions need to be offered to them that can induce them. The theme of Merkel's speech was growth and stability. She cautioned against unrestrained growth because there was a danger that it might endanger climate. Climate protection was equally important, which was to bring maximum efficiency and care in the choice and use of the sources of energy. She was optimistic about the co-operative response from the USA, in spite of its unwillingness hitherto to do anything concrete for tackling the issues like global warming and CO2 emissions. Relying on President Bush's pledge during his state of the nation address to bring down the gasoline consumption by 20 per cent over the next 10 years, she said to the WEF: I am hearing signals from the U S that are more hopeful than those of the past years.She categorically ruled out the expansion of G¡V8 to include China, India and Brazil on the ground that these countries had very different priorities on issues such as carbon emissions and development. Merkel stressed the need to revive the Doha round of trade talks and propel it to a successful conclusion. To that end, the talk between 150 member-nations and the WTO must start immediately in a spirit of accommodation. She wanted the European Union, the USA and developing countries to be flexible in their negotiations. To quote her, We now have a time slot to make progress in the talks. The chance for success is undoubtedly there.

The final document issued on the conclusion of the meet tried its best to cover up its failure by expressing optimism about the resumption of the Doha round without adducing any concrete grounds. The Financial Times (January 29) had this to say about it: The Doha round of trade talks juddered back to life over the weekend, with leading countries expressing enthusiasm for clinching a deal but giving few details about how it would work. The only ground for optimism was that around 30 ministers of trade present in Davos had instructed their officials to prepare an agreed framework to deal with differences relating to agriculture.

The next three months are crucial as regards the future of the Doha round. Even while attempts were on to cover up the fiasco at Davos by highlighting so-called agreement on the Doha round of negotiations, two typical statements were heard. France, an important member of the European Union, came out strongly against any deal on agriculture that could reduce export subsidies. He did not want European farmers to be exposed to competition from abroad. The second statement came from Rachid Mohammed Rachid, Egyptian trade minister, who said: This is the third Davos meeting of trade ministers in succession that has had the same talks and still nothing has happened.

The USA, the European Union and other major trading countries made only a vague commitment to save the Doha round from failure. The USA and the European Union publicly blamed each other for the failure of the Doha round of trade talks. They also clashed with developing countries over slashing subsidies and tariffs especially in agricultural sector. Pascal Lamy, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, elaborating the minimum requirement to resume trade talks, said: There will need to be a new U. S. offer on farm subsidies. There will need to be a new European Union offer on tariffs. There will need to a new offer from India and Brazil on manufactured goods. In the absence of any indication that these offers were round the corner, Lamy was not in a position to say about the likely timetable for revival and conclusion of the Doha round of trade negotiations.

It seems everything hinges on the Americans. People doubt their sincerity and seriousness about taking the Doha round forward. In this context, the following comment by The Economist (January 27) is quite relevant: The optimism turns on two magic numbers: 17 and 54. If the Americans cap their trade-distorting farm subsidies to $17 billion a year, the Europeans might try to cut their agricultural tariffs by 54% or thereabouts. Neither number has appeared in a formal offer. On Africa's poverty, the prominent agri-business corporations like Monsanto and Du Pont wanted Green Revolution a la India to be applied. In other words, the reliance on new seeds, new skills, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, more credit and integration with the global market was the panacea. Surprisingly, no one looked at the consequences that have followed Green Revolution in India. Large-scale suicides by farmers and growing inequalities were ignored. Hardly anyone mentioned the miseries of African cotton growers unable to export their produce because of the subsidies by the U.S. government to its farmers so that they can outbid others. This time there were hardly any noisy protests by anti-globalisation people at Davos as most of them had gone to Kenya to take part in the World Social Forum.

However, in spite of strict security measures including barricades and barbed wire, one person Iuemmel Lemmon Xon January 26 could enter the venue with an anti-WEF placard. He sat peacefully in the front row displaying his placard! Though India sent a strong contingent of 100 people, the meet was dominated by Europe and North America. Corporate sector representatives were all the time lobbying and striking deals with government people. What they could really achieve will be clear in the coming months and years. (IPA Service)

Sir,

In order to extend to the remote regions of the North-east the benefit of accurate and invaluable satellite images, the Centre not too long back instituted the North East Satellite Application Centre (NESAC) near Umiam Village of Ri-Bhoi District. Consequent to the establishment of NESAC, the Govt. of Meghalaya could, all and sundry thought, derive huge benefits.

In short, NESAC, it was thought, would be a great boon to Meghalaya as such in terms of having access to factual and qualitative satellite images, and this is precisely what one thought was the committed policy of the Central Govt. regarding the North-east. Alas, I am intrigued in no small measure to learn that any such service rendered by NESAC is done not without remunerative exchanges, which simply imply that the amount of remuneration depends on the nature of workload performed, and this sometimes runs into lakhs of rupees. To meet these extra expenses, the State Govt. had to resort to the reappropriation of funds from various welfare schemes, which is unprecedented, given the morbid fiscal State of affairs that Meghalaya is currently undergoing.

Yours etc.,
Kitbok Diengdoh,
Shillong-2.

Sir,

The news item published in your daily on February 2, 2007 (Friday) under the heading "Loan defaulters worry banks" has come to our notice and we observed that there are some mistake/errors in reporting which are required to be amended/corrected in your ensuing publication at the earliest.

a) In para 2 of the report it should be read that no NPA accounts has been taken over at present from NEHU and Laban branch by SARC instead of 'no defaulters at Laban and NEHU.'

b) In para 3, SARC has been able to stabilize the defaulters loan of over Rs 50.00 lakh, in place of Rs. 50 thousand.

c) In para 5 & 6 in place of DAO, it should be read as DDO (Drawing and Disbursing Officer).

d) In para 7, it should be amended to read as "with regard to defaulting borrowers, whose loan outstanding is Rs. 10.00 lakh and above, the Bank approaches Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) for redressal."

e) In para 9, it should be corrected to read that, in all more than 350 notices have been issued to all classes of borrowers irrespective of the amount.

f) In last para, it should be corrected to read that, "the Bank approached by writing letters to the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary" instead of 'met them'.

Yours etc.,
Asst General Manager,
State Bank of India,
Shillong-1.

Addressing a news conference, Mr Singh, who launched party's poll campaign here on Friday, claimed the UPA Government had failed to protect the interest of the common people, who should now launch mass movement against the Central Government.

The BJP's national president arrived here on Friday to launch poll campaing for the partymen and their sympathisers here as Manipur goes to three phases elections to the 60-member house on February 8, 14 and 23 respectively.

Predicting a change of guard, Mr Singh said a non-Congress Government would come to power after the ninth Assembly elections in Manipur. When asked if his party was ready to have an alliance with the CPI in Manipur, he said it was for the Communists to decide if they wanted friendship with the BJP.

He made it clear that the BJP wanted a debate on the floor of the house on the report of the Justice Reddy Commission on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act adding his party will support repeal of the Act if it was against the interest of the people.

The UPA Government should convene an all party meeting to discuss the North East situation, he demanded. Insurgency could not be the only problem for Manipur adding that there were many more problems as the Congress party's policy had alienated the people of the North East from the mainstream, the BJP chief claimed.

The BJP wanted the people of North East to be equal partners in the growth and development in other parts of the country, he said. The region should be integrated to the mainstream through dialogue and talks, Mr Singh observed. The BJP also stood for territorial integrity of Manipur, the BJP leader said. He said his party will do well in all the three states going to polls soon. (UNI)

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi will start her party's campaign for upcoming Assembly polls in three states by addressing rallies in Manipur on February five while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will campaign in Punjab next week. Gandhi chose Manipur as her first destination amid reports that Congress candidates were being threatened by banned militant groups to either stay out of the poll process or to cough up money.

The UPA Chairperson will visit the State again on February 11 to address a rally in Imphal, and sources said the State's ruling Congress is hoping that some announcement will be made on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, whose repeal has been demanded by the people.

Militant groups like the PLA, UNLF, KYKL and KCP have been threatening politicians, especially Congress candidates. The polls to the 60-member Assembly will be held in three phases on February eight, 14 and 23.

There is a pressure group in the Congress which has been working to take the Prime Minister to this northeastern state but security agencies are not in favour of such a move, the sources said.

On February seven and 10, Gandhi will visit Punjab, where she will address rallies at various places. The elections to Punjab's 117-member assembly will be held on February 13. The Prime Minister will visit Punjab on February five and six with a night halt at Chandigarh, the sources said. (PTI)

AGARTALA: The Union Government has released Rs. 5.5 crore out of total Rs 55 crore under the special tribal development package after scores of surrendered tribal separatists threatened to launch a fast-unto-death agitation if the Government failed to rehabilitate them immediately.

The special package was announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) soon after signing of tripartite peace agreement between NLFT(NB) militants and Central Government and State Government in 2004.

Tribal Welfare Minister Jitendra Chowdhury on Friday said that an amount Rs 5.5 crore has been sanctioned as the first installment of Rs 55 crore that was announced at the time of singing of tripartite agreement. He said that after a two-day visit, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Navin Verma informed the Union Government's decision to Chief Secretary Sashi Prakash over phone on Thursday.

Chowdhury said that the entire fund would be released within a period of three years in a phased manner. Giving details of this project, the minister said that Rs 28 crore would be spent for the infrastructure development in educational field. Three residential schools, a degree college and two ITI will be established under the project.

On the other hand Rs 7.5 crore will go for family oriented programmes for fifteen thousands tribal families. Each family will get an amount of Rs 50,000 for various programmes like fishery and in agriculture sector, said Chowdhury.

He also added that North Eastern Council (NEC) has allotted Rs 3.2 crore for rehabilitation of surrendered NLFT(NB) and NLFT (Mantu Kolai) faction. One society of the surrendered rebels will utilise this fund for the welfare of surrendered militants and their families. One bamboo-based project will be established at ADC's headquarter under this project.

Technical support will come up from the Union Government's Centre for Bamboo Training Centre (CBTC) and an allocation of Rs One crore has been released for a bamboo-based pilot project. The State Government would share expenditure with the DONER on the form of 10:90. After the peace accord, 153 NLFT rebels surrendered before authorities.