July - August 2010 ○
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NGO News The new amendment would allow a married woman separated from her husband to adopt with the consent of her husband even during the time of divorce proceedings.However, if he changes his religion or is declared to be of unsound mind, no consent from the estranged husband would be required.
MoEF no to Upper Ganga Canal Expressway Ghaziabad: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has refused Uttar Pradesh permission to build the 148-km-long Upper Ganga Canal Expressway, contending that the project would result in massive deforestation and threaten many rare wildlife species. The decision, following an inspection ordered by the Conservator of Forests (central zone) also noted that there were already two roads on the canal’s left bank, which were being upgraded. “If the expressway is constructed, it would cause lot of damage to the vegetation all along the canal and would definitely disturb the habitat of wild life which are having natural abode all along the canal,” it added. The Ministry, in a letter to the state government, said that the construction of the expressway would lead to uprooting of around 100,000 trees in the stretch from Sanauta in Gautam Budh Nagar to Purkazi in Muzaffarnagar district which also comprises two rich protected forests and dense vegetation cover and is also bound to affect the habitat of some of the most endangered species like snakes, blue bulls, monitor lizards, porcupines, foxes, jackals, rabbits and rats. The Ministry has also criticised the state government. In his report, Chief Conservator Azam Zaidi mentioned that to subvert the process of getting approval from central government, the state government submitted the proposal in five parts so that the losses of trees and other environmental properties could be reflected at the minimum and the project come in preview of regional office for clearance without routing it through New Delhi.
Assam to set up health helpline -104 Guwahati: Medical advice in Assam will soon be a mobile phone
call away with the state government set to open a 24-hours health helpline in the state. The state Health Department on Tuesday signed an agreement with Hyderabad-based Health Management Research Institute (HMRI) for the health helpline which will start functioning from October. People facing any medical and health problem will get counselling and medical advice after dialling 104. Health Department officials said as per the understanding 50 doctors would be ready round-the-clock to reply to the queries related to health related problems. ”Doctors after hearing to the queries will provide them medical advice. Patients will get medical prescription through mobile SMS for any ailments or emergency medical need. In case of serious medical problem, our doctors would advice them to get admitted to nearby government hospitals. This is a very significant development in the state’s healthcare sector,” the official sai Besides medial help, the call centres will have facilities for psychological counselling. The project would function on public-private mode. Assam became the second state after Andhra Pradesh to have 104 helpline facilities. The state Health Department had started 108 emergency ambulance services jointly with Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), another Hyderabad-based firm two years ago. Assam is the only state to have passed a Right to Health Law making health care a right for its people.
MoEF rejects Uttarakhand hydro project proposal New Delhi: The Environment Ministry rejected a proposal for diverting forest land for constructing a hydroelectric project in Uttrakhand’s Pithoragarh district, saying it will affect the “highly ecological sensitive wildlife habitat”. The Ministry, under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act 1980, has denied approval for diverting 217.522 hectares of forest land for 30 years for constructing the 261 MW Rupsiabagar-Khasiyabara Hydroelectric Project in Pithoragarh,. The Uttrakhand government had submitted this proposal in
December 2009 and it was rejected by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) in May this year, citing several reasons, including the project area being highly sensitive to erosion and construction of roads further escalating the problem, reports IANS. The other reason was the wildlife management plan under the project was not adequate to ensure proper safety of major endangered species in the area, the impact of the project on endangered species needed an in depth analysis and the project was located in the mid-stretch of the river.
Uttarakhand launches ‘delayed’ literacy programme Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government planned to formally launch its delayed Sakshar Bharat Mission programme —with the objective to reduce illiteracy especially among the women. The groundwork of educating the target groups through the service of the ‘preraks’ would begin from end of July 2010, reports said. The programme which was launched pan–India in 2009 had been delayed in the state owing to some litigations in the court. The mission sets itself the goal of educating 70 million learners, 60 million of them women, by 2012 through an investment of US $1billion; it replaces the old adult literacy mission that began in 1988. The State Literacy Mission (SLM) is conducting this programme in Uttrakhand and the initial focus is on five districts where the percentage of women literacy hovers around 50 per cent. The key resource persons for this scheme have already been trained and are being deployed. The scheme is being implemented at the Gram Panchayat level with the opening of public literacy centres or Lok Shikshan Kendras which would act as clusters for education.
Haryana to construct 8,225 anganwadis Chandigarh: The Haryana government has decided to invest Rs 64 crore on building new anganwadis and upgrading the existing ones during the current financial year. ”The Haryana government will
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construct 8,255 anganwadis during the current financial year at a cost of Rs 57 crore. Besides, the existing 6,500 anganwadis will be provided with better infrastructure to improve the quality of childcare as the Union government has sanctioned Rs seven crore for the purpose,” Social Welfare Department Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary Shakuntla Jakhu said. ”The plan is to set up all anganwadis in primary schools to improve the enrollment of children in the schools. The Local Bodies Department has also been directed to issue guidelines for providing sites on concessional rate for the construction of anganwadi buildings within the municipal periphery. Pre-school education is one of the important aspects of the ICDSP and the Women and Child Development Department. The department has made it mandatory to cater to the pre-school education of the children of the age group of 3 to 6 years. All these steps are meant to make anganwadis attractive and wellequipped so that the objectives are effectively achieved,” the Principal Secretary said.
Bill to curb child abuse soon In the wake of more than half of the children under the age of 18 being victims of sexual abuse, India’s Union Law minister M.Veerappa Moily, in a landmark Bill, has attempted to curb child molesters by putting the onus on them of proving themselves innocent. In the first-ever law aimed specifically at curbing child molesters, the government proposes to put the onus of proving innocence on the accused, in a landmark shift from the existing laws. The draft Protection of Children from Sexual Assault Bill, 2010, says if a person is charged with sexually abusing a child, the prosecution will not have to prove him guilty. The accused will have to prove his innocence. Until now, child abuse cases were all tried under provisions relating to rape or sexual assault. “A government study in 2007 found 53 per cent of an estimated 420 million children surveyed had faced some form of sexual victimisation,” Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily told Hindustan Times. “This convinced us that a special law was mandatory to effectively tackle the issue.” The bill also proposes special courts to try these cases.
Amit Jethva Right to Information (RTI) and wildlife activist from Gujarat, Amit Jethva was shot dead by unidentified assailants outside the High Court in Ahmedabad on the 20th of July. Jethva was President of the Gir Nature Club and had been campaigning passionately for the protection of the forests and animals of Gir. He was murdered outside the Gujarat High court. Lucknow: On July 22, a condolence meeting of the National RTI Forum was held at its office at 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow in remembrance of the slain RTI activist Sri Amit Jethwa, the State Coordinator of RTI Forum at Gujarat who was so brutally murdered by vested interests before the Gujarat High ...Court A rally was organized on July 26 from Gandhi Peace Foundation towards Rajghat to denounce the murder of Amit Jethwa and demand that all parties make a public commitment to put appropriate systems in place to address corruption. The rally was jointly being organized by several organizations including NCPRI, Parivartan, National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM), Aasha Parivar, Yva Koshish, Journalist’s Union for Civil Society, Sadbhav Mission, Lohia Vichar Manch, Hum Hindustani, Journalist for Peace, Pardarshita, IGSS, Shahari Adhikar Manch etc. contact Aswathi at 9891148748. Rev M.J.Joseph Rev M.J.Joseph , Father of Mr. M.J.Vijayan, passed away on 11th July after a fierce heart attack at Pushpa Giri Hospital, Thirualla., Kerala. He was a pastor, and a social activist. For many years he was the chairperson of Programme for Social Action. He was involved in many struggles of Peoples Movements. The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) is deeply indebted to him. His commitment to the poor, working class, tribals, dalits and fisher people is known to everybody. He was actively involved against Emergency along with Dr. M.M. Thomas, and Bishop Mar Paulose. He was very supportive of Chengara struggle. For many years he was actively working with Dynamic Action. Contact Vijayan’s Mobile number is +91 9868165471 “Vijayan MJ” <vijayanmj@gmail. com>, “Vijayan M.J.” <vijayan@delhiforum. net>, Thomas Kocherry
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A key provision of the bill, which awaits cabinet approval, is that the child should not have to face the accused while giving evidence. Other important clauses maintain that trials should be completed within a year, and that government servants or army officers found guilty could face life imprisonment. Moily also said the conviction rate in child sexual assault cases was less than five percent and putting the onus on the accused would help in raising it.Source : Hindustan Times
2nd National meet on Improving Health in India Hyderabad: The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI), an association of 3303 health institutions ranging from small dispensaries to tertiary care hospitals spread over all over India, emphasises on promoting community health, disaster management, Infectious diseases, rational drug therapy and alternative systems of Medicine.
The second national meeting of improving health in India was organized on July 30 at CHAI training centre at Medchal, with the focus on “Health is Your Right, Demand it.” The Program began with a lighting of the lamp by Dr Jayaprakash Narayan,, ex- IAS officer, President of Loksatta Party and MLA, gave his presidential address on health is your right, demand it. Prof. Dr.R.k.Mutatkar, spoke on “Community monitoring mechanism- Peoples health in peoples hand” and cited Dr Arole’s pioneering work in this field. Dr.John Franco Tharakan spoke on “Regularization of Private Health Systems”, and presented different ways how the pro-profit private sector could be regularized. About 200 participants participated in the rally in Medchal.
Vidyaposhak students Bangalore: Vidyaposhak’s approach has been to nurture the meritorious students from the economically challenged families in rural areas to continue their higher education and increase their employability through skill enhancement and transforming them into contributing citizens. The program has reached out to touch the lives of students who were in dire need of financial support to continue their education and complete education. - A sum of more than Rs.80.00 million has been distributed as financial assistance among 11,000+ students Since 2001 in the state of Karnataka and Maharastra - timely support has made it possible for many students to choose right courses and professional courses like engineering/ medicine - More than 55,000 text books have been lent through libraries/ learning centers Areas covered so far: 26 districts in Karnataka and 3 districts of Maharashtra www.vidyaposhak. org Contact: Narendran T, narendran.t@vidyaposhak.org
Manas Tiger Reserve Information System Bodoland: The environmental NGO Aaranyak in collaboration with the Forest Department (FD) of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) has developed an information database for the Manas Tiger Reserve called the Manas Tiger Reserve Information System (MANTRIS)--a web-based Geographical Information System (GIS) that will be of immense help for park managers and stakeholders besides nature and wildlife enthusiasts. It contains detailed information on all aspects of the tiger reserve including administrative centers, forest boundary, land use pattern, drainage, forest villages, NGO locations, roads network, elephant points, golden langur points, and a digital elevation model (topographic model) of the tiger reserve. The project was financially supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and is the first of its kind web-based information software on any of the protected areas in the North East of the country. The digital copy of MANTRIS is available for conservation agencies on request.Contact: Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Aaranyak, Guwahati Tel: 0361-2230250. Email: bibhab@aaranyak.org,
Pension scheme for unorganised sector workers