NRI’s query under RTI Act gets response

NRI’s query under RTI Act gets response
The Newindpress.com

Friday August 17 2007 11:48 IST
HUBLI: Going by the facts revealed under the Right to Information Act by an official of the State Industries and Commerce Department, the proposed IT/ITeS Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Hubli by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) seems like a non-starter.

The company itself has shown lukewarm response and even the Central Government has stopped granting in-principle approval for IT SEZ projects.

The State Government had cleared the proposal of TCS to establish an IT/ITeS SEZ on 50 acres in Hubli-Dharwad with an investment of Rs 120 crore. The project was cleared at the State High Level Committee meeting held on Aug 28, 2006. Responding to an application filed by Nagesh Taverageri, an NRI from Hubli living in California, under the Right to Information Act seeking information on the status of the SEZ project granted to IT bellwether TCS, the Deputy Director (SEZ) has said that the company has to acquire the land to be allotted by Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board participating in the auction.

So far, the company has not informed the progress of land acquisition to the State Government. And till now, the company has not filed the SEZ Form A application with the Union Ministry of Commerce as the proposed land is not in possession of the company. ‘‘Submitting of SEZ Form A is prerequisite for the formal approval of IT SEZ,’’ the office said in a reply.

On the information sought on expediting the process, the reply is ‘the ball is in the TCS court.’ The officer said: ‘‘If the company takes possession of the land and submits the SEZ Form A application with Government of India, the State will recommend the proposal to the Centre for granting formal approval.’’

JSW fuels BPO revolution in Bellary

JSW fuels BPO revolution in Bellary
Source : Moneycontrol.com

2007-08-17 12:51:53
Celebrating the 60th year of Indian Independence, Honorable Home Minister of Karnataka Shri M. P. Prakash inaugurated JSW’s new 100 seater BPO at Bellary. Capable of employing over 300 young graduates the BPO will be run under the aegis of JSoft Solutions Ltd, the newly formed software arm of the JSW Group. The JSoft Solutions venture is part of an ambitious youth empowerment initiative started by Mrs. Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation.

Aimed at providing localised employment and to empowering the youth, JSoft Solutions, has planed to set up such centers in other cities of Karnataka like Hospet, Hubli and Raichur.

A 300-seater BPO, with a capacity to employ 900 people, is slated to start operations by January 2008 near Toranagallu, where JSW Steel Limited is located. Initially the center will cater to non-voice processes, which will later be upgraded to a full fledged voice BPO.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Steel Ltd, said, “On the auspicious occasion of our 60th year of Independence it gives me great pride to initiate this youth empowerment project to generate localized employment. I would like to assure all Kannadigas of employment in even the tier-III cities and district talukas. Preferential employment for the Indian Girl child in these JSoft centers is another priority area for us.”

The Hon’ble Minister announced plans for setting up an Earth Station at Bellary to give a quantum boost to the IT Industry and make it a technical hub.

Later in the day, the Bellary Chamber of Commerce & Industry felicitated Mr. Sajjan Jindal & Mrs. Sangita Jindal for their sterling contribution to the fields of Industry and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Mr. Jindal also announced future plans to scale up the Bellary BPO into a 1000-seater operation with due support from the Bellary Chamber of Commerce & industry. This would open up new avenues of employment to the youth who were forced to migrate into the cities, Mr. Jindal added.

The Rural BPO revolution was started with the launch of Datahalli at Vidyanagar under the aegis of the JSW Foundation. It has provided job opportunities to numerous rural women above eighteen years of age. The BPO at Bellary has already hired 100 men & women.

NRI seeks info on SEZ under RTI Act

NRI seeks info on SEZ under RTI Act
The Newindpress.com

Tuesday August 14 2007 13:04 IST
HUBLI: A Non-Resident Indian from Hubli has filed an application with the Indian Embassy at Washington DC, USA, seeking information on the status of Karnataka Government’s decision on clearing the proposal of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Hubli under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Nagesh Tavarageri, California-based techie, who launched the online campaign to make Hubli-Dharwad an IT destination, appraoched the Government under the RTI Act to know what actually the Government is doing to implement its decision. Ever since the government evinced interest to develop tier-2 cities in the State, Tavarageri and his friends abroad from the twin city set a mission for the development of Hubli-Dharwad in all aspects. They had even submitted an online petition to the President of India requesting the President to include Hubli-Dharwad under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. In the application submitted to the Public Information Officer at the Indian Embassy, Nagesh has stated that though the Cabinet of Karnataka gave its clearance for the SEZ by TCS Ltd on Aug 28, 2006, hardly has there been any progress in the pursuance of the said project.

Nagesh has sought information on following specific information:

What is the current status of the SEZ project granted to TCS, for Hubli-Dharwad?

Has the Department of Commerce and Industries forwarded the file pertaining to SEZ project granted to TCS, in Hubli-Dharwad, to the Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZ?

If the details of the project have not yet been submitted to the BoA SEZ, what is the reason for not submitting the same to Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry?

Who is the bureaucratic authority responsible for the undue delay caused in this regard?

If the same details have already been submitted to the BoA SEZ, I would like to have all the related details of such submission to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

If the details of the project have not yet been submitted to the BoA SEZ, what steps are being taken by the authorities, to expedite the process with a sense of urgency?

People's movement for honest officers

People's movement for honest officers
Times of India

13 Aug 2007, 0432 hrs IST,
BANGALORE: A people's movement is gathering momentum in two towns of the state, protesting the transfer of two upright officers. The battle lines seem to be drawn between people's power and the powers that be.

Residents of Hubli-Dharwad and KGF towns have stomped the streets in protest against the transfer of honest officials in whom they say they ‘saw hope'.

While people staged rasta-rokos to criticise the transfer of IAS officer and Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) commissioner, P Manivannan, residents of Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) have decided to observe a bandh to protest the transfer of IPS officer K V Sridhar. The Kumaraswamy government had effected their transfers last week.

But, why are people taking to the roads in support of only these two officers? The answer is simple: These officers distinguished themselves with their integrity, their grasp of people's problems and sincere efforts to find solutions.

Manivannan, for instance, chose not to be the typical bureaucrat who worked in an air-conditioned room. Instead, he was on the field each day for over 12 hours, interacting with people. In fact, when he took over as commissioner three years ago, the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad were described as a ‘big village' because of lack of development, which was only increasing people's frustration.

Even before people could realise what was happening with HDMC, Manivannan restructured the internal administration by giving thrust to decentralisation. He spent Rs 30 crore on construction of roads. Next, he took on the builder-lobby through a demolition drive against illegal buildings. The builder-politician nexus got him transferred in July 2006, but public protests forced the then Dharam Singh government to cancel his transfer. His deft handling of grievances brought him to the public eye. So much so, when the Kumaraswamy government transferred him recently, people became suspicious. The government had to say that it was a routine transfer effected once in three years.

In the case of transfer of KGF superintendent of police K V Sridhar, the residents of the once-mining town are not enthused about the government's decision. In the last 14 months, the town has seen four IPS officers. Sridhar was first posted as SP to KGF on May 20 last year, but was shunted out within four days following political pressure.

The police administration in the town degenerated as everything was controlled by local politicians. But people saw hope when Sridhar was posted again as SP on July 9 this year. He got the lower-rung policemen to respond to people's problems. Nine personnel were suspended for dereliction of duty. A police party deployed to provide security to a politician's under-construction house was withdrawn. He curtailed the influence of the cable mafia. But before people could smile, transfer orders were issued to him on August 8.

Irked, the residents have appealed to the government to reinstate him. They have called for a KGF bandh on Monday.

Manivannan and Sridhar's cases are a pointer to the fact that people do protest when government uses the power of transfer to shunt upright officers.

rakesh.prakash@timesgroup.com