Two senior Gujarat-based environmental activists, Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah, have asked the Government of Gujarat to submit an application for environment clearance to the concerned authorities before kickstarting the construction of 182 metres high -- tallest in the world -- statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, planned about 3.2 km downstream of the Narmada dam. Asking the state government to immediately stop the construction, and suspend all activities related to it, they said, the proposed decision to go ahead with the project is “illegal”, and against the spirit of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of September 2006, as also and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

 D Jagatheesa Pandian, additional chief secretary, industries, has been chosen by Gujarat government to take over as new state chief secretary, setting aside the claim of No 2 in the bureaucracy, Sudip Kumar Nanda. Belonging to the 1981 IAS batch, Pandian will take over as chief secretary on November 1, 2014. Officials said, Nanda’s Congress past played a major role for dropping him. Currently additional chief secretary, home, Nanda has been sent to head the Gujarat State Fertilizers Corporation (GSFC), a state public sector undertaking (PSU) in Vadodara. More recently, during Navratri, Nanda overturned Vishwa Hindu Parishad move not to allow Muslims to enter garba venues. He barred use of identity cards to take part in garbas.

A new National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO’s) report, “Participation of Women in Specified Activities along with Domestic Duties”, finalized in September 2014, has revealed that a higher percentage of Gujarat women are driven by the conservative socio-religious framework of their families and society compared to most Indian states. Based on the survey it carried out between July 2011 and June 2012, the NSSO report has found that, in the 15+ age, 91.9 per cent of Gujarat’s rural and 94.4 per cent of urban women spend most of the time in domestic duties, which is around the same as the national average of 91.7 and 92.2 per cent, respectively. However, this does not tell the full story. Of these women identified as being involved domestic duty full time in Gujarat, 54.8 per cent in rural areas and 62.5 per cent in urban areas said they were doing it because there is no other member to carry out the domestic duties. And – and this is worrisome – 18.7 per cent of rural women and 14.6 ...

Top Right to Information (RTI) activist Venkatesh Nayak has alleged that Government of India’s Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with foreign countries “curb” independence of judiciary, undermine laws made by Parliament, and curtail the scope of the people’s right to know under the pretext of protecting the privacy of high net worth individuals (HNIs), firms and corporations who may be tax evaders. Objecting to the secrecy clause signed with over 100 countries since 1965, involving governments of all dispensations, Nayak said, the fact is, none of the DTAAs were ever ratified in Parliament.

The latest National Sample Survey (NSS) report, “Informal Sector and Conditions of Employment in India”, finalized in July 2014, and based on survey between July 2011 and June 2012, has gone a long way to suggest extremely sorry state of affairs of workers in Gujarat, especially in what has been called the non-agricultural sector, as also in the sector identified AGEGC ([ag]riculture sector [e]xcluding [g]rowing of [c]rops). Seeking to analyze the status of affairs of workers with a special focus on the informal sector — in which 72.4 per cent of the total workers employed in the non-agricultural and AGEGC units are employed in India – the data show that the situation is particularly appalling in Gujarat, where 75.1 per cent belong to the informal sector out of the total workforce employed in the non-agricultural and AGEGC units. The NSS report finds that not only average wages (casual and salaries combined) being paid in Gujarat – Rs 268 per day, as against the all-India average of Rs...

A Morcha rally in Gandhinagar An eerie quiet prevails among tribal farmers of South Gujarat. Information emanating from activists working in three districts, Surat, Tapi and the Dangs, suggests that thousands of tribal farmers have “not been paid” their dues on purchase of sugarcane they produce in their fields. Expressing concern over their plight, the Adivasi Kisan Sangharsh Morcha, which claims to represent tribal farmers in the three districts, has said, the Ukai Pradesh Khand Udyog Sahkari Mandali, the cooperative with the rights to buy up sugarcane in order to pass on the crop to the local sugar producing units, has “not paid its dues between 2006 and 2014.”

Gujarat CM at public reception on Oct 24 Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel is learnt to have instructed her office not to entertain any requests for special favour from her family members, including her son, daughter and son-in-law. The instructions are learnt to have come following wild -- some would say unsubstantiated -- accusations by a young activist, Roshan Shah, seeking to find out whether the non-government organisation (NGO) run by her son-in-law Jayesh Patel and daughter Anar Patel, Manav Sadhna Trust, played any role in “selling off” some land assets once owned by the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad.

A recent survey, quoting Gujarat government sources, has found that, despite loud claims, Gujarat would be suffering from a shortage of a whopping 65 per cent of the common village land, meant for grazing of cattle. Carried out by a team of activists working under the Maldhari Rural Action Group (MARAG), an Ahmedabad-based non-profit organisation, the survey was carried in 90 villages in three districts – Kutch, Patan and Surendranagar. The survey uniquely juxtaposed the spot analysis in each of the villages and the government data on gauchar – as the grazing land is identified – and found that there is not much difference between the two.

  In a move that would create flutter in India’s corporate sector, several influential independent organizations based in the US -- Sierra Club,  350.org , Carbon Market Watch, Pacific Environment, and Friends of the Earth US -- have released a new  report  detailing what they call “catastrophic human rights, labour, and environmental violations at Reliance Power’s Sasan coal-fired power plant and mine in Singrauli, India.” Available details suggest, the main reason behind releasing the report is that the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) financed over $900 million for the project, “using" American taxpayer dollars to support the "dirty, dangerous coal project.”

  Strongly defending the Reliance Power Ltd’s Sasan ultra mega power project (UMPP), under attack by a group of American NGOs for “neglecting” people’s livelihood and environment, a pro-UMPP blogger, Prof Satish Rai, has said this seems to be “part of the efforts by foreign NGOs/ foreign funded NGOs to stall development work in countries like India.” Citing the latest study (read  HERE ) by NGOs led by Sierra Club, top US environmental group, Prof Rai calls it just an “extension of the malafide intentions by foreign NGOs to malign the image of Indian companies and large scale infrastructure projects.”

In a move that may raise eyebrows of senior Indian activists and experts who contributed heavily in drafting the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, the Gujarat government has told Government of India that LARR in its present form will “delay” and “create hurdles” in land acquisition for industrial projects, with “massive potential for misuse” by agriculturists. The pro-industry suggestions – in all about two dozen – are learnt to have been mooted under the direct guidance of additional chief secretary, industries, D Jagatheesa Pandian, a top aspirant of Gujarat chief secretary’s post.

In an unusual statement, a top ship cycling industry representative has sought to justify large number of deaths due to accidents occurring at the Alang shipbreaking yard, on south Saurashtra coast in Gujarat, saying, “Every industry has accidents”. KB Tayal, vice president of the Ship Recycling Industries Association (India), Alang,  asserted , “Some (industries) might have more (accidents) than others. Even though it happens, it might be due to negligence of workers, or of the machinery. When it happens, no problem. We pay compensation to workers and a penalty to the government.”

In less than a year of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel announced that he would create a a "cyber army" to take on the BJP's 'onslaught' on the social media, the exercise has starting to collapse in his home turf, Gujarat. Things have come to such a pass that those claim to be running the cyber show for Congress are using the social media to blame the party high command for “lack of interest”. What is worse is that, of all persons, a senior Congress leader Umakant Mankad has said that the “herculean task” of running the IT cell of the Congress has become the victim of “authoritarian decisions” of a few leaders.

  In a fresh concession to corporate sector developers across India, a new office memorandum, one the many in a series issues by the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change, has told Indian and state environmental authorities not to seek any additional information before providing environmental clearance. The memorandum states, “it has been brought to its notice” that Expert Appraisal Committees (EACs, Central authorities, giving environmental clearance to bigger projects) and State Expert Appraisal Committees (SEACs, giving environmental nod to smaller projects) have been seeking “additional studies which do not form a part of terms of reference”, adding, the authorities should stop the practice.

  It is not just in investments completed that Gujarat is lagging behind several states. The situation has turned worse for new investments in the state, regarded as “growth engine of India”. Analysis carried out by a researcher with India’s premier independent research body Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) suggests that while Tamil Nadu tops the list of states with new investments in the quarter ended September 2014, Gujarat ranks eighth, with six other states performing better – Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.

  Latest analysis of the data collected by the Centre for Monitoring Economy (CMIE), India’s premier independent economic research body, has busted the myth that Gujarat is the "growth engine" of India, as claimed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even as releasing facts suggesting that there has been a “steep decline in commissioning of projects” in India, lowest since December 2006, CMIE researcher Pradnya Deo has said, Gujarat is "in the fifth spot with investment completion at Rs 18.1 billion", which is “the lowest amount of investments completed in Gujarat in the past four years.” The researcher added, “Of these investments, Rs. 14.1 billion “belonged to the manufacturing sector.”

This has come from one of the most influential scribes on economic affairs of India. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, who is consulting editor of the Economic Times and has been a consultant to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, has  revealed  that the Government of India is all set to come up with a “ridiculous proposal” — of supplying Pakistan five million units of imported gas per day, enough for two large power plants, at a time when India is “desperately short of gas”. He advises Government of India not to “bribe Pakistan with gas” when we need it more.

  Bowing to pressure from voluntary agencies fighting for the cause of the deadly occupational disease, silicosis, mainly found among agate workers of Khambhat in Central Gujarat, the Gujarat government has finally agreed to pay up compensation to the family members of those who died because of it with effect from January 1, 2006. The decision sets aside the earlier announcement, made through a government resolution (GR) of January 2014, which said the compensation would be paid to the fatal victims of silicosis death with effect from January 1, 2014. However, the GR issued does not change the amount – Rs 1 lakh – despite representations.

The mall which closed down Are Ahmedabad’s malls, tom-tommed as an “example” of the city’s urban model, set to further lose their charm? It would seem so, if one goes by top industries body Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) report, which says that Ahmedabad’s malls has seen one of the highest declines in “footfalls” in India, next only to Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). As per an ASSOCHAM survey, Delhi-NCR recorded the highest decline in footfalls at city malls (49.5%) , followed very closely by Ahmedabad (48.2%).

% of municipal solid waste treated per day At a time Gujarat government went in massively into Swachh Bharat campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Gandhi Jayanti day, facts have come to light which show that the state is the worst performer when it comes to treating municipal solid waste (MSW). A Planning Commission report, prepared in May 2014, has said that while Gujarat’s urban development authorities may be collecting most of the MSW – 7,378 out of 8,336 tonnes per day (TPD) – they are able to treat just 118 TPD, which comes to a mere 1.57 per cent of the total collection.

  A farmer who will lose his farmland, which includes mango orchard In an important breather to farmers of Bhavnagar district of Gujarat protesting against the proposed nuclear power plant near Mithi Virdi on South Saurashtra coast, the Expert Appraisal Committee (Nuclear) of the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has asked the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to “revise” and “resubmit” its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the project, as it lacks clarify on a large number of issues. The panel, simultaneously, criticized the NPCIL for an important delay – for taking three long years to submit proposal for environmental clearance following “site clearance” of the project by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

GIFT: A "replica" of smart city By Our Representative Veteran town-planning expert MN Buch has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of building 100 smart cities across India, saying in spite of decades of knowledge in urban planning, he has failed to find any clarity on the subject. “I spoke to high officials in the Ministry of Urban Development and they told me that they too are not very clear about what is meant by smart city, even as they are trying to work out the parameters of such a city”, Buch, former vice-chairman of the National Commission on Urbanization, said.

Varesh Sinha (right) The Gujarat government is learnt to have made an unlikely move – it has "approached" the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for finding out possibilities of a third extension for the incumbent chief secretary Varesh Sinha. Well-informed sources in the state bureaucracy have revealed that while the reason being offered for seeking Sinha’s third extension is the need of his “indispensable” services for the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat investors’ world business meet, to take place in on January 11-12, 2015. “Sinha is already deep into preparations. His services have become necessary for the next summit”, a top Sachivalaya source said, quoting officials close to Sinha.

  In an overt case of caste discrimination in rural Gujarat, a Dalit locality, a kilometre from Vakhatpar village of Sayla taluka of Surendranagar district, set up about 24 years ago as part of the government’s “affirmative action” schemes for scheduled castes, even today does not have any drinking water facility, individual toilets, viable approach road and street lights. While a pipeline carrying Narmada river waters passes through the Kapelidhar area, where the Dalit locality is situated, the Gujarat government not provided any water connections. Nor is it connected with the huge overhead overhead tank, situated just 100 metres from there.

A high-level interaction in Geneva, United Nations (UN) experts and civil rights activists stressed on the need to move towards a “more structured mechanism against caste-based discrimination” in countries like India and its South Asian neighbours. During the interaction, in which UN special rapporteurs, civil society groups and independent experts participated, there was sharp focus on the need to usher in a formal UN mechanism to end caste-based discrimination in a year’s  time. This mechanism, it was suggested, could monitor caste discrimination and suggest ways to overcome it. Before the mechanism is worked out, experts could move around different countries to see how effectively are laws to end caste-based discrimination being implemented.

Vadodara, the cultural capital of India, is now a "disturbed area" for another five years. The Gujarat government move declaring it a "disturbed area" comes following communal clashes, which began last week and continued unabated for five days. The communal clashes were preceded by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) distributing "Love Jihad" leaflets in Vadodara which warned Hindu parents to ensure that their daughters do not fall in the trap on "well-dressed Muslim boys." The clashes have seen several stabbings, and large-scale loot and arson incidents, in "sensitive areas". Women's organisations have accused plainclothes cops of breaking into minority households with iron rods in hands, picking up boys, and attacking womenfolk.

  The attached photographs, forwarded by activist of the Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust Natubhai Parmar to Counterview, show that manual scavenging in Wadhwan municipality of Surendranagar district, Gujarat, continues, despite the authorities’ promise last month that the despicable practice would end.  The photographs were taken on October 2, 2014, Gandhi Jayanti Day, during Swachh Bharat, the all-India campaign launched Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parmar said, the women were asked to “manually clean up human excreta” during the campaign.  Last month, they protested and went on hunger strike against manual scavenging, and a compromise was struck following intervention by by the district collector, Surendranagar.

President Barrack Obama has  reportedly  extracted a major concession from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reportedly agreed to bring about a major change in india’s nuclear policy, which America believes is the key to reluctance of American companies to supply uranium to Indian nuclear power plants. If the policy changes, Gujarat’s proposed nuclear plant may be among the first “gainers”. An agreement to set up 6,000 MW nuclear power plant between US’ Westinghouse Corporation and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) at near Mithi Virdi along the Saurashtra coast remains unimplemented because of inability to sort out “administrative” issues.

Dr Ghulam Rasool A senior activist from the Right to Information (RTI) Movement, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), has claimed that neither the Government of India nor the J&K government is revealing any information about more than 8,000 persons who have gone “missing” over the quarter of a century. Dr Ghulam Rasool, a physician by profession, told a consultation organized by three Gujarat-based voluntary organizations, Janpath, Movement for Social Democracy and People’s Union for Civil Liberties, that these persons were “picked up” by security forces, never placed before courts, and there is no information about their whereabouts.