Teachers in Maharashtra on strike from July 14

Around 30,000 University and college teachers across Maharashtra will go on indefinite 'cease work' strike from tomorrow demanding implementation of 6th pay Commission and regularisation of around 10,000 teachers affected by NET/SET from 1991 and 2000 among others.
The teachers are forced to hold `cease work', as the promises made in the Legislative council on June 4 are not being fulfilled, secretary of Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers' organizations (MFUCTO)Prof Tapati Mukhopadhayay told reporters.
Tomorrow the `cease work' will begin at 6.30 am and "the metropolis is already on the move and the teachers are determined to get the genuine benefits due to them from the government, she said.This is also to express their resent and protest against the state government's failure to implement its several long pending demands.
Under the banner of the MFUCTO, a conglomeration of 10 teachers' unions in the state, the teachers will stop working from tomorrow for an indefinite time, the Federation president Prof C R Sadasivan said.On June 4, the Minister for higher and technical education Rajesh Tope assured in the Legislative council to implement 6th pay commission recommendations for university and college teachers by mid-July.If implemented, the teachers will get a 30 per cent hike and the arrears for the last three years that comes to a total of around Rs 1500 crore.
"The strike is to make the government realise that our demands like implementation of 6th Pay Commission, resolving the long-pending demands of the academic community including the problem of National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Eligibility Test (SET) qualification condition wrongly introduced on about 10,000 teachers retrospectively are to be taken seriously by the state," Sadasivan said.
The Maharashtra state has not implemented Sixth pay Commission revised pay scales for teachers in spite of Central financial assistance communicated through directions of the Ministry of Human Resource Development and University Grants Commission to do so and pay 40 per cent of arrears immediately and claim the amount by March 31 this year, he said.
The teachers Federation also demanded for uniform leave package which was advocated by the UGC and other demands which were due from 5th pay commission."We are also opposing corrupt practices in admissions, which denies the interest of merit-based admission in the universities and colleges," he said.
MFUCTO president said that the Federation sent a series of letters from February 2009, to Maharashtra Minister for Higher and Technical Education, Tope, the Secretary in the Department J S Saharia, and copy to the Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.The Federation has sent their letters of original Movement in April and in June and even gave a call of mass casual leave on July 6 to make the government realise their demands.
"Since there was no response from the government, we have decided to go on strike. But we want to make it clear that we wanted to avoid the indefinite 'cease work' because it will have far reaching impact on the academic calendar and student community when the universities and colleges have begun the academic year 2009-10," Mukhopadhayay said."It is still not late for the government to invite us for debate, " he said.
It is unfortunate that the Minister has promised the teachers on the floor of the House that he will take up the issue immediately and introduce a Government Resolution, but alleged that the bureaucracy is determined to create obstacles to the process, Sadasivan added.Meanwhile, the officials from the Department of higher and technical education said the teachers have been already told that the matter is under consideration.
Source: Samaylive

Railway Minister addresses General Managers’ Conference

MINISTER CALLS UPON GMs TO TAKE ALL POSSIBLE MEASURES TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MONITORING COMMITTEES TO BE SET UP FOR PROJECTS

The Minister of Railways Kumari Mamata Banerjee has called upon General Managers of Zonal Railways to take all possible measures to further improve all aspects of Railway operations specifically catering, cleanliness, punctuality, safety and security on the Railways as well as take care of social and economic obligations. Addressing a two-day conference of the General Managers of all Zonal Railways and Production Units here today, the Railway Minister said that all Zonal Railways should be more active in ensuring the safety and security of the passengers as the Railways operate round the clock and visible to all.

The Minister said that there is a need of continuous monitoring mechanism to improve the punctuality performance in all Zonal Railways. Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that quite often there are complaints of delay in completion of on-going railway projects. She said that projects should be completed in a time bound manner and accordingly tenders etc., should be finalized and floated in time.

She said that the budget allocation should be properly spent on the projects and the fund should not remain unspent. She further said that there is a need to make concerned officers accountable and responsible for the delay of projects. She also advised to constitute a monitoring committee at each zone consisting of all core concerned departments to ensure effective implementation of the projects.

She also called upon GMs to commercially utilize railway’s vacant land to mobilize the resource especially through Private Public Partnership model in areas like developing world class stations. She said that Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) needs to be more effective to ensure proper utilization of vacant railway land and land bank should be improved.

Talking out the beautification of railway stations/premises, the Railway Minister said that local touch like local art, paintings and traditional symbols and designs should also be given due place in addition to national level things to make the station premises more attractive with regional/traditional look. Kumari Mamata Banerjee further said that railway employees are the assets of the Indian Railways and are the backbone of this vast organization. They need to be attended to properly and their welfare should be a priority.

It is in this context that Railways will be providing its vacant land for setting up of medical colleges and schools for the benefit of the children of railway employees along with general public. She said that vigilance departments of Railways should play more active and effective role in order to ensure more transparency and an efficient corruption free system in the Railways.

She also emphasized the need to further improve functioning of Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). The Minister of State for Railways, Shri K.H.Muniyappa in his address pointed out that world is facing a global economic slowdown which is affecting not only industry but transportation sector as well. Though there some visible signs of economic recovery Railways need to really work hard to achieve the targets set for the current year and also the 11th plan targets which are very steep, he added.

He also said that though the number of consequential train accidents have reduced considerably in the first three months of current years, it is necessary that accidents on account of factors within railway control be curbed at all costs. He emphasized the need to provide adequate security and safety to the passengers and to evolve public awareness campaign at a large scale in this regard.

He said that Railways are committed to provide protection to passengers at both stations and on trains. Women RPF (Railway Protection Force) squads need to be deployed for security of women passengers particularly in sections where a large number of women travel alone regularly, Shri Muniyappa said. While addressing the GMs conference, the Minister of State for Railways Shri Shri E.Ahamed said that Railway Budget 2009-10 has addressed many expectations of the people with more concern for the traveling public in general and the down trodden in particular.

However, he said that there are areas of concern like time and cost overruns in project implementation, cleanliness of railway premises and present trend of thefts on trains. He said that vital projects need to be monitored and reviewed and every delay explained and addressed right from tendering stage to project completion.

Whereas cleanliness of railway premises is concerned, there is a need to evolve a system of tendering whereby only competent, committed and sincere agencies are selected. He called upon the GMs to organize more decoy checks and take all necessary steps to identify anti-social elements frequenting trains and stations. Chairman, Railways Board, Shri S.S.Khurana also addressed the conference. Also present on the occasion were the Members Railway Board and other senior officials of the Ministry of Railways. Safety performance, punctuality performance, freight loading, production and quality of output improvement of catering, cleanliness etc, are some of the major issues being discussed during the two-day conference.

Shortage of personnel in paramilitry forces

There is a shortage of personnel in paramilitary forces in the country. The details are under:-

Force	Percentage of Shortage at the entry point
	Officer Grade	Sepoy
Assam Rifles	1	Nil
BSF	19.02	5.97
CISF	30.96	11.19
CRPF	17.10	1.69
ITBP	41.98	13.69
NSG*	37.28	9.97
SSB	1	9

Recruitment in Central Para Military Forces is an ongoing process with the help of UPSC, SSC and Force recruitment boards. Recruitment Centres for constables exist in various States to ensure that no part of the country is neglected and regular recruitment takes place periodically so that maximum number of vacancies are filled up.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri Ajay Maken, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

Railways make special provision for disabled persons

To permit easy access to the disabled persons, Railways have made special provisions like standard ramps, non-slippery walkways, wheelchairs, earmarked parking lots for vehicles used by disabled persons, signage etc., at ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category Railway Stations and planned for completion such facilities at ‘B’ category stations by March 2010.

Toilets and water taps suitable for needs of the disabled passengers, ‘May I Help You’ booths etc., have also been provided at such Stations/Platforms. Railways have also planned to provide facility of inter platform transfer and engraving on edges of platforms. Inter platform transfer facility has been planned by way of connecting all the platforms at the stations through Foot Over Bridge subway with ramps or by providing lift at each platform to connect Foot Over Bridge subway. A work for provision of 50 escalator/lifts has been sanctioned for major stations of all zonal railways.

Indian Railways also have about 1600 passenger coaches which have a separate compartment specially designed for wheel chair borne passengers. These compartments have facilities like wider entrance door, wider aisle and knee space to permit easy movement of wheel chair, toilets adapted to need of such passengers, arrangements for securing wheel chair during the journey etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Railways, Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Revised Tatkal Scheme from 1st August 2009

As per the announcement made in the Railway Budget 2009-10, Advance Reservation Period (ARP) for Tatkal Scheme has already been revised from 5 days to 2 days for journeys commencing from August 1, 2009. Action has also been initiated to make this scheme available destination-wise and for levying of revised minimum Tatkal charges.

All accommodation including general and Tatkal accommodation is meant for general passengers with the only difference of Advance Reservation Period. Creation of additional reserved accommodation is a continuous process for which Railways run new trains, augment the load of existing trains, run special trains, etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Ministry of Railways, Shri K. H. Muniyappa in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Vice President to give away prizes of the 21st National Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas

Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the Vice President of India will be the Chief Guest at the Prize Distribution Function of the 21st National Youth Parliament Competition, 2008-2009 for Kendriya Vidyalayas being held tomorrow in New Delhi and will give away the prizes to the winners of the Competition.

The students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai, which stood first in the competition, will present a short sitting of “Youth Parliament” on the occasion.The Vidyalayas and students who secured positions in the competitions will be awarded, shields, trophies and certificates during the Prize Distribution Function. The Running Parliamentary Shield and Trophy for standing first at National Level will be awarded to Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai. Besides, trophies will also be awarded to 5 Vidyalayas which stood first in their respective zones and 12 Vidyalayas which stood first in their respective regions. Under the scheme of Youth Parliament, 21st National Youth Parliament Competition for Kendriya Vidyalayas in the series was organized during 2008-2009 with 90 schools participating.

The competition was held in two stages, first at the regional level and then at the national level. The position of regional winner was determined on the basis of evaluation of performance for the national level. The Vidyalayas, which stood first in their respective regions, then competed at the national level.

Teams of judges which inter-alia included MPs/Ex-MPs alongwith officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan evaluated the presentations. On the basis of the evaluation, Kendriya Vidyalaya, CLRI, Chennai was declared winner at the National Level. Youth Parliament Competition was started by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in the schools under the Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi and NDMC in1966.

In 1978, Kendriya Vidyalayas situated in and around Delhi were included in the competition alongwith the Delhi schools. In 1988, a separate National Youth Parliament Scheme for Kendriya Vidyalayas was introduced as a part of the celebrations of 40 years of India’s Independence and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth centenary. In 1997-98, two more national competitions, one for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the other for Universities and Colleges were introduced as a part of the celebrations to commemorate 50 years of India’s Independence.

The Youth Parliament Scheme aims at inculcating the spirit of self-discipline, tolerance of diverse opinion, righteous expression of views and other virtues of democratic way of life in the younger generation. Besides the scheme also acquaints the students with the practices and procedures of Parliament, techniques of discussion and debate and develops in them the quality of leadership.

Backlog of Schedule Tribes (ST) Vacancies

The Ministry is aware about tribal backlog in various Departments of Central Government and services of Public Sector Undertakings. A special recruitment drive has been launched to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies. Some vacancies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes remain unfilled for the reasons like non-availability of suitable candidates, gap between arising of a vacancy and its filling up etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.