China and India are now politicking for diplomatic space in Nepal. For the moment, New Delhi has the upper hand but the contest will continue even as the pro-India Prachanda-led Maoist and Nepali Congress government may survive till January 2018.

Pamper your Neighbour:Nepal”s Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi and China”s Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong (2nd L) exchange documents during a signing ceremony relating to the One Belt One Road initiative in Kathmandu recently. AFP

Nepalese students protest against India. Nepal’s youth leaning towards China is the unintended consequence of the Madhesi blockade of 2015 which India tacitly supported.

CHINA’s semi-official mouthpiece, the belligerent Gl

obal Times recently warned that it would punish India for allowing the “splittist” Dalai Lama to visit Tawang. The threat needs to be taken seriously. Where can retribution be delivered? Along the 4,000 km LAC is the first place that comes to mind. But it has the potential to blow up into a local war which Beijing does not want. Its hands are full with Kim Jong-un’s shenanigans in North Korea and the US challenge to its claims in the South China Sea. It is already punishing India by raising Pakistan’s military and economic profile, blocking New Delhi’s entry to NSG and refusing to endorse Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Masood Azhar as a UN-sanctioned terrorist. It has opened a new diplomatic front in Nepal where it could puncture India’s boast of unique and special relations with Kathmandu. China has abandoned its policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries. Last year, for the first time, it prevented the collapse of the Left Alliance KP Oli government which was blamed on India. When the Oli government finally fell a few months later, it was not without Beijing giving a good fight to save it. Both in Nepal and Sri Lanka, the two regional rivals are jockeying for space to have in place, a government of their choice. For the moment, New Delhi has the upper hand but the contest will continue even as the pro-India Prachanda-led Maoist and Nepali Congress government may survive the full life of the second Constituent Assembly till January 2018.The once pro-China Prachanda who became the Prime Minister after the 10-year-long civil war in 2008 and was removed through Indian intervention in less than a  year  never succeeded in returning to office  till last year after he had publicly admitted that India was more important for Nepal than China. Beijing expressed anger by cancelling President Xi Jinping’s visit last year and delaying an invitation to Prachanda as he had put on hold, the 10 agreements his predecessor Oli had signed with China with which India was unhappy. Prachanda did go to China for the Boao Forum and not on a state visit. The converted Prachanda’s sense of a balanced foreign policy is realigning Nepal to a special relationship with India from Oli’s push to China. Egged on by China, Oli is waiting for his moment to topple the Left-Centre coalition in a country that has seen eight Prime Ministers in nine years.With long view, founder of modern Nepal, King Prithvi Narayan Shah had said Nepal is a yam between two boulders — China and India. China has bent with the wind from once calling Maoists as miscreants who had hijacked the fair name of Mao Tse Tung to later hailing the Maoist election victory as “rediscovery of ideological similarities”. Nepal is afraid of China and accepts its diktat on Tibet, one-China policy and the taboo on its legislators meeting the Dalai Lama. China has sought parity with India in political, economic and military domains. For long, China has asked to do joint exercises with the Nepal army. This happened after the visit of Defence Minister and State Councillor Gen Chang Wanquan last month. Global Times’ loaded comment that “holding joint military exercise with China can contribute to deterring ethnic separatism in Nepal” was a veiled reference to Madhesis who have been demanding an inclusive constitution.China has increased military assistance for the Nepal army from a mere $3 mn to $33 mn, invoking the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Programme. China’s FDI has overtaken India’s and its ODA is second only to the US. During Nepal’s Investment Conclave 2017, China committed $8.3 bn and floated big ideas of connectivity in Nepal with Deputy Prime Minister KB Mahara visiting China to sign the agreement on a railway line from Kyirong to Kathmandu. China’s soft power is also at work. Numerous Confucius institutions and China study centres have mushroomed in Nepal. More than 100 Nepali schools offer free Mandarin courses, with maximum youth joining Chinese universities wearing Mandarin tattoos and using Chinese mobiles. Strangely, large number of Nepalese believe China does not interfere in their internal affairs. Nepal’s youth leaning towards China is the unintended consequence of the Madhesi blockade of 2015 which India tacitly supported and has cost it dear —  especially in people-to-people relations.  Chinese presence and activity has multiplied several times over in the last decade and is no longer benign.Three elections — panchayat, provincial and Parliamentary — have to be held within the remaining nine months before the expiry of the term of the Constituent Assembly.  Prachanda has announced a two-phase local election on May 14 and June 14, being held  after 20 years. China was the first country to provide monetary and material assistance for local  elections.   Prime Minister Modi’s promise of India’s assistance for local elections signals that it is not insisting on the constitutional amendments regarding residual  Madhesi demands, including provincial boundaries as it did in 2015. The political situation is dynamic. The Chief Justice was removed for impeachment and restored, exacerbating conflict between executive and judiciary. New political alignments are in play. Significantly, Prachanda is required to hand over the Prime Minister’s office to  Nepali Congress’s Sher Bahadur Deupa after the first phase of elections for the remaining life of the Constituent Assembly. This is where trouble could arise.   Oli with new allies, and  China, are waiting in the wings to return to power.  In 2015, India crusaded Madhesi cause demanding constitutional amendments. Initially, Oli refused which led to the five-month long blockade, rupture in India-Nepal ties and Oli turning to China. New Delhi is silent over the revised constitutional amendment, so as not to endanger the ruling coalition. Oli will give his left arm to return to government to hold crucial provincial and parliamentary elections which will decide the fate of Nepal’s democratic polity. Can China, using its money power, punish India by orchestrating the return of a UML-led Left Alliance or another coalition to challenge the time-tested India-Nepal relations?The writer is the erstwhile convener of an India-Nepal Track II dialogue

Three domestic airports fail to take wing

Only three flights a week to Delhi GROUNDED Opened with much fanfare, domestic airports in Bathinda, Ludhiana and Pathankot have failed to live up to their early promise. They have remained non­functional for long periods with no domestic flights or have

BATHINDA: The small domestic airport in Bathinda remained nonfunctional for three years, but has finally got three flights a week to Delhi.

SANJEEV KUMAR//HTThe security at Bathinda airport has been handed to Punjab Police.

AAI OFFICIALS REMAIN TIGHT­LIPPED OVER THE FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF RUNNING OPERATIONS WITH A THRICE­A­WEEK FLIGHT ONLY

Air India’s regional arm Alliance Air started the Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight in December 2016, barely months before the state assembly elections, and has sustained 50-55% occupancy. Set up in 2012 at a cost of ₹25 crore, the airport shares the runway of the adjoining Indian Air Force base for the 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft thrice a week — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Air Alliance manager Ramesh Ram gives credit to the Centre’s “regional connectivity scheme” which has helped reduce the air fare from ₹2,800 to ₹1,700 for the Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight. “The subsidy is paid by the government and may help introduce more flights from here” he said.

However, officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) were tight-lipped over the financial viability of running the operations with a thrice-a-week flight only. The airport does not have a single tuck shop, whereas the airport security has been handed to Punjab Police who are paid by the AAI. The airport still awaits its own dedicated road. The travellers have to cover a distance of 8 kilometres on the existing link road to reach the airport that is just 1.5km off the Bathinda-Malout state highway. A dedicated road was proposed in 2012, but the idea was dropped in absence of any flight for three years.

Non-operational since 2014, waiting for ‘Udan’

LUDHIANA : It was almost three years ago that the last domestic flight landed at the Sahnewal airport which is being currently used only for operating chartered flights.

But the airport authorities have now pinned hopes on the regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN, for revival of the domestic flight operations. Airlines have already started surveying the airport and domestic flights are expected to commence by September this year, according to airport officials. The repair work at the airport has started and the contractor has been asked to complete it by August.

The airport, which has a runaway of 1,463 metres feasible for a 42-seater aircraft, has turned into a white elephant. There is hardly any revenue, as no flight was operated since 2014. Business houses have been using the airport to park their chartered planes. The airport authorities have been charging only ₹72 per night, which is even lower than the car parking charges at a shopping mall.

Amardeep Nehra, officiating airport director, said the airport is fully functional and Doppler VHR omni-directional radio range (DVOR) has been installed. The airport has antihijacking staff, besides its own security force and fire brigade personnel. Scanning machines are also expected to be installed shortly.

6 years on, not a single flight

PATHANKOT: With not a single domestic flight in the past six years, the airport in Pathankot wears a deserted look.

HT PHOTORunway at Pathankot airport is being used by army to transports goods, personnel off and on.

Built at a cost of ₹37 crore almost 11 years ago, the airport, which has a “ready to use” airstrip and proper infrastructure, had domestic flight operations for the initial two-and-a-half years. Air Deccan, a private airline, ran its service, but suspended its operations due to poor occupancy on its flights.

Later, Air India also agreed to operate on this sector and started its flights in 2010, thanks to concerted efforts of then MP from Gurdaspur and former Union minister Vinod Khanna. But it did not carry on for long. The airline halted its operations from the airport a year later, citing losses. And, there has not been any domestic flight since then.

The runway of the airport is being used by the army to transports goods and personnel off and on. There is also an occasional chartered flight carrying VIPs and film actors, especially during the poll season.

Rajesh Pushkarna, a local businessman, blames the flight schedules for the failure of airlines to do well on this sector. “The flight timings were not suitable for business travellers and others who wanted to reach Delhi and return in the evening the same day,” he said.

SIDHU GIVES ₹5 LAKH FOR FIREFIGHTERS’ TREATMENT

LUDHIANA: Minister of local government, tourism and cultural affairs Navjot Singh Sidhu visited the injured firefighters admitted to the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) in Ludhiana on Friday evening and apologised on the behalf of the government for not providing them safety gear.Sidhu said Ludhiana municipal corporation commissioner has already issued a cheque for ₹4 lakh to the hospital for treatment of the injured firefighters, who suffered burn injuries while dousing flames in a textile mill on Thursday. He also announced ₹5 lakh from his pocket for their treatment. Sidhu said if the hospital bill doesn’t exceed ₹4 lakh, which have been already paid by MC, he will give ₹1 lakh to each to the firefighters admitted to the hospital.

‘State in deeper financial mess than what we initially thought’

Dwelling on the solution, the former chief secretary said this is structural imbalance, not a cyclical imbalance. “You need structural correctives. As they say, economy is not in sparing the expenditure, but spending the money wisely. Whatever we have needs to be spent wisely on the felt needs of people. With resources being limited, prioritisation is important. There is a need to be careful about new projects,” he said.

The commission chairman said his suggestion to the state government would be to make the already made investments productive, whether it is drinking water, sanitation etc.

Capt seeks fresh analysis of Punjab river waters

SYL ROW Amarinder Singh says most water­sharing agreements with neighbouring states were annulled by Punjab government in 2004

From page 01 CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, on Friday, suggested a fresh analysis of Sutlej, Ravi and Beas waters and requested the neighbouring states to cooperate.

The chief minister was speaking during the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held here, which was attended by representatives of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory, Chandigarh and New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

“There is a consensus building up among the states for a reanalysis (of waters in the Sutlej). Haryana CM has accepted the proposal for reassessment under the supervision of the Centre,” chief secretary (CS) of Punjab Karan A Singh told mediapersons after the meeting. The secretary in the interstate secretariat (of the home department) at the Centre Sanjeevani Kutty also attended the meeting.

Punjab and Haryana are on a warpath on waters, as Haryana is seeking the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to take water from Punjab, while the latter is objecting to the canal on the plea that the quantity of water has reduced drastically over the past three decades since the SYL canal proposal was put forth. A case is pending in the Supreme Court.

“Punjab CM requested Haryana for an out-of-court settlement on the dispute,” said Punjab chief secretary.

However, the CM did not make a direct reference to the SYL, said the CS. “The officials of the union water resources ministry met officers from the states (separately) on the SYL issue on April 20,” he said, answering a query, adding that the Centre had to convey to both the states whether the meeting was open-ended or discussions had closed.

He also informed the media that Amarinder Singh also told the meeting that most watersharing agreements (with neighbouring states), signed in 1980s, were annulled by the Punjab government in 2004. Things now have changed drastically, so there was need to reanalyse the quantity of water.

Besides Union home minister Rajnath Singh, the others, who attended the meeting, included Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Singh Badnore, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Delhi lt governor Anil Baijal, J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, Himachal Pradesh health minister Thakur Kaul Singh and Rajasthan water resources minister Ram Pratap.

‘SHOW COMPASSION FOR J&K YOUTH’

Home minister Rajnath Singh also asked all northern states to deal with the youth from Jammu and Kashmir, who have come to these states to work or study with compassion and soft hand. “We need to extend warmth to them, the home minister said,” informed Sanjeevani Kutty.

Cong MLAs express displeasure over police functioning in state

I will not interfere in the government functioning, but no one can deny the oversight SUNIL JAKHAR, Punjab Congress chief

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has come under fire yet again from the Congress quarters with many legislators expressing their displeasure before chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, alleging interference from Akali Dal in the functioning of police.

During a lunch meeting hosted by the CM on Wednesday for an interaction with the MLAs from Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa and Ferozepur, the issue was raised by the legislators.

“While raking up the issue, some of the leaders alleged that senior police officers were still getting directions from former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal,” said an MLA on the condition of anonymity.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, a minister said: “Since chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is not directly involved in postings, senior cops are adjusting their favourites on the key posts. When a politician recommends an official, it becomes controversial.”

“But when he manages things through his sources in the department, it is deemed upright.” added the minister.

A Congress MLA cited an “example” of Ferozepur when a SAD leader sitting on a dharna against attack on Akali workers allegedly by the Congress, “with complete authority called up senior police officials and they were heard taking directions from Sukhbir”.

Another MLA cited example of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rampura Phull Gurjit Singh Romana, who had worked closely with former minister Sikander Singh Malooka. “When Congress formed the government, Romana was transferred as DSP Bhucho.

Later, he was transferred as DSP (City) Bathinda in the third list of transfers, when a few Congress MLAs raised the issue,” he said.

This is not the first delegation that has expressed resentment over police postings in the state.

“A few days back, I met former SAD MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar in a function where he had come with an assistant sub-inspector and six commandoes of the Punjab Police,” said a Jalandhar MLA

“I called up additional director general of police (security), who forwarded my complaint to a senior official in Jalandhar Police Commissoinerate. Within five minutes, the senior officer called up Makkar to inform him about the complaint,” added the Jalandhar MLA.

A senior party leader rued, “Punjab Police Service officer Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, who was assistant commissioner of police (Jalandhar West) during the SAD-BJP regime and had allegedly slapped cases against Sushil Rinku (now Congress MLA from West), was posted as SP Phagwara- a key posting,”

KK Sharma is new PRTC chief

PATIALA :KK Sharma, a close confidant of chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh, took over the charge as chairman of Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), in the presence of former Union minister Preneet Kaur, on Friday.

BHARAT BHUSHAN/HTFormer Union minister Preneet Kaur blessing KK Sharma after he took over the charge as the PRTC chairman in Patiala on Friday.

Soon after his joining, Sharma listed his top priorities including adding 100 new buses in the present fleet of 1,045 buses.

He also announced addition of 25 new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) buses to the fleet of the PRTC while bus connectivity to Chandigarh from every district of Punjab is also on the cards.

“The poor policies and ignorant attitude towards the corporation by the SAD-BJP government has pushed the institution into acute financial crisis,” he said, adding, “The required steps will be taken to improve public transport facility across the state, besides uplifting its financial conditions.”

Sharma added that strict action will be taken against illegal buses plying on the roads. Besides, unemployed youth would be provided permits of mini buses so as to generate employment for them.

Contractual workers to boycott 300 new buses under kilometre scheme

LUDHIANA: In an all out defiance of the state transport department’s proposal to introduce 300 new buses under the kilometer scheme, around 4,000 employees of Punjab Roadways state contract workers’ union have decided not to serve in buses under this scheme.

JS GREWAL/HT FILE4,000 employees of Punjab Roadways take decision.Calling it “a breeding ground for corruption”, they said buses under this scheme directly benefited private bus operators. The state transport department lost out on crores of revenue “deliberately”.

The state transport policy states that 40% routes will be given to private players while 60% will be retained by state transport. However, the scenario during Akali rule (19972002, 2007-2012 and 2012-2017) was inverse as the lion’s share between 60 and 70 % went to private players, weakening the financial health of the state transport department. For routes to rural areas, the ratio was 20:80 (20 roadways and 80 private) but to favour the private players, mini buses were allowed to ply on almost all profitable routes in the rural belt across the state.

Union president Bhagat Singh said, “Framing a transport policy that favours private bus operators has become a norm in the state, thanks to the previous Akali government. The new Congress government, instead of introducing government buses under Punjab Roadways, is busy holding deliberations to introduce 300 new buses under the kilometer scheme which will be run by private players while conductors will be hired from state transport.”

“If buses under this scheme hit the roads, contractual employees will not work in these buses. It will be a complete boycott from our side. The scheme is an all-out attack against job regularisation and will further delay it.”

REGULAR EMPLOYEES OPPOSED TO SCHEME

Even regular employees of Punjab Roadways have vehemently opposed the kilometre scheme. But they have ruled out any possibility of a boycott.

All India Trade Union Congress member Jagdeesh Chahal said, “Though we strongly oppose the kilometre scheme, we will take a final decision on whether to render services or not in our next meeting.”

There are more than 4,000 contract workers in Punjab Roadways who have decided to not render services to the buses under the kilometre scheme.

Sources said things had barely changed after the new government assumed charge and the state transport department still continued to bear the onslaught of a monopoly by private players that was prevalent during the SAD-BJP regime.

They added that private bus operators under the kilometre scheme were barely concerned about passenger base as they were paid according to kilometres travelled, causing a huge loss to public transport.

Running buses directly under its umbrella rather than roping in private players will garner maximum revenue to the state transport and will discourage corruption which was inherent during previous government’s rule, said union members.

Capt for 60:40 ratio in govt posts of UT

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 12

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today took up the issue of the share of the state in government posts in Chandigarh. Taking up the issue at the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) here today, he sought instructions to the UT to implement the 60:40 ratio decided during the re-organisation of the state. Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said the CM requested the Union Home Minister to look into the matter.It was pointed out that as per the spirit of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, all  posts were to be filled according to the 60:40 ratio from states of Punjab and Haryana but, without consulting the states, the UT was filling posts from its own cadre.

Drugs: CM seeks help from other states

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh welcomes Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh on Friday as Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore looks on. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 12

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today sought Centre’s help in increasing vigilance by central forces to check cross-border drug smuggling, and asked for greater cooperation with Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir to destroy the cultivation of poppy and cannabis.At the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council meeting here, he underlined the need to combat the drug menace in an organised manner.The Chief Minister sought to put an end to smuggling of narcotic substances from areas, where poppy and cannabis are being cultivated legally for pharmaceutical and related purposes. Sharing of information and initiating criminal action against smugglers should be promoted, he said. The CMurged Rajasthan to shift poppy husk vends situated near border villages of Punjab.Seeks more share in Central fundsCapt Amarinder called for greater operational freedom to states cutting across party lines. He demanded an increase of at least 50 per cent share in central funds.Wants concession under border state statusReferring to the border status of Punjab, the Chief Minister reiterated his demand for Central concessions on the lines of the fiscal and industrial concessions given to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

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Ensure safety of Kashmiri students: Rajnath to CMs Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked the Chief Ministers of the northern states to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students. The Union Minister, while referring to the attacks on Kashmiri students in different states, asked the participating states to take care of the students and provide them proper environment. Sanjeevani Kutty, Secretary in the Home Ministry, in a briefing after the meeting said while drawing attention of the states to the issue, they have been asked to implement the advisory. TNS

Capt orders recruitment of 4,000 cops

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 12

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today ordered filling of 4,000 police vacancies across ranks, while directing the department to ensure that 2,000 police personnel are recruited every year to fill the vacancies arising annually out of the routine retirement of cops.Chairing a meeting of Home and Police Department officials here, the Chief Minister said recruitment would carry forward the sweeping reforms being undertaken in the Police Department such as diversion of personnel from VIP duty.His government, said Capt Amarinder, was committed to providing jobs to the unemployed youth, with at least one job in each household, as promised in the run-up to the Assembly elections.The Chief Minister also directed the officials to ensure that police officials were allowed a free hand to work within the ambit of law, while also taking care to ensure that no vindictive action was resorted to by the cops at any level, right from the lowest rung at the police stations.

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has appointed Commodore Sudip Malik (retd) as the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Local Bodies Department.Sidhu said, “In the wake of a failed system of keeping a check on the execution of our projects, we decided to have an outsider with established credibility for audit of our job and also to keep a check. Commodore Malik has more than 20 years of service in the Indian Navy.”Having served in Larsen and Toubro (L&T), a multinational conglomerate, for more than a decade after retirement, Commodore Malik is seen as the right person to fit the bill of scrutinising the ongoing municipal projects.The CVO’s post fell vacant on April 19 after Sidhu removed Anil Kumar Kansal. He was accused of taking bribe in lieu of favouring certain officials in Vigilance reports. He was also accused of giving a clean chit to many under scrutiny in the Local Bodies Department.After Kansal was removed, Superintending Engineer (SE) Mukul Soni’s name was doing the rounds for the post. It was so because Sidhu had sent him to Bathinda to inquire into a scam in the Improvement Trust. Officially, he went to Bathinda not as an officiating CVO.An officer said Vigilance inquiries in the department had not yielded substantial findings for the past several years in spite of charges of corruption at several places across the state.

14 secretaries demoted

Chandigarh: The Local Government Department on Tuesday cancelled the promotion of 14 secretaries, reversing the decision taken by the then Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi. Superintendents were promoted as secretaries after the announcement of the Assembly elections, sources said. An official said, “The promotion under question had come into effect just before the elections. On verification following a complaint, the promotion was found to be violating the model code of conduct.” TNS

The south portal of the Rohtang Tunnel at Dhundi, 23 km from Manali.

MC Thakur

MANALI, MAY 4

Despite unprecedented rains and snowfall, the work at the Rohtang Tunnel Project at North Portal near Sissu in Lahaul Valley is set begin on schedule, said Brig DN Bhatt, Chief Engineer, Project Rohtang Tunnel, today. This is after the opening of the 13,050-ft-high Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti, in April end.All efforts are being made to commence the work at North Portal latest by May 15 and achieve the breakthrough by September end or the first half of October 2017. The team of the contractor has already reached North Portal to start preliminary works and digging is planned to be commenced by May 15.Stating this while interacting with The Tribune Brig DN Bhatt, said every year North Portal remained close for six months during winters due to closure of Rohtang Pass. The work of Rohtang Tunnel progressed well during the entire winter in spite of heavy snowfall and a large number of avalanches witnessed on the approach road to the South Portal. The tunnel project works did not stop even for one day at South Portal during the entire winter till date and the same has been going on in 24-hour cycle.The Chief Engineer further said at present the tunnel work at South Portal is passing through a crucial phase. Presence of poor rock strata had made it very difficult to achieve the desired pace. However, efforts are being made to cover up delay due to these geological and weather related problems by working in three shifts (24 hrs) instead of two shifts.Brig DN Bhatt said as on May 4, out of 8.85-km tunnel, the digging had been completed for 7.92 km. A 930-m stretch is left before any breakthrough could be achieved. At present pace it will take approximately 5 months. However, if there is an improvement of rock quality during digging of the remaining 930-m stretch the breakthrough may be achieved earlier.

Breakthrough expected in 5 months

• Brig DN Bhatt said as on May 4, out of 8.85 km oftunnel, the digging had been completed for 7.92 km.
• A 930-m stretch is left before any breakthrough couldbe achieved.
• At present pace it will take approximately 5 months.

Membership compels New Delhi to shed strategic ambivalence

The catch: Does India really wish to sustain a strategic dialogue with China?

THIRTY-SEVEN days remain for India to be a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Astana — on April 21 — brought to a successful conclusion the procedural formalities in regard of the admission of the grouping’s two new members from South Asia — India and Pakistan. However, there is no trace of momentous anticipation in the Indian capital. This is not really surprising.To borrow the famous passage from TS Eliot’s poem, The Hollow Men, “Between the idea/And the reality/ Between the motion/And the act/ Falls the Shadow.” Indeed, between India’s application for SCO membership in 2014 and the group’s forthcoming summit meeting on June 8-9, 2017, in Astana, some mysterious shadow has fallen. The shadow falls like an iron curtain to block the original intentions.Most certainly, the original intentions were thoughtful and purposive and were forged unhurried, incrementally and with great deliberation through almost half a decade by the previous UPA government. How far External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was confident that Prime Minister Modi subscribed to those intentions, when she was called upon to formally submit India’s membership application at the Dushanbe summit of the group in 2014, we do not know. In all probability, she fulfilled her responsibility as India’s top diplomat.For, 18 days later, Modi visited the White House to hold his first meeting with the then US President Barack Obama. Future historians would chronicle that the four-month period from that point in end-September 2014 to end-January 2015, when Obama visited India, became a defining moment in India’s foreign policy trajectory, as it began careering away in a new direction historically. The January 2015 joint vision statement regarding the Asia-Pacific region proclaimed that India was willing to bandwagon with the US’ pivot to Asia. Since then, India-China relations have been on a downhill slope. Beijing now says that Indian policies caused “serious damage to China’s interests and China-India relations”.Meanwhile, New Delhi has been out of sync with the profound realignments unfolding in the Eurasian continent, triggered by the US-backed “regime change” in Ukraine in February 2014. An unprecedented level of coordination between Russia, China and Iran has appeared over time on issues affecting the future of the Eurasian continent, ranging from the threat posed by radical Islamist groups to energy cooperation and connectivity to China’s One-Belt One-Road initiative. It is against this tumultuous backdrop that Russia and China are keenly promoting Iran’s induction into the SCO.What emerges is that the trajectories of Indian foreign policies and leading trends in the Eurasian continent are sharply diverging. The nascent integration of Pakistan as a Eurasian partner highlights it. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a game-changing project for the geopolitics of the Eurasian continent. China will most certainly bring the CPEC to the forefront of the SCO as a cornerstone of regional security and a locomotive of the multipolarity in politics. Russia and Iran will partake of it.India’s SCO membership cannot be delinked from this ongoing global rebalancing that appears simultaneously on different templates — New Cold War, Sino-American tensions, Russia-China entente, Russia-Pakistan “thaw”, and so on. Put plainly, SCO membership compels India to shed its strategic ambivalence. It is apparent that Washington and Moscow view differently the international order and its fundamental norms and rules and their own place in it. In this climate, where does India stand, which has turned its back on non-alignment and “strategic autonomy” as archaic concepts and entered into a quasi-alliance with the US?Last Wednesday at a Kremlin meeting, a top functionary from the Chinese Communist Party relayed the following message from Chinese President Xi Jinping to President Vladimir Putin: “Chinese-Russian relations are going through their best ever in our history. Today, our relations are deservedly called an example of relations between great powers, characterised by cooperation and mutual benefit. Today, our relations are very solid, mature, and are distinguished by strategic cooperation and a lasting nature…“Despite the serious changes in the international situation, we will continue to work with you unfailingly adhering to three constants, namely: regardless of the circumstances, we will not change our policy of deepening and developing our strategic partnership and cooperation; our policy, based on joint development and prosperity, will not change; and our joint efforts to defend peace and justice and promote cooperation in the world will not change.”Again, the Russia-led regional initiative on Afghanistan is in effect an enterprise comprising SCO member countries. Pakistan, which is a key player, is central to its success. India, on the other hand, feels comfortable with the US’ lead role in Afghanistan. The moment of truth arrives when India’s campaign on terrorism issues directed against Pakistan falls on deaf ears among other SCO members.The bottom line is: Does India really belong to the SCO? Unless there is a serious rethink on India’s foreign policy, it may end up as a passive onlooker within the SCO tent, or worse still, a drag on the grouping’s functioning. Of course, SCO can be a really useful platform since it provides a canopy under which India can repair the damage caused to the relations with China and impart predictability to its ties with Pakistan.Just look at the seamless possibilities of uninterruptible interaction with China and Pakistan at the level of the head of state, head of government, foreign minister, economic ministers, national security adviser, security agencies and so on annually. There have been a number of joint SCO military exercises, too, which bring together army chiefs. It doesn’t need much ingenuity to understand what a splendid opportunity these occasions provide for India to build trust and mutual confidence with China and Pakistan at the level of political leadership as well as at the military-to-military level and between spy agencies and diplomats.But then, is there serious will on the part of the Modi government to sustain a strategic dialogue with China and/or Pakistan? The opinion makers associated with the RSS-backed think tanks in Delhi are breathing fire and brimstone at China and Pakistan. Jingoism and communal polarisation enjoy primacy in the Sangh Parivar’s toolbox and tensions in India’s China-Pakistan ties easily feed into it. Therefore, it is in doubt whether the Modi government would revert to independent foreign policies even if it wants to. Paradoxically, although the US-Indian “defining partnership” is fast becoming an open cage in the Trump era, India seems to have lost the desire to head off into the wide blue yonder.The writer is a former ambassador

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

The Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa-led committee on allowances has proposed modifications in the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations on some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways, postal, scientists, defence, doctors and nurses among others.The panel, which was set up by the government on June 29 last year to examine the 7th pay panel recommendations on allowances, has submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.The report, now being examined in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, will be placed before the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) set up to screen the 7th CPC recommendations and to firm up a proposal for approval of the Cabinet.While recommendations of the 7th CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continue to be paid at old rates. After consideration by the E-CoS, the proposal for implementation of the 7th CPC recommendations on allowances, after incorporating the modifications suggested by the committee, shall be placed before the Cabinet for approval.The decision to set up the panel was taken in view of significant changes recommended by the 7th CPC to the allowances structure and representations received in this regard from various staff associations as well as the apprehensions conveyed by various ministries and departments.Representations and demands for modifications were received in respect of 79 allowances which have been examined in detail by the committee. In doing so, the panel, which held 15 meetings, interacted with the members of the Standing Committee of National Council (Staff Side), Joint Consultative Machinery and representatives of various staff associations of railways, postal employees, doctors, nurses, and the Department of Atomic Energy. It also interacted with representatives of the Defence Forces, DGs of Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles as also senior officers from the Intelligence Bureau and the Special Protection Group.The 7th CPC had recommended that of the 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.

VEXED ISSUE Islamabad says statements on 26/11 proves India’s involvement in terror activities, Delhi strongly rejects neighbour’s claim

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan engaged in a fresh war of words on Thursday over the purported confession of former Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, with New Delhi strongly rejecting Islamabad’s contention that it had “unveiled India’s nefarious designs”.

REUTERS FILEIndia has accused Pakistan of fomenting trouble through cross­border terrorism.

The two sides also traded charges over Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, and the 2008 Mumbai attacks, with India calling for the prosecution of the perpetrators.

At a weekly news briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the purported confessions of Ehsan and Jadhav “have proven that India has been involved in supporting terrorist activities in Pakistan” — a charge refuted by India.

“We know the value of such coerced ‘confessions’. All that they reflect is a mindset on the part of those who put out such coerced ‘confessions’, which believes that others in the world also do what they do,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in New Delhi.

India has accused Pakistan of fomenting trouble through cross-border terrorism.

On Wednesday, the Pakistani military’s media arm released what it called the “confessional statement” of Ehsan, the former spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaatul-Ahrar (JuA).

Ehsan recently surrendered to the army. In his video statement that was prominently aired on all Pakistani TV channels, Ehsan claimed the Taliban and JuA had been coordinating with Indian and Afghan spy agencies to move freely in Afghanistan and that they were guided by the Research and Analysis Wing when infiltrating into Pakistan.

Zakaria described 13 Indians who were reportedly killed when the US dropped the Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb on an Islamic State base in eastern Afghanistan as Indian spies. He said Pakistan will continue to raise India’s alleged interference at international forums.

Meanwhile, India sought from Pakistan a certificate on the health of Jadhav. “We haven’t seen, we haven’t met (Jadhav). He has been in Pakistan’s custody for more than a year. So the well-being and state of health of Jadhav is a matter of great concern,” Baglay said.

“We have asked Pakistani government earlier also, and yesterday, our high commissioner (Gautam Bambawale) made a request on providing a report on his medical condition. We await Pakistan’s response,” he said.

Zakaria said a decision on the issue will be taken on merit.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 18Slamming the Centre and the Manipur government for their inaction in alleged rape and extra-judicial killings in Manipur by security forces, the Supreme Court today hinted at handing over at least two of the cases to the CBI for investigation.A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur asked the Centre to suggest names of CBI officers who have experience in working in the northeast for possibly assigning the probe to them in two cases.“You may have two alleged rapists. Why you have kept quiet?” the Bench asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. “These are allegations only. The question is whether rape was committed by the Army personnel,” Rohatgi replied.In one case, the victim was allegedly raped and killed while the other victim committed suicide after being raped.The Bench asked the Army as to why it maintained silence despite the fact that a Commission of Enquiry pointed to rape/murder by its men. It also pulled up the Manipur government for its failure to take up these cases with the Army.During the hearing, a senior Army officer told the Bench that one of the women committed suicide after being frisked. It was made a case of molestation and then rape. But petitioner’s counsel Menaka Guruswamy questioned the Army’s version of the incident: “No one commits suicide for being frisked… it seems the Constitution has not reached Manipur.”The SC had last year passed a landmark verdict on extrajudicial killings in Manipur, limiting the powers of security forces under AFSPA. “The girl was subjected to rape. Did you close the case because you didn’t get help from Army? Is it your helplessness or a tacit understanding with the Army not to proceed?” the Bench asked.