The Telangana Congress has several ‘match-fixing’ leaders. The party leadership should be wary of them — SARVE SATYANARAYANA, FORMER UNION MINISTER TW TRUE LIES Binay’s shenanigans In Lutyen’s Delhi there is a perpetual battle for sarkari houses. Only the resourceful babus manage a good house for themselves while the lesser luckier ones keep lamenting their fate. Binay Kumar, 1983 batch IAS officer has now been allotted a type VII bunglow in Lutyen’s Delhi- the only additional secretary rank officer in the Capital to manage a bungalow of that size. Additional secretary and financial advisor to the foreign ministry, Binay Kumar is the officer reputed to have influenced the Pratyush Sinha committee in such a way that it changed the criteria of allotment of cadres so that he got into the Telangana cadre. This being the case, is it a surprise that he managed a huge bungalow in New Delhi ? Unlucky babu GOI may have finalized the allocation of All-India Service officers between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but that has not stopped 1985 batch IAS officer Manmohan Singh from persisting with his efforts to move to the Telangana cadre. The officer was given the AP cadre in the provisional allocation and had submitted to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) that his son suffers from an ailment and he needs to remain in Hyderabad as the required medical care is available only in the twin cities. The grapevine has it that Manmohan Singh submitted medical records to prove his case and was supported by AP chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao in his request for a cadre change. But in the final allocation, Singh was retained in the AP cadre. A little bird says that the powers that be felt that acceding to his request would open the floodgates and force the DoPT to favorably consider several other medical cases put forth by AIS officers . Now, the unlucky Manmohan Singh is all set to seek deputation to the Telangana cadre. He is presently principal secretary, animal husbandry, AP. Her efforts go in vain The efforts of suspended IAS officer Y Srilakshmi to get herself shifted from the Telangana cadre to the AP cadre did not fructify. The 1988 batch IAS officer has been on suspension after being chargesheeted in the illegal mining case by the CBI. Hailing from West Godavari district in coastal Andhra, Srilakshmi had given AP cadre as her preference. But GOI, based on her education and address in Hyderabad, allotted her to the Telangana cadre in the provisional allocation and despite her best efforts to get it changed, did not oblige her. The grapevine has it that she is of the view that she has better chances of getting her suspension revoked if she is in the AP cadre. Her plea for seeking the lifting of the suspension is that the case against her is baseless and she has challenged this in court. But with the DoPT retaining her in the Telangana cadre, it remains to be seen whether her fortunes will improve in the coming days. How did this cop succeed? When so many IPS officers failed to get the cadre of their choice, how did Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, IG rank IPS officer of the 1995 batch, manage to get STATES himself shifted from the AP cadre to Telangana, wonder many in police circles. Bhagwat was allotted to the AP cadre in the provisional allocation, but made it to Telangana in the final list announced last week. He succeeded when senior police officers like Santosh Mehra and Anjani Kumar, who also wanted to shift from AP to Telangana, failed. Incidentally, in his capacity as IG, intelligence, security, in the Telangana police, Bhagwat makes it a point to accompany chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao during the latter’s visits to the districts as well as Delhi. This is highly unusual as the CM security detail in the field is normally headed by an officer of the additional SP rank and no more. While some say that KCR could have played a role in Bhagwat’s cadre change, others point out that when the state’s requests in the case of other officers like Somesh Kumar, Poonam Malakondaiah and Ronald Ross were not entertained by GOI, it is doubtful that it would have succeeded in Bhagwat’s case. The IPS officer himself appeared to be confident of staying on in Telangana as he did not report to the AP police after the provisional allocation. Seeking more and getting it AP officials are wondering whether the reluctance on the part of an IAS officer led to the Polavaram project getting allotted a meagre Rs 100 crore in the Union budget. During a recent meeting chaired by AP chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, officials informed him that Dinesh Kumar, 1983 batch IAS officer and CEO of Polavaram Project Authority, has been unhappy over the state not allotting him the 15,000 sft space he sought for his office, and because of that he might not have taken interest in pursuing funds for Polavaram from the central government. Strangely, the state all of a sudden decided to oblige Dinesh and accordingly, the Polavaram Project Authority office is now being shifted from a small one in the Burgula Ramakrishna Bhavan near Secretariat in Hyderabad to a spacious one in the Central Water Commission (CWC) premises in Red Hills. Now everyone is eager to see whether this change would ensure more funds for the irrigation project. Cops need to be educated first They have been publicizing the initiatives on a grand scale and flaunting the success of such campaigns. But in what has turned out to be a big shock for Hyderabad additional CP (crimes) Swati Lakra, the majority in the city police have not heard of the SHE initiative or the Hawk Eye application. SHE teams consist of police personnel who stalk the city roads to curb eve teasing and Hawk Eye is an application available on the mobile platform through which residents can inform or alert cops about various illegal activities and also seek police help in case of emergencies. An internal survey conducted by the top brass of the city police revealed that 50 per cent of field level cops were unaware of both the SHE teams and Hawk Eye. As a result, Lakra, a 1995 batch IPS officer, has now been forced to launch an internal awareness campaign rather than continue with the publicity campaign of the two schemes. Vizag DRT headless, defunct since Dec RUCKUS IN SESSIONS UNLIKELY TO DIE DOWN Oppn, Ruling Members In T, AP Plan Their Strategies TIMES NEWS NETWORK Hyderabad: Stormy scenes are likely to be witnessed in both the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh assemblies on Monday when the houses meet separately for the first day of their respective budget sessions. On Saturday, the Telangana assembly was put to shame during governor ESL Narasimhan’s address to a joint sitting of the assembly and council, with the TRS and TDP members coming to blows. The ruckus was over the ruling party ‘luring’ opposition members and the opposition demanding disqualification of the defectors. The Telangana assembly is set to turn into a war zone yet again, with the ruling and opposition MLAs determined to fight over the Saturday incident. Though the governor’s speech passed off uneventfully in the AP assembly, stormy scenes are likely in the House on Monday over to the controversial remarks made by leader of the opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy. At the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting held after the governor’s address on Saturday, the YSR Congress president had allegedly threatened to create ‘ugly scenes’ in the house. “It is unfortunate that the legislators are literally turning the assembly sessions into their political battlefield. The main concern is that the legislation process would take a beating at the cost of people’s money and time,” said Nadendla Manohar, former speaker of the united AP assembly. In the Telangana assembly, the defection of opposition members will be the sticking point on Monday. The opposition parties, including the Congress and the TDP, are likely to pursue their demand of disqualifying the defectors. The TRS members, however, will try to mount an objection over the allegation that the opposition members insulted the national anthem by climbing atop the benches while it was being played in the House on Saturday. TIMES NEWS NETWORK Hyderabad: After steering clear of Hyderabad for a few years, courtesy the political instability, conferences and concerts seem to be making a comeback this year. Managements of convention centres said that their cultural calendars, post a long-drawn lull, are now finally filling up with artistes from both India and overseas. To add to this is the steady flow of trade fairs and expos, which had been missing from the scene until now. Standing testimony to this upbeat trend is the long list of events that were held in the city’s IT hub over the past few weeks. From the biggies of Bollywood’s music industry to international DJs and bands, APIIC on the lookout for IT towers consultant TIMES NEWS NETWORK Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) is expected to finalise the consultant team for preparation of a conceptual plan and feasibility report for the proposed IT signature towers in the Port City by March 31. VIZAG HUB UTTAM TAKES CHARGE AS TPCC CHIEF T he Congress, the main opposition in the Telangana assembly, is geared up to take on the government with fresh energy as Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka took charge as the new president and working president of the party on Sunday. “The honeymoon of the TRS is over. It has to face the music now,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy, who took out a rally and addressed party workers at the Congress office at Gandhi Bhavan. Among the various issues the Congress would raise in the assembly are the defections and the government’s failure to fulfill its polls promises, he said. “Those who insulted the national anthem deserve a punishment. As we have already complained, the speaker will take a call,” said Koppula Easwar, senior TRS leader and the government’s chief whip. The government is likely to recommend the speaker to ban the unruly members for obstruction of the proceedings. The action would be on the lines of the seven-day suspension of the TDP members in the last session. “They may try to muzzle the opposition by suspending us, as they did in the previous session, but we will fight it out,” TDP MLA A Revanth Reddy said. In a bid to broker peace, speaker S Madhusudanachari has convened a meeting of the floor leaders of all the parties at 9 am on Monday. Sources said a video clipping of Saturday’s proceedings is likely to be viewed and the speaker would try to build a consensus on the action to be taken COPS ON A DIFFERENT BEAT A Sarath Kumar TIMES NEWS NETWORK He pointed out that though the Vizag DRT has sanctioned staff strength of 30, it has only Visakhapatnam: Banks and 15 part-time staffers. Out of financial institutions saddled the sanctioned strength of with non-performing assets three recovery officers, the (bad debt) in Andhra Pradesh DRT has only one, while it has are finding it difficult to recovhad no regular registrar since er their money as the Debts over two months. Recovery Tribunal (DRT) at According to sources from Vizag has been dysfunctionfinancial institutions, many al since the past couple of private and public sector months. banks have run into bad debts The Vizag DRT has been and have no proper forum for headless since December 31, redressal. “While a public 2014, after the five-year term sector bank of its then prefrom AP has siding officer Around 100 ended. It also cases are filed run up NPAs worth Rs 6,000 has no regisat the Vizag crore, another trar and is facDRT per month, but has bad debts ing a shortage of debt recovthe post of presiding worth Rs 230 crore, as per ery officers, officer has been statistics from making the lying vacant since the central govjob of recovery ernment. But even more difDecember 31 there’s no funcficult for belea— Kuppili Muralidhar, tional DRT in guered banks President, Forum of Legal AP for their reand financial Professionals dressal,” said institutions an official from that are struga public-sector bank. gling with NPAs running into When a person takes loan thousands of crores of rupees. from the bank but fails to pay “Around 100 cases are filed up for three months consecuat the Vizag DRT per month, tively, he becomes a defaulter but the post of presiding officand his account gets classier has been lying vacant since fied as a non-performing asDecember 31. The presiding set (NPA). The bank can take officer is appointed by the fipossession of the mortgaged nance ministry and has to be property and subsequently a legal luminary above the age auction it. But due to the abof 45 years. The DRT needs a sence of a presiding officer head immediately to look into and debt recovery officers at the cases that are piling up,” the DRT Vizag, banks are not said Kuppili Muralidhar, presin a position to even sell off ident, Forum of Legal Profesmortgaged property. sionals, and a senior advocate. THE TIMES OF INDIA | HYDERABAD | MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015 against the members, if required. Meanwhile, in the AP assembly, the YSR Congress is all set to attack the TDP on 23 issues, including farmers’ dissent over the land pooling for the new capital and the failure to get special status for AP. “We will go issue by issue in the assembly. On the first day, we will seek adjournment over three issues, including drought, scarcity of drinking water, and input subsidy for farmers,” senior YSR Congress MLA, G Srikanth Reddy, said. However, the TDP is ready with its own gameplan of cornering the YSRC over Jagan’s controversial statement. “Being the leader of the opposition, Jagan Reddy has resorted to blackmailing the government. He has threatened to create ugly scenes in the House. He must apologies for his remarks before taking part in the proceedings,” government chief whip Kaluva Srinivasulu said. According to APIIC sources, the consultant team is likely to be selected in the next 15 days and the feasibility work may kick-off by end of this month. The consultant will be responsible for preparing conceptual plan and feasibility report. He will also prepare bid documents for selection of a joint venture partner for the project. The consultant team will comprise a team leader, a chief architect, a real estate expert, a financial analyst and a legal expert to provide preliminary cost estimates for the project. They will also suggest the revenue model. The APIIC will first evaluate the technical proposal submitted by the bidders for the project including experience in mega projects worth more than Rs 200 crore on public-private partnership. After this the financial proposal will be evaluated. A senior APIIC official said, “We had earlier set the first week of March as the deadline for selection of the consultant. We have later extended the deadline as several firms sought time to study the project.” APIIC has earmarked round 20 acres for the IT signature towers project at Rushikonda IT Hills, which will provide around 10 lakh sft of built up area. More women taking the IPS route to bring about change TOI Siddharth.Tadepalli @timesgroup.com MORNING RAGA: The police band performs its first open concert at R K Beach in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Introduced for the first time by the city police commissioner, the concert will be held every Sunday TIMES NEWS NETWORK Hyderabad: The two Telugu speaking states have contributed a record number of candidates who qualified the Indian Forest Service (IFS) exam this year. Over 12 per cent of the qualifying candidates hail from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Of the 85 candidates recommended for appointment at the all-India level, 10 hail from the two states. This includes Varun Guntupalli, who secured the fourth rank. Overall, 27 qualifiers hail from South India. The IFS exam is held every year and is considered second only to civil service Over 12% new IFS officers from AP, T exam. It comprises of a preliminary test, a main test and interview. The prelim exam is common for civil services and IFS. Aspirants who clear it can chose to be considered for either both the services or any one of their choice. Of the candidates who wrote the prelims this year, 1,106 qualified for the main exam. Of this, 234 qualified for the interview and 85 were finally selected. “A 12% representation Cultural events make a comeback in Hyd over half a dozen concerts unfolded before packed halls in the city. This, according to sources, is likely to continue through the next few months. “There is indeed an upward movement in the number of con- certs and shows being held in Hyderabad these days. This only shows that these events have more takers in the city now,” said Priyanka Ganeriwal, an event planner, adding, “Once the summer season ends, the frequency of these events is likely to pick up”. Even trade fairs and expos are expected to see a jump in numbers, said observers. “Recently, we have noticed a huge surge in demand for space to conduct these events. This year, we are expecting more than from Telangana and AP is a record. Not many used to appear for this exam before 2013. Since 2013, the preliminary exam is common for IFS and civil services, and many aspirants are appearing for both. It is a win-win situation, wherein the government attracts the best talent and aspirants reduce the uncertainty associated with the civil services exam by appearing for IFS exam as well,” Gopala Krishna, director, Brain Tree said. HOTELS STILL FACE BIFURCATION BLUES Hyderabad: Amid growing concerns on women’s safety across the country, there is a welcome trend in the city. More and more women are joining the police force and about 31 women IPS trainee officers are sweating it out each day at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) in the city. In 2013, there were only 22 female officers and only a handful in the years prior to that. “Harassment against women happens at the most mundane places such as workplace or home. Every girl goes through such trying experiences. This is one reason why I joined the police force. To try and do my bit to instill confidence among the women in our society,” said Aparna Natarajan, a trainee officer, who had five years of experience in the corporate sector. With women being harassed in all quarters, from work colleagues to cab drivers, many are now trying to change things on their own. “This is one reason why women take to this field. They go through a lot of psychological pressure,” said Tejaswani Gautham, a trainee officer who was participating in a nukkad natak (street theatre) on crime against women on International Women’s Day. Crime against women is A ROLE IN SOCIETY: SVPNPA trainee officers perform a street play on harassment faced by women, at Necklace Road in the city on Sunday Harassment against women happens at the most mundane places such as workplace or home. Every girl goes through such trying experiences. This is one reason why I joined the police force. To try and do my bit to instill confidence among the women — Aparna Natarajan, trainee officer on the rise despite many initiatives taken up by governments and police forces. For instance, Uttar Pradesh has a toll-free number for women to report grievances. In Bengaluru, there is an automated kiosk where women can lodge complaints, thus saving them a trip to the police station. The trainees at SVPNPA said that more women in the police force is a sure sign of changing times. “With women in the police force, women in the society can now muster T advocates try to obstruct civil judges test Suman Reddy D W hile convention centres in the city are sprinting back to normalcy, hotels are reeling under the bifurcation blues. “Companies based out of Andhra Pradesh now prefer the new state over Hyderabad to hold their meetings and conferences. This has adversely impacted the hotel industry here,” said Pradeep Dutt, secretary general, Hotels and Restaurants Association of Telangana. 1,000 such events to take place at HICC,” Ravi Teja, sales manager at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre said. courage and come forward to lodge complaints,” said Pooja Yadav, another trainee. Of the 168 officers being trained this year at the academy, 31 are women. “Having women in the force gives the society, especially women, a sense of security. It adds a completely different perspective to policing,” said IPS officer Aruna Bahuguna, director, SVPNPA. She also pointed out that having a feminine touch to the force also changes men’s attitude towards women. HIGH HOPES: Candidates head home after writing the junior civil judges exam at Meerpet, Saroornagar, in the city on Sunday Hyderabad: A group of Telangana advocates protested in front of TKR College of Engineering, Meerpet, where the exam for recruitment of junior civil judges was held on Sunday. The Meerpet police said the protestors tried to block the entry of aspirants heading for the exam. However, the police took them into custody and shifted them to the police station. The protestors were demanding that the exam be held after the creation of a separate high court for Telangana.TNN
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