Land right activists have sought to appoint a new chairman to the National Land Reforms Council after its current head Prime Minister Manmohan Singh failed to convene a single meeting of the committee ever since its formation in 2008.
One of the activist members of the council, P.V. Rajagopal, in a letter to the Prime Minister, has requested him to “reorganise and strengthen” the council and to appoint rural development minister Jairam Ramesh as its new chairman.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has called a meeting with Mr Rajagopal on Tuesday to discuss issues regarding the council, which is going to be Dr Singh’s first direct meeting with any member of the council after its formation.
“I have appealed to you on numerous occasions to call a meeting of the National Council for Land Reforms as a way to sort out the increasing problems of landlessness and homelessness in the country. As a member, I was hoping that the National Council for Land Reforms would be able to respond to this important agenda with state governments and to monitor the progress of land (re)distribution,” Mr Rajagopal said in his letter to the PM.
“I also understand and appreciate the kind of work burden under which you operate, and it is not always possible for you to attend to the many committees and councils that you are heading,” he added.
Mr Rajagopal suggested Mr Ramesh’s name as the new chairman saying that he might be “in a better position to find time to call regular meetings and also to coordinate with the state governments in order to advance this important agenda.”
***
Cong MPs wrote to request probe expansionPramod Kumar
New Delhi, Sept. 24
The CBI on Monday expanded the ambit of its probe into the coalgate scam by bringing under its scanner all captive coal block allocations made since 1993. The allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive use started in 1993 when Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was amended with the objective of attracting private investments in specified end uses such as power, cement and steel because of growing economy.
While seeking the CBI probe, Union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had also forwarded a letter written by seven parliamentarians to the CVC saying that blocks allotted between 1993 and 2004, including those given during the NDA rule, should be investigated by the CBI, as allegedly favours were done to private companies under political pressure, sources said. The letter of MPs also sought for enquiry as to what system the Government of India put in place for selection of companies for coal block allocation between 1993 to 2004 and whether these guidelines were followed.
The expanded probe will examine allocations of captive coal blocks made by the coal ministry, on the recommendations of the inter-ministerial screening committee, during the regime of five Prime Ministers.