News Analysis India

Tag: Ajay Bhalla

  • Carry out safety audit of all ropeway projects: MHA to states and UTs

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: In the wake of the Deoghar ropeway accident, the Centre on Tuesday asked all states to carry out a safety audit of each ropeway project and put in place standard operating procedures to deal with such emergencies.

    In a communication to all states and Union territories, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also said that for each ropeway project, a maintenance manual and programme must be in place so that the safety standards conform to good industry practices and such incidents do not recur.

    The entity operating the ropeways must maintain a record of all the activities undertaken as part of the maintenance programme, he said in the communication.

    “The state government must engage an experienced and qualified firm or organisation for carrying out a safety audit of each ropeway project. The entity operating the ropeway must comply with all the issues arising out of the audit,” the communication said.

    Three people were killed while being rescued from cable cars in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district after the ropeway connecting a hill malfunctioned on Sunday afternoon.

    The home secretary said BIS standards prescribed for the operation and maintenance of ropeway projects need to be scrupulously adhered to.

    He said the necessary guidance in this regard may be taken from the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), which is the nodal organisation under the Ministry of Road, Transport, and Highways, Government of India.

    Asking the states and union territories to review the condition of all the ropeway projects in their respective state, Bhalla said SOPs and contingency plans for operation and maintenance of ropeways, and system of safety audits must be put in place.

    “It should also be ensured that mock drills, mock exercises for handling contingency situations involving ropeways are periodically conducted,” he said.

    The home secretary advised the states and UTs to designate a senior officer of an appropriate level to regularly review the preparedness measures in respect of ropeway operations as per the SOPs and contingency plan.

    The mishap in Trikut Hills in Deoghar in Jharkhand occurred on April 10, leaving 18 trollies carrying over 60 people stranded in the air.

    After the efforts made by Indian Air Force, NDRF, Indian Army, ITBP, and local administration, the trapped people were rescued.

    However, three lives were lost during the rescue operation.

    “This incident has highlighted the need to have a detailed SOP and a contingency plan on ropeway operations, so as to prevent the occurrence of any such incident in the future,” the communication said.

  • Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla visits Assam’s Duliajan to attend SPs’ conference

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla visited Assam on Tuesday to attend the second edition of the state’s superintendents of police (SP) conference at the oil township of Duliajan. Bhalla, an Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer of 1984 batch, will interact with the district SPs who have gathered to review work done in the last six months.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had chaired the inaugural day of the meeting on Monday. Bhalla is expected to give a motivational speech to the SPs of all districts of Assam about various aspects of law and order and the country’s prevailing security situation, sources said.

    Duliajan is located about 50 km from Dibrugarh, where Bhalla was the Deputy Commissioner in early 1990s.

    Union Minister of State Rameswar Teli, state cabinet ministers Atul Bora and Sanjoy Kishan, chief secretary Jishnu Barua, DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and senior officers of the Army and air force had attended Monday’s inaugural session.

  • After Punjab, now Bengal to adopt motion on extended BSF jurisdiction

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  On a day Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla landed in Kolkata to hold a meeting with West Bengal officials on the issue of extending the jurisdiction of BSF from 15 km to 50 km, the state Assembly finalised a resolution opposing the Centre’s move. 

    Minister Partha Chatterjee said the resolution would be tabled on November 16.

    “The move is against the federal structure. The Centre took the arbitrary decision without consulting the state government,” he said. 

    He said if the BSF is allowed to operate within 50 km from the international borders, it will render 37 per cent area of the state’s land under the border force’s control and “clip the state police’s authority”. 

    The decision regarding the matter was taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, he added.

    The BJP maintained it would oppose the resolution, stating it to be against national interest.

    “Why don’t they protest against cases of cattle smuggling and infiltration,” BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh asked.

    Earlier, TMC chief whip Nirmal Ghosh said the matter will be taken up for discussion on November 17.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised the Centre’s move to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF), alleging that it was an attempt to interfere with the federal structure of the country.

    The BJP-led central government had amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

    The Punjab assembly on Thursday had adopted a resolution against the Centre’s decision, calling it an “insult” to the state police and sought its withdrawal.

    Meanwhile, the state assembly on Friday passed a resolution, carving out Bally Municipality from the Howrah Municipal Corporation area to help people get better civic amenities.

    Municipal Affairs Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya tabled the proposal as the House proceedings began and TMC’s Bally MLA Rana Chatteejee and Kandi MLA Apurba Sarkar spoke in favour of the resolution.

    Bhattacharya said the decision was taken in the interest of the people, so that they do not travel all the way to Howrah for getting their work done.

    Sixteen wards of Bally Municipality were merged with 50 wards of Howrah Municipal Corporation in 2015.

    Following the bifurcation, now the number of wards is likely to be rearranged.

    The Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill will be tabled in the assembly on November 16, Ghosh said.

    The state cabinet approved the bifurcation in January.

    “We want to give better amenities to every citizen, hence this decision was taken. If anyone opposes it, they are doing it for political reasons,” Bhattacharya later told reporters, replying to a question on BJP’s opposition to the move.

    Meanwhile, Harischandrapur MLA Tajmul Hussain raised the issue of a skulk of foxes attacking a village in his constituency in the Malda district, injuring around 40 people.

    As Forest Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick was not present in the House, he urged Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay to draw the minister’s attention.

    Kandi MLA Apurba Sarkar flagged the issue of delay in the construction of Ranagram bridge in Murshidabad district, stating that it is causing immense hardship to the people.

    No BJP MLA was present in the House on Friday.

    The assembly was adjourned till November 15.

    Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla discussed international border fencing, integrated check posts, border outposts and road projects with top officials of the West Bengal government on Friday, sources said.

    West Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi, Home Secretary BP Gopalika and Director-General of Police Manoj Malaviya were present at the meeting, besides magistrates of at least 10 districts, they said.

    During the meeting, Bhalla stressed that the Centre was very concerned about the security at the international borders, a source said.

    Among the issues discussed at the meeting were pending land acquisition for construction of borders fences, road projects, border outposts and integrated check posts, he said.

    The issue of extension of the BSF’s jurisdiction to 50 km from the international border did not come up for discussion at the meeting, the source said.

    “At the meeting, there were discussions about land acquisition for barbed wire fencing at the international borders. Total 289 km of the international border is needed to be fenced with barbed wires but it could not completed due to land acquisition issues. Fencing of 107 km of borders is yet to be done,” he said.

    Meanwhile, senior officials of the state government objected to the proposed plan of setting up border chowks in West Bengal, stating that they were “full of errors”, he said.

    “There are a lot of mistakes in the proposed plans for setting up the border chowks in West Bengal. Our officers have pointed out the mistakes and placed a report in support of their claims,” the source in the West Bengal government told PTI.

    West Bengal shares over 2,200 km of international border with Bangladesh, about 183 km border with Bhutan and 100 km border with Nepal.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Union home secretary in Bengal for meeting with state chief secretary

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla is in West Bengal to discuss pending land acquisition cases for the construction of a border fence, road projects and other issues with the chief secretary of the state.

    Bhalla’s visit to Kolkata for a meeting with West Bengal Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi is the first after a row erupted over the summoning of the then state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay by the Centre for not being present at a cyclone review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May.

    The Union home secretary is visiting Kolkata for a meeting with the state chief secretary to discuss pending land acquisition cases for the construction of a border fence and road projects, border outposts and integrated checkposts, a home ministry official said.

    West Bengal shares borders with Bangladesh (over 2,200 km), Bhutan (about 183 km) and Nepal (about 100 km).

    In May, the Centre had accused Bandyopadhyay, the principal advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of indulging in conduct that is “unbecoming of an IAS officer” by not attending the cyclone review meeting held by the prime minister.

    Bandyopadhyay was asked to report to the Centre but the state government had refused to release the top officer and instead, allowed him to retire on May 31.

    Subsequently, he was appointed as the principal advisor to the chief minister.

  • Assam-Mizoram border violence: Chief Secretaries, DGPs attend Home Ministry meet

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The chief secretaries and the police heads of Assam and Mizoram attended a meeting Wednesday called by the Union Home Ministry to resolve the ongoing border conflict between the two states which left five policemen and a civilian dead recently.

    Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla chaired the meeting which was attended by Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Baruah and Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and their respective Mizoram counterparts Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and SBK Singh, officials said.

    ALSO READ | Assam-Mizoram border violence: Chief Secretaries, DGPs attend Home Ministry meet

    “The central government is concerned over the Assam-Mizoram border dispute which led to violence and deaths of six people. The objective of the meeting is to lower the tension, bring peace and possibly find a solution,” a home ministry official said.

    The Director General of CRPF also attended the meeting as the personnel of the paramilitary force have been deployed in the Assam-Mizoram border areas where tension is high, the official said.

    Five Assam Police personnel and a civilian were killed and over 50 others including a superintendent of police were injured when the Mizoram Police opened fire on a team of the Assam officials Monday.

    Assam’s Barak Valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi share a 164-km long border with three Mizoram districts of Aizawl, Kolasib and Mamit.

    ALSO READ | Assam Police prevents Congress delegation from visiting Mizoram border after violent clashes

    After counter allegations of encroachment of territory over the past few weeks and skirmishes that escalated tensions between the two states, violent clashes were reported along the inter-state border that ended in the death of five Assam Police men and a civilian.

    The incidents came two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held talks with the chief ministers of eight northeastern states and underscored the need to resolve lingering border disputes.

  • Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviews COVID-19 situation in hill stations, tourist locations

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Saturday sounded a note of caution against reported blatant disregard of COVID-appropriate behaviour at hill stations and other tourist locations, stressing that the second wave of the pandemic is not yet over.

    The Home Secretary was reviewing the steps taken by the state governments for checking the spread of COVID-19 at hill stations and tourist locations, a home ministry statement said.

    During the meeting, the overall management of the COVID-19 situation and the vaccination status in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal were discussed.

    The meeting was conveyed that the decline of the second wave is at variable stages in the different states and UTs in the country, and while the overall case positivity rate may be declining, the case positivity rate in certain districts of Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh is over 10 percent, which is a cause for concern, the statement said.

    The Union Home Secretary sounded a note of caution in the wake of media reports showing blatant disregard of COVID-appropriate behaviour at hill stations and other tourist locations, the statement said.

    Bhalla emphasised that the second wave of COVID was not yet over and states should ensure strict adherence to the protocols prescribed in respect of wearing of masks, social distancing and other safe behaviour.

    States were also asked to follow the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and COVID Appropriate Behaviour, as has been laid out in the MHA order dated June 29, 2021.

    Adequate health infrastructure preparedness, especially in rural, peri-urban and tribal areas, was also advised to tackle any potential future surge in cases.

    The meeting was attended by V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Director General, Indian Council for Medical Research; and Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police and Principal Secretaries (Health) of the eight states.

  • Covid-19: These three sectors exempted from Centre’s ban on non-medical use of liquid oxygen

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A day after putting a ban on the use of liquid oxygen for non-medical purposes, the government on Monday allowed three sectors — ampules and vials, pharmaceutical and defense forces — to use the commodity.

    Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had on Sunday imposed a ban on the use of liquid oxygen for non-medical purposes, amid a scarcity of medical oxygen in many parts of the country, particularly in Delhi, that has been hit by a fresh wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

    In a letter to states and Union Territories on Monday, Bhalla said that three sectors — ampules and vials; pharmaceutical and defense forces — have now been exempted from the ban order.

    The Central government has taken a number of steps to deal with the medical oxygen crisis in some parts of the country due to the increasing demand as the second wave of coronavirus engulfed several states.

    The central government is trying to source oxygen from different parts of the country and making it available in the worst-hit states by running special trains.

    It is also getting cryogenic tanks from countries like Singapore and the UAE to transport oxygen, and sourcing oxygen concentrators from the United States.

    ALSO WATCH:

  • Tractor rally: Home Secretary briefs Amit Shah on Delhi situation

    By PTI
    NE DELHI: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Tuesday briefed Home Minister Amit Shah about the situation in Delhi where the farmers’ tractor rally against the agri laws turned violent, officials said.

    The meeting came after a large number of farmers with their tractors broke police barricades and entered central Delhi areas, including Red Fort and ITO.

    The home secretary met the home minister and apprised him about the prevailing situation in the national capital and the steps being taken by the Delhi Police to maintain peace, an official said.

    A few other officials were also present at the meeting.

    The Union Home Ministry has already ordered a temporary suspension of the internet in parts of Delhi.

    Wielding sticks and clubs and holding the tricolour and union flags, tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors broke barriers, clashed with police and entered the city from various points to lay siege to the Red Fort and climb the flagpole on Republic Day.

    Farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points, including Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur, since November 28, demanding a complete repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for their crops.