News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh government

  • Supreme Court stays takeover of land of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan’s Jauhar University

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the takeover of the land of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur initiated by the Uttar Pradesh government for nonadherence to certain conditions on which the land for the institution was granted to a trust run by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in 2005.

    A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and others on the appeal filed against the Allahabad High Court order.

    The High Court had in September last year dismissed the petition filed by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust seeking quashing of a report submitted by Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in March 2020 on the constructions over the land as well as the order dated January 16, 2021, by Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Rampur for vesting of the land in the state.

    Both Azam Khan and his son Abdullah are currently lodged at Sitapur district jail and are facing several cases. Citing the SDM’s report, the high court had said a mosque was constructed over the land which was only for educational purposes, and thus, is a violation of the permission granted by the state government.

    The high court had said that no interference was required in the order passed by the ADM to initiate proceedings under Section 104/105 of the UP Revenue Code, 2006 for vesting of University’s land in UP Govt i.e. taking over the land given to the Trust.

    In 2005, the then Samajwadi Party government enacted the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Act, paving the way for the creation of the university.

    Thereafter, the state government granted permission to the Trust to acquire 400 acres of land against the ceiling of 12.5 acres (5.0586 hectares) for the establishment of the University while imposing certain conditions, one of which was that the land will be used only for educational purposes.

    According to law, if such a condition is violated, the permission granted by the state government stands withdrawn.

  • Expedite work under government schemes: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to officials

    By PTI

    GORAKHPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with the officials in Gorakhpur on Sunday and asked officials to expedite work under various government schemes and deal strictly with miscreants.

    Reviewing the law-and-order situation and various development projects, the chief minister said that the projects should be carried out without corruption and special care should be taken to ensure transparency, quality and their timely completion.

    Senior administrative, police officials and elected representatives of districts under the Gorakhpur Division attended the three-hour-long meeting. Adityanath stressed that no revised estimate will be required if projects get completed within the given time limit. “Work should be done transparently while maintaining quality. A nodal officer should be nominated for each project. Stern action will be taken against officials over complaint or carelessness,” he said.

    District magistrates of all the districts of the Gorakhpur zone presented the development of schemes while police officials presented reports about the law-and-order arrangements at the meeting. About law and order, Adityanath instructed officials to deal strictly with the criminals while being sensitive toward common people who come to police stations.

    He directed officials to ensure the availability of clean drinking water and proper sitting arrangements for visitors. The chief minister instructed officials to make preparations for flood control before the rainy season and also hold meetings with elected representatives every month. “It is our responsibility to keep up the trust of people as everyone has the right to justice. Interdepartmental coordination is a powerful thing and we were able to win against encephalitis because of it,” he said.

    Discussing Operation Kayakalp run by the education department, Adityanath stressed that no child should be deprived of school education. He directed the officials to expedite work for providing potable water to people and also build ponds under the Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and name them Amrit Sarovar.

    Smart villages on the lines of smart cities must also be developed, he added.

  • Uttar Pradesh government has been successful in ‘eradicating’ encephalitis: CM Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI

    SIDDHARTHNAGAR: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said his government has been successful in “eradicating” encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that previous dispensations in the state did not do anything for the prevention of the disease.

    Speaking at the launch of a campaign aimed at controlling communicable diseases here, Adityanath said encephalitis used to be a “curse” for eastern Uttar Pradesh.

    “Due to this, a number of people died every year from 1977 to 2017. In eastern UP, 2,000-3,000 deaths used to take place every year because of this disease. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government took on encephalitis, and through the Swachh Bharat Mission and other campaigns, we started working with the World Health Organisation,” he said.

    “Those who had only given assurances for 40 years, could not do anything,” he said referring to previous state governments, and added, “We have been successful in eradicating it (encephalitis) completely. Our forefathers used to say that prevention is more important than cure.”

    Encephalitis is a serious neurological illness that causes inflammation of the brain.

    Its symptoms may include headache, fever, confusion, stiff neck and vomiting.

    The disease most commonly affects children and young adults and can lead to mortality.

    According to the National Health Portal, viruses are the main causative agents in encephalitis cases, although other sources such as bacteria, fungus, parasites, chemicals, toxins and non-infectious agents have also been blamed.

    The chief minister further said, “This is an awareness programme, and if you associate yourself with this programme, then I am of the view that encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya and kala azar will be eradicated. We have also taken a pledge to eradicate filaria and tuberculosis, and we will not allow such diseases to last in Uttar Pradesh.”

    Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh holds the “record” for setting up the maximum number of medical colleges in the last five years.

    “We have established a medical college in Siddharthnagar and students have enroled for the first session. In the coming year, we will set up 17-18 medical colleges in the state so that people can avail services of health experts,” he said.

  • Yogi Cabinet 2.0: UP ministers allocated personal staff through lottery

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: To ensure corruption-free governance, the newly-appointed ministers of Yogi government 2.0 have not been given the option to choose the personal staff of their choice. Instead, a new lottery system has been introduced with the approval of the CM’s office.

    The system has been digitized and the ministers concerned are made to choose their staff from a list of employees randomly through a computer lottery supervised by the secretariat administration department. The system was followed by a number of ministers who assumed office on Tuesday.

    Significantly, CM Yogi Adityanath has kept the department of administrative reforms with himself.

    All members of the support staff who had worked with ministers in their previous five-year stint have been retained in the new list.

    Meanwhile, the participation of women in governance and general administrative work has been raised to 20%. They will be deputed as private secretaries (PS), assistant PS, review officers (RO), and assistant ROs of the newly-appointed ministers.

    ALSO READ | After free rations, Yogi govt prepares to set up community kitchens across Uttar Pradesh

    Sources said in the final list of personal staff approved by the CMO, the names of the personnel were kept confidential and were replaced by a code to keep the selection free from caste, creed, religion or regional considerations. Hence, while choosing the staff, the ministers will not be aware of whom they will select as their staff.

    The entire system of the personal staff selection was framed under the supervision of principal secretary, secretariat administration, Amrit Abhijat who claimed the CM had stressed on digitized allocation of staff to improve the functioning of the system.

    However, while the majority of ministers welcomed the new system developed for allocation of personal staff, some of them had reservations over working with women principal secretaries owing to late-night working hours or even travel regimens which the women staff may find difficult to follow.

  • Uttar Pradesh government swearing-in: Seating arrangements for 75,000 people being made at Lucknow stadium

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Seating arrangements for 75,000 people are being made at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium here for the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected BJP government on March 25, an official said on Saturday.

    Chief minister-designate Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet ministers will take the oath of office at the ceremony that will take place at 4 pm on Friday.

    Additional Chief Secretary (information) Navneet Sehgal, who on Saturday visited the stadium, said the preparations for the swearing-in ceremony are being done under Chief Secretary D S Mishra.

    “Seating arrangements for 75,000 people are being made at the swearing-in ceremony. The programme will be a grand and splendid one, and preparations are already underway,” he said.

    On Friday, BJP sources had said that senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president J P Nadda and other central ministers will attend the event.

    Besides, chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states, RSS leaders and BJP office-bearers are expected to attend the function.

    Top leaders of opposition parties will also be invited, they had said.

    Before the ceremony, Adityanath will be elected as the leader of the legislature party, the sources had said.

    This will be the second consecutive term for Adityanath.

    The BJP won 255 seats in the 403-member assembly and its allies won 18 seats.

  • ‘Enough of Ganga dubkis’: Mahua Moitra joins Opposition chorus demanding removal of Ajay Mishra

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Joining other Opposition leaders, now TMC MP Mahua Moitra has demanded the resignation of MoS Ajay Mishra after a finding of Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Lakhimpur-Kheri incident was leaked on Tuesday.  

    Mahua Moitra said the reality has been exposed as the SIT’s finding show that the Lakhimpur Kheri incident was a ‘planned one’.

    Mahua Moitra in her tweet wrote, “Lakhmipur Kheri SIT says incident was pre-planned, not an accident. Says Ashish Mishra should be tried for attempt to murder.”

    The TMC MP said that the main accused, MoS Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish, should be tried for attempt to murder.

    Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last para of the same tweet, Moitra said  “Enough of Ganga dubkkis. Get justice back on track, fire Ajay Mishra & see this end”.

    ​ALSO READ | Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Rahul Gandhi demands minister be removed from post and PM apologise

    Ashish Mishra is one the accused in the Lakhimpur-Kheri incident in which four farmers were allegedly mowed down while they were protesting against the three farm laws.

    Sources said that the SIT formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate into the incident, has reportedly stated that the Lakhimpur Kheri incident was a ‘planned conspiracy’ to crush the farmers on protest against the farm laws on October 3. 

    The political parties in opposition after the leaked finding of SIT have stepped up their attacks on the BJP-led Central government and are also demanding the immediate removal of MoS Ajay Mishra.

  • Women unsafe in Uttar Pradesh: Priyanka Gandhi 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of safety of women, alleging that women are unsafe in the state.

    Her attack came after media reports claimed that an officer at Bapu Bhavan in Lucknow has been arrested for allegedly molesting a contractual worker after a video of the incident went viral.

    “Be it secretariat, road or any other place: Women are unsafe in Uttar Pradesh. This is the reality of the government’s claim on ‘women’s safety’,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

    “A sister from Uttar Pradesh had to make a video of the incident with her viral due to inaction on her complaint of sexual harassment. How much patience and fighting power would she have had?” the Congress general secretary said.

    Gandhi urged women in the state to unite and fight for themselves.

    “You are a girl, you can fight. All the women of the country are standing with you,” she said.

    The Congress has been attacking the state government over the issue of law and order and women’s safety, alleging that criminal activities are rampant, a claim denied by the Yogi Adityanath dispensation.

  • UP govt releases over Rs 208 crore for flood-hit farmers

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Providing immediate relief to farmers in distress due to crop loss during the recent floods, the Uttar Pradesh government has released an amount of over Rs 208 crore in 44 districts. This will benefit around 6.18 lakh farmers of the state. The government has directed all the concerned officials to ensure that the aid reaches the affected farmers immediately.

    The government has dispensed the relief package after assessing crop losses. The government had already released a total of Rs 1,59,28,97,496 to about 4,77,581 farmers earlier this week. On Friday, for the distribution of agricultural investment grants to the remaining 1,39,863 farmers identified after survey, a fund of Rs. 48,20,57,668 was released.

    Crops here have been badly damaged due to torrential rains and heavy floods in September and early October. The compensation amount will be directly transferred to the bank account (DBT) of farmers from the district treasury. In wake of the natural calamities, the government is providing financial assistance from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF).

    Standing firmly with the farmers suffering from crop loss due to floods, the Chief Minister has also instructed the officials to give appropriate and immediate compensation to the farmers at any cost. 

    The process of damage assessment has been intensified in the flood-affected districts. Following reports of crop loss due to floods and heavy showers in some parts of Uttar Pradesh in September and October, the state government had ordered a survey to assess agricultural damage which is still on.

    The districts of Purvanchal were the most affected by the floods. In view of the problems of the farmers, CM Yogi himself visited the flood-affected areas and took stock of the situation. The CM had also instructed ministers and MLAs to visit the flood-affected areas to help the farmers.

  • Kanpur’s Zika virus case tally reaches 10, focus on halting mosquito breeding

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has so far reported 10 cases of the Zika virus with six fresh cases of the mosquito-borne virus being reported from Kanpur district. 

    While three of these cases are Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel, the remaining seven, including six reported recently, are all civilians including a pregnant woman, who is under round-the-clock observation.

    According to state government sources, a total of 645 samples have been sent to King George Medical University (KGMU) so far. 253 samples among them have been collected from people with symptoms of fever and 103 samples are of pregnant women. Out of 507 samples tested, merely 9 people have tested positive for Zika virus, while 1 patient had tested positive from the samples that were sent to NIV Pune. 

    READ HERE | Zika virus explained: How is it spread & why pregnant women should take extra caution?

    Heightening preventive measures to eliminate cases of Zika virus in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government will further intensify comprehensive surveillance and implement stringent containment curbs on the breeding of mosquitoes. 

    “The Health Department must ensure strict surveillance to check the spread of Zika virus and should undertake frequent and extensive door-to-door sanitisation and fogging drives to stop mosquito breeding. People should be made aware of preventive measures and must be encouraged to maintain cleanliness,” instructed the Chief Minister in a high-level meeting with senior officials. 

    The state health department has been carrying out mass-scale sanitisation drives, state-wide surveillance, spraying of anti-larva chemicals, and fogging to curtail the spread. The health workers have been paying door-to-door visits to identify patients with viral fever, vector-borne diseases and other symptoms. Under the drive, over 39,897 households have been covered and more than 1,61,535 people have been made aware of the preventive measures to remove mosquito breeding sites. 

    It is noteworthy that since the confirmation of the state’s first case of Zika virus on October 22, the Uttar Pradesh government is carrying out strict testing of samples at a large scale to remove the risk of any further spread at KGMU, Lucknow. 

    Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that spreads through the bite of an infected Aedes species of mosquito named Aedes aegypti. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Aedes mosquitoes usually bite during the day, peaking during early morning and late afternoon or evening. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

    For the majority of people, Zika virus infection is not a serious issue. But it can be very dangerous among pregnant women. The infection can cause microcephaly (a brain disability condition) or other conditions called congenital Zika syndrome.

  • Uttar Pradesh government to start distributing tablets, smartphones among youth by November-end: CM Yogi Adityanath

    Yogi Adityanath said his government will begin the distribution of tablets and smartphones among the youth by November-end.