NEW DELHI 01 FEBRUARY 2026 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in The Good Bacteria THE DISASTER DIARY PLUS: 12 PAGES MAGAZINE The Mahatma’s Final Trial Devdutt Pattanaik Neelkanth Mishra Ravi Shankar Ram Singh Dr Alka Pande Qurban Ali Dinesh Singh In Search of a Suitable Boy EXCLUSIVE VOICES Kutch Kutch Hota Hai Not Just the Little Black Dress Sunetra dy CM, Sharad Pawar sore SUNETRA Ajit Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra on Saturday at the Governor’s House in Mumbai, becoming the first woman to occupy the position in the state. She was allotted excise, sports, minority development and Aukaf (Waqf) departments, but not finance and planning which her late husband Ajit Pawar held. The brief swearing-in ceremony at the Lok Bhavan took place three days after deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died in an air crash in Baramati on January 28. A commerce graduate, Sunetra, 62, resigned from her Rajya Sabha membership, and is expected to contest the byelection to the Baramati assembly SUFFOCATION 4 workers from Assam found dead in K’taka EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru FOUR labourers from Assam were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their labour shed at E Muthsandra in Hoskote taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The deceased identified as Jayant Sindhe (25), Nirendranath (24), Doctor Tide (25), and Dhananjay Tide (20) worked as loaders and unloaders in a warehouse storing soft drinks. On Friday night, after returning from work, they locked the door and windows of their shed and kept some rice to cook for dinner. The incident came to light when their fifth roommate returned from work. Ajay, who was working at a different place, returned to the shed around 11 pm. On getting no response from any of his friends, he forced opened the door and saw smoke filled inside the shed which had no window. He found all his four friends motionless. Of the four, two were dead in sitting posture. He immediately called the shed owner, police said. “There was no ventilation in the shed. We suspect that the victims would have died of suffocation after inhaling gas that leaked from the cylinder. We are awaiting the autopsy report to ascertain the exact cause of the death,” said an officer. EXPRESS READ India will continue to back Palestine: Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated India’s continued support for the people of Palestine and welcomed ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan, during his meeting with a delegation of Arab foreign ministers in New Delhi. He underlined the “deep and historic people-to-people ties” between India and the Arab world. P7 NGT penalises cricket stadiums on water issue The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of `5,000 on the Arun Jaitley Stadium for failing to submit details to the Central Ground Water Authority regarding the use of groundwater for maintaining its cricket ground. The Delhi stadium is among 12 major cricket venues across the country penalised for non-compliance. P3 From left, CM Devendra Fadnavis, Governor Acharya Devvrat, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar after her swearing-in in Mumbai | PTI constituency represented by her late husband. After Ajit Pawar’s demise, the 85-year-old Sharad Pawar had called a meeting of the Pawar family on Friday night to discuss the merger of both factions of the NCP. But Sunetra and her two sons, Parth and Jay skipped it and left for Mum, bai for the NCP’s legislative party meeting and oath-taking ceremony An apparently miffed . Pawar told the media in Baramati a day later that he had no idea that Sunetra was going to be sworn in as deputy CM. “We had several meetings with Ajit for the merger of NCP. It was his wish that both factions should come together... it appears the process may hit a roadblock following the accident,” Sharad Pawar said. Parth then rushed back to Baramati to mollify his grandfather as well as Supriya Sule. Shah steps up pitch, says BJP will jail corrupt TMC netas if voted to power S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress in poll-bound West Bengal, alleging that no other administration in the country was as corrupt as the Mamata Banerjee-led government and asserting that the BJP would jail corrupt leaders if voted to power. Addressing party workers at meetings in Barrackpore and Siliguri, Shah said the party would form the government with an absolute majority and push its vote share beyond 50 per cent. He noted that the BJP secured 38 per cent votes and 77 assembly seats in the 2021 polls and 39 per cent vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state. Shah accused the state gov- Home minister Amit Shah addressing a rally in Bengal | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT ernment of giving corruption an “institutional shape” and shielding tainted leaders. Targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Shah alleged corruption exceeding `1,000 crore and said action was being avoided to protect those involved. He also questioned whether TDP leaders jailed in corruption cases would be renominated. Shah referred to alleged scams, including Saradha, Narada, coal and cattle smuggling, school recruitment and the public distribution system, and said corruption continued despite arrests and probe. He accused the state of obstructing border security by not providing land to the Border Security Force for fencing along the international boundary, alleging infiltrators were being protected for electoral gains. Administration and police were not stopping illegal migrants using fake documents, he said, adding a BJP government would secure the border within 45 days. Referring to a recent factory fire near Kolkata that killed 25 workers, Shah alleged corruption and administrative failure and questioned why the owners had not been arrested. P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Under G RAM G, rural projects are linked to the PM Gati Shakti national master plan. I believe this will largely reduce repetition (in MGNREGA), as the scheme focuses on specific priority areas. It will also create lasting assets for communities and villages Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu Flaws in NREGA Pointing out flaws in MGNREGA, Devarayalu said the scheme often involved the same work being repeated year after year. The G Ram G scheme will address it. On tech hassle, he added, “4G is widespread. We will open offices in areas with poor connectivity, so that no one is left out.” AHEAD of Sunday’s Union Budget, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key ally of the NDA, said while the recently enacted Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (G RAM G) is expected to add an estimated `2,500 crore burden to Andhra Pradesh’s state budget, it is confident that the Centre will step in with financial support to bridge the gap. In an interview with this newspaper, TDP parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said the party has already taken up the matter with the Centre. “We have sought the Centre’s support for implementing G RAM G, and we have received a lot of confidence from them. We expect to receive a substantial allocation for the Purvodaya scheme to meet the additional cost for G RAM G,” he said. The state is also expecting allocation of funds for river interlinking projects and the development of horticulture across at least 40 lakh acres in Rayalaseema and other backward districts in the Union Budget, added Devarayalu. Under the G RAM G Act, the guarantee of work has been increased from 100 days to 125 days per financial year, and states are required to cover 40% of the expenditure for the rural job scheme. Under this revised funding formula, Andhra Pradesh is expected to shoulder an additional Rs 2,500 crore. To meet the additional cost, the state is exploring two potential sources, the Purvodaya scheme and the Rayalaseema drought mitigation scheme, said Devarayalu. “We are hoping to secure as much funding as possible for both in the Union Budget,” he said. The Purvodaya scheme is aimed at the sustainable development of Eastern India, specifically Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. A recent report by research group Libitech said that Andhra Pradesh is already burdened with nearly `10 lakh crore in debt. In 2024–25, Andhra Pradesh spent around `7,800 crore under MGNREGA, with the state contributing about `780 crore. Under the new Act, the state’s share is projected to rise sharply to nearly `3,120 crore. “We have a strategy in place, and going forward, the funds will be augmented. We will ensure that the scheme is fully implemented,” he said. Let polluters pay, says Kerala panel Weightage to urban bodies R A J E S H A B R A H A M @ Kochi ISHAN ROARS, SANJU QUIET Ishan Kishan was in scintiallting form as he scored a hundred against New Zealand on Saturday. Here he celebrates with Hardik Pandya. On the other hand, Sanju Samson managed only 6 runs. India have already won the series I BP DIPU I P11 INVOKING the principle of “let the polluter pay”, the first report of the 7th State Finance Commission of Kerala proposed a pollution tax or user fee on medium and large economic units, marking a decisive push to link local government revenues with environmental accountability and the buoyancy of the local economy . “We suggest a tax or a user fee on the polluter following the principle of ‘let the polluter pay’,” the report said. Headed by economist K N Harilal, the commission also proposed a reworked devolution formula that factored in the ageing population and ur- Moulding Karma as Awareness TDP hopes for G Ram G spend compensation Immediate challenges before Sunetra Pawar Sunetra Pawar’s first challenge is to win the Baramati by-election since her miffed father-in-law, Sharad Pawar will not cede control over their bastion that easily. Both Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule were invited to her swearing-in ceremony, but they refused. She also needs to develop her pan-Maharashtra foothold to keep the party from disintegration and resolving internal dissensions. | P8 AMMA SPEAKS GENERAL BUDGET TODAY Maha gets its first woman deputy CM; Sharad Pawar says NCP merger may hit a roadblock S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai ‘If there’s Something I Want to Do, I Do it’ 7th State Finance Commission proposed to devolve 29% of state expenditure to urban bodies for local self-government. It called for additional weightage for Kerala’s municipal population. ban density, signalling a shift towards a more developmentsensitive fiscal framework. The report, submitted by the commission to the Kerala government, suggested that industrial units be required to file annual statements detailing the volume of waste or pollutants generated and the mode of treatment adopted. Such a levy , the commission noted, could gradually evolve into a stable and accepted source of revenue for local governments, while simultaneously creating awareness on pollution control. Beyond the proposed green levy, the report recommended an overhaul of the devolution framework to reflect Kerala’s demographic transition and mounting urban pressures. It called for additional weightage for urban population or population density and proposed devolving 29 per cent of the State Plan to local self-governments. It advocated the involvement of the Union Finance Commission to build wider consensus, warning that competition to attract investment could otherwise undermine environmentally sustainable initiatives. 2 yr deputation at Centre must for IPS officers of SP/DIG rank M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi FACING an acute shortage of Indian Police Service (IPS) officers at the Centre, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended promotion guidelines to make Central deputation mandatory for empanelment to senior ranks. In an order, the MHA has revised its norms stating that IPS officers would now be required to complete a minimum of two years of Central deputation at the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG), or an equivalent level, to be eligible for empanelment as Inspector General (IG) or its equivalent cadre. The decision follows repeated reminders from the MHA to state governments to nominate an adequate number of IPS officers for Central deputation in line with the Central Deputation Reserve (CDR). T h e s e r e m i n d e r s h ave come even from the level of Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, highlighting persistent gaps in staffing at the Centre, particularly at the SP and DIG levels. The revised guidelines will apply to IPS officers of the 2011 batch onwards. A senior MHA official said younger IPS officers have shown reluctance for Central deputation due to the appeal of field postings in districts where they lead police forces and exercise direct command. As a result, many officers prefer to remain in their respective state cadres during the early and middle stages of their careers. Officers become more inclined to serve at the Centre only after reaching the IG level or above. This imbalance prompted the rule tweak. 93% of satellite alerts on fires false, claims U’khand forest dept N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun AS the Uttarakhand forest department prepares for the upcoming fire season in the forests, a discrepancy has emerged between satellite-based data and ground reality Recent fig. ures from the Forest Survey of India (FSI) suggest a burning crisis in the state forests, but field verifications by the foresr department show that only 6.75% of satellite fire alerts were about actual instances. Between November 2025 and January 2026—a period considered off-season for forest fires— the state received a staggering 1,957 fire alerts from FSI satellites. The high number sparked panic in the government, as fires in the winter are rare. However, upon physical verification of all 1,957 spots, forest officials found that only 132 locations were actually on fire. The data indicates that the satellite system often fails to distinguish between a destructive forest fire and routine activities, such as farmers burning crop residue or the department’s own “control burning” practiced to create fire lines. The inaccuracy, however, has Blaze Beeps Satellites sounded 1,957 fire alerts in U’khand forests between Nov 2025 and Jan 2026. They turned out to be 132 768 756 301 Actual forest fires taken a toll on ground staff. Forest guards often trek for hours through rugged terrain to reach remote coordinates provided by the FSI, only to find no smoke or fire. “Our teams are being stretched thin,” a senior official noted. The manpower and resources wasted on chasing the False alerts Fires Controlled outside fires by the forest areas department ghost fires could be better utilised for prevention efforts,” the official said. The officials said the 132 confirmed incidents in this period resulted in a loss of 18.84 hectares of forest land, which is far lower than what the FSI alerts initially suggested. Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal expressed concerns over the reliability of the monitoring system. “I have maintained that the alerts provided by the Forest Survey of India are not entirely accurate. Only 6-7% of these alerts are found to be genuine upon verification,” he told this newspaper. The minister said, “We need a technological upgrade to ensure that we receive precise, real-time data that distinguishes between a kitchen fire, a farm fire, and a forest blaze.” The fire season is between February 15 and June 15. WARMER FEB MAY IMPACT RABI CROPS: IMD Below-average rainfall and higher maximum temperatures in February are likely to impact wheat, oilseeds, and pulses.