thrissur l friday l may 20, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Relief as Indonesia lifts ban on palm oil export In a major relief for India’s FMGC sector, exports will resume on Monday, almost a month after the ban went into effect Price fall in local market behind decision Domestic Supply triples: Widodo Indonesian President Joko Widodo said palm oil’s price has fallen from $1.35 per litre to about $1.17 since the ban, which was meant to increase its local supply and reduce the domestic price. The war in Ukraine, which accounts for nearly half of the world’s sunflower oil, had put pressure on the global supply of cooking oil, making palm oil prices jump ■ ■ Once Indonesia announced its export ban, the price of palm oil shot up 200%, putting pressure on India, which imports about 8.5 million tonnes of the commodity annually Indonesian leader said the ban has helped triple the supply of palm oil from 64,500 tons to 2,11,000 tons per month 60% of world’s palm oil comes from Indonesia CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI GST Council’s decisions not written in stone, rules SC Says Parliament, assemblies free to legislate on it; experts fear it would trigger fresh face-off with Centre The Supreme Court opened a can of worms on Thursday when in the course of delivering a verdict in a case, it held that the GST Council’s recommendations have only persuasive value and are not binding. “The Parliament and the state legislatures possess simultaneous powers to legislate on GST. Article 246A of the Constitution does not envisage a repugnancy provision to resolve the inconsistencies between the Central and state laws on GST. The recommendations of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and states. They are recommendatory in nature,” the court observed. The bench made the observation while upholding a Gujarat High Court order to revoke Integrated GST (IGST) on ocean freight from Indian importers. It held that the IGST paid on ocean freight is unconstitutional and those who have already paid it will be eligible for refund. Some state finance ministers from non-BJP states had in the past ques- Dialogue in federalism “Indian federalism is a dialogue between cooperative and uncooperative federalism where the federal units are at liberty to use different means of persuasion,” the ruling said tioned the authority of the GST Council and even termed the GST (in its current form and shape) as against the federalism. In May 2021, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan had berated the GST system and council saying they function with an omnipotent and all-encompassing mandate not envisioned in the Constitution. Tax experts believe the SC’s observation might increase the state vs Centre tussle on many GST issues. Mahesh Jaising, Partner, Deloitte India said, “This would have far reaching implications on various other matters where states are not in agreement with the decisions of the GST Council, especially in light of the compensation period coming to an Now, court nod for case against Mathura mosque Structure found in gyanvapi resembles shivalinga: Survey E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Lucknow N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow INSIDE Amid the ongoing litigation on the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, a Mathura district court on Thursday allowed petitions seeking removal of the Shahi Idgah masjid abutting the Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. “The suit to remove the Shahi Idgah mosque on the ground that it was built over the Krishna Janmabhoomi land is maintainable,” district judge Rajeev Bharti said, overturning a civil court’s order dismissing a bunch of petitions demanding it. “Right to sue of the plaintiff will stand restored. Case will be restored at its original number,” the district court said in its order. The order came on a revision petition filed by deities Bhagwan Shrikrishna Virajman of Katra Keshav Dev temple and Asthan Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi, through next of friends Ranjana Agnihotri and six others challenging the dismissal order. In all, three lawsuits were filed. They sought the removal of the Shahi Idgah masjid on the grounds that it was built on orders of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 over 13.37 acre on the premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple adjacent the Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi. The Mathura civil court had dismissed the petitions on September 30, 2020 saying it was in contravention with the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. In their challenge at the district court, the petitioners claimed that as devotees of Lord Krishna, their right to practice and propagate their religion under Article 25 of the Constitution was infringed. interim bail for SP leader Azam Khan | P8 that structure were removed, its black colour became visible. A report of a court-ordered survey The survey report also mentions conducted in the Gyanvapi mosque the ground plan, zig-zag cuts inside on May 14-16, which was submitted to domes of the mosque and the main a Varanasi civil court on Thursday, mandaps, which matched the map of claims a black stone cylindrical ground plan of the Aadi Visheshwar structure found in the middle of the temple as printed in multiple books, wuzu (ablution) pond on said sources. the premises resembled a During the survey, a report Shivalinga, highly placed swastik was found on the submitted sources said. inner wall near the south As soon as the cylindripole of the main dome, cal structure became visisources added. Symbols of report of courtble to the court-appointed three damroos were reportordered survey of commission, the plaintiffs edly spotted at the main Gyanvapi mosque and their lawyers started gate of the mosque. In the submitted to calling it a Shivalinga north-west direction, a 15 Varanasi judge while the mosque authorift x15 ft basement was spotties termed it a fountain ted and it was reportedly that was defunct for years, covered with debris. Stones the report adds. lying in the debris had imsealed boxes Sources citing the report ages resembling the archicontaining maps, said the mosque staff tecture of north Indian failed to give a definite chips of still photos temples. and video clips of timeline on when the founSources also claimed the survey tain became defunct. Inithat the survey report retially, they claimed it was conducted on May 6 ferred to a 3 ft deep pond not working for the last 20 and 7, and May 14 to having 30 taps all around 16 part of the years but then they scaled it. At a distance of 83 ft documentation down the figure to 12 years. from the pond, an idol reThe mosque staff also sembling Nandi was spotfailed to make it operationted by the surveyors. al when requested to do so, The report also men32 GB chips, 1,500 they added. tions the images of trishul, frames of still On top of the cylindrical snake, bells, betel leaves, structure is an half-inch photographs and 10 elephants, bases for houshours of video thick white layer whose raing idols of deities the surrecordings in the dius is 9 inch and has five vey team found, said sealed boxes equal parts. A narrow 63 sources. cm deep hole was noticed Another report submitat the centre of the cylindrical struc- ted by sacked advocate commissioner ture, but the survey team found no Ajay Kuamr Mishra of the survey arrangement for a water supply pipe conducted by him on May 6 and 7 for the fountain to function. mentions many symbols resembling Sources claimed the cylindrical the architecture of north Indian temstructure was 2.5 ft high with a radi- ples like lotus, snakes and idols on us of 4 ft at the base. The report says wester n wall of the Gyanvapi P7 when layers of moss deposited over mosque.  15-page end in June.” Article 279A of the Constitution specifies that the GST Council will only make recommendations to states and the Centre on taxes, cesses and surcharge levied by them, which may be subsumed in the GST Act. However, Sushil Modi, who has played a crucial role in shaping the GST as a member of the council while he was finance minister of Bihar, says the court’s observation will not make much of a difference. “The Supreme Court’s ruling is not new. It is already there in the Constitution. There won’t be any adverse implication of this amendment as no state would like to deviate from the majority for the fear of being at disadvantage or being singled out,” he said. The Supreme Court’s ruling that the GST Council’s recommendations are not binding on the Centre and states is an important one and it will have far-reaching influence on tax structure and Centre-state relations, Finance Minister K N Balagopal has said. The ruling that the recommendations are of advisory nature will help in protecting the state’s federal rights. The verdict upholds cooperative federalism and is welcome. It justifies the E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Palakkad Two officers attached to the Kerala Armed Police camp died of electrocution allegedly from a trap kept to catch wild boars. Their bodies were found in the fields behind the KAP II camp in Muttikulangara on Thursday Two persons have been . t a ke n i n t o c u s t o dy i n t h i s connection. Police said the deceased — Ashok Kumar, 35, and Mohandas, 36, — were living with their families in the quarters in the camp. They played badminton inside the camp till 9.30pm on Wednesday. Later they went missing.Their bodies were found lying in the paddy field behind the KAP camp around 9am Ashok Kumar Mohandas on Thursday. The bodies were found lying 200 metres apart. An umbrella was recovered from the spot. There were burns on the hand and other parts of the body . Subsequently, an investigation was launched. All the local residents in the area were questioned and it shed light on the practice of laying traps to catch wild boars that destroyed crops in the area, a yasin malik guilty of terror funding | P7 Boxing glory Nikhat gets her due, now on top of worlds Growing up in the shadow of a legend is not easy It can be heartbreak. ing at times and if she continues winning and securing the space, which under normal circumstances, would be Nikhat’s natural domain, it can be worse. There were words of despair. She cried and endured in silence. All she hoped for was good tidings. She considers herself stubborn and that perhaps could be one of the reasons why she never stopped dreaming. Champions usually don’t dwell much on missed chances. In 2014, she was the youth silver medallist and before that junior world champion in 2011. She also represented India at the world championships once in 2016 in 54kg. The pressure of performing was immense on the Nizamabad girl. For mortals, it would have been enough to make the knees wobble, but not for Nikhat. With 2024 Paris Olympics looming, nothing could have been more soothing than this gold. However, the weight categories available are 50kg and 54kg. India will return with three medals. Apart from Nikhat’s gold, Manisha Moun (57kg) and debutant Parveen Hooda (63kg), have won bronze. police officer said. Further questioning revealed that two persons had kept a trap in the paddy field which had been harvested. The trap was connected using wires. On Thursday morning, the duo came to the fields to check whether anything had been snared in the trap and found the bodies of the two constables. They immediately shifted the trap, and later carried one of the bodies to a short distance so that they lay apart. The duo soon left the place, the officer said. It is believed that the two police personnel had gone to catch fish from a nearby pond when the mishap occurred, police said. The bodies were handed over to relatives after post-mortem. CM: SilverLine, 3 other big projects to be completed in current tenure E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Eight New chinese bridge over Pangong Tso | P7 stand taken by Left parties on GST. The unilateral imposition of GST and subsequent decisions have affected the revenue of states. He hoped the verdict will help in protecting the financial autonomy of states to a large extent. Balagopal said he, in his capacity as a member of the GST select committee in Parliament when he was a Rajya Sabha member, had pointed out the provisions that were against the interests of states. The verdict will help in bringing more transparency in protecting state’s rights, he added. Cops electrocuted in trap set for wild boars FUN TIME Youths having fun amid heavy rain in a canal at Vazhamuttom near Kovalam. The Met Department has forecast more rain till May 23, but has withdrawn orange alert issued for Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts | Vincent Pulickal | Vincent Pulickal CHIEF Minister Pinarayi Vijayan underscored the resolve of the LDF government, which is entering its second year in office, to complete four major infrastructure projects including the ambitious SilverLine during its present tenure. The projects are the Kochi-Palakkad and the Kochi-Mangaluru industrial corridors, Thiruvananthapuram Capital City Region Development and the SilverLine semi high-speed rail line, the CM said in an article on the eve of Pinarayi 2.0’s first anniversary . Pinarayi said the social impact assessment survey is currently under way in districts through which SilverLine is proposed to pass through. He promised maximum compensation for owners of land that would ● More on P4 be acquired.  Acute diarrhoea cases high in Kerala A n u j a S u s an Va r g h e s e @Kochi NIKHAT Zareen. The name is quite familiar in Indian boxing. Known for her punches and quick foot movements inside the ring and for a few words outside, sometimes vitriolic and certain times sombre. Nikhat’s rivalry with six-time World Championships medallist, MC Mary Kom, is more popular than her boxing pedigree. When Nikhat beat Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas in the 52kg final of the World Boxing Championships on Thursday, she punched the air and celebrated. Those days of bitterness and fr ustration blur red into oblivion. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Three Indians in SL told to register with mission | P7 E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Chennai Ruling will have influence on tax structure, Centre-state relations: FM WHILE the recent cases of food poisoning indicate a decline in standard of hygiene in eateries across Kerala, the high number of Acute Diarrheal Diseases (ADD) cases reported in the last few years underlines this concern. Last year, more than 2.38 lakh ADD cases were reported in the state, while the number stood at 2.50 lakh and 5.44 lakh in 2020 and 2019, respectively. Six deaths were reported in 2019 and 12 in 2018. The death of a young girl due to Shigella infection in Kasaragod and the frequent reports of food infection cases from across the state since then have put a question mark on the standard of food served in restaurants, drawing the attention of the state government and health authorities. With monsoon around the corner, experts have called for maintaining food safety standards and stringent hygiene. The rising number of Shigella FOOD FOR THOUGHT Acute Diarrhoeal Diseases data provided by health department M o n i k a Yada v @ New Delhi Year Cases 2021 2,38,227 Deaths 3 2020 2,50,788 1 5,44,027 6 2019 2018 5,40,814 12 2017 4,63,368 8 2016 4,93,973 14 2015 4,67,102 4 The villain sometimes is rapid dehydration which affects kidneys, even leading to their failure. Mostly, children and elderly fall prey to it — An FSSAI officer and Salmonella infections over the past few months should have sounded a warning about degradation in food hygiene standards. The primary sources of these infections are meat, poultry, and dairy products. Though the symptoms of food poisoning initially seem mild, involving diarrhoea and vomiting, it could lead to life-threatening situations in acute cases. “Food poisoning can occur in three stages. In the first category are those who develop symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea for 2-3 days and recover subsequently. In the second, the bacteria or the toxins spread to the blood, causing multi-organ failures and sometimes even death. In the third category, around 4-6 weeks after onset of the symptoms, patients develop joints pain and low-grade fever,” said Dr Anup R Warrier, an infectious disease expert. “The villain sometimes is rapid dehydration which affects kidneys, even leading to their failure. Mostly , children and elderly fall prey to it. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) can be a life-threatening condition,” said a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India supervisor.  ● More on P4