Delhi airport scare after intruder makes it to runway chennai l tuesday l january 30, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION An intruder reached the Delhi airport runway after jumping the perimeter wall a day after R-Day when the city was under security blanket cisf head constable on duty suspended Drug addict sent to Tihar for breach An Air India pilot on January 27 noticed an intruder on the runway of the international airport and alerted the Air Traffic Controller. Soon the CISF personnel picked up the intruder from the runway and handed him to police. A CISF head constable was suspended for the breach The intruder was identified as Ibraahim, a resident of Nuh in Haryana. At the time of apprehending Ibraahim, he was said to be under the influence of a banned narcotic substance He was produced before a court and sent to Tihar jail 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 Impeachment sword dangles over Muizzu CAA in a week? YESHI SELI @ New Delhi e x p r e s s r e ad CM reaches Spain, bets big on investments Chennai: CM M K Stalin, who reached Spain on Monday, expressed optimism that he will be able to attract huge investments by highlighting TN’s favourable investment climate, infrastructure and manpower. The CM was offered a grand welcome by Indian Ambassador Dinesh K Patnaik | P4 Minister slams guv for comment on PM scheme Chennai: A fresh round of fight erupted between Governor RN Ravi and the DMK government over his allegation that villagers in TN did not get the benefit of PM’s housing scheme due to administrative apathy and corruption. Law Minister S Regupathy retorted saying the governor is doing everything except his job | P4 80 Total seats in 56 Votes required for People’s Majlis impeachment 43 Oppn says it has: 43 MDP+ 13 Democrats = 56 13 9 13 2 Controversial Maldives President Mohammad Muizzu could be headed for trouble as the Opposition in parliament on Monday claimed they had enough signatures to submit a motion to impeach him. The main opposition comprises the Maldivian Democratic Party with 43 seats and The Democrats with 13. Taken together, they add up to 56 — just enough to impeach the president. The opposition, however, is yet to submit its signatures for the motion. The ruling coalition comprises Muizzu’s People’s National Congress and the Progressive Party of Maldives. How the numbers stack up Majority M aldivian Democratic Party The Democrats Others They are completely outnumbered in the Majlis (parliament) as their total strength is 15 in a House of 80. The ruling coalition poked the opposition by submitting no-confidence motions against the speaker and deputy speaker, who are both from the Mal- Ruling coalition People’s National Cong P rogressive Party of the Maldives *Total seats cut from 87 to 80 in December divian Democratic Party. The no-trust motion was submitted with the approval of 23 lawmakers, seven more than the strength of the ruling coalition. The impeachment motion is a tit-for-tat against Muizzu. On Sunday, Maldivian parliament witnessed fistfights between MPs of the ruling and opposition parties over the appointment of four members to the president’s cabinet. The opposition withheld parliamentary approval of four, which led to a free-for-all. The speaker was prevented from continuing the parliament session. According to latest reports from Male, Muizzu reappointed three of the four ministers the parliament denied approval. The three are housing minister Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed, Islamic minister Dr Mohamed Shaheen Ali Saeed and Attorney General Ahmed Usham. Muizzu won the presidential election in September 2023 after playing the pro-China and anti-India card. India can become a developed country by 2047, says FinMin EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi Centre-state ties for success of reforms INDIA’s economy is expected to grow above 7% in the coming years on the back of the country’s robust financial sector and ongoing reforms, says a new report of the finance ministry released ahead of the interim Budget. The report titled The Indian Economy: A Review envisions India becoming the world’s third-largest economy within the next three years with a GDP of $5 trillion and a $7-trillion economic power house by 2030. The goal of achieving the ‘developed country’ status by 2047 is achievable if the re- To accelerate growth, the report calls for collaboration between the Centre and states, emphasising the need for purposeful reforms and complete participation from state governments. It also highlights external challenges, particularly the risk of geopolitical conflicts q u e s ti o n o f l i f e & d e at h Organ donations up in TN but rate of utilisation dips S i n d u j a J a n e @ Chennai Transplantation of major organs such as heart and lungs continues to remain a challenge in Tamil Nadu. In 2023, the state successfully transplanted 65 hearts and 50 lungs, but the utilisation rate has been pegged at a dismal 35% and 22%, respectively , with respect to the number of organs harvested. This is despite a 14% jump in cadaver organ donations in the state in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data from the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN). Transplant surgeons and senior health officials cite the short preservation time of organs and probability of infection of lungs in road accidents as the prime reasons for the low utilisation rate. As per TRANSTAN data, the state transplanted 39 lungs (single and dual lungs), and 74 hearts in 2022. This puts the utilisation rate of heart at 44% and lungs at 29%. In 2019, before Covid, the utilisation rate was 47% and 31% for the organs, respectively Tamil Nadu stands first in the coun. try in utilisation of organs and tissues from brain-dead donors. According to TRANSTAN officials, the reason for drop in utilisation rate of heart and lungs in 2023 was because the state was allotted more organs from other states compared to previous years. In some cases, by the time these organs were retrieved and could be transplanted to patients, they become unviable. According to doctors, the age of donors and blood pressure were some of the factors that led to conditions which made these organs unusable.  Continued on p7 forms are not interrupted, it says. “It now appears very likely that the Indian economy will achieve a growth rate at or above 7% for FY24, and some predict it will achieve another year of 7% real growth in FY25 as well. If the prognosis for FY25 turns out to be right, that will mark the fourth year post-pandemic that the economy will have grown at or over 7%. That would be an impressive achievement, testifying to the resilience and potential of the Indian economy it said. ,” The report also dwells on the positive impact of reforms on private investments citing measures such as GST. The report, prepared by Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran and his team, however, does not replace the Economic Survey, which will be released before the full Budget is presented after the general elections. Didi growls over ‘guarantee’ pitch Rules, portal ready. Union minister Shantanu Thakur claims it will be rolled out in 7 days P r a n a b M o n d a l a n d MUKESH RAN J AN @ Kolkata/ New Delhi The political mercury in West Bengal soared on Monday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee joined issue with a Union minister who ‘guaranteed’ that the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be rolled out within a week. She urged people not to fall into the CAA trap after Union minister Shantanu Thakur said on Sunday it would be implemented across the country within seven days. Thakur is a representative of the influential Matua community in West Bengal that comprises Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. Addressing a gathering in Cooch Behar, Mamata said the CAA is being raked up again for electoral gains. She went on to accuse the Border security Force of issuing ‘fake ‘identity cards. “Without being a citizen, how can they get government facilities and vote? The BSF is issuing separate identity cards for people living in border areas. Don’t accept them. Tell them you have Aadhaar and ration card. If you accept the card, your name will be deleted from the NRC (National Register of Citizens),” Mamata cautioned. Addressing a meeting in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas, a Matua pocket, Thakur said, Parents should not make report cards of their children as their visiting card There is nothing like the right time; do not wait for it Friendship is not transactional; rejoice in the success of friends Never sow seeds of competition between your children. Siblings should be an inspiration for each other In 2023, TN successfully transplanted 65 hearts and 50 lungs, but the utilisation rate was pegged at a 35% and 22%, respectively, with respect to the organs harvested There was a drop in utilisation rate of heart and lungs in 2023 as the state was allotted more organs from other states compared to previous years TRANSTAN officials Compete with yourself, not with your friend Failures must not cause disappointment; every mistake is a new learning Under the CAA, Indian nationality will be granted to persecuted non-Muslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who had come to India till Dec 31, 2014 “Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been inaugurated... Within the next seven days, the CAA will be implemented. This is my guarantee from this dais.” Home ministry sources said CAA rules and its portal are in place, but the timing of the rollout will be decided at the highest level. Thakur was used by the party’s leadership to test how big a buzz can be built ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, as its maximum impact will be in Bengal, sources claimed. Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Building completion certificate (CC) will not be mandatory for residential complexes consisting of up to eight flats and are not above 750 square metres in area across the state, Minister for Housing and Urban Development S Muthusamy said on Monday . The move is expected to bring down the cost of small flats and help realtors complete the projects expeditiously . Making the announcement after inaugurating “CREDAI Tamil Nadu Statecon 2024” in Chennai, the minister said, “Hitherto, the exemption from completion certificate was given for residential complexes with less than three flats. This has now been extended to eight-unit buildings following representation from the realty sector.” The minister, however, cautioned against the misuse of the exemption by developers. The move would be a huge relief to small developers who are made to run from pillar to post to get completion certificate for getting drainage, water and power connections. “Usually it takes more than , a year for small projects to get approval for completion certificate,” said Srinivas Akinipatti senior director, Knight Frank India. p7 MUKESH RAN J AN @ Ranchi Screen time eats into sleep time; I fall asleep Pariksha within 30 seconds of Pe Charcha going to bed 65 hearts 50 lungs Indian nationality Completion certificate not must for small flats across TN Soren goes ‘missing’ in Delhi ahead of ED visit modi mantras for board exams Instil resilience in children to cope pressures Union minister Shantanu Thakur and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Housing min Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacting with students in New Delhi during Pariksha Pe Charcha event | PTI Don’t prepare till the last moment, approach exams with a relaxed mind to avoid unwanted tension Establish transparency between family members, share phone passcodes with them, no gadget during dinner | More on P9 Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials descended on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Delhi residence to grill him in connection with a money-laundering probe on Monday morning, hours after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader slipped out. ED officials said Soren, who had left Ranchi for Delhi on Saturday night in a chartered plane, was untraceable. According to sources, Soren quietly left his Delhi residence in the wee hours on Monday accom, panied by one of his aides. He was nowhere to be seen by the time the ED team arrived. The ED sleuths camped at his house for nearly 13 hours. They reportedly seized a BMW car and recovered some documents during the search. The ED had asked Soren to appear for questioning on Monday or Wednesday. Meanwhile, the JMM said its leader will appear before ED on Wednesday at 1 pm at his Ranchi residence. JMM’s spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said Soren is in Delhi for some personal work and termed the ED team’s home visit ‘politically motivated’. Seeks footage of grilling Soren’s office on Sunday wrote to ED asking it to preserve the footage of the 7-hr questioning on January 20 “to make available to the Court of Law” food for thought TN noon meal workers in a pickle as 40% posts vacant S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Chennai Out of 1.5 lakh noon meal worker posts across Tamil Nadu, more than 59,000 (40% posts) are vacant, leading to significant difficulty in meaningful implementation of the scheme in schools. Most noon meal centers have only one employee in place of two workers. While the salaries and pensions of these workers are already low, they are also not adequately compensated for the additional work they are forced to do due to the staff crunch. There are around 43,000 noon meal centers in the state, and most of them require at least three staff members — one organiser, a cook, and a helper. In centres where the student strength is more than 200, an additional helper is posted. While organisers are paid `10,000 to `22,000 per month, cooks and helpers are paid salaries ranging from `6,000 to `8,000 per month. The work timing is from 9am to 2pm. Most of these employees have File photo experience of nearly 20 to 30 years. Many of the organisers — whose job is to maintain ac- counts, procure groceries, vegetables and ration required for the schools — are handling more than one school due to the staff crunch. Most of the schools have only a cook or a helper, making it difficult for the staff to cook and serve food between 12.20 and 12.40 pm every day sources said. The organ, isers are paid just `600 more per month if they are given additional charge of a school. “Imagine one person cooking for around 100 to 150 students within three hours and ensur- ing the quality of the food. We have to cut vegetables and peel the shells of the eggs which requires a lot of time. We have to serve the food to the students as well. Because of this, many of the workers are starting their work early There has been no . recruitment over the past six years and the staff strength is depleting by the day. Through our talks with the government, we understand that they are planning to recruit only around 1,000 to 2,000 workers,” says a staff association member.  P7