HUBBALLI  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 14, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION MUSK, RAMASWAMY TO LEAD U.S. DEPARTMENT OF GOVT EFFICIENCY President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) TRUMP CALLS IT THE NEW MANHATTAN PROJECT Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will advise his incoming administration on ways to slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies to improve efficiency. Trump called it possibly the ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our times, referring to the World War 2-era US project to build the atomic bomb | P11 ■ 1st DUO GETS JULY 2026 DEADLINE TO FINISH WORK ■ Despite the name, DOGE is not a government agency and will work from outside the government. Also, it is a temporary organisation. Trump has given the two time till July 4, 2026 to finish their work In other appointments, Trump has picked ex-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to head the Central Intelligence Agency RAMASWAMY IS THE FIRST INDIAN-AMERICAN TO JOIN TRUMP 2.0 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 SC brakes on bulldozer justice IMA DEMANDS PR0ACTIVE SECURITY MEASURES AT HOSPITALS Junior doctor, female guard attacked at Indore hospital Lays down strict guidelines for demolishing property; says executive can’t act as judiciary S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi AUTHORITIES can’t demolish people’s homes in an arbitrary manner simply because the property owners are accused of crimes, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court passed a slew of panIndia directions to stop the practice of ‘bulldozer justice’. A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and K V Viswanathan made it clear demolitions cannot be done without due notice and without giving time for the affected persons to appeal against the proposed action in an appropriate forum. The order of the bench came with a caveat that it will not be applicable on unauthorised WHAT THE COURT SAID Executive can’t decide an accused is guilty and punish him by demolishing his property No demolition without prior 15-day notice The notice shall be served by registered post and fixed on the building’s outer portion Demolition action should be videographed and report sent to the district collector structures in public places. Pronouncing the verdict after hearing a batch of petitions against what is known as bulldozer justice, the bench said that the executive cannot overstep its constitutional remit. “The executive cannot become a judge, decide that an accused is guilty and punish him by demolishing his properties as such an act would be transgressing its limits,” it said. Quoting the famous lines of popular Hindi poet Pradeep, the court said, it is the dream of every person to have his/her own home. “A house is an embodiment of the collective hopes of a family or individuals’ stability and security,” it said, suggesting that the authorities must be cognizant of the consequences of their arbitrary actions. In its verdict, the court laid down strict guidelines to be followed for demolition. It warned that in case of violations, the officers concerned will be responsible for restitution of property at personal cost, in addition to damages. During the hearing, the court made it amply clear that citizens’ voices cannot be throttled by a threat of destroying their properties, adding the state resorting to bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law. It said the law must be just and fair and should protect the human rights and dignity of all members of the society . An earlier bench headed by then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had also noted that the state must follow due process of law before taking action to remove illegal encroachments or unlawfully constructed structures. BYPOLL BATTLE OVER, NOW ALL EYES ON NOVEMBER 23 CAPTAIN, 5 OTHERS BANNED FOR AGE FRAUD As many as six Hyderabad players including the one selected to captain the state team in the BCCI’s Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Men’s U19) were banned for age fudging. It is learnt that a few parents mailed the Indian cricket board after the Hyderabad Cricket Association picked up the squad (15 plus 5 standbys) for the event. Police investigated the case and found allegations true | P13 Apartment links sewage pipe to water line, BWSSB fumes EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru POLLING in the byelections to the Legislative Assembly from three constituencies in the state on Wednesday was peaceful with Channapatna recording the highest polling percentage of 88.80, followed by Shiggaon 80.48 and Sandur 76.24. However, some minor technical glitches were reported in a few polling booths. The high voter turnout in Channapatna is being attributed to several factors, including a high voltage contest between NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Congress’ CP Yogeshwara, allurements and the five guarantees implemented by the Cong ress government. In Shiggaon constituency, where former CM Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharath Bommai is contesting as a BJP candidate against Yasir Pathan of Congress, voters from Dandipeth locality in Savanur town boycotted polling in protest against the failure of revenue officials to grant them records of rights for the land where they have been residing for decades. In Sandur constituency, which is reserved for the STs, a woman candidate from Congress is in the fray Annapurna . Thukaram, wife of former MLA Thukaram, is hoping to get more votes from women. MORE ON P4 G77, China agree on new NCQG draft text as basis for finance negotiations M O H A M M E D YA C O O B @ Bengaluru A sudden surge of water due to the bursting of the Cauvery Stage V pipeline in Hegde Nagar has revealed a shocker. The Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board (BWSSB), while probing the incident, discovered that an apartment complex had illegally connected the building’s sanitary line to the Cauvery Stage V pipeline, causing it to burst due to the accumulation of gases within. BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasat Manohar has now directed stringent action against the owner of Royal Bliss Apartment in Hegde Nagar, Thanisandra, for illegally connecting its sanitary line to the Cauvery Stage V water supply pipeline. “BWSSB will pursue recovery of damages caused to neighbouring properties and financial losses to the Water Board,” he said. The concerning issue came to light after complaints were raised by residents in the neighbourhood about severe water damage to their properties, following a sudden surge from the pipeline in Hegde Nagar. The burst due to pressure building up from accumulating sewage in the pipeline meant for drinking water, caused extensive property damage, besides waste of a large volume of clean drinking water, which had been transported from Torekadanahalli (TK Halli), 160 km away . Women at a polling station in Chakkere, Channapatna constituency, on Wednesday S V KRISHNA CHAITANYA EXPRESS IN BAKU T HE first iteration of the draft New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) released on Wednesday, found most of the G77 countries and China agreeing to use it as the basis for negotiations to achieve an ambitious climate finance goal. It’s a 34-page draft as against the nine-page pre-COP draft that was rejected by developing countries saying it does not represent their stance. While some observers called the new draft also “non-workable” as it simply put all the options in black and white, others saw some positives in it. The draft acknowledges that in line with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, the NCQG is the sole obligation of developed countries to provide and mobilise climate finance to developing countries and must accurately reflect the establishment of operational features in line with the needs and priorities of developing countries. However, it throws up six options on the quantum of NCQG with a lot of brackets. “It was decides to set an new collective quantified goal on climate finance [of USD X] [from a floor of USD 100 billion][of at least USD 1 trillion][of USD 1.1 trillion][of at least USD 1.3 trillion][of USD 2 trillion] per year [in grantequivalent terms] [from 2025 to 2029][from 2025 to 2030][from 2025 to 2035][from 2026 to 2035] [by 2030] provided and mobilised by developed country CONTINUED ON: P11 Parties.” WHO WANTS WHAT Arab Group: Wants minimum $441bn delivered from 2025 US: “Entirely fair” new donors (China, Saudi) start delivering cash Pakistan: Grants should make up 70% of the target Turkey: Multi-layered approach an option but requires detail G77+China: Target must focus on funds going from developed to developing nations Alliance Of Small Island States: Overall goal $1 trillion-plus, small islands need specific support Japan: Target cannot be delivered just by developed countries UK: Goal could have ‘inner’ layer in billions and ‘outer’ layer in trillions Africa : $1.3 trillion target required by 2030 with overall $6.5 trillion goal EU: New goal can only be hit if all major polluters step up A N U R A A G S I N G H & K A V I TA B A J E L I D AT T @ Bhopal/New Delhi Dr J Balaji being rushed for treatment after attack on Wednesday | ASHWIN PRASATH Man stabs govt doc in spat over ‘poor treatment’ for mom S I N D U J A J A N E & G A U T H A M S E LVA R A J A N @ Chennai DR J Balaji (53), a medical oncologist at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital (KCSSH) at Guindy in Chennai, was stabbed seven times on Wednesday allegedly by the son of a patient over grievances regarding the cancer treatment offered to his mother at the facility. The doctor is being treated at the intensive care unit, but his condition is stable, sources said. While the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association has announced an indefinite suspension of all outpatient departments and elective surgeries in government hospitals in protest against the attack, Health Minister Ma Subramanian claimed that the protest has been called off. Doctor associations that TNIE spoke to, however, said that they would continue their protest till there is improvement in security . According to sources, the suspect, M Vignesh (26), entered the doctor’s room at the medical oncology OPD with a concealed knife and allegedly stabbed the doctor multiple times with the weapon, leaving him bleeding profusely . Police sources told TNIE that Vignesh had waited in line to meet the doctor and allegedly demanded `20,000 from him since he was forced to treat his cancer-stricken mother at a private hospital as the treatment offered at the gover nment facility was “unsatisfactory”. M Vignesh (26) from New Perungalathur | ASHWIN PRASATH ATTACKER SOUGHT `20K FROM DOC Police said, on Wednesday, Vignesh went to Dr Balaji’s room, told him that because of him, he had to spend more on his mother’s health and demanded B20,000. A spat broke out and Vignesh attacked him with the knife A resident junior doctor and a female security guard were attacked by attendants of a minor patient at a hospital in Indore late on Tuesday night. T h e i n c i d e n t h ap p e n e d around 11 pm at MY Hospital’s new chest ward that also houses the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU), where the child was undergoing treatment. A doctor working at the hospital said two children were being treated on the same ICU bed due to high patient load. Enraged over this, the attendants of a patient verbally abused Dr Shwetank Soni and attacked him and a security guard. “The on-duty doctors attended to him (patient) timely. But owing to high patient load at the ICU, two children were being treated on the same bed. Angered by this, the attendants of a patient confronted the doctor and attacked him,” said the doctor. The police filed an FIR and arrested two persons. Following the incident, a group of doctors met the dean of MGM Medical College and the hospital managment and raised their concerns over security . They threatened to boycott work if their concerns are not addressed within a week. MY Hospital is a teaching hospital of MGM Medical College. Reacting to the attacks on doctors, the Indian Medical Association called for a “comprehensive overhaul of the security atmosphere” at the hospitals. “Strong deterrent legislations, exemplary punishments, and proactive safety measures are required now and here,” it said. The IMA’s statement was in reaction to the brutal stabbing of an oncologist in Chennai by the son of a patient. BRISK POLLING IN JHARKHAND AS VOTERS DEFY MAOIST THREAT M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi An elderly voter being assisted in reaching a polling station in Khunti district of Jharkhand on Wednesday | PTI DESPITE Maoist threats, the first phase of voting for 43 Assembly seats in Jharkhand concluded peacefully with 64.86% voting turnout till 5 pm. Registering its presence after a gap, the People’s Liberation Front of India, an offshoot of the CPI (Maoist), had put up posters near Ranchi and Khunti districts calling for a boycott of Assembly polls in Jharkhand. However, it did not have any effect on voters, police said. “Voting, which commenced at 7 am, was held peacefully without any incidents of violence,” stated an official communiqué from the Election Commission of India. IG operations and Jharkhand Police spokesperson A V Homkar said that all the 15 districts in which the elections were held were Maoist-infested and it was a big challenge for the police to conduct peaceful polling. “But, the elections were held peacefully without even a single Maoist incident in all 43 Assembly seats. Out of the total 15, 334 polling booths during the first phase of polling, 2249 were identified as sensitive from a Naxal point of view for which huge deployment of forces were done to avoid any untoward situation,” said Homkar. 64.86% Voter turnout recorded, up from 63.9% in 2019 polls ROBUST PHASE 1 Highest polling in Kharsawan, at 77.32% No takers for boycott call by People’s Liberation Front of India, an offshoot of CPI (Maoist) 43 seats up for grabs (17 general seats, 20 ST, 6 SC) 683 candidates (609 men, 73 women, 1 third-gender) Ex-CM Champai Soren, ex-MP Geeta Kora among candidates 1.37 crore voters in first phase of voting Remaining 38 seats will vote in Phase-2 polling on Nov 20 TRANSPARENCY E-khata now must for all property transactions EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru E-KHATAS will now be mandatory for registration of all types of properties, including residential, commercial and agricultural land. Revenue Minister Kr i s hna Byr e g owd a on Wednesday directed officials to ensure speedy issue of e-khatas for registration of all properties that come under gram panchayats and urban local bodies. “E-khata is now mandatory for registration of all proper- ties, to avoid fictitious transactions using fake manual khatas,’’ the minister said. At a meeting with RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge and officials, Byregowda stressed that there are various court directions specifying the need for e-khata based registration. They also discussed the issue of a large number of residential and commercial properties having no khata in both municipalities and corporations. To provide khatas for such properties, the Urban Development Department has agreed to roll out a procedure along the lines of BBMP in Bengaluru. Once the owners obtain khatas for such properties, sale registration can also take place, a release from the Revenue minister’s office said. It also pointed out that these days, transactions were happening on ad hoc basis -- illegally, quasi-legally or legally . Byregowda informed the urban development secretary to expedite the issue of e-khatas for properties coming under its jurisdiction. The Urban Development department will have to take steps to bring civic authorities on to the e-Aasthi platform to streamline the e-khata process. With reference to properties with no dimensions, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been instructed to make provision in the e-Aasthi application to capture dimensions, the release added.