hyderabad l friday l july 11, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l late city EDITION all government offices to display ‘oil and sugar boards’ fssai, icmr roped in for model healthy meal The ministry has asked the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), which have prepared these ‘sugar and oil boards’, to suggest a model healthy meal that can be served in canteens and eateries of public institutions, instead of the greasy, oily and sugary meals Under the initiative of the health ministry, these informative boards will list the amount of sugar and oil in food items and their health hazards ■ 20% limits daily sugar intake to 25 grams ■ The boards recommend that people consume only 27-30 gm of fat every day and that their sugar intake should not exceed 25 gm per person per day for adults and 20 gm for children | P7 The fiat comes after CBSE directed all its schools to establish ‘sugar boards’ to educate students about perils of excessive sugar or oil of adults in urban areas are overweight or obese as per NFHS-5 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 No stay on Bihar roll revision Cabinet clears 42% quota SC asks ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, ration card as acceptable documents for proof SUCHITRA K ALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card as acceptable documents in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in the state. Refusing to stay the voter list revision, a bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagch called the SIR a “constitutional mandate” and permitted the ECI to continue the exercise. The court took on record the poll panel’s submission that the list of 11 documents it put out on June 24 to prove citizenship in Bihar was illustrative, nor exhaustive. “In our prima facie view, since the list is not exhaustive, it will be in the interest of justice if the ECI will also consider the Aadhaar card, Electoral HCA prez, five others remanded in forgery case Express News Service @ Hyderabad Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president A Jagan Mohan Rao and five others were remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody by a Medchal court on Thursday following their arrest on charges of forgery criminal , breach of trust and intimidation. All six accused were sent to the Cherlapally Central Jail. According to a release from Additional Director General of Police (CID) Charu Sinha, the accused allegedly forged documents to misappropriate funds in breach of public trust. The case was registered by the CID on June 9, based on a complaint lodged in February by Dharam Guruva Reddy, general secretary of the Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), Hyderabad. Charges have been filed under IPC Sections 465, 468, 471, 403, 409, 420 read with Section 34. The CID alleged that Jagan Mohan Rao, along with C Rajender Yadav and his wife G Kavitha, forged documents related to Sri Chakra Cricket Club by misrepresenting it as Gowlipura Cricket Club. The signature of Gowlipura president C Krishna Yadav was allegedly forged to enable Rao’s entry into the HCA. citizenship check ambit “Isn’t it too late now for that?” asks Justice Dhulia on the timing of citizenship verification 1 Bench wonders whether the issue of citizenship falls within the Election Commission’s jurisdiction Photo Identity Card issued by the Election Commission and the ration card,” the bench said. This, the court said, was a suggestion, not a direction. “If you have good reason to discard Aadhaar, you do it, but give reasons,” it added. While asking the ECI to file its counter-affidavit by July 21, the court fixed the case for further hearing on July 28. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the SIR in Bihar. It observed that the petitions raised an im- 2 ECI says Aadhaar is for identity verification, not citizenship proof. But citizenship check is govt’s job, says SC 3 Poll panel argues it has role as the Representation of the People Act, 1950 mandates that one must be a citizen to vote portant question which goes to the root of the functioning of democracy — the right to vote. “We are of the prima facie opinion that three issues are involved in this case: (a) The very powers of the Election Commission to undertake the exercise; (b) The procedure and the manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, and (c) The timing, including the timings given for the preparation of draft electoral roll, asking objections and making the final electoral roll etc, which are very short, considering the fact that the Bihar elections are due in November 2025 and notifications for this elections will come in advance weeks earlier,” the bench said. While questioning the ECI on the timing of the SIR, the court rejected the argument of the petitioners that the poll panel did not have any power to carry it out. When senior lawyer, Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI said Aadhaar wasn’t a proof of citizenship, the bench rebutted, saying the ECI had nothing to do with citizenship, as the matter is in the domain of the home ministry . The court asked the ECI why it started the SIR so close to the Bihar polls. There is nothing wrong with SIR but it should have been done months before the election, it said. Senior lawyer Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that the SIR drive was completely arbitrary and discriminatory . Tariffs: Indian team to visit US DIPA K MONDAL @ New Delhi With the Trump administration’s deadline for imposing higher import tariffs on its trading partners shifted to August 1, Indian trade negotiators are likely to visit the US again to iron out the differences and seal a deal, government sources said. India was expecting to sign an interim trade deal with the US ahead of the earlier deadline of July 9 but could not, due to differences over tariff rates on agriculture, dairy, and automobiles. The government decided to send the trade negotiators again after the earlier team led by Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary De, partment of Commerce, returned without a deal in hand. The dates for the team’s next US visit have not been finalised, but it could be sometime next week. According to sources, the Indian government is trying to negotiate a “complete deal” and it is not differentiating between an interim deal and the first phase of the Bilateral Trade Agreement. “Whatever will be finished, we can package it as an interim deal and for the rest, talks will continue,” said an official. While US President Donald Trump has been claiming that a deal with India would be signed soon, finance ministry sources say talks so far have hit a deadlock. Officials say the Indian side has been guarding against any tariff reduction on agriculture and dairy products. Tariff on ‘no deal is better than bad deal’ Sources close to the government say no deal is better than a Rajesh Agrawal, bad deal. For chief negotiator the record, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is in no hurry to seal a deal with the US unless it is mutually beneficial for both countries automobiles is also said to be one of the contentious issues. Initially, India appeared to relent on agriculture tariffs, but after pressure from the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the government seems to have hardened its stand. Continued on P5 INSIDE NIMZ deputy collector lands in ACB net I P2 Congress gags warring Warangal MLAs I P4 celestial ornament On the occasion of Guru Purnima, Chandra Darshanam was observed over the gopuram of the Yadadri Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on Thursday for BCs in local body polls Express News Service The Cabinet has decided to hold local body elections with 42% quota for BCs. The High Court also ordered that the election process be completed within three months. The Cabinet sought suggestions and legal advice from the AG. For this, the Panchayat Raj Act will be amended @ Hyderabad In a major step aimed at ensuring social justice, the Telangana Cabinet on Thursday approved 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body elections. To facilitate this, the Cabinet cleared an amendment to the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. The state government will send the amended Act to the Governor, who is expected to promulgate an Ordinance. The Telangana High Court had earlier directed the state government to take a decision on the reservation issue within a month. To enable the issuance of the Ordinance, the Budget session of the Assembly was prorogued on Thursday . Apart from the approval of 42% quota for BCs in local bodies, the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy took several key , decisions. The advocate general attended the meeting, presented his views, and offered legal advice on the proposal. The previous BRS government had reduced BC reservations from 34% to 23% when it enacted the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act in 2018. Briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions, Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy stated that the Congress had promised 42% reservations for BCs during the elections. Based on the caste census, the govern- Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, I&PR Minister Key calls by Cabinet Cabinet agrees to issue notifications for another 22,033 jobs. So far, 60,000 jobs have been provided. Recruitment for 17,084 posts is underway Finance department to be asked to collect details, including Aadhaar numbers, of contract and outsourcing employees to review their performance AMITY and St. Mary Rehabilitation Education institutions will be upgraded to university status. AMITY will allocate 50% of its seats to Telangana students ment decided to implement the 42% quota, and the Assembly passed the relevant Bills and forwarded them for the President’s approval. He added that despite repeated requests, the Union government has been raising queries and delaying the process. “The Cabinet has decided to hold local body elections S B a c h a n J e e t S i n g h @ Hyderabad The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has collected `21.2 crore in the last five years as Rainwater Harvesting Structure (RWHS) charges from property owners seeking building permissions, yet nearly 40% of buildings above 200 square metres lack the mandatory RWHS pits. GHMC also collects development charges, labour cess, environmental impact fees, and open space contribution charges for building permissions. The GHMC mandates that owners construct RWHS at their own expense but offers no technical assistance and has no follow-up mechanism in place to ensure compliance or maintenance. In the last five years, the GHMC has approved 7,210 building permissions and issued 23,239 RWHS permissions. While the collected funds are intended to build pits in public spaces, both officials and surveys admit that many of these structures have become de- funct due to poor upkeep. A survey conducted by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) on RWHS pits in buildings with an area above 300 square metres found that 40% of the buildings lacked mandatory RWHS pits but were still given Occupancy Certificates (OCs). Even among the 60% that had soak pits, many have become defunct due to lack of maintenance. The GHMC has admitted that it has no mechanism to check regular maintenance. Of the 42,784 surveyed premises, 22,825 were found to have RWHS, while 17,385 lacked them. Notices were issued to 16,190 owners to construct the RWHS. The HMWSSB has urged GHMC to ensure strict compliance with the rules before issuing Occupancy Certificates for any buildings above 200 square metres, as per the WALTA Act. It must check whether the owners have constructed RWHS pits; if not, their OC applications should be rejected.  continued on P5 Tech-help: Visually impaired fans go app & mobile at Lord’s Imagine an app cloning the whole stadium, compressing data of every corner, stairs, balconies and concourse for a visually impaired person to use and wander about more relaxingly All the information in the . palm of their hands (mobile phones to be precise) with a guiding voice in the ears. That’s how Lord’s has become more disabled-friendly when it introduced the visually-impaired apps this Summer. Now, the fans can not just listen to commentary but can feel and soak in the atmosphere of a game with more ease. At a time when even basic amenities for fans at stadiums across India seem to be a far cry , Lord’s, the Home of Cricket, in London has introduced this novel feature to make it more disable-friendly. The Marylebone Cricket Board (MCC), which runs the stadi- um, in collaboration with Waymap has installed a personal navigation system to help specially-abled fans to their seats and other amenities. The technology was tested ahead of the third Test between England and London last month and is now operational. The MCC also runs ball by ball commentary that allows fans to follow the game. “We hope that the introduction of Waymap at the home of cricket breaks down some of the barriers currently being faced by visually impaired fans,” Cel- root, nitish share honours on day 1 On a traditional, attritional day of red-ball cricket, India picked up timely wickets on a hot London day. England set the platform, thanks to a typically composed innings from Joe Root. Nitesh Reddy took 2 wkts | P11 New ‘Gaushala policy’ discussed. A three-member committee will be formed to set up and manage modern cow shelters. There are currently 306 gaushalas in the state The Cabinet decides to complete pending land acquisition for ongoing irrigation projects with 42% reservations for BCs. Recently, the High Court also ordered that the election process be completed within three months. The Cabinet sought suggestions and legal advice from the advocate general. For this, the Panchayat Raj Act, 2018 will be amended.” CONTINUED ON P4 GHMC collects crores, has no means to monitor RWHS pits more than history F i r o z M i r z a @ London 18 Gram Panchayats were delisted from existing mandals for inclusion in the newly formed Jinnaram and Indresham municipalities so Zuccollo, the chief executive of Waymap, told this daily “Our . partnership with Lord’s cricket ground is improving the matchday experience for all visitors and we’re extremely proud of the positive impact this has on accessibility for all within our first sporting venue.” He said the wayfinding app is a highlyaccurate personal navigation system which offers step-by-step audio and on-screen instructions. The company mapped the venue using Lidar technology . Chandran KR, counsel for ‘Save Nimisha Priya Int’nl Action Council’ | PTI Urgent hearing to save Nimisha Priya on July 14 SUCHITRA K ALYA n MOHANTY @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on July 14 a plea seeking immediate direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, 38, who is likely to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for murder charges. The petitioner, Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council (SNPIAC), moved the court seeking its immediate intervention. A bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for July 14 after Subhash Chandran K R, counsel for SNNimisha Priya PIAC, argued that diplomatic channels needed to be explored at the earliest. He submitted that the option of payment of blood money to the family of the deceased can be explored. The bench asked the counsel to serve a copy of the petition to the Attorney General and sought his assistance. Quoting media reports, Subhash said the Centre should immediately intervene to save her life. Priya, who hails from Palakkad in Kerala, was found guilty by a court in Yemen of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. W ITH THIS ISSUE CHENNAI’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE Sachin Tendulkar rings the bell before the third Test on Thursday | AFP 36 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID)