TIRUCHY l thursday l november 14, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late 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 | P9 ■ 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 HI T RA K ALYAN M O HAN 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. 39 held, notices slapped on 67 over abusive social media posts in Andhra 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 | P11 P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i @ Vijayawada In what appears to be a step to keep social media platforms free of abusive language, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led NDA government has launched a major crackdown on those posting such content against political leaders, their family members and individuals. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior official from Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) said 67 notices under Section 35(3) of BNSS have been served to various people for posting abusive, defamatory , promoting enmity between g roups and castes, obscene morphed photos of various political leaders. In all, 39 people have been arrested Gutter mentality Over 80% of the offensive posts targeted minister Anitha, actor N Balakrishna’s wife Vasundhara, CM’s wife, Dy CM’s daughters, YS Sharmila, CID officials said and around 100 cases booked, CID officials said. However, the opposition YSRCP alleged that more than 650 notices were served to its party activists, 147 cases filed and 49 people arrested over social media posts in a week. CID officials urged the public to lodge complaints if they were subjected to slander and abuse on social media. Expressing serious concern over the growing malicious propaganda and personal abuse, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had several times in the past warned YSRCP leaders and its social media team not to cross the line. He also advised his own party leaders as also ally Janasena and social media activists, to respond to abusive posts in a dignified manner. “YSRC activists resorted to posting offensive comments against Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and his family, home minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Balakrishna’s wife Vasundhara. They even did not spare APCC president YS Sharmila Reddy, her mother Vijayamma and cousin N Sunitha Reddy A new legisla. tion is needed to prevent such post under the pretext of freedom of speech,” Naidu opined. Height limit G77, China agree on new removed for NCQG draft text as basis TN industrial for finance negotiations buildings S V Krishna Chaitanya c s h i v a kum a r @ Chennai In a bid to stimulate industrial growth in the state through vertical development along Transit Oriented Development areas, the Tamil Nadu government has amended the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules (TNCDBR) to remove height restriction for high-rise buildings constructed on roads that have a minimum width of 30 metres on a plot size of 4,000 square metres and above, subject to clearance by Airport Authority of India. Several new clauses pertaining to industries and commercial buildings have been introduced through the amendment brought in as per a government order issued last week to stimulate the growth of ‘vertical’ factories across the state. The amendment was necessitated as rule 39 of TNCBR 2019 prescribes planning parameters for high-rise buildings that are more than 18.3 metres in height but is silent on usage of such buildings for housing, institutional, and industrial purposes. According to sources, the industries department sought clarification on use of high-rise buildings for industries as new-age factories are being built differently from the traditional ones which were usually ‘flat’ structures.  P5 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 Parties.”  Continued on: P9 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 je l i d att @ 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 uj a J a n e & G a ut h a m Se 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 government facility was “unsatisfactory”.  MORE ON P2, P5 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 `20,000. 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 SH RAN J AN @ 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 H ighest polling in Kharsawan, at 77.32% N o takers for boycott call by People’s Liberation Front of India, an offshoot of CPI (Maoist) 4 3 seats up for grabs (17 general seats, 20 ST, 6 SC) 6 83 candidates (609 men, 73 women, 1 third-gender) E x-CM Champai Soren, ex-MP Geeta Kora among candidates 1 .37 crore voters in first phase of voting R emaining 38 seats will vote in Phase-2 polling on Nov 20 moment of truth Tamil parties hold breath as Lanka goes to vote pon vasanth Express @ Sri Lanka Parliamentary polls Nuwara Eliya As Sri Lanka went to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new parliament, political parties representing Tamils, most of whom reside in the north, east and hill country regions, are awaiting the outcome with bated breath as the island nation witnesses a multi-cornered contest on a scale never seen before. This is compounded by the difficulty in assessing the magnitude of a popular wave the newly-elected president Anura Kumar Dissanayake seems to be riding even in areas dominated by ethnic minorities. Leaders of almost all Tamil political parties that TNIE spoke to said this is the first election in which they have no idea what the results will be like. Even the public seems to be in a “state of confusion,” as an elderly person in Jaffna put it. To put things in context, for the six seats in the Vanni electoral district, 423 candidates from 22 political parties or alliances and 25 independent groups are in the fray Similarly . , in Nuwara Eliya and Jaffna, 308 candidates each from 17 parties and 11 independent groups are in the fray for eight and six seats respectively In Batticaloa, 392 candi. dates from 22 parties and 27 independent groups are contesting for five seats. In Ampara (also called Digamadulla), which has a mix of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims people, a whopping 640 candidates are contesting for eight seats from 21 parties and 43 independent groups. While Indians may not find the number of candidates surprising, leaders of political parties say in Sri Lanka’s con, text, these are unusually high numbers.  P5