US president-elect Donald Trump with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington DC on Wednesday | AP BHUBANESWAR  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 14, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  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 | 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 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. “Right to life is a fundamental right... the right to shelter has also been considered as one of the facets of Article 21 of the Constitution,” the bench said. It also noted that several people, even more than one family , may be staying in a house. In such a scenario, could the authorities demolish the entire structure just because one of the residents is an accused or convicted in a crime, it asked. “It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period,” the court observed. 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 | P13 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 G77, China agree on new NCQG draft text as basis for finance negotiations 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 decides to set a 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 grant-equivalent terms] [from 2025 to 2029] [from 2025 to 2030] [from 2025 to 2035] [from 2026 to 2035] [by 2030] p r ov i d e d a n d m o b i l i s e d 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 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 did not even spare APCC president Y S Sharmila Reddy her mother , Vijayamma, and cousin N Sunitha Reddy A new legislation . is needed to prevent such post under the pretext of freedom of speech,” Naidu opined. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE The service provider is defined as an agency which prints question papers, provides comIN a bid to prevent adoption of puters and fulfils other requireunfair means in public exami- ment for conducting examinanation for educational institu- tions. Besides, service provider tions as well as recruitment by will also cover agencies engaged various government authorities by the state government or othin Odisha, the state cabinet on er government bodies for conWednesday gave its nod to fram- duct of examination for recruiting of a new legislation with ment and admission into provisions for strong punish- v a r i o u s educational ment including imprisonment institutions. and hefty penalty . The proposed Act will cover Proposal for the new law, the examinations conducted by the Odisha Public ExaminaOdisha Public Service tions (Prevention of UnCommission, Odisha fair Means) Act, 2024, Staff Selection Comwas approved at the mission, Odisha Suborcabinet meeting presiddinate Staff Selection ed over by Chief MinisCommission, Service ter Mohan Charan Selection Board, OdisMajhi. ha Police Selection The unfair means inBoard, State Selection cludes impersonation, Board, Odisha Joint cheating and disruptEntrance Entrace The service ing the examination examination. provider is process, leakage of inBesides, it will also defined as an agency which formation related to excover examinations amination before the prints question conducted by departscheduled time and un- papers, provides ments of state governcomputers and authorised entry into ment, their attached fulfils other examination halls. and subordinate offices requirement for According to provifor recruitment of staff, conducting sions approved by the selection agencies, comexaminations cabinet, all offences mittees constituted by State cabinet will be cognisable, nonthe state government. bailable and non-comThe cabinet decision poundable. Any person and per- has come in the wake of allegasons resorting to unfair means tions of irregularities in the and offences will be punished Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Sewith imprisonment ranging lection Commission (OSSSC) from three to five years with a computer-based recruitment exfine of up to `10 lakh. amination 2024 for the positions The service provider will also of revenue inspector (RI), asbe liable to be punished with im- sistant revenue inspector (ARI), position of a fine of up to `1 amin, and other posts. crore. Proportionate cost of exEarlier in June, the Centre amination will also be recov- had announced enforcement of ered from such service provider. the Public Examination (PreIn case of default of payment of vention of Unfair Means) Act, fine, an additional punishment 2024 to arrest irregularities and of imprisonment will be im- unfair means in entrances as posed, as per the provisions of well as recruitment tests by cenBharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. tral bodies. @ Bhubaneswar Junior doctor, female guard attacked at Indore hospital 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 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. The incident happened 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 EXPRESS READ Gomata scheme for livestock farmers Bhubanewar: In a bid to benefit livestock farmers of the state through delivery of services at their doorsteps through veterinary institutions, the Odisha government on Wednesday decided to launch a new scheme ‘Gomata’ to be implemented for a period of three years from 2024-25 with an outlay of `342.65 cr | P3 M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi Man stabs govt doc over ‘poor treatment’ for mom Chennai: Dr J Balaji (53), a medical oncologist at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital 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 | P7 Cabinet okays new law to plug leaks in state public exams 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 Process in place to return Vedanta varsity land to rightful owners EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar IN a significant development, the Odisha government on Wednesday said administrative process has been initiated for return of land acquired in Puri district for establishment of an international university by Vedanta Foundation to its rightful owners. Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari told mediapersons that modalities for return of land will be finalised in a couple of days. This will be followed by a gov- ernment notification with necessary instruction to Puri district administration to initiate the process of de-notification which will enable the government to record the land in the name of the actual owners. The minister said the Orissa High Court had directed for restoring the possession of acquired land to the owners on refund of money received by them as compensation in respect of their land. After refund of the compensation amount, due procedure will follow to transfer and record the land in the name of the rightful owner. Pujari further said the government land leased out to Anil Agarwal Foundation, a subsequent avatar of Vedanta Foundation, will be taken back to government record. “In 2006, Vedanta Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government to establish a world class multi-disciplinary university in Puri. Vedanta changed the name of the project proponent thrice even during the process of land acquisition. Initially the name was Sterlite , Foundation, before being changed to Vedanta Foundation and subsequently to Anil Agarwal Foundation,” Pujari said and added that even the Supreme Court said the change of status of the company was Modalities for return of land will be finalised in a couple of days. This will be followed by a notification with necessary instruction to Puri administration to initiate the process of de-notification – Suresh Pujari, R&DM minister done with malafide intention. The Naveen Patnaik-led government had then decided to acquire land from 22 villages and some patches of government land. Accordingly 4,178.84 , acre of privately-owned land were acquired, out of which 3,342.53 acre were handed over to the company . Additionally, Vedanta applied for 692.02 acre government land for lease. The government approved 509.27 acre and possession of 494.98 acre was given out of which lease deed was signed for 57.21 acre, CONTINUED ON P7 he added.