hyderabad l friday l december 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l late city EDITION SC to eci: consider Kerala, u.p. plea on SIR deadline extension Supreme Court on Thursday asked Election Commission to consider representations seeking extension of time for SIR in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala lawyers question hurry in wrapping up sir leave it to the poll panel: eci counsel A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was told by senior lawyer Kapil Sibal that 25 lakh names were deleted in electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh alone. SIR deadline in UP was December 3 and in Kerala was December 18. A lawyer questioned the hurry and said assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh are due in 2027 and yet EC was not giving time ■ ■ The bench took note of the submissions and asked the ECI to take a decision “sympathetically” on any representations seeking an extension of time, while considering the ground realities Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the Election Commission, opposed the submissions saying these should be left to the poll panel Jan 6 is when final hearings on pleas challenging SIR will be taken up 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 Torn papers fly as G-Ram-G bill replacing Mahatma approved P r e e t h a N a i r a n d Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi The septic tanker, displaying the HMWSSB logo without authorisation, that was caught allegedly dumping septic sewage into the Osmansagar (Gandipet), one of the city’s main water sources Tanker caught dumping sewage into Gandipet E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad In a shocking incident, a private septic tanker was caught while attempting to dump untreated waste into the protected Osmansagar (Gandipet) reservoir, one of Hyderabad’s main drinking water sources. The incident occurred on Wednesday near Himayatnagar village within Moinabad municipality limits. Patrolling staff of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) intercepted the tanker near FTL Point No. 428 while it was attempting to discharge septic waste into the reservoir. Osmansagar supplies around 25 million gallons per day to several localities in both the old city and new city areas. According to officials, the tanker, bearing registration number TG11 T1833, was operating illegally and was not registered with the Water Board. It was also found to be displaying the HMWSSB logo without authorisation, allegedly to mislead officials and evade checks. The driver, identified as Ramavath Shiva Naik (33), reportedly told officials that he was acting on the instructions of Niranjan, a resident of Himayatnagar. Local residents said they noticed the tanker releasing septic waste and alerted authorities, following which the driver was detained. A criminal case, under Section 43 of The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Section 279 BNS, has been registered at Moinabad police In a Nutshell  Private septic tanker caught while attempting to dump untreated waste into Gandipet reservoir  Osmansagar supplies about 25 million gallons per day to the city  Criminal case registered against driver and tanker owner  HMWSSB says no sewage entered the reservoir; water remains safe station against the driver and the tanker owner, and an investigation is under way . Residents described the incident as a serious lapse, pointing out that Osmansagar has been a protected drinking water source for more than a century. T hey demanded tighter surveillance and strict punishment to deter any recurrence, warning that even attempted pollution poses a risk to public health. HMWSSB officials said the violations included unauthorised use of the Water Board logo and illegal operation of a septic tanker. They stated that any attempt to mix sewage with water in a protected reservoir could affect water supplied to lakhs of people and would attract criminal prosecution. Responding to reports circulating on social media, HMWSSB managing director K Ashok Reddy said claims of larg e-scale dumping were misleading.  continued on P4 SC: Plea on quality of packaged drinking water is ‘luxury litigation’ s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a PIL seeking enforcement of global standards for packaged drinking water, terming it as a fit case of ‘luxury litigation’ in a country where a large populace lacks access to basic drinking water. “Where is the drinking water in this country madam? People do not have , drinking water; the quality of bottled water will come later on,” Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, adding that these are ‘luxury litigations’. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Sarang Vaman Yadwadkar, who sought directives to improve and align Indian standards for packaged drinking water with global benchmarks. At the outset, the CJI questioned the very premise of the petition, observing that the court could not lose sight of broader realities faced by the country “Do . you think we can implement standards followed by the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Australia? This is an urban-centric approach; people in rural areas drink groundwater, and nothing happens to them,” the bench said. Senior advocate Anita Shenoy counsel for the petitioner, said the issue , concerned public health and consumer safety Relying on Section 18 of the . Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which mandates adherence to prescribed safety norms, the counsel said citizens were entitled to clean and safe packaged drinking water, and that statutory obligations could not be diluted. The bench, however, allowed withdrawal of the PIL with the liberty to approach the FSSAI. Parliament on Thursday passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill amid chaotic scenes in the Lok Sabha, with the Opposition raising slogans, tearing copies of the legislation, and standing on tables while holding posters of Mahatma Gandhi aloft, despite repeated appeals for order by Speaker Om Birla. The Rajya Sabha subsequently burnt the midnight oil to pass the bill after a five-hour debate. The VB G-Ram-G Bill that replaces the two-decade-old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee guarantees 125 days of employment for rural households in a financial year, with the government earmarking `95,000 crore for the initiative. A major shift under the new framework is a revised fundsharing pattern, under which states will have to bear a 40% share of the scheme’s financial responsibility . Moving the bill for passage after a nearly eight-hour-long debate, Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan mounted a strong defence of the government’s move, New tapgate SIT to probe political role E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government on Thursday constituted another Special Investigation Team (SIT), under the overall supervision of Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, expanding the existing probe into the phone-tapping case. Police filed the main chargesheet in July 2024 and are expected to submit a supplementary chargesheet after the expanded SIT completes its investigation. The nine-member SIT was formed after T Prabhakar Rao, former Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) chief and the main accused, surrendered on December 12 and was questioned for a week. According to sources, following disclosures made by Prabhakar Rao during questioning, the government decided to widen the probe to examine the alleged role of politicians in the case. The expanded SIT is likely to summon former ministers and political figures said to be linked to the case. The case was registered in March 2024, after the Congress government assumed office. Nidhhi Agerwal mobbed, groped in city mall | p3 GP results a referendum on 2-year rule: CM M a n d a R a v i n d e r R e dd y @ Hyderabad Stating that the results of the recent gram panchayat elections should be viewed as a referendum on the Congress government’s two-year rule in Telangana, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday said voters had reaffirmed their confidence in his government. Addressing a press conference at his residence here, Revanth said that out of 12,702 gram panchayats, Congress-backed candidates and rebels together had won 8,335 seats, accounting for about 66%. Of these, 7,527 were Congress-backed candidates and 808 were rebels. The remaining 4,221 seats, or about 33%, were won by candidates backed by beside the chatter  A zoo to come up in over 3,000 acres in the proposed Future City  Forensic audit underway to assess contract and outsourcing staff strength, the chief minister said the BRS and the BJP, with BRSbacked candidates securing 3,511 and those backed by the BJP 710. In 146 seats, or about 1%, candidates backed by the CPI, CPM and other parties were elected. In an informal interaction with reporters later, he said the government had received the Governor’s clearance to prosecute and file a charge sheet against BRS working president KT Rama Rao in the Formula E case. He added that clearance was awaited from the Department of Personnel and Training to proceed against IAS officer Arvind Kumar, and said due process was being followed. At the presser, Revanth alleged that the BRS and the BJP had contested the elections together and expressed confidence that the results would be repeated in the 2028 Assembly elections. “Congress will return to power with a two-thirds majority he said. ,” The chief minister recalled that panchayat elections were held across 94 Assembly constituencies, with Congress-backed candidates emerging on top in 87, BRS in six and BJP in one.  continued on P4 NREGA Act mandates spending of 60% funds on labour and 40% on material. But only 26% was spent on material and funds were siphoned off Torn papers sail past minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Lok Sabha on Thursday | PTI insisting that the legislation did not dilute Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals but, instead, sought to strengthen them. As Opposition MPs trooped to the well of the House, raising slogans against the government for dropping Gandhi ji’s name from the rural jobs initiative and tearing copies of the bill and flinging it towards the chair, Chouhan hit out at the Congress for “insulting” the Mahatma and “killing” his ideals time and again. Congress members Shafi Parambil, Dean Kuriakose and Hibi Eden stood on the table and others resorted to sloganeering in the well of the House. Rejecting the charge that the Centre was deliberately remov- ing Gandhi’s name from the law, the minister alleged that the Congress had attached his name to the scheme for political reasons. “The name of Mahatma Gandhi was added in 2009 with an eye on elections,” he said. Chouhan argued that the existing framework of MGNREGA had serious structural flaws, particularly in the allocation of funds among states. In the Rajya Sabha, Digvijaya Singh (Cong) raised a point of order saying the bill was made available on the members’ portal late in the evening and sufficient time was not given to submit amendments. Tiruchi Siva (DMK) too sought more time to file amendments. But the request was rejected. Shivraj Singh Chouhan Voice vote Several amendments moved by Oppn members were not taken up for voting as they were absent. Amid uproar, LS passed the bill by voice vote Another FTA in the bag with Oman P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi AT a time when the country is diversifying its export market amid steep, unilateral trade tariffs levied by the US, India and Oman on Thursday signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) under which 99% of Indian exports, by value, will have duty-free access to the Omani market. In return, India will offer duty-free access to 78% of goods imported from Oman. In value ter ms, 95% of Oman’s exports will have free access to the Indian market. However, India ensured that sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy products are outside the trade deal’s ambit. The commerce ministry clarified that all major labour-intensive sectors — including gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and automobiles — will receive full tariff elimination. The deal is expected to provide respite to labour-intensive sectors affected by US tariffs.