HYDERABAD l tuesday l december 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE City EDITION IIP growth at 2-year high of 6.7% in Nov on robust manufacturing Factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew at 6.7% in November, driven by the manufacturing and mining sectors strong growth on back of GST cuts Metals, Pharma boost manufacturing The Goods and Services Tax rates were cut on a host of consumer items to boost demand and consumption. This led to a piling up of manufacturing orders to take advantage of the GST rate reduction. The data showed that the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 8%, up from 5.5% in the yearago month. Mining production rose by 5.4%, against 1.9% a year earlier ■ ■ ■ “The growth is led by manufacture of basic metals, fabricated metal products, pharma and vehicles,” the National Statistics Office said In manufacturing sector, 20 of 23 industry groups recorded growth The data also showed that power production contracted by 1.5% in November 2025 compared to 4.4% expansion in the year-ago period 11.9% The highest iip growth recorded in recent times. It came in nov 2023 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 stays its Nov 20 fiat on Aravallis, to set up high-powered committee Bench says its previous order invited applications and pleas questioning the 100-metre rule s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y Interim win, say environmentalists @ New Delhi warm welcome In a rare gesture, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy greets Leader of Opposition in the Assembly K Chandrasekhar Rao on the first day of winter session on Monday BRS govt slowed down PRLIS: Uttam E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Harish RAO BLAMES UTTAM FOR PRLIS DELAY Accusing the previous BRS government of having “ordered the slowing down” of works on the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said there would have been no problem had the previous government executed the project with an assured allocation of 90 tmcft of water before the new Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, came into force. He said the BRS was blaming the Congress government for its own failures. The winter session of the Assembly, which commenced on Monday, is expected to take up the discussion on ir rig ation projects and the issue of Krishna and Godavari waters when it reconvenes on January 2. “The Centre cited Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, as the reason for allocating 45 tmcft of Krishna waters from the Srisailam dam for PRLIS, stating that it was subject to the KWDT decision, thereby making it sub judice. The BRS was in power for 10 years from June 2014. What stopped it from completing the project during this period?” Uttam questioned during an infromal chat with reporters in his Assembly chamber. BRS MLA T Harish Rao on Monday alleged that it was N Uttam Kumar Reddy, when he was in the Opposition, filed a petition in the Green Tribunal, against PRLIS. In an informal chat with reporters, he asked the irrigation minister to tell whether he agreed to allocation of only 45 tmcft for PRLIS or not. assembly session likely to last till january 7 The Business Advisory Committee of the State Legislative Assembly met soon after the House was adjourned. Unconfirmed sources said the session is likely to conclude on or before January 7. He clarified that it was then that he had requested the Centre to grant clearance for the diversion of an additional 45 tmcft from the Godavari river. Uttam also said that the then BRS government issued GO Rt No 246, dated August 18, 2022, permitting the use of 45 tmcft based on the award of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT). “Our demand is 90 tmcft for PRLIS, and we never agreed to anything less than that,” he said, exuding confidence that the Cong ress gover nment would complete the project with a 90 tmcft allocation during its current term. “The BRS thinks that repeating a lie makes people believe false propaganda,” he remarked. CONtinued on p4 THE Supreme Court on Monday put its November 20 order that accepted an elevationlinked defintion of the Aravallis on hold after environmental groups raised serious concerns that the new definition could lead to unbridled mining in one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said the court’s November 20 order had “critical ambiguities” that needed to be cleared up. The bench proposed forming a panel of experts to study the issue more carefully . “We direct that recommendations of the committee and findings of the Supreme Court shall remain in abeyance till then. The case to be taken up on January 21, 2026,” said the three-judge bench. The court had on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned fresh mining leases. The SC Security officials outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi Monday | Shekhar Yadav A committee of experts will be constituted to study environmental impact and assessment of the recommendations made by an earlier committee that comprised of bureaucrats — CJI-led SC bench had also accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Environment Ministry that had recommended that “Aravalli Hill” be defined as any landform with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an “Aravalli Range” as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. In its order on Monday, the court said, “It seems prima facie that both the committee’s report and the judgment of this court have omitted to expressly clarify certain critical issues.” The court said that the ministry’s definition might create a problem where protected areas become smaller while unprotected “non-Aravalli” areas become larger. The bench issued notice in Environmentalists objecting to the new definition of Aravallis welcomed the Supreme Court’s move on Monday. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said, ”This judicial intervention was much needed... the committee which is going to be formed should have ecologists, environmentalists and not just bureaucrats.” Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of the People for Aravallis collective, termed the directive of Monday as an “interim win”. the matter and requested the Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist the Court, including in the composition of the expert panel. The problem started because Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat each had their own definitions of what counts as Aravalli Hills and Ranges, leading to loopholes that allowed illegal mining. B’deshis harassed, refused treatment E XPR E S S N E W S S E RVIC E @ Bhubaneswar TWO Bangladeshi nationals travelling to Bhubaneswar for medical treatment were subjected to police verification on arrival at the airport on Sunday night after the locals raised suspicion on their identity Furthermore, the hospital con. cerned also reportedly refused admission fearing trouble and both were forced to return to Mumbai from where they had flown in. According to police sources, the two brothers, aged 49 and 35, arrived from Mumbai after flying in from Dubai, where they were working. The elder sibling, who is suffering from a cardiac ailment, was scheduled to undergo treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. The hospital had arranged an ambulance to receive them. However, it failed to arrive and the two attempted to hire a taxi. When the cab driver learnt they were Bangla citizens, he alerted others and police who verified travel documents and cleared them. However, police sources said the private hospital declined to admit the ailing man, citing concerns over possible backlash. SC stays order suspending Sengar’s life term e x p r ess ne w s se r v i c e @ New Delhi STRESSING that even the “finest judges are prone to errors” and judicial scrutiny is part of the system, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a December 23 High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The top court said Sengar shall not be released from custody . A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, which was hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the high court or- der, said “substantial questions of law have arisen in the matter that require consideration”. The court issued notice to Sengar seeking his response in four weeks. The bench said it was conscious of the fact that ordinarily, when a convict or an under-trial was released on bail after an order passed by a court, such order shall not be stayed by it without hearing that person. It noted that Sengar was also convicted and sentenced in a separate case and was still in custody in that matter. “In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we stay the operation of the impugned order dated December 23, 2025, passed by the high court,” it said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, urged the bench to stay the high court order, saying it was a “horrific rape” of a child. The Delhi HC had, in its December 23 order, held Sengar was convicted under Section 5 (C) (sexual assault by a public servant) of POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a “public servant” under the IPC. The bench observed it was worried that a constable or a ‘patwari’ will be a ‘public servant’ in such an offence but a MP or MLA may be exempted if this interpretation was construed to be correct. C.A.T. removes Brahmos Chief from post M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi In a rare development, the Hyderabad-bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday directed that the sitting Director General and CEO of the Brahmos Aerospace Jaiteerth R Joshi be removed from the post. The CAT also asked the defence ministry to reconsider the claim of the senior-most scientist, Sivasubramaniam Nambi Naidu, for the top post. This newspaper was the first to report on December 2, 2024 that the appointment was challenged the selection committee for in the Central Administrative appointment to the position Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad. of director general. But, as The crisis stemmed from per CAT, they cannot ignore the appointment of Joshi as the entire service record of the CEO. The decision was the other scientists. contested by SivasubramanJoshi took charge on Deyam Nambi Naidu, alleging Jaiteerth R Joshi cember 2, 2024. Naidu, a ‘Dishe was superseded during the tinguished Scientist’, is sevselection. en years senior to Joshi and has The tribunal, referring to the served as an ‘Outstanding Scientist’ Standard Operating Procedure, said since 2017, a position Joshi currentthe Secretary, DDR&D and Chair- ly holds. With only three years left in man of the DRDO can approve one of service, Naidu’s plea is to consider the names in the panel submitted by his seniority and experience. 16x25 Sudheer Babu is first Future City Commissioner E N S @ Hyderabad After restructuring the three police commissionerates into three commissionerates and a district Superintendent of Police (SP) office, the state government on Monday transferred and posted four senior officials. Rachakonda Commissioner G Sudheer Babu has been transferred and posted as Commissioner of the newly created Future City Commissionerate. Cyberabad Commissioner Avinash Mohanty has been transferred and posted as Commissioner of Malkajgiri, a new commissionerate formed by reorganising the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.  CONtinued on p5