The government is considering setting up of Mahanagar Telephone Nigams for Chennai and Calcutta, the minister for telecommunications Beni Prasad Verma, informed the Lok Sabha today.
The minister who was replying to a question in the house said that the restructuring of the department of telecommunications and giving independent corporate status to MTNL, would be taken up simultaneously. He said a committee headed by M B Athreya which was set up in 1990 has recommended separating the policy regulation tier from the operation tier.
Subsequently in 1995, he said, a committee chaired by a retired member of telecom commissions went into the question of restructuring of DOT headquarters and recommended separation of the functions of operations from those of planning as also an independent corporate status for MTNL.
He said the restructuring of DOT will enable it to effectively compete in the emerging scenario of privatisation of basic services.
Railways
The government has agreed in principle to increase the advance period for railway reservations from 30 days to 60 days, the Lok Sabha was informed today. The railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan said in a written reply that the modalities for this would be worked out in due course and added that there was an overwhelming response to an advertisement in favour of increasing the advance reservation period.
There was no immediate threat of the railways falling into a debt trap on account of interest to be paid on funds mobilised by the Indian Railway Finance Corporation, through tax-free and taxable bonds besides external commercial borrowings, he added.
The minister said the railways were taking necessary steps to augment revenue and contain operating expenses in order to increase internal generation of resources and keep market borrowings to the minimum.
There were 2971 cases pending against various railway divisions in the consumer courts in the country, Paswan said, adding that the maximum number of 508 cases were against Central Railways followed by 473 against South-Eastern Railways.
Ministries to get more powers
The ministry of finance is working out modalities for streamlining the expenditure sanction system to enable ministries and departments to implement their plan and non-plan schemes without any delay. This was stated in the Rajya Sabha today by the minister of state for planning and programme implementation, Ratnamala D Savanoor.
In a written reply to a question from Ram Kapse, on delegation of financial powers to ministries for speedy implementation of projects, Savanoor said, the government feels that adequate powers should be delegated to the ministries for incurring expenditure within the budgeted outlays and only in case of demand for additional funds should the matter may be referred to the ministry of finance.
To a question on changes in the functioning of the Planning Commission from Ram Jethmalani, she said during the Ninth Plan a number of changes are contemplated like transfer of centrally sponsored schemes to states, greater involvement of states in plan formulation and greater authority to Panchayati Raj institutions and local bodies in implementation of basic minimum services in certain social sectors.
Sterlite
An AIADMK member, N. Rajendran, today demanded in the Rajya Sabha the setting up of a high-level committee to study the environmental hazards posed by the Sterlite plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. Raising the issue during zero hour in his maiden parliamentary performance, Rajendran narrated the ecological hazards the plant was posing to the people of Tuticorin. There was also an incident of a gas leak in the plant recently, he said.
Landless labourers
The government will come out with a legislation for giving statutory protection to landless agricultural workers by the year end, Prime Minister I K Gujral said in the Rajya Sabha today. The union cabinet is expected to consider the issue in about two months time, Gujral said during the question hour. The Prime Minister said anti-poverty programmes would not succeed in the country until protection is given to agricultural labourers. Gujral said the objectives of several anti-poverty programmes were being defeated because of bureaucratic approachesand called for all out efforts to ensure that its benefits trickled down to the targeted group.
AIDS patients
The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) reported 4,725 cases of AIDS till June 30 this year, the minister of state for health and family welfare, Renuka Chowdhury, informed the Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply, she said there were about 65,200 HIV positive cases reported in the country of which some would turn into AIDS cases by the year 2000
Population
The draft national population policy envisages an achievement of the total fertility rate of 2.1 by the year 2010, Renuka Chowdhury told the house. She said the strategy adopted is that of contraception in the short run and provision of quality reproductive and child health services, with associated supplies and information in the medium and long run.
Nuclear Programme
Prime Minister I K Gujral, today declared in the Rajya Sabha that India will not be cowed down by direct or indirect pressure to abandon its nuclear programme, which was being pursued for peaceful purposes. We are not going to be deterred in following our nuclear policy whether there is pressure, direct or indirect, from any quarter, Gujral asserted.
In an apparent reference to the US Gujral said there were countries which did not want India to conclude an agreement with Russia to set up a 1,000 MW atomic power plant in Koodangulam in Tamil Nadu. Some countries are not positive towards India getting nuclear power technology (from Russia) and were coming in our way, Gujral said.
ISI activities
India cannot afford to overlook militant activities by Pakistans ISI despite the fact that New Delhi is very keen on people-to-people relations between the two countries, the Prime Minister, I K Gujral, said in the Rajya Sabha today. We want to pursue the policy of befriending Pakistan, but at the same time, we cannot ignore the terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere, Gujral said responding to a spate of supplementaries during question hour.
