Few See Nuclear Power as the Answer to Global Warming - NYTimes.com
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Business Standard - Subsidies, tax breaks got Tata to Singur
Subsidies, tax breaks got Tata to Singur
| Subsidies, tax breaks got Tata to Singur |
| Bs Reporter / Kolkata September 09, 2008, 0:08 IST |
The agreement between Tata Motors and the government of West Bengal to manufacture the world's cheapest car in the state involved much more than subsidies on land and interest paid on bank loans.
The government worked out a package — which included tax paybacks and concessional power — to match the benefits the plant would have enjoyed in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, both designated backward areas that attracted central tax concessions.
The documents, which the West Bengal government released today, show that the state government will provide to Tata Motors a loan of Rs 200 crore at 1 per cent interest per year repayable in five equal annual installments starting from the 21st year of the date of disbursement of loan.
If the state had put the sum in a fixed deposit scheme, its principal would be worth Rs 3,000 crore in 20 years.
This loan was disbursed within 60 days of signing of the agreement in May 2006.
The West Bengal government will also provide electricity for the project at Rs 3 per KwH, against the going rate of Rs 4.15 per KwH.
In the case of a more than 25 paise per KwH increase in tariff in every block of five years, the government will provide relief through additional compensation to neutralise the additional increase.
The state government also promised to revisit the computation of the comparison of benefits offered by Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The incentive package in these states comprised excise exemption for 10 years and 100 per cent income tax exemption for the first five years and 30 per cent for the next five years.
The state government also subsidised the cost of land required for the factory and the interest paid by Tata Motors on loans taken to build the project.
Thus, the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) is to provide Industrial Promotion Assistance in the form of a loan to Tata Motors at 0.1 per cent interest a year for amounts equal to gross VAT and CST received by the government of West Bengal in each of the previous year ended March 31 on the sale of each Nano from the date of commencement of sales.
In other words, the state government would repay Tata Motors the VAT and CST collected on each Nano sale and as a result not earn anything as tax.
This benefit will continue till the balance amount of the benefit offered by Uttarakhand was reached on a net present value basis, after which it is to be discontinued. The loan with interest will be repayable in annual installments starting from the 31st year of sales from the plant.
WBIDC will ensure that the loan under this head is paid within 60 days of the close of the previous year (March 31), failing which WBIDC will be liable to compensate Tata Motors for the financial inconvenience at the rate of 1.5 times the bank rate prevailing at the time on the amount due for the period of the delay.
The agreement also said Tata Motors and the government of West Bengal will make joint efforts to maximise sales of the car in West Bengal.
Under the agreement, WBIDC would provides 645.67 acres to Tata Motors Ltd on a 90-year lease, on an annual lease rental of Rs 1 crore per year for the first five years with an increase at the rate of 25 per cent after every five years till 30 years.
The effective lease rental for Tata Motors would be Rs 1291 per acre per month annually, rising in keeping with an escalation clause.
After 30 years, the lease rental will be fixed at Rs 5 crore per year, with an increase at the rate of 30 per cent after every 10 years till the 60th year. After 60 years, the lease rental will be fixed at Rs 20 crore per year for 645 acres which will be unchanged till the 90th year.
After 90 years the lease terms will be fixed on mutually agreed terms.
The benefit on account of land would be calculated as the total land area leased out to Tata Motors multiplied by the cost of acquisition less the net present value (NPV) of rent payable during 60 years.
Over and above all this, the agreement says WBIDC will lease 290 acres to vendors selected and approved by Tata Motors on payment of a premium equal to the actual cost of acquisition plus incidentals, to be calculated on the basis of the total acquisition cost and other incidental expenses expended by WBIDC or any of its subsidiaries (duly certified by its auditor) averaged over the total land acquired.
The lease rental payable per year per acre by the vendors will be Rs 8,000 per acre for the first 45 years and Rs 16,000 per acre for the next 45 years.
The going rate for commercial space in the area was around Rs 25,000 per acre per year for high land, with low-lying or waterlogging-prone areas fetching Rs 12,500 per month.
The initial lease tenure will be 90 years, after which the lease terms will be fixed on mutually agreed terms at that point of time.
The agreement says Tata Motors will manufacture 250,000 cars a year on a two-shift basis which could be expanded to 350,000 on three-shift basis.
In addition, the Singur unit would act as a mother plant for many aggregates to tune of 500,000 cars.
Tata Motors told the West Bengal government it would be investing over Rs 1500 crore and vendors were likely to make further investment of over Rs 500 crore.
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Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Telegraph -Kolkata | White House date for seal on deal
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | White House date for seal on deal
White House date for seal on deal | |||
| K.P. NAYAR | |||
Washington, Sept. 11: Three years, two months and one week after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W. Bush stunned the world by announcing an end to India’s long nuclear winter, the two men will finally seal the Indo-US nuclear deal in the White House on September 25. The White House announced today that “the President... looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Singh to the White House on September 25, 2008, to strengthen the strategic partnership (with India) and build upon our progress in other areas of co-operation, such as agriculture, education, trade, and defence”. If all goes well, Bush will sign into law the various components of the nuclear deal at the White House on September 25 in the presence of Singh and the US Congressional leadership, thereby operationalising it. Bush administration officials burned a lot of midnight oil this week to transmit the nuclear deal package to the US Congress before today, the seventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks here, a day of solemnity when routine and mundane things are put aside for a day of solidarity and national renewal. Bush sent the package to Capitol Hill within hours after defence minister A.K. Antony met the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley. “I think they are confident” of the deal’s passage in Congress during its current term, Antony told Indian reporters her after the meetings. Bush vigorously pursued the deal up to its last hurdle although Antony, in his characteristic style, declined to give any assurance to US defence secretary Robert Gates 24 hours earlier that US manufacturers could bag the biggest military aviation deal in history for 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) for the Indian Air Force. Antony poured cold water on Washington’s enthusiasm for the MRCA order when he told Indian reporters that a decision on awarding the contract will be taken only by the next government in New Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections. But he offered a level playing field for the Americans and complete transparency and honesty in awarding the contract, a well-known hallmark of Antony’s entire political career. If the Indians refused to make any new compromises in seeing the nuclear deal through in its final phase, Bush also stood by the controversial commitments made by the US state department in its secret letter to the US Congress in January over the interpretation of the deal. The contents of the letter created a political storm in India on the eve of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting on September 4. In his message to the US Congress transmitting the nuclear deal package, Bush repeated the state department’s assertion in the secret letter that assurances “concerning reliable supply of nuclear fuel given to India” are only “political commitments” and that passage of the nuclear deal by Congress “does not, however, transform these political commitments into legally binding commitments”. In plain language, it will be up to the next President and his successors to decide at any time whether they want to stick to those “political commitments”. Lest it should revive the furore in India about alleged US duplicity, Bush left open an exit route by arguing that there are no legally binding commitments because the agreement under section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is intended only as a “framework agreement” that allows for further sub-pacts. Bush also reiterated the secret commitment to Congress in January that “sensitive nuclear technology, heavy-water production technology and production facilities, sensitive nuclear facilities, and major critical components of such facilities may not be transferred under the” deal to India. He assured Congress that unless India “establishes a new national reprocessing facility dedicated to reprocessing under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and both parties agree on arrangements and procedures under which the reprocessing or other alteration in form or content will take place”, reprocessing clauses in the deal “will not come into effect”. The Prime Minister will arrive in New York for the UN General Assembly on September 23 before travelling to the White House for a half-day engagement two days later. The White House routinely discourages leaders visiting New York for the General Assembly from making a detour to Washington, but the exception being made for Singh is a signal of the importance Bush attaches to his friendship with a Prime Minister who staked his government to pursue the nuclear deal. | |||
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Times of India: Sept 10 2008 -19,000 mobile towers to connect villages-India-The Times of India
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Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Project Orissa - Front Line Sept 13
Project Orissa
Project Orissa PRAFULLA DAS
in Bhubaneswar & Kandhamal
BISWARANJAN ROUT/AP
At Minia Village in Kandhamal district, Thomas Digal in his house, which was burnt down by Hindutva hordes.
Project Orissa
in Bhubaneswar & Kandhamal
| The Sangh Parivar’s brutal attacks on Christians in Orissa’s Kandhamal district are part of a political project. |
At Minia Village in Kandhamal district, Thomas Digal in his house, which was burnt down by Hindutva hordes.
THE greenery and the low clouds caressing the thickly forested hills, which greet one as one drives into Kandhamal district, are in stark contrast to what lies ahead: deserted villages where houses have been burnt down. Their residents have fled the worst communal violence Orissa has seen, which claimed at least 30 lives.
The carnage began at midnight on August 23-24, hours after Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples were shot dead at around 8 p.m. at his ashram at Jalespata, under Tumudibandha police station limits, in the same district. The assailants, numbering about 30, used automatic weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles.
The police suspected the hand of the Communist Party of India (Maoists), and Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda told mediapersons as much on telephone at 11 p.m. The news soon spread and in no time protesters from Sangh Parivar organisations, including the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, were out on the streets erecting roadblocks at many places, including the capital, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack.
Over the next two weeks, thousands of houses were looted and burnt down by the attackers who targeted members of the Christian community. Kandhamal district was the worst affected, with the local administration confirming 16 deaths.
The situation took a serious turn when Sangh Parivar leaders rejected the police theory suspecting Maoist involvement and said militant Christians were behind the killing of Lakshmanananda. As if signalling the violence, protesters set fire to a private bus in Bhubaneswar around midnight on August 23 and also attacked several churches there.
By next morning, at almost all district-headquarter towns, activists of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the Hindu Jagarana Samukhya and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged demonstrations and blocked roads demanding the arrest of the swami’s killers. The VHP and the Bajrang Dal gave a call for a Statewide 12-hour bandh on August 25. The bandh brought life to a standstill that day. Many trains were held up at stations en route and not a single passenger bus or commercial vehicle was seen on the roads.
Business establishments and banks downed their shutters and all educational institutions remained closed as ordered by the State government. Barring the arrest of some protesters, throughout the State the police largely remained mute spectators to the harassment of people who ventured out of their houses during the bandh.
In Kandhamal, informed sources said, houses belonging to Christians were set on fire and pastors and members of the community were attacked and burnt alive. Scores of churches and prayer houses were burnt down in Kandhamal district. Outside Kandhamal, an orphanage was attacked in Bargarh district.
Rajni Majhi, a 19-year-old Hindu girl who studied in a local college but worked in the orphanage as an auxiliary nurse, was burnt alive and a priest was beaten up badly.
Kandhamal district was virtually in flames by August 24. Serious trouble started when the Naveen Patnaik government succumbed to VHP pressure and allowed followers of Lakshmanananda to take out the funeral procession from the swami’s ashram at Jalespata to the one at Chakapad, passing through hundreds of villages.
The procession started from Jalespata on August 24 afternoon and reached Chakapad the next afternoon after halting at Phulbani, the district headquarter town, for the night. Leaders of the Sangh Parivar, including Suresh Pujari, president of the BJP’s State unit, participated in the procession.
Hundreds of people had gathered en route to pay their last respects to Lakshmanananda. All hell broke loose when incensed crowds in the localities that the procession passed through attacked Christians there. Christians, who were perceived to be Congress supporters, were targeted everywhere; in some places many Hindu families were also attacked because they were Congress supporters. The attackers included activists of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and other Sangh Parivar organisations, and workers of the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), parties that are partners in the government headed by Naveen Patnaik.
The violence also saw attacks on Christians who belonged to the Scheduled Castes and on people who claimed tribal status on the grounds that they spoke the Kui language of the Kondh tribal people. The Kui Samaj, which unites members of the native Kondh tribe in Kandhamal, was found to be very much on the side of the VHP and the ruling alliance.
Silent policemen
Informed sources said the policemen on duty at various police stations made no attempt to prevent the protesters from attacking Christians and their property. The fact that the police did not open fire anywhere in Kandhamal district to stop the dance of death gave rise to the suspicion that they were acting on the instructions of their political bosses.
The protesters also attacked government officials and offices and damaged vehicles of the police and the civil administration. Prohibitory orders were clamped in the entire district and curfew was imposed in several towns.
As the additional police force made available in the district was engaged in protecting government establishments and facilitating the funeral procession, protesters continued with their aggression by felling trees and blocking roads that led to the interior pockets of the district. In many places, informed sources said, even neighbours turned enemies and burnt alive members of Christian families. People from neighbouring villages also joined in, looting and torching the houses of Christians, who fled into the surrounding forests and hills.
Many of the victims hid in the jungles for up to seven days and came out only when the police reached there and assured them safety. Soon the relief camps that the administration had set up were not enough to hold the homeless and the government set up more camps. At the overcrowded camps people were enquiring about the whereabouts of their near and dear who were missing even 10 days after the violence erupted.
Lakshmanananda’s body was cremated at Chakapad late on the afternoon of August 25 in the presence of three BJP Ministers of the State, several Members of Parliament, legislators, and leaders of the VHP, including Praveen Togadia, and other Sangh Parivar organisations. Togadia travelled from Bhubaneswar to Chakapad by road despite the curfew that was in force in several towns of Kandhamal district. He claimed that Christians were behind the killing of the swami and that conversion was the root cause of the unrest in the district.
In Bhubaneswar, he criticised the Naveen Patnaik government for its failure to protect the swami though the latter had informed the police about a threatening letter that his ashram at Jalespata received a day before the attack.
If Togadia was allowed to enter the district when violence was at its peak, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal and other politicians as also human rights activists were denied entry much later. Among those who were prevented from visiting the riot-hit region were Brinda Karat, Rajya Sabha member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a team of Congress leaders of Orissa and a four-member team of Left Members of Parliament led by Gurudas Dasgupta of the Communist Party of India.
The entry restrictions were lifted on September 3 when Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil visited Kandhamal and reimposed the next day.
Several political parties and organisations demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the swami’s killing and the subsequent violence. But Patnaik said the Special Investigation Team set up to probe the killing of the swami and four others was capable of bringing the guilty to book. He did not say anything about the cases relating to the killings and the destruction of property in the violence at various places.
BJP pressure
On the other hand, the BJP put pressure on the government to arrest those involved in the murder of Lakshmanananda. In the face of criticism from the VHP, the party’s legislators even stalled proceedings in the State Assembly for a day in support of their demand. In what seemed like a well-organised drama, a section of BJP legislators also demanded that the party pull out of the government and support it from outside. However, the scenario changed soon and senior leaders of the party met the Chief Minister and assured him that the BJP would remain a part of the ruling alliance.
While all organisations of the Sangh Parivar insisted that conversion was the main reason for the communal tension in Kandhamal, the BJP urged the Chief Minister to implement strictly the laws pertaining to conversion and the ban on cow slaughter.
Meanwhile, the situation in the interior areas of Kandhamal remained tense even a fortnight after the outbreak of violence despite the government’s claim that the law and order situation was under control. Stray incidents of violence continued in remote pockets that remained inaccessible because the roadblocks were still in place.
In the prevailing circumstances in Kandhamal, the return of peace and harmony between the different communities is unlikely unless the government makes its presence felt at all levels of the administration and solves the problems of the poor among the tribal and the non-tribal population.
On the political front, a joint initiative by all political parties could restore peace and communal harmony in the district. But that is unlikely to happen as elections to both the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly are scheduled for next year.
Inquiry commissions
The record of the BJD-BJP government shows that it has never been serious in its approach to ensure peace in Kandhamal. In fact, the district witnessed communal violence for more than a week in December last year following an attack on Lakshmanananda Saraswati a day before Christmas. At least four persons were killed and hundreds of houses of Christians were burnt down. A Hindu village, Brahmanigaon, was also attacked by members of the minority community.
The State government ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence and the commission, headed by retired High Court Judge Basudev Panigrahi, is continuing with its hearings.
Now, the government has ordered a judicial inquiry, headed by Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, a former High Court Judge, into the killing of Lakshmanananda and the communal violence that followed.
By the time the reports of the two commissions see the light of day, Kandhamal’s communal clashes may well have acquired a new dimension because of the interplay of social, political and cultural factors.
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Saturday, September 06, 2008
The OSA 5-year Membership - explainations of the issue being voted
Click this Link to vote: http://priyadarsan.patra.googlepages.com/speakyourmind
With the full support of the BOG, we are hereby proposing a motion to add a new type of membership -- The 5-year membership --- appended to the Bylaw I, Section 2 of OSA constitution. If you recall, we had deliberated and clarified the proactive requirements to be a chapter or national official : the official must be an OSA member during candidacy, during his/her term and at least for a short while after the term. A Life Membership (which is such a tremendous value vis-a-vis the cost of living here) is perhaps the minimum level of commitment for an official as almost all agree. However, some current chapter officials and members of the community strongly requested us to consider a level less than Life Membership for such potential reasons as financial hardship, or short-stay-in-the-country situations.
After much internal deliberation, we introduced this idea of a 5-year at the GBM at Toronto to obtain positive feedback before proceeding towards a constitutional amendment. We would like a period of further deliberation in OSAnet and then we will hold voting through our "Speak Your Mind" electronic polling system for final passing of the resolution. The key attributes of the membership being proposed are:
1. The 5-year membership fee will be $100 for five years (unless the fees are amended in coming years).
2. Members will have an opportunity in that period to be upgraded to a Life Member paying a difference between the two membership fees.
For example a 5-year member will be able to change to Life Member if they pay the difference i.e.$200 ($300-$100) the current Life Membership fee, provided it does not go up.
3. This membership will have all the privileges of Life Membership for those 5 years.
=========== Additional thoughts from our discussions so far =============
We have proposed and discussed the requirement of a chapter elected official in this forum. This should ease the concerns of those who feel the full life membership is out of the reach. We also hope all of you continue to strongly support the notion that any body assuming OSA official position at chapter or exec/national level must be a OSA member in good standing one year before the office is assumed and then at least through their presumed tenure. For such people, who are not in a position to become a full life member, the 5-year membership is a good alternative, and it shows their commitment to the organization whose office they are holding or hope to hold.
One chapter president suggested that life-membership should become a prerequisite for holding chapter (and by extension, national) office. The sentiment is well taken, however, in the interest of pragmatics and considering strong request from many Odiyas, the rest of the voting BOG (which includes reps from 14 chapters, a past president, the current executives) raised no-objection to our proposal. Now we are bringing this to the rank and file membership, so appropriate constitutional amendment can be done.
Even though our vounteers pour in a lot of hours and thoughtful work and sometimes even incur minor expenses -- all uncompensated-- in order to make this organization tick and to provide the benefits to the membership, our costs for handling and shipping (in addition to the cost of creating) such things as souvenirs, newsletters, directories, etc. are escalating. So we must adopt low-cost (perhaps electronic delivery) unless we raise more funds for this. Thus true cost to us may not reflect in the low-levels of membership fees required by the organization.
Priyadarsan Patra
Secretary, OSA 2007-2009
How to vote: http://priyadarsan.patra.googlepages.com/speakyourmind
With the full support of the BOG, we are hereby proposing a motion to add a new type of membership -- The 5-year membership --- appended to the Bylaw I, Section 2 of OSA constitution. If you recall, we had deliberated and clarified the proactive requirements to be a chapter or national official : the official must be an OSA member during candidacy, during his/her term and at least for a short while after the term. A Life Membership (which is such a tremendous value vis-a-vis the cost of living here) is perhaps the minimum level of commitment for an official as almost all agree. However, some current chapter officials and members of the community strongly requested us to consider a level less than Life Membership for such potential reasons as financial hardship, or short-stay-in-the-country situations.
After much internal deliberation, we introduced this idea of a 5-year at the GBM at Toronto to obtain positive feedback before proceeding towards a constitutional amendment. We would like a period of further deliberation in OSAnet and then we will hold voting through our "Speak Your Mind" electronic polling system for final passing of the resolution. The key attributes of the membership being proposed are:
1. The 5-year membership fee will be $100 for five years (unless the fees are amended in coming years).
2. Members will have an opportunity in that period to be upgraded to a Life Member paying a difference between the two membership fees.
For example a 5-year member will be able to change to Life Member if they pay the difference i.e.$200 ($300-$100) the current Life Membership fee, provided it does not go up.
3. This membership will have all the privileges of Life Membership for those 5 years.
=========== Additional thoughts from our discussions so far =============
We have proposed and discussed the requirement of a chapter elected official in this forum. This should ease the concerns of those who feel the full life membership is out of the reach. We also hope all of you continue to strongly support the notion that any body assuming OSA official position at chapter or exec/national level must be a OSA member in good standing one year before the office is assumed and then at least through their presumed tenure. For such people, who are not in a position to become a full life member, the 5-year membership is a good alternative, and it shows their commitment to the organization whose office they are holding or hope to hold.
One chapter president suggested that life-membership should become a prerequisite for holding chapter (and by extension, national) office. The sentiment is well taken, however, in the interest of pragmatics and considering strong request from many Odiyas, the rest of the voting BOG (which includes reps from 14 chapters, a past president, the current executives) raised no-objection to our proposal. Now we are bringing this to the rank and file membership, so appropriate constitutional amendment can be done.
Even though our vounteers pour in a lot of hours and thoughtful work and sometimes even incur minor expenses -- all uncompensated-- in order to make this organization tick and to provide the benefits to the membership, our costs for handling and shipping (in addition to the cost of creating) such things as souvenirs, newsletters, directories, etc. are escalating. So we must adopt low-cost (perhaps electronic delivery) unless we raise more funds for this. Thus true cost to us may not reflect in the low-levels of membership fees required by the organization.
Priyadarsan Patra
Secretary, OSA 2007-2009
How to vote: http://priyadarsan.patra.googlepages.com/speakyourmind
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Friday, September 05, 2008
Nine years after he mowed down six people - Sanjeev Nanda sentensed for 5 yr RI
NINE YEARS after he mowed down six people with his speeding car, Sanjeev Nanda has been sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment. A city court had pronounced him guilty in the case on Tuesday .
Announcing the sentence on Friday, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar termed Nanda’s crime more serious than the Alistair Pereira case in Mumbai.
Pereira was sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs 5 lakh for running over seven persons sleeping on the pavement.
“The question is whether a man on the road is safe, and whether drunken drivers would keep on committing such offences. This accountability to the society can only be suitably answered if a substantial jail term is provided to him,” Kumar said.
Nanda, 30, looked emotionally drained as the sentence was read out. Without reacting to the sentence, he discussed it with his lawyer while his parents, grandmother and sister waited anxiously for an opportunity to talk to him.
Nanda’s co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta was awarded a year’s rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000.
His two employees — Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh — also got six month jail terms for the same offence. All three were granted bail immediately as their jail terms did not exceed three years.
In Nanda’s case, however, the court rejected the contention that he should be released on probation as he was just 19 at the time of the accident, and had spent nine months in jail since then.
“A person who got a driving licence from the USA can be considered to be having a higher degree of knowledge of consequences of drunken driving. Therefore, on account of his young age, no benefit can be given,” the court said.
During the trial, Nanda had in formed the court that he had secured his driving licence while studying in Boston.
On Tuesday, Nanda was convicted under the stringent penal section for ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ rather than the milder section for ‘rash and negligent driving’.
Rejecting the contention that he had been unjustly booked under a harsh penal provision, as some policemen were among the dead, the court said, “drivers, especially those with criminal backgrounds, hit police officials on checking duty deliberately and have even killed them. Therefore, when police found a few police officials lying dead at the spot, they had just reasons to register a case for intentionally causing death.” naziya.alvi@hindustantimes.com
Announcing the sentence on Friday, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar termed Nanda’s crime more serious than the Alistair Pereira case in Mumbai.
Pereira was sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs 5 lakh for running over seven persons sleeping on the pavement.
“The question is whether a man on the road is safe, and whether drunken drivers would keep on committing such offences. This accountability to the society can only be suitably answered if a substantial jail term is provided to him,” Kumar said.
Nanda, 30, looked emotionally drained as the sentence was read out. Without reacting to the sentence, he discussed it with his lawyer while his parents, grandmother and sister waited anxiously for an opportunity to talk to him.
Nanda’s co-convict and businessman Rajeev Gupta was awarded a year’s rigorous imprisonment for destruction of evidence and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000.
His two employees — Bhola Nath and Shyam Singh — also got six month jail terms for the same offence. All three were granted bail immediately as their jail terms did not exceed three years.
In Nanda’s case, however, the court rejected the contention that he should be released on probation as he was just 19 at the time of the accident, and had spent nine months in jail since then.
“A person who got a driving licence from the USA can be considered to be having a higher degree of knowledge of consequences of drunken driving. Therefore, on account of his young age, no benefit can be given,” the court said.
During the trial, Nanda had in formed the court that he had secured his driving licence while studying in Boston.
On Tuesday, Nanda was convicted under the stringent penal section for ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ rather than the milder section for ‘rash and negligent driving’.
Rejecting the contention that he had been unjustly booked under a harsh penal provision, as some policemen were among the dead, the court said, “drivers, especially those with criminal backgrounds, hit police officials on checking duty deliberately and have even killed them. Therefore, when police found a few police officials lying dead at the spot, they had just reasons to register a case for intentionally causing death.” naziya.alvi@hindustantimes.com
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6:44 PM
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