Counseling and conciliation centres in guiding and motivating litigants to resolve their disputes amicably are being set up in all Districts in the States and Union Territories under the aegis of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The decision to set up such Centres at the District Level was taken at the Second Annual Meet of the State Legal Services Authorities under the aegis of NALSA on October 9,1999 at Hyderabad.

    The NALSA has also resolved to draft the services of psychologists, doctors and housewives to act as conciliators in settling disputes amicably. Earlier in January 1999, the Executive Chairman of NALSA Shri Justice S.P. Bharucha had desired that legal aid functionaries must make every effort to bring settlements through mediation and conciliation. In some of the States including Delhi, such Centres are already functioning.

    The implementation of Legal Aid Programmes under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, as amended, is the responsibility of the Central Authority constituted under Section 3 of the Act. The Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief and Shri Justice S.P. Bharucha,Judge, Supreme Court of India is the Executive Chairman of the Central Authority known as National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)

    India has exported 22.50 lakh tonnes of finished steel during April 1999 - January 2000 which was nearly 60 percent more as compared to the export during the same period last year. Main and secondary producers have contributed to this quantum jump in export. In addition there was 2.50 lakh tonnes of export of semis during this period in place of 1.17 lakh tonnes during April 1998-January 1999. Export of pig iron during the period under report was 2 lakh tonnes, compared to 2.43 lakh tonnes during the same period of the previous year.

    The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley has said that the FM channel can really emerge as the resurgence of the radio and help it getting back its audiences, which it had lost, to the television. He said, the convergence of technology and multi channel system of communication will also help increasing the reach of the radio.

'30'

    With a view to regulate and control noise producing and generating sources, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, for prevention and control of noise pollution in the country. The Rules have since come into force with its publication in the Gazette.

    Noise pollution has become a major problem in the metropolitan cities and in other urban areas. The Notification seeks to control noise in public places from various sources such as industrial activity, construction activity, generator sets, loud speakers, public address systems, music systems, vehicular horns and other mechanical devices in order to avoid any adverse affects on human health including physical and psychological impacts.

    The Notification stipulates that a loud speaker or a public address system shall not be used except after obtaining written permission from the competent authority. It bans the use of loud speaker or a public address system at night (between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) except in closed premises for communication within such as auditoria, conference rooms, community halls and banquet halls.

    The Notification also bans the use of vehicular horns, musical and other public performances, beating of drums and use of any sound amplifiers in silence zones, defined as an area comprising not less than 100 meters around hospitals, educational institutions and courts.

    The Notification will also require the city planners to take adequate abatement measures for prevention and control of noise pollution to improve the quality of life by restricting noise menace specially due to traffic and construction activity.

    The Notification stipulates that the State Governments may categorize all areas into industrial, commercial, residential and silence zones for the purpose of implementation of noise standards. It also prescribes the ambient air quality standards in respect of noise for different zones during day time (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and night time (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). The ambient noise standards for industrial, commercial, residential areas and silence zone would be 75 decibel (dB), 65 dB, 55 dB and 50 dB respectively during day time and 70 dB, 55 dB, 45 dB and 40 dB respectively during night time.

    The Notification stipulates that the noise levels in any area or zone shall not exceed the prescribed ambient noise standards. If the noise level exceeds the ambient noise standards by 10 dB or more against any area or zone, a complaint could be made to the competent authority, which shall act on the complaint and take action against the violator in accordance with the rules in force.

    The Ministry of Environment and Forests had earlier issued a draft notification for prevention and control of noise pollution in July 1999, inviting objections and suggestions from the members of public within a period of 60 days. The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 have been notified after duly considering the objections and suggestions received from the members of public.

    Shri Krishan Kant, Vice President of India, has greeted the people on the occasion of Guru Ravidas’ Birthday. In a message he has said:

    "The auspicious occasion of his birthday should remind us of the Guru’s hallowed legacy of universal love, brotherhood, charity and peace to guide our actions during our journey through life."

    The Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC) of the Railways has submitted its first quarterly report to Ms.Mamata Banerjee , Union Minister for Railways . The Committee has firmed up several recommendations after discussions with Railway officials at headquarters. The PAC also visited a number of Zonal/Divisional Offices and stations.

    The Committee has recommended that in view of 1999-2000 being declared as the ‘ Year of the Passenger’, the original budget provision of Rs.130 crore should be raised to Rs.250 crore in the millennium year. PAC observes that this is essential since passenger amenities have been recognised as a thrust area. The Committee has also suggested that one week every year, preferably during summer vacation, should be observed as ‘Passenger Amenities Week’.

    Widening the green area base around stations, using PA systems, posters, pre-recorded cassettes for creating awareness on cleanliness and hygiene, providing Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) dustbins in a phased manner, centralised water supply system in A and B stations , providing two bottles of mineral water for journey beyond 1000 kms. in Rajdhani trains, vigorous check of mineral water for ensuring quality are some of the recommendations made by the Committee.

    PAC has also recommended that standardised signages with pictograms should be provided at major railway stations giving due importance to ‘visibility’ and ‘placing.’ Satellite Reservation Office, the Committee felt, could be opened at AIIMS and Apollo hospitals in Delhi, PGI Chandigarh, Shankar Netralaya, Chennai and High Court, Calcutta.

    The Committee has recommended posting of security personnel in ladies’ coaches as also extending the concept of Mobile Police Station as has been introduced in Mumbai, to other major trains. Periodic drives for curbing inconvenience caused by the drunken behaviour of passengers as well as railway front line staff have also been recommended by the PAC.

    The Committee, while recommending the introduction of ticket-validating machines in metros has suggested periodic checks of cash tally at Zonal/Divisional levels on the current booking and reservation counters.

    PAC has recommended provision of proper ramp at every major station to facilitate the movement of wheel chairs used by the physically challenged. Signboards indicating availability of wheelchairs and luggage trolleys should be installed at entry and exit points of major stations, the PAC suggested. As has been done at Chennai Central Station, specially designed toilets should be constructed at all major stations for the convenience of spastics and disabled persons.

    The indigenously developed low-cost garbage disposal trolley at Khurda Division, the locally made incinerator at Puri and a counter at Visakhapatnam giving information about tourist spots and manned by a local voluntary organisation have been commended by the Committee.

    The PAC, reconstituted in November 1999 and headed by Dr.Bikram Sarkar, ex-MP, has S/shri M.W.Haque, Nimai Bhattacharya, Laxman Jha, Smt. Maya Singh and Smt. Kalyani Shankar as members.

'42'

NPPA FIXES/REVISES PRICE OF 36 FORMULATION PACKS

    The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has revised/fixed the prices of 36 formulation packs. The prices have been fixed for the first time in the case of four formulation packs. In the case of 7 packs prices have been revised upwards and increases range from 0.38% to 9.90%. In the case of the remaining 25 packs prices have been revised downwards and decreases range from 1.85% to 69.56%.

    Of the 36 formulation packs, ceiling prices (exclusive of excise duty) have been fixed in respect of 12 packs. The non-ceiling prices (inclusive of excise duty) have been fixed in respect of the remaining 24 packs.

    The 4 formulation packs for which prices have been fixed for the first time are as below:

    The 7 packs for which prices have been revised upwards are as below :

    The remaining 25 packs for which prices have been revised downwards are as below :

ED = Excise Duty

RP = Retail Price

    The revision in prices has occurred due to change in the bulk drug prices and in conversion cost and packing charges. The prices fixed/revised would become effective within 15 days from the date of Notification in the official Gazette or the receipt of the Order of the NPPA in this behalf, as per para 14(1) of DPCO, 1995. Necessary revised price list is to be issued by the manufacturers/importers required under sub-para (3) of para 14 of the DPCO, 1995. Accordingly, as per the provision, the revised price list in Form-V of the DPCO is to be furnished by the concerned manufacturer to the Government and NPPA, State Drug Control Authorities and distributors, wholesalers and retailers or any other agency.

    The manufacturers are also required to work out the pro-rata prices of different pack sizes as the case may be in terms of S.O.No.83(E) dated 27.1.98.

    The Notifications are available on the NPPA Website at www.nppaindia.com.

    In a significant milestone in the efforts towards redressal of public grievances, the Government today launched a unique website which makes the process easier and more accessible to the public. It enables them not only to register their grievances about the working of 14 Ministries/ Departments but also check the status of their grievances and send reminders. Earlier, people had to send a letter/ fax or visit the office of DPG in person for this purpose.

`10'

CENSUS SHOULD INCORPORATE DISABLED SAYS MANEKA GANDHI

STATE WELFARE SECRETARIES CONFERENCE CONCLUDES TODAY

    The Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Smt. Maneka Gandhi has said that the forthcoming census exercise should incorporate the number of persons with disabilities to ensure that a strong data-base is available for the welfare of disabled. Addressing the two-day meeting of the State Welfare Secretaries here today, Smt. Gandhi said she has already taken up this issue with the Registrar General of India (Census Commissioner) and hoped that the Census- 2001 would include this information.

    Smt. Gandhi said that the States and the Centre have to work in tandem to achieve the common goal of reaching the maximum number of disabled and marginalised sections.

    The Minister said that some improvement has been achieved in the lot of the Scheduled Castes over the years but a lot more needs to be done. She said even amongst the Scheduled Castes the focus must be on the poorest and most disadvantaged sections. She pointed out that the results regarding Other Backward Classes (OBCs) would take some time to manifest themselves since affirmative action for this category commenced only in the 90s.

    The Minister also unveiled the proposal to set up hierarchical service delivery system under the National Programme for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, comprising two community based Rehabilitation Workers in each Gram Panchayat, two multi-purpose Rehabilitation Workers in each block for providing basic rehabilitation services and for coordinating activities with other Government Agencies. She said that this scheme sought to ensure local capacity building and better utilisation of available resources while providing a much needed rehabilitation structure right to the grass root level.

    Smt. Gandhi said that a Project has been approved recently to set up six regional Composite Centres covering all areas of disability as the present institutional framework consisting of the apex level institutions dealing with specific areas of disability was not found adequate to provide the requisite support to all regions and states of the country.

    The Minister emphasised the need to set-up old-age homes at the village level instead of spending more money at urban centres, which, in her view, were not the ideal old age homes. She urged the State Secretaries to consider the suggestion that instead of spending 30 lakhs at an Urban Centre, the same amount should be utilised for setting up 30 old age homes at village level with low-cost and less expensive structures.

    Referring to the AADHAR which has been set up as a service for pursuing redressal of grievances of older persons, she asked the States to indentify four to five persons in each districts for participating and collaborating with AADHAR in this endeavour and refer these names to the Ministry to enlarge the area of its activities. She said that the identified persons should preferably be Lawyers, Medicos and Social Workers so as to work as a team to help the old aged people.

    Smt. Gandhi said that presently we have a very complicated system of adoption. She said that her Ministry is working on this issue and is in the process of re-setting up Central Adoption resource Agency (CARA). She said that in-country adoption should be encouraged as this is the most effective way of dealing with destitute and abandoned children.

    The Minister expressed her deep concern over the fact that the State channelising agencies have failed in taking full advantage of the services provided by the apex corporation which have been set up by her Ministry for supporting the economic development of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes, OBCs, Minorities and the Handicapped.

    She asked the States to look into the reasons for poor accessing of the resources of these Corporations and try to identify remedial measures to ensure an exponential growth in the number of persons assisted through the programmes of these corporations and also the Corporations working under the States.

    The Minister also categorically pointed out to the State Secretaries that the credentials of some of the NGOs recommended by the States for financial assistance were found to be suspect in the past and asked them to be more vigilant in this regard. She asked the States to make a comprehensive list of NGOs working in their areas, sift out those with suspect credentials and develop a very effective monitoring system to ensure that the public money is not misutilised by the unscrupulous elements in the NGO Sector. She however emphasised the simplification of rules and regulations for grants so that the genuine NGOs do not suffer due to officialdom.

'21'

    India and the ILO signed a Memorandum of Understanding here today extending International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour, IPEC, in India for another two years. The MOU was signed on behalf of Government of India by Smt. Chitra Chopra, Joint Secretary Ministry of Labour and Mrs. Mary Johnson, Director, ILO Area Office, India & Bhutan in presence of the Director General, International Labour Organisation, Mr. Juan Somavia, Minister of Labour, Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya and Union Labour Secretary Dr. L. Mishra..

'21'

    The Labour Minister Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya has said that it is proposed to create a welfare fund at the state level for construction workers. The fund would be financed by imposing a cess of one to two percent on total project cost. He said that provision for such a welfare fund exists under the safety laws for construction workers to provide financial assistance to the dependents of accident victims besides meeting the needs of old age pension , housing loans, children’s education and health care of workers and their families.

    Inaugurating the Second National Conference on Excellence on Safety and Health in Construction here today, . Dr. Jatiya said the government is concerned about the welfare of 8.5 million workers employed in construction industry. The Minister urged the employers in this sector to implement safety laws for workers in letter and spirit. He said construction industry is playing a very important role in the economic development of the country. Dr. Jatiya said that ever increasing mechanisation of the construction sector has increased the risk of accidents. We don’t have an authentic record of such accidents, but the statistics from developed countries reveals an increase in the rate of accidents in the construction sector. He called upon the experts to devise ways to minimise the occurrence of accidents and appealed for according a human face to the working conditions in the construction sector.

    The two-day seminar has been sponsored by the Ministry of Labour and organised by National Institute of Construction Management and Research, NICMAR.

    The President is pleased to appoint Shrimati Manjula Chellur, Shri Karanam Sreedhar Rao and Shri Vishnu Gajanana Sabhahit to be Additional Judges of the Karnataka High Court, in that order to seniority, for a period of two year each, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective office.

    President, Shri K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee have greeted the people on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravi Das.

    In his message, the President said :

    "On the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravi Das, I convey my warm greetings to all my fellow citizens.

    May the teachings of the saint and reformer inspire us all to strive to remove social inequities from our society".

    In his message, the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said that Guru Ravi Das' teachings continue to inspire us in our endeavours to create a more egalitarian society.

'30'

    A number of initiatives by way of policy, institutional, regulatory and legislative frameworks have been taken to tackle environmental issues in the areas of biodiversity conservation, pollution control, noise prevention and control, urban afforestation, clean technology and wildlife conservation, during the short period of the new government. This was stated by the Minister of Environment and Forests, Shri T.R. Baalu at the meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, here today.

    Speaking at the meeting, Shri Baalu reiterated government’s commitment for conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife, prevention and control of pollution, afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas and protection of environment. He said that government is aware of several environmental problems at hand such as depletion of forest cover and degradation of eco-system. Apart from population explosion, there has also been rapid and unplanned expansion of cities with inadequate basic amenities, the Minister added.

    Members of Parliament emphasised the need for taking strict measures for conservation of forests, protection of wildlife and controlling pollution. They also expressed some concern at the harassment of public by the officials in the name of protecting environment. At the same time, the Members said that it is necessary to sensitise the general public about the environmental issues and laws through mass media campaigns.

    Some of the Members pointed out that due to strict pollution laws in force because of judicial intervention in cities like Agra, traditional industries such as iron foundries had to be closed as they were considered to be causing heavy pollution. This has rendered many people jobless. However, it is now felt that there is greater pollution due to large number of vehicles and portable generator sets. Therefore, the Members stressed the need for striking a balance between the issues of environmental protection and development.

    Members also expressed their concern at large-scale poaching and organised killings of animals within protected forests such as Manas Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. They urged the government to strengthen the infrastructure, allocate more financial resources and intensify the patrolling by the forest guards within the protected areas. They also emphasised the need for attracting more tourists to the reserved forests and national parks so that more revenues and foreign exchange could be generated.

    This being the first meeting of the Consultative Committee, the Members were apprised about the various activities of the Ministry and the complexity of the enormous problems at hand. It was decided that the next meeting of the Consultative Committee would take place on the subject of "Forest Cover".

    The following Members were present at the meeting:- S/Shri Raj Babbar, Anant M. Gudhe, Ramakant S. Angle, Amar Vasantrao Patil, Tara Chand Patel, Ranganath Misra and Smt Basanti Sarma.

'8'

    The Minister for Human Resource Development Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi has called for developing software in all Indian languages in the face of IT revolution. This is necessary for the development of the Indian languages as well. He also stressed the need to making available in Devnagri script, select literature of Indian languages for their promotion and development. He suggested that this can be done under the aegis of "Confluence of languages" (Bhasha Sangam).

    Dr. Joshi made these observations at a meeting of Experts of Indian Languages held under his Chairmanship here yesterday. The meeting was held to discuss steps to promote all Indian languages enshrined in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, in view of the information explosion. The experts suggested a number of steps for the promotion of these languages and also the dialects which have rich literature. They also emphasised the need to identify technical terminologies and harmonize them. A suggestion was also made for the wider use of internet in teaching to promote higher education through Indian languages.

    The Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs Shri Ram Jethmalani issued a press statement clarifying the implications of the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999, which is yet to be notified for enforcement. The clarification is intended to bring home the broad objectiveness of expediting civil justice and therefore lawyers should withdraw their threatened strikes from February 24,2000.

    "A large number of representations have been received by my Ministry. Some urging that the new Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1999 be immediately brought into force and other urging enacting tot he contrary. Broadly the first category consists of consumers of justice who are not legal practitioners and the second consists mainly of professional bodies of practising lawyers including the prestigious Bar Council of India".

    "It is fair to say that practically all who oppose the legislation have not spelt out their objections with any specificity or cogent reasoning. Representatives of the Bar Council of India met me in the first week of this month. I had a comprehensive discussion with them. As a result, they were satisfied that the opposition was based on misunderstanding which required to be cleared up by an authoritative statement from me. That explains the issuing of this clarification. The Attorney General has been good enough to summarise for my benefit the opposition under four heads:"

    "Section 10 substitutes a new section 100-A which abolishes appeal from the decision of a single Judge of the High Court to a Division Bench of the same Court (in writ matters and appeals from subordinate courts). It, however, leaves the discretionary appeal to the Supreme Court of India intact. This provision, amongst others, was fully considered by the Malimath Committee which was constituted by the Government on the recommendations of the Chief Justices’ Conference. It considered every single objection of this measure and proceeds to endorse it. It will save years of litigation and High Courts are free to have these matters heard by Division benches in the first instance or on reference by single Judge on matters which have large stakes or complicated issues of law. True, the present Law Commission does not share the views of the Malimath Committee but then both Houses of Parliament have endorsed the Malimath view. Besides this restriction will apply to future litigation and there is no intention to take away existing rights of intermediate appeal. Government is satisfied that matters do not end with a Division Bench Judgement. Litigants ultimately end up in theSupreme Court. It is better that it happens soon. The new Act is intended to give relief to long suffering members of the public. It, certainly will reduce professional incomes. It is not the Government’s goal or policy to preserve those at current levels."

    "Section 15 of the Act in so far as it obliges the defendant to file his written statement of defence within 30 days of the institution of the suit or with the leave of the Court within 30 days of the service of summons on him."

    "It is said that poor people will not be able to act with such expedition and Governments will find it difficult to comply considering the enormous delays to which they are accustomed. The Government does not accept the validity of this criticism. If the habitual delays which disgrace our legal system are to be eliminated, some harsh and drastic measures are urgently called for. Cases of genuine hardship can be remedied by suitable orders under Section 151 of the Code which is left untouched. This provision has been strongly recommended by the Malimath Committee. In addition, it secured the support of Law Ministers Conference of 1997. Of course, layers will have to be more equipped and vigilant."

    "Clause (ii) of Section 18 of the Act in so far as it compels the defendant to file the list and copies of documents on which he relies for his defence along with his written statement. Government sees no difficulty in complying with this requirement. No sensible lawyers is expected to prepare his client, defence without perusing the documents which support it. The obligation does not extend to docuements which are not in the possession or power of the defendant. If they are not, he is only required to state which they are."

    "Apart from the above objections identified by the leanred Attorney General, there has been wide-spread criticism against Section 16 of the Act in as much as it deletes Order VI Rule 17 and the consequential Rule 18. It was said that amendment of pleadings must always be available to a litigant. This objection is based on a total misunderstanding. All just amendments can be and will be allowed under Section 153 of the Code which is left untouched. This point was raised in the Lok Sabha by some Hon’ble Lawyer Members and they were satisfied when I explained the correct position. This provision was earlier unanimously endorsed by the Law Ministers Conference, 1997."

    "I would strongly appeal to the legal fraternity to refrain from resorting to strikes. In a democracy, Parliamentary sovereignty must be respected. The current view of Parliament will be changed only by strong public opinion. Lawyers will be advised to build up opinion outside the profession. This can only be after the Act has been fairly worked for sometime. At present the litigating public and non-lawyers seem to be quite pleased with the Act."

    "I earnestly pray that the call for a strike on 24^th of this month should be withdrawn. Government would at all times welcome a dialogue with any interests adversely affected."

'10-A'

    Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, has appreciated the remarkable role of TRIFED in promoting the economic upliftment of the tribals by giving market support to them in marketing their forest and surplus agricultural produce, after purchasing them directly from genuine tribal population. The Minister said that TRIFED has, in the process, made a remarkable progress in achieving the highest level of procurement of minor forest produce worth about Rs. 25 crores during the current fiscal year. The Minister also appreciated the TRIFED’s success in opening a permanent sales outlet for marketing tribal handicrafts, namely TRIBES SHOP, in the capital.

    The Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Ram Naik today approved the strategy to meet the increased requirement of LPG in the country as a result of the decision to release a record one crore LPG connections in a single year during 2000. The plan include measures to make LPG available in remote areas of the country besides extending the overall consumer population of this convenient and environment friendly fuel.

    In order to make the LPG connections available to the people in rural areas, far flung and difficult areas of the country, the Minister has decided to increase the distance norms for opening of extension counters by LPG distributors . The present range of 15 Kms. has been increased to 30 Kms. for opening of extension counter in the plains and from 50 to 75 Kms in the hills. As a special case the areas of Jammu and Kathua districts of Jammu & Kashmir will be treated at par with the hill areas for opening of extension counters in view of the special difficulties faced by the people there.

    To undertake the release of one crore LPG connections from January to December 2000, the Minister has approved a plan of setting up of company-controlled (COCO) LPG Distributorships at each District Headquarters. Further distributorships will be set up at bottling plants. These distributorships will be operated by the oil companies as a measure to supplement the normal distribution network of the oil companies. The bottling plants will have the delivery counters manned by the oil companies themselves and will release LPG connections/refills on the principle of cash and carry particularly to the customers in the rural areas. Besides the Minister has directed that the LPG distributorships approved under the scheme for Kargil martyrs be commissioned at the earliest possible time.

    In a nother important decision to facilitate increased availability of LPG to the consumers, operations at the bottling plants will now be carried out in two shift operations as against the present average running of 1.5 shift operations. Simultaneously, the existing bottling capacity in the country will be increased from 4441 Thousand Metric Tonnes Per Annum (TMTPA) by 864 TMTPA during the year 2000. The progress on commissioning of the new bottling capacities will be monitored on quarterly basis.

    The Minister has also approved the proposal to raise LPG refill sale ceiling in various cities and towns based on the population criteria as per 1991 census. The present refill sales ceiling of 15,000 per month in Mumbai and Delhi has been extended to Chennai, Calcutta and the towns with population of 40 lakhs and above i.e. Bangalore, Hyderabad/Secunderabad against 12,000 refills. The refill ceiling in case of cities with 20-40 lakh population has been increased to 12,000 per month from the existing 10,000. The towns with 10-20 lakh population will be entitled for a refill ceiling limit of 10,000 in place of 8000 and towns up to 10 lakh population get the extension of ceiling limit to 8000 from the present 6000 per month.

    The release of the one crore LPG connections will be uniformly spread over the enrolment period of 12 months.This will mean the release of connections at the rate of 8.33 lakh every month. Further about 60% of the new enrolment i.e. 60 lakh connections will be released as Double Barrel Connections (DBCs).

'30'

    The President Shri K.R. Narayanan has called for achieving sustainable development by adopting a combination of factors which include the adoption of clean technologies, equitable distribution of resources, addressing the issues of gender equity and gender justice and above all, by following the three Rs of sustainable development i.e. Reduction of consumption, Recycle of waste and Reuse of recycled material.

    Inaugurating the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), here today, Shri Narayanan said that the root causes of the environmental crisis are over use of natural resources and over consumption in the affluent developed societies. If the developed world is really serious about containing the Green House effect and the depletion of Ozone, it has to transfer freely and in time, the new technologies to the third world. This is the global meaning of the now accepted principle that the polluter must pay, the President added.

    Observing that the developed North is now taking advantage of environmental and labour issues to protect their own markets from the products of developing countries, the President cautioned that such measures will perpetuate inequity and negate efforts for sustainable development and added that environment cannot be promoted by stopping growth.

    Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Environment and Forests Shri T.R. Baalu stressed that sustainable development cannot be achieved without eradicating poverty. Pointing out that environmental degradation has social reasons, the Minister called for environmental sustainability of the development process through social mobilisation and peoples participation.

    The following is the text of the speech by the Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the banquet hosted in honour of the Cambodian Prime Minister, Mr. Samdech Hun Sen here today :

    "It gives me great pleasure to welcome Your Excellency and the Members of your Delegation and to wish you a pleasant stay in India.

    Your Excellency is no stranger to India and is conversant with the history of centuries of trade and commerce, cultural and religious traditions, which bind our countries together. As we enter the third millennium, it is useful to look back and recall that a thousand years ago, the city of Angkor was South East Asia's most important political and commercial centre with which India had deep and abiding civilisational connections.

    In recent memory, India and Cambodia have enjoyed friendly, fraternal relations based on trust and mutual respect. The thread of these relations is intertwined with the formation of the Non Aligned Movement, of which His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk continues to provide living testimony altogether other founding members, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Josep Broz Tito and Abdul Gamal Nasser have since passed into history.

    Excellency, we in India are indeed happy to see that Cambodia has passed quite a few milestones in recent times. After the peaceful and democratic elections of 1998, it has acquired membership of the ASEAN and we hope soon to see it as a member of the WTO. The country has embarked upon a path of securing sustained economic development and, under your enlightened and courageous leadership is headed towards achieving higher and still higher standards of living for its people. We understand that the World Bank expects economic growth in Cambodia to reach 6% next year.

    The end of the economic crisis in ASEAN countries has provided renewed impetus to our 'Look East' policy and we are glad that this has coincided with the entry of Cambodia into the ASEAN family. We value Cambodia's support to India in various projects of the ASEAN and our existing status as a Full Dialogue Partner. The ASEAN Regional Forum is playing a crucial role in promoting dialogue on issues of security and stability in the region as also on nuclear disarmament. India, like Cambodia is committed to the global elimination of all weapons of mass destruction - nuclear, biological and chemical. We would also like to express our thanks for the understanding and support extended by Cambodia for our standpoints on issues like the CTBT, the NPT and nuclear disarmament.

    Nearer home, India seeks friendly ties with all its neighbouring countries and greater cooperation within the SAARC framework. India is also keen that institutional interaction should occur at a faster pace among regional groupings like BIMSTEC and the IOR-ARC so that developing countries, strengthened through cooperation at regional levels, acquire an increasingly stronger voice in the WTO and the United Nations. Joint efforts are needed to fight the menace of international terrorism including cross-border terrorism to allow our people to concentrate single mindedly on the issues which matter such as better education, health, reduction of poverty and so on.

    India, like Cambodia is a developing country. We are proud of our achievements in various sectors such as science and technology, agriculture, fisheries, railways, communications, space technology and defence related technologists. We have developed our capacities both on the higher side of the technological spectrum and at a simple, functional level, which is appropriate to our social, economic and environmental condition. Our policy adopted since independence, of building up a reservoir of highly skilled scientific and technical manpower has served us well, and in this age of information technology is beginning to pay us rich dividends. In this and many other diverse fields, the Government of India is ready to share its experiences and expertise with the Royal Government of Cambodia.

    I understand that tourism, helped by the return of stability and the marvels of your country's ancient civilization, is rising once again since last year. I am happy that we are able to assist this process in a small way through Government of India's programme of technical cooperation known as ITEC. In 1987, we had sent a dedicated team of archaeologists, engineers, chemical scientists, surveyors, masons and stone cutters from the Archaeological Survey of India to repair and preserve the Angkor Vat Temples. The team worked continuously for seven years, in difficult conditions, to restore the monument to its ancient glory. I understand they also trained a Cambodian work force in the relevant conservation techniques to enable them to perform certain required tasks on their own. I am happy to know that the work done by the ASI has been praised by UNESCO and appreciated by the Royal Cambodian Government.

    Excellency, we feel deeply honoured by your visit, which reflects the age-old close ties of friendship between India and Cambodia. The discussions and exchange of views we had earlier this evening will contribute towards enhancing relations between our countries. May I raise a toast - to the strengthening of our friendly bilateral relations, to you and your delegation's good health, and to the prosperity of the people of Cambodia.

Thank you".