"The Hon’ble Members of Parliament have been for sometimes speaking to me personally and have been raising the issue regarding availability of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) which is required primarily for basal dose application at the time of sowing of crops. Sir, I am a farmer myself. Therefore, I can fully appreciate that the non-availability in adequate quantity of this critical fertilizer can become serious cause of anxiety and worry for the farmers. That is why I thought I should clarify the position on the availability of DAP and other decontrolled fertilizers, besides urea (which is the only controlled fertilizer). At the same time, Sir, I thought that I would give them the details of various initiatives by the Government which will help in improving the position further.

    Sir, I shall first take up the availability position of Fertilizers. Urea, Sir, is a controlled fertilizer. Its availability is adequate in the country. Against the assessed demand of 110.0 lakh MTs, the estimated availability is 126.0 lakh MTs. There should thus be no apprehensions about its availability.

    All other fertilizers are decontrolled including DAP and MOP. Their availability is dependent on market forces of demand and supply which operate within the parameters of the Concession Scheme of the Govt. of India. There were no shortages reported of DAP by any of the States during Kharif ’98 though there were pockets in which shortages were reported of MOP during that season. MOP is entirely imported and the shortages occurred due to lower level of its imports. The availability of MOP has improved considerably since then. For Rabi season, nearly 17 lakh MTs of imports of MOP are lined up for arrival. Already 7 LMTs have arrived and the balance is in pipeline. There are no reasons thus to worry about its availability.

    Sir, as regards DAP, the States had projected requirement of 31 lakh MTs for current Rabi season. Against that, the overall availability would be 35 lakh MTs during the season. Thus on overall basis, the availability in the country would be adequate. However, pockets of shortages had/have been reported from the States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana mainly due to the following reasons:

• There has been bunching of imports of nearly 8 lakh MTs during the months of October-November. As a result, DAP couldn’t be pre-positioned. Further, nearly 5 lakh MTs have been brought to two of ports namely, JNPT and Vizag. This has resulted in congestion and consequent delay in movement from these ports. The problem at Vizag port was compounded by the cyclone which affected the movement of rakes for more than 20 days.
• The demand for DAP has increased sharply as the area under wheat sowing has increased from 3.0 million hectares in the previous year to 4.6 million hectares as on 23.11.98. The increase in area is due to unseasonal rains which occurred during the month of October.

    Sir, I must emphasise that the production of DAP in the country during 1998-99 has been of the order of 26.63 lakh MTs which is higher than the production in the corresponding period of the previous year. The imports of DAP which are of the order of 17 lakh MTs during the year 1998, have been higher by 2 lakh MTs as compared to that of the previous year. It is the bunching of vessels and the increase in area under wheat during Rabi which has pushed up the peak demand. To mitigate this situation, 55,000 MTs of DAP have been specially contracted from Jordan on priority through Indian Potash Limited. The first shipment of 25,000 MTs will reach by the next week. Majority of the quantities of DAP from this shipment will be sent to UP and Rajasthan."

    The award scheme covers not only the suggestions for improving quality of public service but also the meritorious services provided by the employees in consumer and public satisfaction as well as distinguished service in specialised areas.

    To consider and evaluate the proposals, a Departmental Evaluation Committee headed by Additional Secretary Shri J.N.L. Srivastava in the Ministry of Agriculture has been set up. The Committee will consist of Joint Secretary (Admn), Joint Secretary (Agri. Policy), Financial Advisor as Members and Director (GA) as its Convenor.

    Awards will be given for specified categories such as financial saving through reduction of manpower and use of material, in providing the services; improvement in customer satisfaction for the services provided, counter service; efficiency in providing the services through reduction of time taken, procedural improvements, reduced travel, lesser paper work

    The amount of award would be 10 per cent of the saved amount and upto an amount of Rs.1 lakh per suggestion after financial savings are realised with the implementation of the suggestions. An amount of Rs.10,000 would be given for each suggestion accepted. A sum of Rs.10,000 will also be given for outstanding performance to each of the employees selected for the award.

    The suggestions, which will be invited every year, must be received by June. After processing the suggestions and considering the names of the employees showing outstanding performance, the Departmental Evaluation Committee will forward its recommendations to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances by September every year for releasing the amount of awards.

    The suggestions are to be forwarded to Shri S.K. Swamy, Director (General Administration) who is the nodal officer for implementation of the Scheme in the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. His address will be: Room No.129, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi 110 001. The e-mail address to send the suggestions is: swamy@krishi.delhi.nic.in.

    In the meeting, the issue of maintenance and upkeep of the bungalows and flats allotted to the MPs and steps taken to improve the same were discussed at length. The Minister told Members that to avoid complaints from them the long term remedy would be in constructing new bungalows and flats after demolishing the existing bungalows and flats in a phased manner. He said that this was the only way to minimise the cost of maintenance and upkeep of these buildings.

    The Minister informed the Members that there were 353 bungalows and 524 flats allotted to MPs. In addition, there were 110 single and 40 double room suites in Vithal Bhai Patel House and 62 single and 12 double room suites in Western Court Hostel. The Minister said that the cost of maintenance of these houses had gone up as these were built during the pre-Independence period.

    Responding to the suggestions of Members, the Minister for Urban Affairs and Employment said that hereafter, the field engineers of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) would be provided with Mobile Phones to avoid delay and bridge communication gap in meeting complaints of MPs for repair, upkeep and renovation of the dwelling units allotted to them. The Minister said that the complaints received from the Members were closely monitored. Accordingly, 95 per cent of the complaints were attended within 24 hours. He also said that CPWD provides comprehensive maintenance services for civil, electrical and horticulture works in residences of MPs. It also provides furniture, furnishing, electrical and air-conditioning appliances in the bungalows and flats of MPs as per the guidelines prescribed by Government and House Committees of Parliament. The Minister urged the Members to bear with the Government as its resources were limited and they had to live up to their expectations within constraints of resources. The Minister while exuding confidence that the points of complaints from MPs would be reduced to the negligible level, welcomed their suggestions for reforms and changes as there were scopes for improvements.

    The Members discussed at length the issue of maintenance and upkeep of houses occupied by them. They sought concerted action from the Government for prompt redressal of complaints and for better maintenance of their houses. They also said that of late the monkey menace had overtaken them and that should be dealt with. The Minister said that he too faced monkey menace in Nirman Bhavan which could not be helped.

    The Members, who took part in the meeting were : S/Shri Shanti Lal Chaplot, T. Govindan, M. Rajaiah, Villas Muttemwar and Praful Patel, all from the Lok Sabha. Shri Karnendu Bhattacharjee from the Rajya Sabha also participated in the discussions.

    The Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Employment Shri Bandaru Dattatreya was present on the occasion.
 
 

    Pointing out that the UDHR was adopted at a time when right to liberty and dignity was brutally trampled upon, the Prime Minister said obliterating nuclear weapons would be folllowing the international Megna Carta of humans everywhere in true letter and spirit. On the occasion, Mr. Vajpayee also gave the call for the creation of a new international economic order where distinction between people were removed and where denial of human rights due to poverty and illiteracy would be a thing of the past.

    Speaking on the occasion, Union Home Minister, Shri L.K. Advani referred to India’s battle against terrorism without violating human rights. He asked all all State Governments to set up rights commissions in line with Central suggestions.

    The Union Home Minister, Shri L.K. Advani, said India was committed to the creation of a human rights regime where every individual would be able to live with respect and dignity.

    Pointing out that, a meeting held at the Home Ministry last month had re-affirmed that the observance of human rights should not be given the go-by in the worst of situations, Shri Advani reiterated their resolve once again that these rights would not be strangulated even while fighting cross-border terrorism.

    The Union Home Secretary, Shri B.P. Singh, said that in order to create more awareness on human rights, the logo "All Human Rights for All" had been incorporated by the Ministry of Posts and the Ministry of Railways.

    On the occasion, the Prime Minster gave away certificates to the winners of the All-India Essay competition in human rights held by the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

    The Prime Minister also released a souvenir on this occasion.

    On this occasion, an audio-visual programme on the evolution of the Concept of Human Rights in India and a dance and drama programme "Manavta: Look Within" by Smt. Sonal Manshing and her troupe in which the convicts of Central Tihar Jail also took part, was presented to an appaulding audience.
 
 

    The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship and Awards are given annually to outstanding artistes in the field of music, dance and theatre in recognition of their distinguished contribution to the Indian performing arts. Among the musicians to receive the Awards this year four are practitioners of Hindustani Music, three of Carnatic Music, one for Creative and four for traditional/folk music. The Awards in dance are for Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathakali, Manipuri and traditional forms of Dance, i.e. Gondhal and Natsankirtan. The Awards in theatre are for acting, direction, playwriting and one for other aspects of Theatre.

    The awards for Music go to Laxman Krishnarao Pandit for Hindustani Vocal Music, Lalji Raghunath Gokhale for Hindustani Instrumental – Tabla, Sisir Kana Dhar Chowdhary for Hindustani Instrumental – Violin, Swapan Chaudhuri for Hindustani Instrumental – Tabla, Mamillapalli Balasuramania Sarma for Carnatic Vocal, Tiruvengadam Rukmini for Carnatic Instumental – Violin, Keso Narayanswamy for Carnatic Instrumental – Flute and Satish Bhatia for Creative.

    The awards for Dance go to Kanaka Srinivasan for Bharatnatyam, Ganga Dhar Pradhan for Odissi, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, Kathakali and Samanduram Tondon Devi for Manipuri.

    The Awards for Theatre go to Rajkumar Bhjogen Singh for Acting, Bhanu Bharti for Direction, H.S. Shiva Prakash, Playwriting, Motilal Kemmu for Playwriting and Mansukh Prabhulal Joshi for other aspects of Theatre.

    The Awards for Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre & Puppetry go to Arghya Sen for Rabindra Sangeet of West Bengal, Pithukui Murugadas for Bhajan of Tamilnadu, Y. Ranjan Devi for Nata Sankirtan of Manipur, Keshav Laxman Badge for Gondhal of Maharashtra, P.R. Thilagam for Kuravanji of Tamilnadu and Bishan Dass Sharma for Instument Making of Delhi.

    The Fellowships and Awards were instituted in 1953 replacing and incorporating the President’s Awards for classical music instituted in 1952. In the 46 years since then the scope of Akademi honours has grown to embrace all performing arts which include classical music, dance contemporary theatre and the entire gamut of Indian folk/traditional idioms.
 
 

    The office, to be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Kashiram Rana on the 13^th of this month, is being opened keeping in view the potential and prospects of exports from Gujarat and the inconvenience which was being caused to the entrepreneurs based in the state who were, till now, being serviced by the Council’s office at Mumbai. The inaugural function will be presided over by Shri Shyamal Ghosh, Secretary (Textiles) and attended by the leading garment exporters of the Western Region, in addition to the Chairman and the Director General of the AEPC.

    Garment exports from the country have registered a growth of 25.25 per cent during the first seven months of current year     (April-November) over the corresponding period last year, thereby reaching a level of Rs. 13525 crores. The growth is impressive considering the overall sluggish scenario in exports in most of the other sectors of the economy. Exports of readymade garments during 1997-98 amounted to Rs. 18,390 crores, recording an increase of about 10% over the export performance during 1996-97. Garment exports had a share of nearly 40 percent in the total textile exports that were Rs. 46,278.81 crores during the year 1997-98. Textile exports from the country contributed 36.6 per cent to the total export basket during 1997-98.

    Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) which came into being in 1978 with the sole aim of promoting exports of apparel from India is the apex organisation catering to the interest of the apparel industry. It has been functioning with its headquarters at New Delhi with 12 branch Offices located at all major garment production centres in India. The Council has been expanding its operations with the proliferation of manufacturing units in the sector.
 
 

    A team of officials of NHPC has visited the site at Hogenakkal, District Dhamapuri, (Tamil Nadu). Discussions with officers of Government of Tamil Nadu for executing the project in Central Sector were held on 12^th November 1998. The views of the Government of Tamil Nadu and Government of Karnatka have been sought on two alternative proposals formulated by NHPC. The first proposal envisages 3 dams at Mekadatu (550 MW), Rasimanal (200 MW) and Hogenakkal (120 MW) and the second proposal envisages two dams at Mekadatu (550 MW) in Karnataka and Rasimanal (200 MW) in Tamil Nadu. Both the proposals would be producing approximately 2450 million units of energy with a water flow of 205 TMC. NHPC would finance, construct and operate the projects. These projects will be purely power projects with no irrigation element at all.

    This information was given in the Lok Sabha today by Shri P.R. Kumaramangalam, Minister of Power in a written reply to a question by Shri K.P. Mohan.
 
 

    This information was given in the Lok Sabha today by Shri P.R. Kumaramangalam, Minister of Power in a written reply to a question by Shri Jagat Vir Singh Drona.
 
 

    Counter guarantee has not been issued for the 1000 MW Mangalore power project of M/s Mangalore Power Company. The Government of India has decided that further steps for issue of counter guarantee for this project would be taken once the decision of the Supreme Court on the SLP filed by Government of Karnatka against the judgement of High Court of Karnataka in the Public Interest Writ Petition No. 10696/97 is available. Apart from this, the issue of counater guarantee to Ib Valley power project of M/s AES Transport in Orissa, for which counter guarantee was issued earlier, may have to be considered afresh as the project parameters have undergone changes.

    This information was given in the Lok Sabha today by Shri P.R. Kumaramangalam, Minister of Power in a written reply to a question by Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde.
 
 

    Efforts are constantly being made to increase the level of bilateral trade for reaching the targets set in this regard (during the visit of the Chinese President Jiang Zemin to India in 1996, India and China agreed to fix a target of US $ 10 billion of trade volume to be achieved by the year 2000). Measures taken to improve trade include meetings at the government and business levels through high level delegations and increased participation in each other country’s trade fairs and exhibitions. These steps help increase awareness of each other’s capabilities, identification of items, technologies and sectors having scope for furthering exports, and facilitate increased interaction between the business communities of the two countries.

    This was stated by Shri Ramakrishna Hegde, Union Commerce Minister, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
 
 

    The Minister said that after assessing the availability of LPG from indigenous production and possible imports, the Government in September,’98 had approved enrolement of 25 lakh new customers and 25 lakh DBC customers by the Public Sector Oil Companies during 1998-99. Following the improvement of LPG supply position, it has now been decided to increase this number from 25 to 35 lakh connections. The priority will continue to be accorded to release of connections in Hilly areas and Taj Trapezium for the preservation of environment. Shri Ramamurthy said that to honour the freedom fighters who were Tamra Patra holders, the oil companies have been instructed to release LPG connection to them without any deposit for the equipment.

    Speaking on the measures to prevent adulteration of petroleum products and other malpractices by the dealers/distributors of retail outlets, the Minister said that the guidelines issued in 1995 were revised in May,’98 to make them more stringent. Many federations of dealers have filed writ petitions in various courts and have got stay orders. The special vigilance drive for five days was launched on 29^th October,’98. During this campaign, 68 cases of suspected adulteration were detected. As many has 56 samples drawn from retail outlets failed to meet specifications. Action is being taken by oil companies against the dealers who were indulging in irregularities.

    To intensify exploration, Government had earlier announced a New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), which apart from giving several fiscal incentives to this sector, provides for a level playing field for all. Extensive work has been done in the last few months to operationalise this policy. An Ordinance was promulgated to amend the provisions of Oil Fields (Regulations and Development) Act, 1948 to give effect to special incentive rates of royalty under NELP. A Bill has since been enacted to give effect to the Ordinance. Various issues relating to bid documents, such as Model Production Sharing Contract, Petroleum Tax Guide and Site Restoration Fund Scheme has been sorted out and notices inviting offers for exploration under NELP are expected to be issued by January, 1999.

    The policy framework for exploration and exploitation of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in the country has been approved to supplement the domestic availability of natural gas. Seven blocks in the States of Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have been identified for exploration. Referring to the excellent performance of refineries , the Minister said that 105% refining capacity utilisation has been achieved during April-October,’98. The refining capacity by the end of current year will be about 68 MMTPA, Shri Ramamurthy added. Another refinery has been approved, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Prime Minister at Bhatinda in Punjab.

    Several members emphasised the need for more vigorous drive and more stringent action against dealers indulging in adulteration of petroleum products and other irregularities. Some members asked the Minister to ensure that the quota of gas agencies and petrol pumps meant for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other deprived sections should not be cornered by the affluent people. The Minister assured them that he is seized of the matter and petroleum companies have been asked to give liberal financial assistance and infrastructural support to enable them to run distributorships allotted to them.

    The following members were present in the Meeting –

    S/Shri Prabhu Dayal Katheria, Lal Bihari Tiwari, Sohan Potai, N.K.S. Chauhan, Jai Kishan Mandal, Daya Singh Sodhi, Fagan Singh Kulaste, Lakshman Seth, K. Krishnamurthy, Indrajit Mishra, Ram Shankar, Satnam Singh Kainth, Sushil Kumar Singh, K. Pary Mohan, S.S. Palanimanickam, K.D. Sultanpuri, K.B. Raju, Dr. Sushil Kumar Indora and Smt. Sheela Gautam from Lok Sabha and S/Shri T.M. Venkatachalam, Gandhi Azad, R. Margabandu, Gopalsinh G. Solanki, Drupad Bargohain, Rajubhai A. Parmar, Prof. Ram Baksh Singh Varma and Prof. Ram Deo Bhandari from Rajya Sabha.
 
 

    The unique feature of the celebrations will be honouring for the first time by the Akademi the four artists, Suraiyya, Gulzar, Naseeruddin Shah and Jagjit Singh, for their outstanding service in taking Ghalib to the people.

    There will also be paper writing session and discussion in connection with the celebrations. The main emphasis will be on the response of the other Indian languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, etc. to the poetry of Ghalib. Eminent writers and poets from these languages will be discussing the reception of Ghalib in their respective languages. A number of outstanding European scholars are also expected to take part in the celebrations, discussing the international scenario of Ghalib studies.

    Another highlight of the celebrations will be the presentation of the play Qaid-e-Hayat by the National School of Drama. The celebrations will conclude on Tuesday with a grand Mushaira on Ghalib at Aiwan-e-Ghalib, where the former Prime Minister, Shri Inder Kumar Gujral will be the Chief Guest.
 
 

    The successful candidates have been recommended on the basis of merit for inclusion in the Select Lists of :

    Lieutenant General (Retd.) Surinder Nath, PVSM, AVSM, Ex-Vice Chief of the Army Staff was born at Lahore on 26^th June, 1937. An alumnus from National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy, he was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery on 9^th June, 1957. Besides taking active part in Indo-Pak war in 1971, he was deeply involved in combating insurgency during operation RAKSHAK in Punjab and while commanding a Corps in Kashmir and Ladakh sectors. For his professional competence, extreme devotion to duty and highly distinguished service, he was awarded Ate Vishisht Seva Medal in January, 1991 and Param Vishisht Seva Medal in January, 1993 by the President of India.

    He joined UPSC as a Member in September, 1995. As Chairman, he will have a tenure of three and a half years.
 
 

    On the basis of inquiry conducted by the Railways recently the supply of four brands of mineral water has been discontinued and their contracts terminated. Food samples were tested and suitable action taken against defaulters.

    This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Ram Naik in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
 
 

    Any document showing date of birth or age issued by any Government Institution/Agency, like identity card, ration card, driving licence, passport, educational certificate, certificate from local bodies like Panchayat/Corporation/Municipality or any other authentic and recognised document, is accepted as proof of age.

    This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Ram Naik in a written reply in Lok Sabha .
 
 

    Lengpui is the first Airport developed by the State Government in North-East region. This is an unique example of Centre-State cooperation as the airport is owned by the State Government of Mizoram but operation of the Airport is being undertaken by the Airports Authority of India. Alliance Air will commence Bi-weekly flight from Calcutta to Lengpui from 12^th of December.

    The construction of the airport was started in 1995 when the Tenth Finance Commission approved the construction of Airport as a grant to Special Problem State for its Socio-Economic Development. The operationalisation of this airport will open new vistas for development in the State and will supplement the rail and road transport facilities.

    The construction of an airport in the hilly terrain was a stupendous task. It required massive efforts in the form of earthwork.

• Total cost of the Project: Rs.98.25 crore.
• Runway Length 2500m and 45m wide conforming to Code 4C.
• It can take Airbus A-320 for operation.

    This drive is part of the new AIDS Prevention and Control policy which envisages massive awareness programme through community mobilisation by involving elected representatives at all levels from the top to the grass-roots.

    It may be noted that AIDS is rapidly becoming the leading cause of disease and death worldwide. In India, almost 4 million are already infected with HIV of which 1 in every 4 cases is a woman. India’s large population with low literacy rate, little access to public health infrastructure, gender disparity and a large mobile migrant population makes the country more vulnerable to this epidemic. Since there is no cure for AIDS and also because of the experiences in many countries, HIV spread can only be prevented by effective community participation.

    Government of India has been implementing a National programme for the Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS in the country since 1992 with the total budget of Rs.222.6 crores. One of the major components of this programme is the information, education and communication through which an awareness level of nearly 50 to 60% have been created in the country. This has specially resulted in checking the rise of incidence of HIV infection among the drug addicts in the North-Eastern regions.

    One of the main hurdles in implementing the HIV/AIDS control programme is the lack of sensitisation and orientation among community leaders, administrators and politicians. In order to create a public movement it is felt that opinion leaders understand the urgency and importance of checking the spread of HIV in the country. Because the HIV epidemic threatens to wipe out the gains of development that India has achieved so far.
 
 

    The Ministry of Railways have not made any change in respect of procedure, rules and conditions applicable for grant of concession to these persons.

    The concerned disabled persons, various associations/organisations working for their welfare and various hospitals of the country are advised to use revised certificates.
 
 

    In Southern Railway special trains will run between Howrah-Chennai (bi-weekly), Chennai-Quilon (Daily), Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore(weekly), Coimbatore-Thiruvananthapuram(weekly) and Bangalore -Kottayam (alternate days).

    In South Eastern Railway special trains will run between Howrah-Mumbai (bi-weekly), Howrah-Chennai (bi-weekly), Howrah-Puri (tri-weekly), and Howrah-Vishakhapatnam (weekly).

    Western Railway will run special trains between Mumbai-Ajmer, (tri-weekly), and Porbander-Jaipur (weekly).

    In South Central the special trains will run between Hyderabad-Cochin Harbour (weekly) and Kakinada-Kottayam (bi-weekly).

    Central Railway will run special trains between Mumbai-Madgaon (tri-weekly) and Mumbai-Ernakulam (weekly). The exact timings, the days and periods of running could be found out from the respective Railway Divisions /stations.