1. Unable to Enforce 8-Hour Workshift for Police, Govt Tells HC
The state government on Monday conceded before the Madras High Court that though the Police Standing Orders prescribe only eight hours of work a day as well as a weekly off day for police personnel, the department was unable to enforce the eight-hour shift system “due to the demands of public services.”
The First Bench of Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Vineet Kothari and C Saravanan was also told that there were 16,108 vacancies, beginning from the rank of Director-General of Police to a Grade II constable. The working strength was only 1,08,650, against the sanctioned strength of 1,24,758 personnel.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. 1,713 Families to Be Relocated for Elevator Corridor
The 20.3km-elevated project corridor from Maduravoyal to Chennai Port has hit a roadblock over land acquisition issues. It is learnt that the project, wherein the fresh detailed project report has been prepared, is yet to start as 1,713 project affected families are yet to be evicted and resettled. It is learnt that the project was scrutinised by the Prime Minister’s Office recently as it features under the Pragati Project.
Conceptualised initially as a four-lane elevated project, which was to be built at a cost of Rs 1,655 crore, the project has been revised after it got stalled over a bitter row between the State and National Highway Authority of India over alignment. A revised Detailed Project Report has been prepared with the cost revised to Rs 3,500 crore. The project was also converted into a six-lane one. However, now the hurdle is to acquire 3.08 hectare area of land and resettle the 1,713 families.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. Hike in Ghee, Cardamom Prices Bitter Pill for Sweet Makers
With Deepavali just a couple of weeks away, the increase in prices of ghee, milk products and cardamom has sweet makers worried. At least 60% of popular sweets, including laddus and halwa, require the use of the aromatic cardamom that also has digestive properties.
“Due to floods in Kerala, the plants were damaged, leading to drop in production. Now fresh crops have arrived, bringing down prices to Rs 3,000 - Rs 3,700 a kg. We hope that after Deepavali, the prices will come down due to fall in demand,” said Ravindra Jain of Vinod Marketing, a wholesaler of dry fruits.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Tipplers Make Tondiarpet Park No-Go for Locals
Thanthai Periyar Park in Tondiarpet, one of the oldest parks in the heart of North Chennai, has turned into a hangout for tipplers and doubles up as a toilet as well.“There is no one to supervise the park and youth come in as early as 11 am and start drinking, which goes on well into the late of night. Sometimes they are so high they doze off right in the park,” claimed Selvan G, a shopkeeper adjacent to the park. When Express visited the park, empty alcohol bottles all around and a few people lying on the floor all but confirmed the claims of Selvan.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Acting Chief Justice Reverses Ex-CJ's Decision on Bench Hearing Sterlite Case
Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the Madras High Court Vineet Kothari has reversed a change made by former Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani to the composition of a Division Bench that was hearing a batch of cases filed by natural resources company Vedanta Limited, challenging the forced closure of the Sterlite copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi by the State government last year due to environmental concerns.
Acceding to a joint request made by lawyers who had already argued the case substantially before a Bench of Justices T S Sivagnanam and V Bhavani Subbaroyan for 28 sittings between June 20 and August 30, the ACJ directed the High Court Registry to list the cases before the same Bench without listing them before Justices Sivagnanam and R Tharani in Madurai, as ordered by Tahilramani on September 5.
(Source: The Hindu)
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