29 april 2014 - kothari institute · · rawat banks on rehabilitation to save uttarakhand...

KOTHARI INSTITUTE

NEWS FROM “THE HINDU” AND “TIMES OF INDIA”[Type text]

DATE-29 April 2014

Ø NATIONAL NEWS

· Parties ignore exodus from hill villages · Rawat banks on rehabilitation to save Uttarakhand government

· Lucknow: Modi promises to fulfil Atal’s dreams · President to visit Imphal today · Australian exploration company says it may have found Malaysian plane

Ø BUSINESS · EU puts temporary ban on Indian Alphonso mangoes, veggies · Tata Motors rejigs car strategy to regain share · Sensex surrenders 56 points

Ø SPORTS · Smith sizzles in Super Kings' win · East Bengal finishes runner-up

Ø INTERNATIONAL NEWS

· Sniper wounds Kharkiv Mayor · 683 Morsy supporters sentenced to death · EU targets 15 more people ·

Ø BUSINESS Ø · Samsung Electronics Q1 operating profit dips 3%, in line with guidance ·

Ø EDITORIAL

· Safeguarding temple treasures

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NATIONAL NEWS

(Parties ignore exodus from hill villages

·

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· Deserted houses and (right) Dhan Singh Rana, Headman of the Lata village in Pauri constituency. —Photos: Kavitha Upadhyay

Migration from Uttarakhand districts to plains, triggered by joblessness, renders border areas vulnerable

“Amongst us, those who are a bit educated get jobs, so they leave the village and go. What about the others?” asks Dhan Singh Rana, headman of Lata in Uttarakhand. The village is in Chamoli district, which shares the international border with China. It comes under the Pauri constituency. The State shares a 350-km border with China and a 275-km border with Nepal. Five out of the 13 are border districts.

The Annual Plan for 2013-14 states migration from hill districts to districts in the plain is creating a ‘demographic vacuum,’ which renders the border areas vulnerable.

Out of the 150 families at Lata, 85 families have permanently migrated from the village, says Mr. Rana.

“We were shepherds. We did wool business. But, with increased Forest Department restrictions, we cannot feed our sheep. Agriculture too has become difficult due to a lack of resources,” says the headman.

Almost all youth have left the village for better education and job opportunities.

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Uma Devi, 83, talks about her grandchildren with pride. “My granddaughter is a doctor and my grandson is applying for a job. All of them live in Dehradun [the State capital].”

Her husband Bal Singh, said, “Our son and his family don’t visit the village much. We speak on the phone sometimes.” But as the village has no telephone tower, he travels 10 km or more to get mobile phone connectivity.

According to the 2011 Census data, between 2001 and 2011, the hill districts of Almora and Pauri showed a negative population growth of – 1.73 and – 1.51 per cent respectively.

State Economics and Statistics officer A.S. Bisht said, “The hill districts either show a very low population growth or a negative growth. However, the plain districts of Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Hardwar show a very high population growth of 32.48 per cent, 33.40 and 33.16 per cent respectively.”

Considering this population growth trend in the State, its 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) document says: ‘This [migration] reflects the absence of livelihood opportunities in the hills and yearning for a better quality of life. Dissatisfaction with jobs/lack of opportunities [is] creating demographic substitution in hill region.’

Addressing the media in March this year, Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is from the Congress, mentioned migration as an issue that needed instant attention.

“Our cities are changing to slums, and people living in higher regions are vacating their villages. Demographic imbalance will be the result if the government does not take any step,” he said.

Mohan Lal Kothiyal, a BJP leader from the Pauri constituency, which includes international border areas from Chamoli district, said, “People residing near the border areas act like a second line of defence. We need to stop migration from these areas.”

Mr. Rana said, “BJP and Congress leaders come to us but they never talk about the issues of our land. They talk about the shortcomings of the other party leaders.”

“They [the politicians] will keep pointing the finger at each other; what will happen to us is never on their agenda.”

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Rawat banks on rehabilitation to save Uttarakhand government

Harish Rawat

Aware that the outcome of general elections will have a direct bearing on Uttarakhand’s politics, both Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat and his rivals in the State BJP are pulling out all the stops as they know the State might face political instability if the BJP-led NDA forms the government at the Centre.

Mr. Rawat, who took charge just three months ago, is singlehandedly spearheading the Congress campaign. With his bête noire and Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj joining hands with the BJP, the political tussle in the State might intensify once the elections are over. Though Mr. Rawat is confident of his government’s survival even if the BJP manages to form the government at the Centre, he, has been asking the electorate to judge his work and not blame him for the poor performance of his predecessor Vijay Bahuguna.

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“I am asking people to consider whatever development work I have been able to do since I took over as the Chief Minister … Be it the road construction work, pushing relief and rehabilitation work in disaster-hit areas or starting new projects, I have been able to fast-track it. People now have to judge for themselves,” he told The Hindu .

However, one of his close aides concedes that political temperatures in the State would rise after May 16. “If the BJP forms the government at the Centre, Mr. Maharaj along with other State BJP leaders will try and topple Mr. Rawat’s government. But we are ready for it … We have made Mr. Rawat’s performance our poll plank. If the government falls, we will seek people’s mandate on the work done by Mr. Rawat,” he adds.

In the 70-member legislature, the Congress has 33 MLAs, BJP 30, BSP and Independents three each and the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal one. The seven non-Congress, non-BJP MLAs have formed a bloc, which has been supporting the Congress. But reports now say that they are not happy with the Congress and might rethink their support to the party. Notably, two BSP MLAs have been suspended from the party, though they continue to support Mr. Rawat’s government.

“But the real threat to the government might come from within the Congress as Mr. Maharaj’s wife, Amrita Rawat, is a senior Minister in the Congress government, who, along with at least three party MLAs and one independent, might resign if Narendra Modi is able to form government at the Centre,” a senior Congress leader says. However, Ms. Rawat has so far distanced herself from her husband’s decision to quit the Congress and join the BJP.

On the other hand, BJP leaders say the Congress government would fall on its own as it never had the mandate to rule the State. “This government is full of contradictions … It has failed miserably on all fronts and has been a let-down when it comes to providing relief to those affected by last year’s flash floods and ensuring all-round development of the State. Public pressure will force them to call it quits soon,” the former BJP Chief Minister, B.C. Khanduri, who is contesting from Pauri Garhwal, told The Hindu .

Political fault lines have emerged with Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj joining the BJP

Lucknow: Modi promises to fulfil Atal’s dreams As the campaign in Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency drew to a close on Monday from where Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh is locked in a multi-cornered electoral tussle, it was the party’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi who appealed to the voters to make Mr. Singh victorious.

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In an audio message to voters, Mr. Modi described Lucknow as the ‘karmabhoomi’ of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and assured them that the Modi-Rajnath team would work tirelessly to fulfil the dreams of Mr. Vajpyee. He also promised to bring all round development and glory to the city.

Mr. Modi had addressed a rally in the State Capital on March 2. Mr. Singh has shifted from Ghaziabad to contest from Lucknow. —

President to visit Imphal today President Pranab Mukherjee is arriving here by a special flight from Delhi on Tuesday afternoon. His main engagement is to attend the 14th convocation of Manipur University. Mr. Mukherjee is expected to return the same evening.

Boycott call

In view of the boycott call and general strike by various organisations, security forces have beefed up security measures. Police, paramilitary personnel are deployed in areas which the President is likely to pass through. Sources said that armed personnel would be on duty in the areas till the President leaves Imphal.

Police are conducting combing operations along the roads and immediate vicinity to flush out suspects. Patrolling in all trouble prone areas has also been intensified.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

Australian exploration company says it may have found Malaysian plane

KUALA LUMPUR: An Australian marine exploration company has claimed that it has found the wreckage of the crashed Malaysian plane in the Bay of Bengal, 5,000 km away from the current search location in the Indian Ocean. Adelaide-based GeoResonance said it had begun its own search for the missing flight MH370 on March 10 and that it has detected possible wreckage in the Bay of Bengal, 5000km away from the current search location, the Star newspaper reported. GeoResonance's search covered 2,000,000 square kilometres of the possible crash zone, using

images obtained from satellites and aircraft, with company scientists focusing their efforts north of plane's last known location, using over 20 technologies to analyze the data including a nuclear

reactor, company spokesperson David Pope said. He claimed his company used technology originally designed to find nuclear warheads and submarines.

Pope said GeoResonance compared their findings with images taken on March 5, three days before MH370 went missing, and did not find what they had detected at the spot.

"The wreckage wasn't there prior to the disappearance of MH370. We're not trying to say it definitely is MH370. However, it is a lead we feel should be followed up," said Pope. Malaysia's department of civil aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told the paper that Malaysia was unaware of the report of the finding.

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"We will have to check and verify this report," he said. Another GeoResonance spokesperson, Pavel Kursa, said several elements found in commercial airliners were detected at the Bay of Bengal spot identified by GeoResonance. "We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777...these are

aluminium, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials," said Kursa in a statement.

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370- carrying 239 people, including five Indians, an Indo-Canadian and 154 Chinese nationals — had mysteriously vanished on March 8 after

taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The mystery of the missing plane continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have so far not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets.

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BUSINESS

EU puts temporary ban on Indian Alphonso mangoes, veggies 207 consignments are found to be contaminated by pests

The 28-member European Union has temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1, sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders.

The recent decision by the grouping’s Standing Committee on Plant Health came after 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests such as fruit flies and other quarantine pests.

The temporary ban, proposed by the European Commission and endorsed by the Committee, includes mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd, and prohibits the

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import to tackle the “significant shortcomings in the phytosanitary certification system of such products exported to the EU”.

Though the prohibited commodities represent less than 5 per cent of the total fresh fruits and vegetables imported into the EU from India, the potential introduction of new pests could pose a threat to EU agriculture and production, the committee noted.

U.K.’s Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) that is backing the ban said it was necessary due to pests which could threaten the country’s 321 million pound salad crop industry of tomato and cucumber.

The U.K. imports nearly 16 million mangoes from India and the market for the fruit is worth nearly 6 million pounds a year.

A revision of the ban will take place before December 31, 2015.

Businesses claimed they will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds due to the ban.

Wholesalers and retailers in Indian-dominated regions of the U.K. have opposed the ban, which comes into effect on May 1, saying it will hit them hard.

“This is Euro-nonsense and bureaucracy gone mad. Indian mangoes have been imported to Britain for centuries. I am furious with the lack of consultation with those who will be affected by the ban,” said Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, who has written to the European Commission president after his constituents in the city of Leicester made a plea.

He has also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ascertain if the Indian government was consulted on the matter. — PTI

Tata Motors rejigs car strategy to regain share : Tata Motors is gearing up for a resurrection in the passenger vehicle (PV) space, backed by an aggressive revamp plan.

With its proposed two new launches coupled with complete overhaul of sales and service network, the company is hopeful of regaining double-digit market share in the car segment.

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After a gap of many years, the company is set to roll out two completely new cars during July or August this year. The launch of Bolt (a new hatchback) and Zest (a compact sedan) will mark the company’s ambitious foray in petrol segment.

“Our new launches will certainly help us move forward and regain our position. With entry into petrol segment, 50 per cent of the market where we don’t play today, we definitely expect the share to go up. Clearly, the intention is to hit the double-digit level,” Ankush Arora, Senior Vice-President – Passenger Vehicles (Commercial), Tata Motors, told this correspondent during a telephonic interview.

The company has embarked on an overhaul plan. Under which, it is refurbishing its dealer outlets with a new identity and brand language of Tata Motors –younger, progressive and modern, and very consumer-friendly. About 120 outlets are presently undergoing renovation, and all these will sport a new avatar from mid-May. Another 120 outlets will undergo the same revamp and flaunt new look before July-end. It is deploying technology in a big way in sales and service functions.

Mr. Arora said the company was in the process hiring about 3000 sales people in a bid to attract more buyers as it would get into selling petrol-powered vehicles.

He asserted that there wouldn’t be long intervals between its product launches like in the past. Tata Motors would roll out at least one new model every year besides variants and face-lifts. “Our upcoming products will be far more global and reflect new modern design language of Tata,” he added.

Tata Motors’ market share in the car segment fell to six per cent in 2013-14 from nine per cent in 2012-13 and 13 per cent in 2011-12.

Sensex surrenders 56 points The S&P BSE Sensex on Monday ended lower by 56.46 points at one-week low of 22631.61 on persistent selling by FIIs. The 30-share index resumed higher at 22717.59 but moved in a narrow range before settling at 22631.61. It had dropped by 188.47 points on Friday last. The 50-share Nifty also moved lower by 21.50 points to finish at 6721.25.

Rupee loses 5 paise

Surrendering early gains, the rupee commenced slightly lower at 60.62 a dollar from the last close of 60.60. After touching the day’s low of 60.76, it recovered to 60.43 before settling at 60.65, a fall of 5 paise from its previous close. — PTI

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SPORTS

Smith sizzles in Super Kings' win

· Caribbean Cavalier:Dwayne Smith conjured up a typically aggressive half-century to power Chennai Super Kings’ successful chase.— Photo: Sportzpics/bcci

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· His 85-run opening stand with McCullum provides an ideal launching pad

Domination was the dictum the Chennai Super Kings deployed to destructive effect, be it in bowling, where it stopped Sunrisers Hyderabad at 145 for five or in batting as it rose to the challenge with vigour.

Exhibiting this in ample measure was Dwayne Smith’s 46-ball 66. Embellished with four boundaries and five hits over the ropes, that knock broke the back of the Hyderabad attack and set up a comprehensive victory, with five wickets and three balls in reserve.

Right earnest

The Chennai side’s chase began in right earnest, openers Smith and Brendon McCullum calling the shots right from the start. In just over half a dozen overs, the team’s fifty came up with the pair showing no signs of easing the pressure on the pedal.

Ishant Sharma dared to sling a steepler at Smith, a seasoned hand with the short-pitched stuff and coming from a land where quicks are commonplace. The Caribbean cavalier simply moved into position to dispatch the ball over the mid-wicket railings. McCullum (40, 33 b, 3 x 4, 2 x 6) struck Karn Sharma for a six, but the wrist-spinner exacted revenge off the very next ball, foxing the Kiwi with a googly.

Cheap dismissals of Faf du Plessis and Ravindra Jadeja were but blips. With six runs needed from as many balls, M.S. Dhoni, a specialist for such occasions, assumed his avatar of captain cool to notch up the runs required. The Sunrisers ran into rough weather early into their endeavour. His penchant for the pull being well known, Shikhar Dhawan played into the hands of Manhas at mid-wicket off Ben Hilfenhaus. The Aussie quick then trapped David Warner in front, leaving the Hyderabad side hobbling at 15 for two.

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In what has become standard operating procedure for the Super Kings skipper, the bowlers were shuffled frequently as were their ends, none bowling more than two overs on the trot from the same end. It did impede Sunrisers’ batting to the extent that it never found enough rhythm to launch an assault on the bowling.

The scoring felt the impact for sure, more than three fourths of the innings gone before the side’s 100 could be posted. There was a visible change of gears thereon with Karn’s strike-rate soaring to over 300 at one stage!

While the Chennai squad went into the contest unchanged, Sunrisers inducted Ishant for Naman Ojha. The wicket-keeper batsman was given just one outing, where he didn’t get to bat either. His skills with the willow would have bolstered the Hyderabad batting, so far found more promising on paper than on the field of play.

East Bengal finishes runner-up

East Bengal finished runner-up in the I-League after a runaway 3-0 win over United SC in the final game at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Monday.

Thus, the team finished with 43 points from 24 games (won 12, drew seven and lost five). Interestingly, East Bengal has finished second on three occasions in the last four years. Last year, it ended third.

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By finishing second behind champion Bengaluru FC, East Bengal could be allowed to compete in the AFC Cup play-offs next season if the Federation Cup is not held this year.

The cash-strapped United SC tried to put up a fight, but lacked enough motivation to win the game.

After a goalless first half, defender Abhishek Das opened the scoring in the 64th minute when he collected a pass from Chidi Edeh on the right and placed a low shot towards the United goal.

Churchill stepped up the pressure and was rewarded in the 83rd minute through Edeh. Controlling a lovely pass inside the penalty area, the Nigerian slotted home a right-footer into the far corner.

Seminlen Doungel completed the rout in the 89th minute, deftly side-stepping the rival custodian to place the ball home.

Meanwhile, Churchill Brothers’s 2-1 win over Salgaocar SC sealed Mohammedan Sporting’s fate.

The Kolkata outfit was relegated after finishing bottom on 24 points. Churchill ended with 25.

The results:

At Kolkata: East Bengal 3 (Das 64, Chidi 83, Doungel 89) bt United SC 0.

At Vasco: Salgaocar FC 1 (Duffy 20) lost to Churchill Brothers SC 2 (Fernandes 6-og, Balwant 65).

At Pune: Pune FC 0 lost to Dempo SC 3 (Fakhruddin 20 & 25, Lalpekhlua 90).

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INTERNATIONAL

Sniper wounds Kharkiv Mayor Protesters take control of yet another city in Donetsk region

A Ukrainian police official, with a sniffer dog, examines the place where Mayor Gennady Kernes was shot at in Kharkiv on Monday. —PHOTO: AFP

The Mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city was critically wounded in a sniper attack on Monday in a further sign of a rapidly deteriorating situation in the country’s troubled southeast.

Hennady Kernes, Mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back by an unidentified sniper during his routine morning cycling, city officials said.

The Mayor survived a two-hour operation, but doctors said his life was still in danger.

Kharkiv in recent weeks has been the scene of pro-and anti-government demonstrations.

Hours before the Mayor was shot, thousands of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists attacked a smaller group of pro-federalisation protesters in the city, severely beating many of them and injuring 14 demonstrators.

The attack on the Mayor took place despite the presence of about 11,000 troops and security personnel deployed in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking southeast for an “anti-terrorist operation.”

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Anti-government revolt is spreading in eastern Ukraine, with protesters taking control of yet another city in Donetsk region.

Armed gunmen seized the police headquarters and administrative building in the industrial city of Kostantynivka, not far from Sloviansk, which is the flashpoint of anti-government protests.

The move came shortly after the city council in Kostantynivka voted on Monday to defy the Kiev authorities and join a referendum on the region’s autonomy on May 11 announced by the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

In Donetsk itself unarmed demonstrators occupied the local television centre and forced it to restart broadcasting Russian TV channels that had been banned by Kiev.

In the neighbouring Luhansk Region activists on Sunday presented the Ukrainian authorities with an ultimatum to declare amnesty for protesters and hold a referendum on the status of the province. The activists gave Kiev two days to accept their demands or face “active protests.”

Meanwhile, Russia has vowed to retaliate in response to the new U.S. sanctions. Moscow had earlier threatened to penalise U.S. companies operating in Russia, dump American treasuries and accelerate the shift in its foreign trade from the dollar to national currencies.

Curbs won’t help: China

In a major boost for Russia, China has reiterated its opposition to sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China “has consistently opposed threatening or imposing sanctions.”

“We believe that sanctions are not conducive to an issue’s resolution, and may worsen tensions,” Mr. Qin told a daily news briefing on Monday.

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683 Morsy supporters sentenced to death

An Egyptian court has added yet another dimension to the ongoing crackdown against the supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy by sentencing to death 683 backers of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the organisation’s Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie.

A court in the city of Minya, found the defendants guilty of attacking a police station last year on August 14, which led to the killing of a police officer.

The assault apparently followed the crackdown on two pro-Morsy encampments in Cairo that led to the deaths of at least 1,000 supporters of the deposed President.

The defendants were also found guilty of inciting and committing violence, rioting, and destroying public and private property. The Grand Mufti of the country must now ratify the verdict, before the sentences can be carried out. The final judgment will be passed on June 21, after the Grand Mufti has arrived at a conclusion. On Monday, intervention by the Grand Mufti spared the lives of 492 people out of a group of 529 who had been sentenced to death by the same court in March. Seeking legitimacy, Field Marshall Abdel Fattah El-Sisi — the mastermind behind Mr. Morsy’s exit — is standing in the two-day presidential elections that commence on May 26. Analysts say that there is little doubt that the former military chief will win the polls.

‘Won’t retreat’

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Reuters reports:

Mohamed Badie (70), considered a conservative hardliner, stood trial in Cairo in a separate case hours after the sentence was affirmed. “If they executed me one thousand times I will not retreat from the right path,” Mr. Badie was quoted as saying by lawyer , where he has to contend with only one candidate — Hamdeen Sabahi, who had stood third in the elections that had brought Mr. Morsy to power.

EU targets 15 more people

The European Union announced on Monday it had added 15 people to the list of Russian and Ukrainian figures hit with sanctions for their role in the crisis. “Fifteen additional persons responsible for actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence will be targeted with a travel ban and freeze of their assets within the EU,” a statement said. The names will be published in the EU’s official journal on Tuesday. — AFP

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BUSINESS

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Samsung Electronics Q1 operating profit dips 3%, in line with guidance

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday reported a 3.3 percent fall in first quarter operating

profit, broadly in line with earlier guidance.

SEOUL: South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday reported a 3.3 percent fall in

first quarter operating profit, broadly in line with earlier guidance, as returns weakened in its mainstay smartphone business.

The world's biggest manufacturer of smartphones booked a January-March operating profit of 8.5 trillion Korean won ($8.2 billion), compared with guidance of 8.4 trillion won. Operating profit in its mobile division fell to 6.43 trillion from 6.51 trillion won in the year prior and 5.47 trillion won in the previous quarter. Shares of Samsung Electronics, worth $220 billion, closed down 0.8 percent on Monday,

compared with a 0.1 percent drop in the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index.

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Editorial

Safeguarding temple treasures The phenomenal treasures found in the vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram three years ago are back in the spotlight, but not for good reasons. The amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court, after a 35-day inspection, made sharp remarks about “pilferage” of precious objects and financial irregularities in the temple. The temple authorities and the State have been asked to file their responses. However, finding the state of affairs disturbing, the Supreme Court has appointed a new committee to manage the temple in an interim arrangement. The disquieting conclusion, it appears, is that the temple and its treasures face more threats from its own inept administrators than from any scheming thieves. Questions about the management of the Padmanabhaswamy temple have been around for some time. Mounting public concern led to a long legal battle, and in 2011 the Supreme Court appointed an expert committee to oversee the inventory of treasures. When the committee inspected five of the six vaults in the temple, the vast amounts of jewels and antiquities came to public notice for the first time. The documentation of these objects is on. In 2012, the Court appointed Gopal Subramaniam, a former Solicitor-General, as amicus curiae in the case. In his second report he has recommended that the present administration, which includes a member of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, be replaced as a part of corrective measures.

How to protect temple properties and endowments and give primacy to the public interest are challenges facing not only the Padmanabhaswamy temple but also many others. A few years ago, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had to intervene to ensure that a proper inventory is made of the precious jewels of the Sree Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. Instances of poor accounting of offerings and income, and lax recovery of dues from temple properties, abound. Unfortunately, most temple administrators have not done much to attend to such concerns or reassure the worshipping public. Some of the temple managements, instead of embracing change, have tried to resist reforms in administration, viewing them as interference in religious affairs. The settled position in law is that the secular functions of a temple are open to public regulation. One reason behind the practice of recognising idols as juristic persons who can own properties is to prevent administrators from holding endowments in their own names and prevent misappropriation. Temples are not private fiefdoms, but places of public worship. While proper religious observances are not to be interfered with, there must be a system of public accountability in the management of the secular affairs of temples.

29 april 2014 - kothari institute · · rawat banks on rehabilitation to save uttarakhand...

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