NEW DELHI, August 17: In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court has ruled that 'banks' do not come under the purview of the Assam Money Lenders Act, 1934, and are, therefore, not required to take a licence to carry on the business of lending money under the Act, report UNI. The Court gave the ruling after adopting a purposive and meaningful interpretation of the Act and held that banks are not covered under the Act. The judgement will go a long way to dissuade debtors from taking recourse to the provision of similar Acts, passed by many states to defeat the recovery proceedings initiated by banks. Dismissing an appeal by the Associated Timber Industries and others, a bench of Justice DP Mohapatra and Justice Shivraj V Patil said that the Gauhati High Court was justified in holding that the suit filed by he Central Bank of India for recovery of loan advanced by it the appellants was maintainable. The respondent-bank filed the suit for realisation of certain amounts from the Associated Timber Industries, and others. The appellants raised objections against the maintainability of the suit on the ground of non-compliance with the provisions of the Assam Act-particularly stating that the bank being a 'money-lender' had not been registered under the Act. The Additional District Judge, Dibrugarh, before whom the suit was filed, dismissed the same. A challenge made to the verdict of the Trial Court before the High Court was dismissed by the High Court. Hence, the appeal before the Apex Court. The Supreme Court in its judgement said that the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the Assam Act one Central and the other state, - brought forth the wide difference in the fields of operation of banks and activities of money-lenders. "While 'banks' are financial institutions which are engaged in improving the flow of trade, movement of commerce and expansion of business and there by improving the socio-economic condition of the people, 'money-lenders' are engaged in making personal profits. While the former are guided by policies and decisions of the Central Government, and the wide spectrum of activities in which they are engaged are all controlled or regulated by the Reserve Bank of India ((RBI), there is no such regulatory policy in the case of the latter," the Court added. Referring to similar enactments passed by many other states, the Court said that Legislature had taken caution to excludes banks from the operations of such statutes presumably with a view to avoiding any conflict with the Parliamentary enactment. (United News of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 18, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 18: Bowing to public pressure the state government has decided today not to execute the controversial Manoharan Committee report until further order. State Education Minister Thaneswar Boro has instructed all concerned Inspectors of Schools, District Elementary Education Officers (DEEOs) not to execute the government's earlier order. It may be mentioned here that the state government had constituted an enquiry committee headed by Commissioner Manoharan to find out the anomalies in the appointments of education department during 1992-96. Although the Committee had submitted its report two years ago, the state cabinet has approved it only recently. According to the report, the state government had cancelled the appointments of over 8000 teachers of lower primary, middle English and high school on August 11 by a notification. But, due to widespread reaction among the public, the department has ultimately decided to withdraw its decision. It is also learnt that Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta convened a steering committee meeting yesterday where the members requested him not to implement the report in view of widespread public reaction. Meanwhile, the transfer of state education department's JP Rajkhowa has evoked a sharp reaction in political circles. It may be mentioned here that Rajkhowa was transferred as the principal secretary in the pension and public grievance department yesterday under mysterious circumstance after the Manoharan Committee report. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 19, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 19: Population explosion due to unabated infiltration of foreigners is one of the main reasons for the economic backwardness of Assam, said the Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) SK Sinha. Releasing the document Vision: Assam 2025 prepared by the state government at a Rabindra Bhavan function here today, the Governor pointed out that the growth rate of population in Assam is much higher than the national average, primarily due to influx of foreigners. He said that the influx is changing the demography of the state and posed a serious threat to national security. In this regard, he referred to the report that he had presented to the President of India on the issue in November 1998. Sinha said that the Government has adopted a three-pronged strategy to deal with the problem of insurgency, which has started to yield desired results. He said that the Unified Command structure introduced in the state proved successful and the overall law and order situation in Assam is improving fast. He said that the efforts are also on to win over the hearts of the people and launch economic development schemes. He revealed that about 2,500 militants surrendered since 1998 and "we want to avoid the mistakes made in the past. Instead of letting loose the surrendered militants, we have tried to rehabilitate them in an organised manner". The Governor said that the biggest achievement in the fight against insurgency is the change in the attitude of the people of Assam towards the militants. He pointed out that in the last six months or so, there were a number of instances where the unarmed villagers took on the armed militants and more than 40 militants were nabbed by the common people, while, several militants were even lynched. He pointed out that thousands of people came out to the streets to take part in peace processions brought out in different parts of Assam and "the attitude of the people has given us a hope for ushering in a new era of economic prosperity". Commenting on the development activities taken up by the state government, the Governor said that the scheme to install one lakh shallow tube wells was a major success and "it is now clear that Assam is emerging out of a tunnel of violence". He said that the state government is determined to usher in a green revolution in the state. He congratulated the Government for bringing out the Vision document and said, "it is not enough to have a vision. The vision should be implemented with total dedication". He also said that being the Constitutional head of the state, he has perfect understanding with the Chief Minister. "My vision of Assam is of a state where the people are proud of themselves and the rest of the country is proud of Assam". The Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who presided over the function, said, "we want to make Assam at par with the national average in all sectors of development. He said that more than 40 years of neglect by successive Central Governments and the Governments in Assam after Independence had a shattering effect on the economy of the state. He pointed out that in 1950-51, the per capita income of Assam was four per cent higher than the national average, but in 1996-97, it stood at 41 per cent below the national average. Giving a brief account of the Vision 2025, the Chief Minister said, "by the year 2025, we propose to increase the rice production to 135 lakh metric tonne against the current production of 41 lakh metric tonne at present. The production of oil seeds has been targeted to be raised to 7.5 lakh metric tonne by that time." Similarly, the state government is also planning to increase the production of fish, milk and meat and stress would be given on developing sericulture and handloom sector. Mahanta said that the Government is planning to open one "Jivika Sahiyika" cell in the offices of all Deputy Commissioners to provide guidance to unemployed youths. "By the end of 2025," we propose to generate business turnover worth Rs 1,36,000 crore for providing self employment to 10.13 lakh persons in the tourism sector," he added. He further said that the Government has formulated plan to increase power generation to 4360 MW. Mahanta revealed that the Government would make endeavours to attract funds from the World Bank, national and international agencies, and also from the Non Resident Indians (NRIs). He also said that all help and incentives would be given to the industrial houses and individuals who are willing to invest in Assam. He also stressed the need for improving work culture and hoped that with the cooperation of all sections of people, the Government would be able to translate the Vision 2025 into reality. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 20, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 20: All the district headquarters in the state, along with the other district headquarters of the country, will be provided internet connections by the next Durga Puja, while efforts are also on to develop Guwahati as an Information Highway Station of the internet network by the middle of next year and to remove the restrictions on the expansion of area of operation of cellular phones in Guwahati and other major towns of NE region, said Union Minister of Communications Ram Vilas Paswan here today. Paswan, who was inaugurating the International Gateway of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) at the Northeastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) Ltd's Information Technology (IT) Park at Ulubari here, also said that all the block headquarters in the state will also get telephone connections by August 21. While apprising the gathering at the inaugural function that the Union Home and Defence Ministries are consulted in matters of removing the restrictions on the area of operation of the cellular phone in the NE region, Paswan also told the gathering that Guwahati is expected to be an International Highway Station of the Internet network i.e. National Internet backbone as soon as it attains an A-category city status, which is expected by March next year. Internet network is expected to cover all the 6,0,7,000 villages of the country by 2002, he said. Commenting on the VSNL Gateway at Guwahati, he said that it will provide hi-speed data connectivity to the IT entrepreneurs of the entire NE region. It will pave the way for putting this region on the information super highway of the world, he said, adding, this has also enabled the country to cross a new milestone in its efforts to make itself an IT super power. The VSNL, a Central Government undertaking, with its widespread infrastructure of eight gateways and 24 Satellite Earth Stations, connects 237 international destinations through direct dialling and it had a sales turn over above Rs 7,000 crore in the last financial year, he said, adding, it has the potential to emerge as a global giant in the field of IT. Earlier, addressing the function, Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta expressed the hope that the VSNL Gateway would enable the state's entrepreneurs to become globally competitive and usher in a new era of industrial development. He also requested the Union Minister and the department of Telecommunications/VSNL authorities to provide connectivity to the entrepreneurs on a priority basis to connect them with this VSNL hub in the city. He also called for measures to make the internet facilities operational from the proposed 12 nodes in the state by January 2001, besides including Guwahati in the National Internet backbone. The function was also addressed by Union Minister of state for Water Resources Bijoya Chakravarti, state Industries Minister Gunin Hazarika, MAD Minister Biraj Kumar Sarma, VSNL Chairman-cum-Managing Director SK Gupta and NEDFi Managing Director MK Sarma, among others. The VSNL has acquired a space of 1250 sq ft in the NEDFi IT Pak and has installed 3.8 diameter cassegrian antenna on the roof top of the park to make the Earth Station capable of offering high quality, high speed, leased internet access and also high speed international private leased channels (IPLC) at speeds higher than 64 KBPS. The Earth Station and the leased internet facility have been set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The station has a capacity of 6 Mbps. The gateway earth station was certified by INTELSAT on July 20 last as a Standard F 1. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 21, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 22: Uncertainty over the implementation of the much awaited gas cracker project continues as the Reliance Assam Petrochemicals Limited (RAPL) and the Oil India Limited (OIL) have failed to sign the gas supply agreement till date. The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ram Naik, in a letter to the state Industries Minister, Gunin Hazarika recently, said that he had looked into the matter of signing of the gas supply agreement between the OIL and RAPL. The Union Minister said that the contentious clauses in the proposed gas supply agreement between the RAPL and OIL have been sorted out after a series of meetings in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and in the department of chemicals and petrochemicals. The RAPL and OIL have agreed to execute the final gas supply agreement subject to approval by the respective board of directors and acceptance by the financial institutions from the RAPL side, the Union Petroleum Minister said. From the letter of the Union Minister, it was evident that the uncertainty over the much awaited gas cracker project still persists as there is possibility of the board of directors of either the RAPL and the OIL as well as the financial institutions rejecting the draft gas supply agreement. It may be mentioned here that over the years, the state government wrote number of letters to concerned Union Minister to the take effective steps to ensure finalisation of the gas supply agreement to pave the way for implementation of the gas cracker project. The state government even went to the extent of requesting the Central Government to ask the oil sector public sector undertakings to implement the project if the RAPL fail to do so. But till date no headway has been made regarding the implementation of the project. Namrup Fertilizer unit: Meanwhile, the state Industries Minister Gunin Hazarika has requested the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Suresh Prabhu to take immediate steps for revival of all units of the Namrup Fertilizer units of the Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation. In a letter to the Union Minister, Hazarika pointed out that the Namrup unit of the HFC had been playing a vital role in creating employment opportunities and was one of the "prime movers in the economy of this backward region." The unit was declared as a profitable and viable unit by various committees constituted by the ministry over the years. He said that the units I, II and III of the Namrup Fertilizer unit should be revamped at a cost of Rs 350 crore. The revision of pay scales of the workers is also linked with the revival package, he added. Hazarika said, "I have been given to understand that the ministry had approved the decision of separation of the unit and a cabinet decision in this regard is pending. The Government is free to make necessary investment for the revival of all the units." (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 23, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 23: The state Industries Minister, Gunin Hazarika has expressed serious concern at the failure of the Hindustan Paper Corporation authorities to appoint local engineers in the paper mills in the state and called upon the Union Minister for Heavy Industry Monohar Joshi to look into the matter. In a letter to the Union Minister, Hazarika said that recently the HPC appointed 42 executive trainees for the mills in Assam. He said that out of the 16 executive trainees who have joined in the Jagiroad paper mill, only nine were from the state, while, all the 15 who have joined in the Pachgram paper mill were from outside the region. He pointed out that the entire selection process was initiated for recruitment exclusively for appointment in the HPC mills located in Assam and NE region. The Industries Minister said that though there are a number of unemployed graduate engineers in the state, only nine of the 42 executive trainees appointed were from the state, which created serious repercussions. He also pointed out that though the selection was on all India basis, qualified local engineers were not even called for the selection test. He demanded that the present appointments should be cancelled immediately and a special selection test should be held for the qualified candidates who were not called to appear in the earlier test. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 24, 2000)

NEW DELHI, August 23: The Ministry of Surface Transport (MST) has held the Assam and Manipur Governments responsible for the poor shape of the National Highways (NHs) in their states, contending that they have not been able to utilise the total funds allocated to it on account of poor ways and means and law-and-order problems. Inability of the two states to utilise their funds has prompted the Surface Transport Ministry to cut back on the total allocation of funds to the region this financial year from Rs 175.20 crore to Rs 161.59 crore. According to details provided by the MST, the Northeastern Region during the current financial year has been allotted Rs 161.59 crore out of which, till May, the seven states have been able to utilise only Rs 5.75 crore. The story last year was little better, with the states managing to utilise Rs. 120.86 crore of the total allocation of Rs 175.20 crore. But because of the inability to utilise the funds mainly by Assam and Manipur, Centre apparently ordered a cutback of Rs 13.61 crore. The shortfall in expenditure during the last financial year has been mainly in the state of Assam and Manipur on works executed by the state governments. The states could not utilise the allocated funds fully for reasons like poor ways and means position, disturbed law-and-order situation, lack of competent contractors, the Union Surface Transport Minister Rajnath Singh said in a written reply to a question tabled by Nabam Rebia. The Minister further disclosed that for the same financial year period, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was sanctioned Rs 106.39 crore while during the current financial year Rs 117.50 crore have been sanctioned for development and maintenance of NHs in the Northeast. The total length of the NHs in Assam currently is 2706 km out of which 742 km are single lane, 95 km intermediate lane and 1869 km double lane. Assam Government, it may be mentioned here, has also been petitioning the Ministry to release its sanctioned funds in advance to enable it to carry out the works. The works, it has also admitted, have been hampered by its ways and means problem. However, the Ministry is yet to concede to its request. The Ministry reimburses the funds spent by the state on production of the utilisation certificate. Interestingly though, ways and means is not the only problem the states suffer, as was contended by the Surface Transport Minister in a discussion in the Rajya Sabha last year. The Minister had claimed that lack of competent road contractors with modern technology was also a major factor for poor maintenance of the NHs in the region. He claimed that those contractors who had modern technology were not interested to go to the region because of the law and order problems like extortions and kidnappings. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 24, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 23: The Union ministry of health and family welfare has included Assam in the Bimaru (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) category of states due to the poor condition of its health sector. Health advisor to the Northeastern Council BK Borgohain said: "Assam along with Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir are the three new states which have been put in the Bimaru category". The move is likely to ensure more funds for the state. "Assam will certainly get a larger chunk of the funds due to its poor health performance," Borgohain said. A health official said Assam had the fourth highest infant mortality rate of 78, adding that the chances of improvement were remote as most of the deliveries still took place at home. According to the national family health survey, only 38.6 percent of the women surveyed in the state had "safe" deliveries. Nearly 70 per cent suffered complications as most of the deliveries were conducted at home due to lack of proper medical care in the rural areas and prevalent socio-cultural attitudes. The survey also revealed that 59 per cent of the women did not think it necessary to avail antenatal care services while 17 per cent did not know about it. The ministry has formulated an integrated Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme aimed at improving the health status of young women and children in the country. The RCH programme will be implemented on a "differential approach" in which the basic facilities will be strengthened in the weaker districts and the relatively advanced districts will get sophisticated facilities. The RCH programme will upgrade the facilities for providing comprehensive emergency obstetric and post-natal care. The facilities at the primary health centres will also be upgraded. The programme will improve the access of the community to various services which are commonly required. Facilities will be provided for medically-terminated pregnancies at the primary health centres and counselling at the sub-centres. Special strategies will be incorporated to strengthen family welfare facilities in urban slums and tribal areas. The immunisation rate is very poor in the state. According to the survey, primary immunisation rate is 17 per cent while for women it is only nine per cent. (Correspondent; The Telegraph; New Delhi; August 24, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 24: The Centre is actively considering Assam's request to declare Ledo-Myanmar road, popularly known Stillwell road, as a National Highway, Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said today, reports PTI. He said Union Surface Transport Minister Rajnath Singh has sent a letter to him in this regard. The letter gave details about the present position regarding the state government's proposal on the road that could facilitate international trade with South East Asian countries, the Chief Minister said here. The letter, he said, also informed that work on the road could be taken up once it was declared NH. Mahanta had taken up the issue with the Centre to open the road for trade and declaring Indian portion of it as NH. (Press Trust of India; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 25, 2000)

NEW DELHI, August 25: Expressing concern at the lack of seriousness on part of the Central Government in implementing the Shukla Commission's recommendation, the members belonging to Northeast MPs' Forum (NEMPF) today urged the Prime Minister to review the special economic package to include project and schemes with short gestation period. A delegation of the Forum, led by its chairman, PR Kyndiah called on the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his Parliament office and submitted a 15-point charter of demands. The Prime Minister after giving the MPs a patient hearing favourably responded to the suggestion for a meeting between the Prime Minister and the MPs of the region to review the developmental schemes, claimed the general secretary of the Forum, Arun Kumar Sarma talking to this newspaper. Others who accompanied included, H Haokip, Santosh Mohan Dev, Tarun Gogoi, BK Handique, SK Bwiswmutiary, among others. The Forum's rationale for review of the special economic package was that project with huge investments will take a long time to fructify, while the need of the hour is to generate employment. For instance, Rs 6,000 crore earmarked under the package was for the three hydel projects, which have a long gestation period. The MPs also sought a clear direction from the Prime Minister to the various Central Ministries to clearly make provisions for the sub-head in the budget showing the 10 per cent of mandatory budgetary allocations for the region. The MPs complained that the 10 per cent allocation has not been committed by the Prime Minister's office as well as several Central Ministries. The Forum also drew the attention of the Prime Minister to the neglect meted out to them by several Ministries which have ignored their plea for an interaction concerning the development of the region with its representatives in the Parliament, from time to time. The Forum also called for implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force appointed by the Civil Aviation Ministry and immediate introduction of the 50 seater aircraft for accessibility between various state capitals and cities in the region. For developing the trade and commerce in the region, the MPs urged the Prime Minister to treat the Northeast as a Special Economic Zone to promote international trade with neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Seeking a through revamp of the Northeastern Council, they impressed upon the Prime Minister the need of appointing a full time head of the body to function both as a planner and executor. On the 11th Finance Commission's recommendations, the Forum called for wiping out the outstanding loans. They recommended that the principles of Special Category states be applied in case of Central Assistance Schemes as well to ensure speedy development. The Forum also sought for a permanent solution of flood problem by making the short and long term dam projects operational. They also suggested that dredging operations be taken up. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 26, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 25: Taking a trolley ride on a virgin railway track yet to be opened to passenger traffic is an exciting experience, the more so if it runs through lush paddy fields, forests and stretches of undulating rocky land. The Northeast Frontier Railway's (NFR) 174 km. New Bongaigaon to Kamakhya (Guwahati) BG line along the south bank of the Brahmaputra expected to be opened in January. It is the second rail route to Guwahati. The existing line, built by the British, runs along the north bank of the river. The track has been laid, stations and staff quarters built and signalling system set up. Only the station-to-station communication through optical fibre line remains to be put in place. It is expected to be completed by November. The project was cleared by the Railway Board in 1983- 84. The cost was then estimated to be Rs. 179 crore. Now, 16 years later, as it nears completion, the cost has escalated to Rs. 637 crore. The work was completed in two phases. The first phase - building the line from Jogighopa to Goalpara - was comparatively easy. It was opened to traffic on April 15, 1998. However, the second phase, bringing the line from Goalpara to Kamakhya (Guwahati), a distance of 124.34 kms. was the most formidable because militants had a free run in the area. They struck terror among those engaged in the construction work through killings, abductions and threats. A railway engineer was abducted and a supervisor of a private company was killed. Labourers fled in terror. "Progress came down to a third of the target", says . Tribhuvan Gupta, Chief Engineer (Project). Regular work could resume only after the Railway Board deployed two companies (240 men) of Railway Protection Special Force. Those nightmarish days are now behind. Gupta and his men who take pride in their work. The track is of latest design with a full ballast cushion of 250 mm. The lines are made of "continuously welded" rail, each piece 4.5 kms. in length. They ensure higher speed, more riding comfort and less wear and tear. They require no maintenance and save ten per cent on fuel. Gupta feels that the estimate of all such projects in future should include security cost also. The new line will not only open up large areas in south Assam and bring the Railways closer to the Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, but connect Guwahati with the rest of the country by a second route. (Special Correspondent; The Hindu; New Delhi; August 26, 2000)

NEW DELHI, August 26: The Oil India Limited (OIL) has cleared the hurdle to pave the way for signing of the much awaited Gas Supply Agreement (GSA), with its Board of Directors approving the agreement at a specially convened meeting here yesterday. "The last formality for signing of the GSA from our side has been completed and we are awaiting a word from the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to formally sign the agreement" a top official of the OIL, told this newspaper. With this development, the ball is now in the court of the RIL whose Board of Directors has to approve the Agreement like the OIL's Board, before the two sides can sign the agreement. However, OIL officials here had no idea when the Board of Directors of RIL is meeting and waiting for a formal communication from their side. "Our Board has approved the deal and cleared the signing of the GSA according to the agreed clause decided by both the sides", sources added. However, if the RIL Board decides to add any new condition or deviate from the agreement arrived at by the two, then the OIL Boards has to meet again to decide on the new additions, sources asserted. Indications here are that if the Board of Directors of the RIL approves the draft agreement later in the month, then the formal signing of the GSA may well take place next month. The signing of the GSA is likely to see the over Rs 3,700 crore project take off the ground. The hurdles that now remain are signing of a similar GSA with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and procurement of land for the project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh district, both the steps considered a mere formality. The ONGC is expected to go along and follow the principles adopted by the OIL that is supplying the bulk of the gas requirement of the Reliance Assam Petro-Chemical Limited (RAPL) project. The ONGC will supply 6 MCM of gas, while OIL is to supply 4.4 MCM of the total requirement of 5 MCM. Assam Government has also assured to expedite the process of acquisition of the land so as to facilitate smooth handing over of the land for the project. The site originally selected for the Project at Tenghakhat had to be abandoned following objection from the Indian Air Force. According to draft agreement arrived at by the two sides, in the event of either of the parties (OIL and RAPL) terminating the GSA before the expiry of the 15 years period (from the date of commissioning of the project) the party terminating the contract will pay to the other party liquidity damages equal to the cost of one year of interest on the total outstanding debt on the date of the termination of the contract. In the event of shortfall in supply of gas both in quantity, the OIL agreed to pay the RAPL damages at the rate of Rs. 2500/- per thousand cubic meters of loss. A document laying the principal of agreement was signed was signed on March 10, while the formed Gas Supply Agreement was to be formally signed on or before April 14. However, new problems arose subsequently, with the RIL insisting that the OIL should guarantee quality and quantity of the gas for the next 15 years, leading to a fresh stalemate. However, deadlock was finally broken with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas mediating. It has been agreed that OIL would guarantee a minimum quality. The Centre following intense pressure from the Parliamentary Standing Committee attached to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, also prevailed upon the two sides to resolve the differences. Subsequently officials of both the RAPL and OIL held several rounds of discussions. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 27, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 26: The Centre has decided to set up an Export Development Fund (EDF) with an amount of Rs 5 crore to explore the potential in the Northeast, official sources said. The Planning Commission has requested the Ministry of Finance to release the amount from the non-lapsable central pool for raising the fund. The decision came following a demand of the north-eastern states to encourage the exporters of the region. Sources further revealed that Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) would administer the fund so that it can carry out export promotion schemes for the young entrepreneurs. It may be mentioned here that despite having vast resources, export is yet to flourish in the region and hence the Centre is keen to encourage the young entrepreneurs to that end. Another fact is that, although Moreh, Sutarkandi and Dawki are the main trade points in the region, poor road communication has been a major problem, for which exporters are facing severe hardships. To overcome the hindrance, the Union Surface Transport Ministry has decided to improve the roads of the region. A section of exporters told The Assam Tribune that poor communication had severely affected their export. 'We had a good rice market in Bangladesh, but due to poor communication we have stopped our business,' they said, adding, exporters have been demanding the Central as well as the state government to improve the roads which are still in very poor shape. They also informed that despite demands from various quarters, the state government is yet to come forward to set up cold-storage facilities for which exporters are facing problem. Citrus and jackfruits have good demand in Bangladesh, but due to shortage of cold storage we have failed to meet the demand, they added. Meanwhile, APEDA has decided to conduct a survey to find out the problems faced by the exporters in the north east. Bidyut Baruah, in-charge of APEDA, Northeast, said that infrastructure of the region should be improved so that exporters can take advantage of it. It is also learnt that the Centre has drawn an action plan to set up bank branches in several border points of the region. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 27, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 27: The big tea companies operating in Assam have hatched conspiracy against the Assamese youths who have opened small gardens all over the state, alleged the All Assam Students' Union (AASU). Talking to this correspondent today, the AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharyya warned that the students' body would not tolerate such anti-local stand by the big tea companies and the AASU would launch a movement if necessary. Bhattacharyya said that setting up of small tea gardens became a means for providing employment opportunities to a number of unemployed youths in Assam. He said that the state now has about 25,000 small tea gardens, which provided employment to more than 2.50 lakh persons and helped to ease the unemployment problem to a great extent. He revealed that till recently, the small gardens used to get Rs 9.50 to Rs 10 per kg of green leaf from the big tea companies. But the big companies abruptly reduced the price of green leaf to Rs 4 to 4.50 per kg and such a move by the big companies might lead to closure of a number of small gardens, Bhattacharyya said. The AASU advisor said that the AASU would not tolerate such an action by the big tea companies. He said that the big tea companies, who were earning huge amounts of profit from the gardens in the state, should actually encourage the small gardens instead of adopting an anti-Assamese policy. He said that the small tea growers association might launch a vigorous movement against the attitude of the big companies and the AASU would not hesitate to launch a movement, if necessary. Criticising the state government, Bhattacharyya said that the state government surrendered before the big tea companies. He said that the Government did not have any control over the big tea companies and no step was taken against the gardens who were violating the rules. He alleged that though the tea companies should sell at least 75 per cent of their product through the tea auction centre, they sell only 25 per cent through it. The big companies are also violating the provisions of the MRTP Act, he alleged. Bhattacharyya said that the state government, which failed to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed youths of the state, has failed to raise its voice against the conspiracy of the big companies against the small gardens. He said that in its election manifesto the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) promised to take steps to shift the headquarters of the big tea companies to Assam, but in practice, the AGP-led Government failed to take any step in this regard. He also said that till date the state government could not conduct a survey of the land encroached by the big gardens. He also demanded that the state government should keep the interest of the state in mind while signing new land lease agreements with the big tea gardens. The AASU advisor demanded that the state government should take effective steps to encourage the small tea growers like providing them with land for the purpose, which, in turn, would enable the growers to obtain loans from the financial institutions. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 2000)

GUWAHATI, 27: It is a strange paradox. People in the Northeast, a region beset with crushing underdevelopment, are unable to utilise huge sums meant for their development. For once, however, the blame lies largely with the people themselves, some among whom have misutilised the money. Last year, the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC), a statutory corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture, had set a target of Rs 14 crore for the region for the development of agro-based and allied sector cooperatives. The allied sector includes fisheries, handloom, poultry, spinning mills, et al. But with few proposals being made by the respective state governments, through which the money is routed, most of the money remained unspent. According to sources in the NCDC's Regional Directorate here, the basic problem lies with the poor recovery record of money given to the co-operatives. The recovery rate in the region, on the average, is just 5 to 6 per cent (with a maximum of 30 per cent). "Such poor recovery is just not sustainable," the sources say. For the NCDC to sustain a viable level of operation, the recovery has to be at least 60 to 70 per cent. In the developed states of Northern and Western India NCDC has recorded recovery rates of 90 per cent and more. Disheartened by the poor recovery, many state governments in the Northeast, which actually forward funds to the cooperatives that are reimbursed by the NCDC later, have not forwarded fresh proposals to the Corporation. Assam, for example, has not forwarded any proposal for the last one year. Though the state government does not owe too big a sum to the NCDC, its bitter experience with the cooperatives has deterred it from burning its fingers again. The sources said that Assam now owes just about Rs 19 lakh to the NCDC. The experience in Nagaland is even worse. So much so that the state government has put a ban on any new funding from the NCDC until its recovery problem is solved. It has gone ahead and set up a committee to find out a solution to the recovery problem, the sources informed. "The people are in no mood or not motivated enough to pay back," the sources complain. The complaints of the state governments all over the region are the same. The state governments are bound to pay back the loan portion of the amount given by the NCDC in time otherwise they have to pay penal interests. With the present state of affairs as they are few willing to take further risks. The loan component of NCDC financed projects in the Northeast, which falls in the least developed states category, is about 60 per cent. There are concessional interest rates and greater subsidy component. "Even after all these concessions there are few takers. Money left unutilised in the region are utilised in the developed states," says the sources. The people should be made to understand that if they do not pay back the money their own future growth is impeded, they say. Despite the dismal situation, the NCDC has set aside Rs 17.11 crore for the Northeast in 2000-01. There is little hope, however, of the money being utilised. Since 1972, when it set up camp here, the NCDC has sanctioned Rs 172.36 crore to 4,302 societies in the region till the end of the last fiscal. The figure for Assam stands at Rs 89.91 crore to 1,199 societies. The NCDC does not provide financial assistance to individuals. "There is no dearth of money in the NCDC. If necessary we can release more than the target," the sources say. In fact some of the states in the country are crossing set targets. As for the Northeast even the modest sums are left wasted. (Anujata Das Talukdar; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 2000)

SHILLONG, August 27: "Insurgency and Supreme Court ban on felling of trees have come as major impediments to construction of roads and overall development of the north-eastern region," Director General of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Lt Gen AK Puri has said. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the BRO chief explained that militants in Tripura often take away vehicles and harass the construction workers resulting in disruption of works. Further, consequent upon the apex court ban, the BRO now needs to take clearance from the Ministry of Forest and Environment before a road project can be taken up. 'About five-six road schemes are held up on this account,' he informed. Speaking of the BRO's role in the development of the region, he said nearly 3,400 km of roads have been entrusted by Northeastern Council (NEC) to BRO for construction and development." So far, we have completed 2,800 km or formation and 2,200 km of surfacing and constructed Rs 170 crore worth of permanent structures on these roads." Entrusted with the job of construction of approximately 900 km of border fencing in the militant-infested Tripura, the entire project worth Rs 500 crore is planned for completion in ten years, Lt Gen Puri said. Claiming that the BRO has grown into one of the country's premier construction agencies, the Lt General said that the main strength of the organisation is its quality consciousness, speed of works and economy achieved in construction. He denied that the BRO was not employing local labour. "We want local labourers but they are so lazy. They do not want to work compelling us to import 50 per cent of the required labour-force from outside the region." The Lt General rejected charges that the BRO was employing Bangladeshi labourers in its projects. "We engage labourers only after we get clearance from local authorities. We neither have the infrastructure nor is it our responsibility to verify the nationality of the workers. It is the duty of the civil authority," he said. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 2000)

GOSSAIGAON, August 27: Largescale illegal felling of trees has hit hard the timber and other forest product-based industries in Kokrajhar district. Timber, cane, precious resources, of late, have become almost rare materials in the district. There were a good prospects for forest-product based industries in Kokrajhar district. Many timber and forest based industries including sawmills, carpentry, cane and bamboo came up during the last decade. But these industries have been hit due to the unabated illegal felling of trees and quick shrinking of forests in the entire district. The vast forest areas of the district were once covered by valuable trees like sal, sagoon, gamari, titachap etc. These areas of the forest are now left barren due to the unplanned felling of these trees which are used for making furniture. For non-availability of these trees, local carpenters of late, have been feeling inconveniences to run their small-scale industries. The matter has come to such a pass that even some carpenters have to wind up their business due to the scarcity of local raw materials. Similarly cane industry has also been hit. Encroachment of vast area of the forests and subsequent transformation of the forest area into cultivable land has been the cause of scarcity of canes in the district. Cane industries here have to import its raw material from other parts of the country. Various valuable plants including medicinal plants have also been on the wane due to the largescale deforestation and encroachment of forest area. Despite deforestation prospects for establishing forest product used industries are bright in the district if planned scientifically and systematically. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 2000)

DIBRUGARH, August 28: Alleging that the big tea companies have formed a cartel to throttle the small tea growers, the All Assam Small Tea Growers' Association (AASTGA) has called for a six-hour national highway blockade on Tuesday from 9 am, as a mark of protest. In the recent weeks, small tea growers in the upper Assam districts, especially in the Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, are facing a unique crisis: green tea leaf prices have hurtled down from Rs 10 a kilo to Rs 3 a kilo on an average. Worse, at this price too, there are very few buyers. The normally smug small tea growers are suddenly finding that their crop has virtually no buyer and hence, tonnes of green tea leaves are going waste, with some of the plucked crop being dumped on the roadsides, especially in the Doom Dooma and Tingkhong areas. Small tea growers - their numbers are in excess of 20,000 in Assam - usually are those who have plantations of seven bighas and above. Mostly local Assamese youths and largely unorganised, these small tea growers nonetheless created a niche for themselves while getting thousands involved in this green revolution of sorts. Their individual fortunes too rose in tandem with their aspirations, as input costs were kept to a minimum while they were getting a good price for the crop. That was till the onset of this year's tea making season. However, things began to go against the small tea growers from May-June this year, especially after Hindustan Lever started acquiring tea companies, and resorting to monopolistic practices. Levers, with their sway over branded tea marketing, devised strategies to close shop of the bought leaf tea manufacturers, as the latter is often accused of promoting green leaf theft in the bigger gardens. The allegation of promoting green leaf theft is of course, vehemently denied by the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers' Association (ABLTMA), saying the association too is deeply concerned at the rising incidence of green leaf thefts. The bought leaf tea makers comprise a major chunk of the buyers of green leaf from the small tea growers. Last year, the bought leaf tea makers paid the small tea growers up to Rs 13 a kilo for green leaf, increasing the premium on the crop. With this year's recession at the tea auctions, this has come down to Rs 7.50, while many bought leaf tea makers told this correspondent today that they are not in a position to offer more than Rs 5 a kilo. At the tea auction centres, prices of the economy teas stumbled by Rs 4 a kilo for each batch of the block. For instance, at the Calcutta auctions today tea prices fell by Rs 6 a kilo than last week's average. A similar price downfall is being continuously reported at the Guwahati auctions. Today, the situation is such that dust and fannings (two qualities of low grade teas) do not fetch even Rs 53 a kilo. Even so, Tata Tea is paying Rs 11.75 a kilo to the small tea growers. This price was fixed for the current tea season among the growers and the company, but with qualitative conditions. This is being taken as the price benchmark by the small growers, to which, the instant reply is that "Tata has bought Tetley, and needs to make as much tea it can, to sell in offshore markets." Surprisingly, last year's Kargil war is also being blamed for lesser made tea prices. A tea planter disclosed that not less than 50 million kilos of tea a year is smuggled into Pakistan. After Kargil, the international border is better guarded, resulting in the prevention of the unofficial sale of Indian tea in Pakistan. With such a quantity of tea lying unsold in the country, the resultant glut in the domestic market just cannot be avoided. Though tea prices at the auctions continue to plummet, this fall has not benefited customers. For the common tea consumer, no tea is available below Rs 100 a kilo, while packaged teas are priced even higher (average Rs 140 a kilo). This segment is in the hands of the major players like Hindustan Lever, Tata Tea, Duncans. And with these majors forming an unwritten cartel, things can never improve for the state's small tea growers, as they will be forced to sell under duress to keep themselves afloat. With the increase in tea crop - this year the crop increase is expected to go up by five per cent - and stagnating exports, small tea growers are in for gloomy days, at least for the next several months. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 28, 2000)

IMPHAL, August 28: An Indo-Myanmar bus service connecting Moreh with the town of Kalemyo in Myanmar may be launched by the end of this year if ongoing talks between the two sides are fruitful, according to reliable sources. It has been learnt that negotiations are currently underway at the embassy level for launching of such a bus service in November or December this year. The proposed bus service will run only once a week in the initial phases. According to our sources, it is hoped that the proposed bus service will help enhance friendly relations between the two countries. It may be mentioned that the construction of the 109 kilometres long Moreh to Kalemyo road is being undertaken by the Indian Border Road Task Force, BRTF, with considerable Indian financial investment. The road construction work is expected to be completed by next month. Trade relations between the two countries are also expected to improve with the institution of the proposed bus service as the Moreh-Kalemyo road passes through several important towns of Myanmar. Detailed discussions in this regard are expected to be taken up soon, said the sources. In the meantime, with the state government tightening security along the Indo-Myanmar border, a proposal for stationing security forces at sensitive areas is under preparation for submitting to the Union ministry of home affairs, the sources added. It may also be mentioned here that on account of frequent harassment of vehicles by NSCN(IM) cadres at Thamnapokpi for non-payment of their illegal taxes, there has been considerable clamour from public for opening a security post there. (The Imphal Free Press, E-Pao; Imphal; August 29, 2000)

NEW DELHI, August 29: The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has convened a review meeting of the gas cracker project on September 4, to take stock of the mega project. The Assam Government, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Oil India Limited (OIL) and the ONGC are likely to participate in the meeting. Confirming Assam Government's participation, the state Industries Minister Gunin Hazarika told this newspaper that they are going to ask the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to prevail upon all the parties to clear the project at the earliest. It may be mentioned the OIL board of director has cleared the draft agreement thereby clearing all hurdles for supplying gas for the project. The RIL is, however, yet to get the draft agreement cleared in its board. Hazarika today said that the state government has no idea when RIL board is meeting to ratify the draft agreement. The scene is, however, likely to clear on September 4 meeting, as all the parties involved are likely to present their status report on the progress made on the implementation of project. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 30, 2000)

GUWAHATI, August 29: The hill section of the NF Railways from Lumding to Badarpur, which serves as the lifeline for the NC Hills district and Barak Valley districts of Assam as well as to the neighbouring states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, has been severely affected by the activities of the militants and at one point of time as many as seven stations were closed down in the section for long periods. Railway sources told The Assam Tribune here today that the hill section serves as the lifeline for the movement of essential commodities to four districts of Assam and to three neighbouring states as the road communication is not up to the mark and the Railway Ministry has accorded highest priority to movement of all the essential commodities through this route. Sources said that because of the terrain, the Railway employees posted in the section always have to face tough time in maintaining the line, particularly in the rainy season. On top of all the natural problems, the activities of the militant outfits also pose a serious problem for the Railways in the section. Sources revealed that from November last up to July this year, seven stations in the section-Dijaobra, Mupa, Mahur, Migrendisa, Jatinga, Longrangajao and Mailongdisa were closed down for long periods as Railway officials deserted the station. Sources pointed out that whenever a station is closed down, apart from the harassment of the passengers, the train schedules also get affected badly. If a station is closed down, crossing of trains in that station is not possible and as a result of that the capacity of the line gets reduced to a considerable extent. Giving a detailed account of the major incidents involving the militants in the hill section in the last few years, Railway sources said that on February 25, 1995, 22 persons were killed in a blast on the Tinsukia Mail at Nailalung railway station. In July 1995, two RPF men were killed in the Maibong railway station and their weapons were snatched away. In July, 1998, the Deputy Chief Engineer, Construction was kidnapped from Mariani construction rest house. On April 12 last year, unidentified militants fired at Longcholiet railway station, in which a points man was killed. The Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel fired back and controlled the situation. The extremists also tried to set fire to the station. Sources said that the militants belonging to the NSCN and the Dima Halong Daogah (DHD) served extortion notices to the Railway staff in a number of stations in the hill section, while, there were instances where the salaries of the Railway staff were snatched away by the militants. The incidents of attacks by the militants continued this year too, as on April 2 this year, a group of militants attacked a RPSF party at Daotuhaja railway station, in which one RPSF man was killed and three others received bullet injuries. On August 4, a food grain special train was derailed near Longrangajao railway station and some rice bags were looted by miscreants. To bring the situation under control, two RPSF companies were deployed in Longoholiet railway station to look after five stations in the hill section, while Central Reserve Police force personnel have been posted at Lumding and Maibong railway stations to move frequently in the area to give a boost to the morale of the Railway employees. It may be mentioned here that the activities of the militants also affected the gauge conversion work in the section and there were reports of contractors receiving extortion notices from the militants. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 30, 2000)

JORHAT, August 29: Even as members of the All Assam Small Tea Growers' Association declared a six-hour Upper Assam road blockade today in protest against big tea gardens abruptly reducing the price of green tea leaf bought by them from the former, a leading planter here and former Assam Tea Planters' Association (ATPA) Secretary, Prabhat K Bezbaruah, justified the price nosedive by saying that it was due to manufactured tea fetching lower prices in the market under the present circumstances. A general slackening of demand and abundant availability of green tea leaf along with a mushrooming of small tea growers were some other reasons cited by Bezbaruah. In the first instance, the fall in price of green tea leaf was directly attributed to manufactured tea fetching less price in the auction market. To put it differently, it was solely the big tea companies or in other words the packers who called the shots by dictating the price as per their convenience. As they lifted a major portion of the available stocks on sale, it was their terms and conditions which prevailed. Other relatively small buyers in the state just hoped for a slump in prices and hence could never make any impact whatsoever. Most tea manufacturers were totally helpless on this front, he claimed. Secondly, on a rough estimate there is a slackening of demand in the domestic market for manufactured tea to the tune of around 50 million kg per annum. This is primarily due to the 'unofficial' reason that a bulk of the said quantity was being conveniently smuggled out by unscrupulous traders through the porous borders, of Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan to lucrative markets in Pakistan. But following tightening of security along the border after the bitter Kargil experience, these illegal yet highly profitable business channels have been totally blocked thus leading to a drastic slump in 'demand' within the 'domestic' market. Thirdly, as there is a profusion of small tea growers in recent times with abundant green tea leaf being offered for sale, hence it is but natural for the prices to plummet under such conditions. In fact, a further fall in prices of green leaf cannot be totally ruled out in the near future, he warned. However, prices offered by a group of factory owners of a particular area for the green leaf is not uniform all over the state. It does vary from place to place. Even as the total cost of manufacturing one kg of made tea from bought tea leaf roughly works out to approximately Rs 60 provided the leaf is purchased at Rs 8.50 per kg, however, the recovery percentage of made tea from the green leaf is somewhere near 0.21 per cent. Going by statistics alone, small growers who only sell green leaf stand to gain insofar as their responsibility towards labour is concerned. Other than paying them their daily wages, no other burden is shouldered by them, where it is just the contrary in case of gardens with manufacturing facilities, Bezbaruah reasoned. In any case, he felt that the Tea Board should rigorously pursue a programme so as to stimulate internal domestic demand and at the same time politically ease the situation so as to facilitate tapping of the potential market in Pakistan. In an effort of lessen the burden on garden authorities, the Government should also take over social responsibilities like provision of medical assistance, child care, schooling etc, in the tea gardens. In the overall analysis, these measures would help the gardens to flourish, and in its wake allow several other ancillary industries and individuals directly or indirectly associated with the tea business to also prosper. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 30, 2000)

NEW DELHI, August 31: The Assam Government today asked for Central assistance to bail out the small tea growers in the state, pleading for Central subsidy to avert the crisis. The plight of the small tea growers was high on the agenda of the meeting between the Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and the Union Home Minister, L K Advani here this afternoon to review the state's law and order situation. The Chief Minister later told this newspaper that he has urged the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to come to the rescue of the small tea growers and to prevail upon the Commerce Ministry to sanction subsidy to protect the interest of the growers as done in case of the South Indian states. In the South, Mahanta said, the Commerce Ministry on recommendations of the Tea Board allocates subsidy to protect the interest of the small tea growers. "We want the same kind of arrangements to be put in place in case of Assam also, where over 15 lakh tonnes of tea leaves have been dumped into the Brahmaputra affecting the fate of 25,000 small tea growers," Mahanta said. The Union Home Minister has assured that he would look into the problem, he said. Meanwhile, the Assam Government today again pleaded with the Centre to again initiate steps to prevail upon the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar to evict the ULFA leaders from the countries and uproot the training camps being operated in those countries. The Chief Minister claimed that despite assurances by these countries situation on the ground has remained unchanged. The Chief Minister asked the Centre to again take diplomatic initiative - with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar to curtail the activities of the outfits. It may be mentioned here that even the External Affairs Ministry during the recently concluded monsoon session of the Parliament in reply to questions from the MPs had conceded that though Bangladesh has assured that it would not allow insurgents to misuse its soil for anti-India activities, it has reports that the rebels were still operating a few camps in the country. Mahanta on his part, has been insisting that the Pakistan Embassy in Dhaka, has been directly aiding the rebels with weapons and logistical support. The contention was supported by the Ministry of External Affairs which too admitted that it has similar reports. Meanwhile, Mahanta reportedly apprised the Home Minister that a fresh batch of ULFA cadres are waiting in the wings to lay down arms, though the state government has made little progress in its efforts to open a dialogue with the ULFA leadership, which is still opposed to come for talks. Apart from the review of the law and order situation, the most important item on the agenda for discussion with the Home Minister was the 11th Finance Commission's recommendation. The issue related to opposition by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the proposal to write off the loans taken by the state to fight insurgency. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 31, 2000)