FRIDAY 07 MARCH, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard GST COUNCIL PANEL TO EXPLORE POSSIBILITY OF CESS IN CALAMITIES UKRAINE EMERGENCY TALKS ON MILITARY AID EU leaders held emergency talks to increase their military budgets after the Trump administration signaled that Europe must take care of its own security. PAGE 9 GADKARI FIAT Faulty road construction reports under ‘FIR’e PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi UNION minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday recommended registration of a police case against those responsible for faulty detailed project reports (DPRs) for road construction that result in deaths in road accidents. Gadkari said he had observed ‘thousands of mistakes’ in DPRs and blamed civil engineers for the spike in road accident rates and fatalities across India. “The most important culprits are civil engineers… I am directly taking the name because after 10 years of my experience, I am coming to this conclusion. The most important culprit is who makes the DPR. And there are thousands of mistakes… persons who are responsible, we should register an FIR against them and take them i n c u s t o dy, ” Nitin Gadkari said Gadkari. The minister was speaking at the Global Road Infratech Summit & Expo (The GRIS 2025) organised by International Road Federation (IRF) India Chapter in Delhi. Gadkari has been vocal about poor quality of DPRs. In the past too, he has blamed the reports for delay in projects and road accidents. Last year, NHAI created a DPR cell to ensure better construction standards, cost-effectiveness, and timely completion of national highway projects. Expressing concern over deaths of young citizens in road accidents, Gadkari said bureaucratic set-ups take years to improve or rectify faults in road design despite timely interventions by his ministry . “Because of small civil engineering mistakes, there are hundreds of deaths. I do not know why there is no sensitiveness… bureaucratic systems take years,” Gadkari said. The minister called upon industry members to develop strategies to enhance road safety “My first suggestion to you . as an international road federation is just take all records and give it to me. I will stamp it, and make it mandatory he said. ,” A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 The seven-member GoM, headed by UP Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, will examine the constitutional and legal feasibility of levy of a special cess by states for revenue mobilisation in case of a natural calamity. Simultaneously, it would examine whether the special cess should be restricted to specific sectors or should be across the board Khalistani bid to Capital breathes best air in 5 months heckle Jaishankar 290 at London rapped 73 I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi Govt assails misuse of democratic freedom; UK claims its police acted swiftly, none held J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi TAKING strong exception to Khalistani supporters breaching the security of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in London, India on Thursday said it expects the UK to live up to its diplomatic obligations while deploring the “misuse of democratic freedoms”. “We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of EAM to the UK. We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists. We deplore their misuse of democratic freedoms. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations,” the External Affairs Ministry said. Later, the UK strongly condemned the security breach, saying such attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events are “completely unacceptable”. The incident occurred when a group of proKhalistan extremists tried to disrupt Jaishankar’s visit for a discussion at Chatham House in London. The breach took place as the minister was leaving the venue after the event. A video circulating online shows an individual aggressively charging toward Jaishankar’s convoy Taking advan. tage of the police officers’ brief hesitation, the protester tore the Tricolour while others in the group shouted slogans from a distance. Earlier, Jaishankar held Video grab of the heckler STRONGLY CONDEMN IT: UK FOREIGN OFFICE “We strongly condemn the incident that took place outside Chatham House” during the visit, a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said on Thursday talks with the UK’s Secretary of State for Home, Yvette Cooper, focusing on issues such as trafficking and extremism. Concerns over the activities of Khalistan separatists in the UK were reportedly part of the discussions, as India has repeatedly raised this matter with British authorities. The British authorities said the police acted swiftly to address the situation. A Met Police spokesperson said the protester was quickly intercepted by officers. He did not get close to the minister, who was able to leave without further incident. There were no arrests. DELHI saw its best air quality in five months on Thursday as strong winds led to a sharp decline in pollution levels. The city’s air quality showed improvement for the sixth consecutive day, clocking an air quality index of 119, the Capital’s best since it recorded a “satisfactory” AQI of 76 on September 29, 2024, according to a Central Pollution Control Board’s bulletin. In 2024 (until December 27), Delhi had witnessed 155 days of ‘poor’, ‘very poor’, or ‘severe’ air quality with an AQI , of 200 or more. For the first time in six years, the city did not witness even one day of ‘good’ air quality, with AQI less than 50, in 2024. “Improvement in AQI was 174 164 169 154 162 190 NOV 2021 MOST POLLUTED AQI TRENDS 2020 2025 DATA 2021 AUG 2020 LEAST POLLUTED 2022 2023 JAN 2024 2025 219 FEB 170 MAR 133 Strong surface winds helped in dispersal of pollutants and kept AQI low. The air quality will deteriorate in the coming days as wind speed is expected to go down — Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet aided by strong surface winds, which start receding from Thursday, leading to an increase in minimum and maximum temperatures,” the IMD said in a bulletin. The national capital has been experiencing an unexpected chill for the past three days with the temperature dipping due to strong winds. The minimum at the Safdarjung weather station was recorded at 11.8 degrees Celsius, 30,000+ taxpayers declare foreign assets worth `29,208 cr in spl drive D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi A special drive to ‘nudge’ taxpayers to disclose their foreign assets and income has resulted in over 30,000 taxpayers declaring foreign assets worth `29,208 crore and additional foreign income of `1,090 crore, according to government sources. The campaign also made 6,734 taxpayers change their residential status from resident to nonresident. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched the compliance-cum-awareness campaign on 17 November 2024, urging taxpayers to declare their foreign assets and income in revised income tax returns (ITRs) for assessment year (AY) Common Reporting Standards helped India is an adopter of Common Reporting Standards (CRS), under which more than 125 nations agreed to share financial information of individuals 2024-25. As part of the campaign, SMS and emails were sent to 19,501 taxpayers with high foreign account balances or significant foreign income from interest or dividends above a specified threshold. The tax department also organised 30 outreach sessions, seminars and webinars across India, engaging over 8,500 participants directly . Government sources said approximately 62% of taxpayers approached by the department responded positively voluntar, ily revising their ITRs to declare foreign assets and income. The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income on a voluntary basis has steadily grown from 60,000 in AY2021-22 to 231,452 taxpayers in AY 2024-25. “This year, due to extensive outreach and awareness efforts, voluntary disclosures witnessed a significant 45.17% growth compared to AY 202324,” said a source. “At the heart of this campaign lies the Trust First approach, which prioritises volu n t a r y c o m p l i a n c e ove r enforcement,” said a government source. EASING TRAFFIC COPS, DTC IN HUDDLE TO DECONGEST ROADS N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi BREAKTHROUGH The DMRC on Thursday completed tunnelling work on Phase 4 of the Golden Line project between Kishangarh and Vasant Kunj stations. A 91-metre-long Tunnel Boring Machine completed the excavation of the 1,550-metre tunnel | PARVEEN NEGI 26/11 accused Rana seeks US SC stay on extradition reports detailing instances of extrajudicial killings, custodial WEEKS after US President torture and mistreatment of Donald Trump announced detainees. Mumbai terror attack accused On February 12, 2025, the day Tahawwur Rana’s extradition Prime Minister Narendra Modi to India, the convict made a arrived in Washington to meet last-ditch plea before the US Su- President Trump, the State Depreme Court seeking an partment notified Raemergency stay on the na’s counsel that the decision. He claimed he Secretary of State had faces a high risk of tordecided to authorise his ture and death if handsurrender to India. ed over to India. His defense claimed Rana also argued that that his identity as a his extradition would Muslim of Pakistani violate international origin, along with his and US legal protec- Tahawwur Rana past service in the Pakitions against torture. stani Army, would put His legal team claimed that him at a greater risk of misRana, now 64, is in deteriorat- treatment in India. ing health and unlikely to surRana is a known associate of vive long enough to stand trial David Coleman Headley a Paki, in India. They also claimed that stani-American terrorist who India’s criminal justice system played a crucial role in planhas a documented history of ning the November 26, 2008, athuman rights violations, refer- tacks in Mumbai, which killed encing US State Department 166 people, including civilians. S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi  GST Council has constituted a Group of Ministers to suggest policies for levying a special calamity cess in case of natural disasters in states EXAMINING FEASIBILITY OF CESS IS NEXT STEP EXPRESS READ Coal mine roof collapses in MP’s Betul, 3 killed ‘Z’ security to Kejriwal to continue, says MHA Three workers were killed after a roof collapsed in a coal mine of Western Coalfields Limited in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district on Thursday, the police said, adding that two of the deceased were locals, while the third was from Kawardha in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has decided not to withdraw ‘Z’ category security cover to former CM Arvind Kejriwal for the time being. Sources said that a final call will be taken following a detailed review by the Intelligence Bureau and the Delhi Police | P4 THE Delhi Police on Thursday held a meeting with Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Delhi Integrated MultiModal Transit System (DIMTS) officials to discuss the breakdown management of cluster buses. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ajay Chaudhry . An official said that the real-time information will be shared via WhatsApp group so that the bus can be fixed in time in order to keep the traffic flow smooth. During the meeting, DTC’s managing director Sachin Shinde informed that they currently take 90 minutes to attend any breakdown bus in any place of the city. Shinde said that the DTC seeks to bring down the response time to 60 minutes by identifying congestion-prone locations. Cranes will be deployed at the congestion-prone locations for immediate removal of buses from the main carriageway the , officials said. Janakpuri to Delhi Cantt is one such congestion-prone location where breakdown of buses considerably delay the traffic movement, the officials said. EFFORTS ON RECOVERY Recovery vans deployed at 10 locations Data Centre for real-time tracking of stalled buses Dress code for members of recovery teams as well as recovery vehicles for easy identification by traffic cops DTC has identified locations where VVIP movement frequently takes place marking a dip of 3.8°C from a day earlier and 1.6°C below normal. Both the Lodhi Road and Ayanagar stations recorded a minimum of 9.6°C. The AQI was 148 (“moderate”) on Tuesday, 156 on Monday, 125 on Sunday, 126 on Saturday and 121 on Friday. Delhi’s satellite cities also clocked improved air quality: Noida recorded an AQI of 98 (satisfactory), Greater Noida 149 (‘moderate’), and Gurugram 145 (‘moderate’) on Wednesday . “Strong surface winds, with a speed up to 40 kmph, helped in dispersal of pollutants and kept AQI low. The air quality will deteriorate in the coming days as wind speed is expected to go down,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet. IMMEDIATE EFFECT Govt suspends 2 DMC officials over corruption A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi THE Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has found itself at the centre of a major controversy with the city government suspending the president and vicepresident of the medical body over allegations of financial misconduct and defiance of government orders. The new BJP government’s action to weed out corruption is significant as the previous AAP dispensation used to showcase its work on health. Dr Arun Gupta and Dr Naresh Chawla are accused of unlawfully extending the tenure of council’s registrar Dr Girish Tyagi, despite multiple directives to relieve him. At the centre of the controversy is Dr Tyagi, who was supposed to retire in 2019 upon reaching the age of 60. But Dr Gupta, as DMC president, allegedly amended recruitment rules without government approval, allowing Dr Tyagi to continue in office for five more years until 2024. He was later granted an additional year. Despite repeated orders from the health department to relieve Dr Tyagi, the DMC leadership reportedly refused to comp l y. “ D M C o r c h e s t r a t e d unlawful extensions for Dr. Girish Tyagi by manipulating official records and defying Rule 36 of the DMC Act. In 2019, the President allowed extension to the registrar (60 years to 65 years) without approval from the government despite knowing the fact that the Dr Girish Tyagi is holding is administrative Post only and as per Fundamental Rule 56 of DoPT, he had to retire at the age of 60 years,” the suspention order stated. The health department has now ordered recovery of all salaries and benefits paid to Dr Tyagi since 2019, citing financial losses to the exchequer. The suspension notice has also demanded explanations over these irregularities. HINDU MARRIAGE ACT Curious case of Indore family court denying divorce to Jains A N U R A A G S I N G H @ Bhopal A series of petitions have been filed by the Jain community in the Madhya Pradesh High Court against an Indore family court’s orders denying them relief in matrimonial disputes/ matters under provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. First Additional Principal Judge, Family Court-Indore Dhirendra Singh, refused re- lief to multiple Jain couples under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, which deals with divorce by mutual consent. In one of the orders passed on a petition of a 35-year-old advocate and her 37-year-old senior software engineer husband, the judge said, “Followers of Jainism don’t have any right to get relief un- der the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, as they have rejected the basic Vedic beliefs of Hinduism and have established themselves as minorities after separating from Hindu religion since 2014.” The judge further said, “the followers of Jainism are at liberty to file pleas in accordance with the well established old religious and social traditions of their religion, under Section 7 of the Family Court Act to get their marital disputes resolved.” A division bench of the MP High Court in Indore, while looking into the controversy, appointed Indore-based senior advocate A K Sethi as amicus curiae to assist the court. The HC said as many as 28 petitions filed under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act have been dismissed by Judge Singh. “Jains have been getting their matrimonial disputes resolved under the Hindu Marriage Act for a long time, since they have no separate marriage law. Indore district has five family court benches, but only one of them has passed the order while hearing multiple petitions in a day last month,” said Pankaj Khandelwal, the counsel in one the cases.