THURSDAY 14 NOVEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard US president-elect Donald Trump with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday | AP MUSK, RAMASWAMY TO LEAD U.S. DEPARTMENT OF GOVT EFFICIENCY AUTHOR SAMANTHA HARVEY WINS BOOKER PRIZE British writer won the prize for fiction with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders beauty of Earth. PAGE 9 President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) TRUMP CALLS IT THE NEW MANHATTAN PROJECT A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 SC brakes on bulldozer justice  Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will advise his incoming administration on ways to slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies to improve efficiency. Trump called it possibly the ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our times, referring to the World War 2-era US project to build the atomic bomb | P9 PAGES 12 466 466 465 460 400 400 CHANDNI CHOWK LODHI ROAD Lays down strict guidelines for demolishing property; says executive can’t act as judiciary S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi AUTHORITIES can’t demolish people’s homes in an arbitrary manner simply because the property owners are accused of crimes, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court passed a slew of panIndia directions to stop the practice of ‘bulldozer justice’. A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and K V Viswanathan made it clear demolitions cannot be done without due notice and without giving time for the affected persons to appeal against the proposed action in an appropriate forum. The order of the bench came with a caveat that it will not be applicable on unauthorised WHAT THE COURT SAID Executive can’t decide an accused is guilty and punish him by demolishing his property No demolition without prior 15-day notice The notice shall be served by registered post and fixed on the building’s outer portion Demolition action should be videographed and report sent to the district collector structures in public places. Pronouncing the verdict after hearing a batch of petitions against what is known as bulldozer justice, the bench said that the executive cannot overstep its constitutional remit. “The executive cannot become a judge, decide that an accused is guilty and punish him by demolishing his properties as such an act would be transgressing its limits,” it said. Quoting the famous lines of popular Hindi poet Pradeep, the court said, it is the dream of every person to have his/her own home. “A house is an embodiment of the collective hopes of a family or individuals’ stability and security,” it said, suggesting that the authorities must be cognizant of the consequences of their arbitrary actions. In its verdict, the court laid down strict guidelines to be followed for demolition. It warned that in case of violations, the officers concerned will be responsible for restitution of property at personal cost, in addition to damages. “Right to life is a fundamental right... the right to shelter has also been considered as one of the facets of Article 21 of the Constitution,” the bench said. It also noted that several people, even more than one family , may be staying in a house. In such a scenario, could the authorities demolish the entire structure just because one of the residents is an accused or convicted in a crime, it asked. “It is not a happy sight to see women, children and aged persons dragged to the streets overnight. Heavens would not fall on the authorities if they hold their hands for some period,” the court observed. 39 held, notices slapped on 67 over abusive social media posts in Andhra CAPTAIN, 5 OTHERS BANNED FOR AGE FRAUD As many as six Hyderabad players including the one selected to captain the state team in the BCCI’s Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Men’s U19) were banned for age fudging. It is learnt that a few parents mailed the Indian cricket board after the Hyderabad Cricket Association picked up the squad (15 plus 5 standbys) for the event. Police investigated the case and found allegations true | P11 P H A N I N D R A PA PA S A N I @ Vijayawada IN what appears to be a step to keep social media platforms free of abusive language, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led NDA government has launched a major crackdown on those posting such content against political leaders, their family members and individuals. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior official from Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) said 67 notices under Section 35(3) of BNSS have been served to various people for posting abusive, defamatory , promoting enmity between g roups and castes, obscene morphed photos of various political leaders. In all, 39 people have been arrested G77, China agree on new NCQG draft text as basis for finance negotiations S V KRISHNA CHAITANYA EXPRESS IN BAKU T HE first iteration of the draft New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) released on Wednesday found most of the G77 countries and China agreeing to use it as the basis for negotiations to achieve an ambitious climate finance goal. It’s a 34-page draft as against the nine-page pre-COP draft that was rejected by developing countries saying it does not represent their stance. While some observers called the new draft also “non-workable” as it simply put all the options in black and white, others saw some positives in it. The draft acknowledges that in line with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, the NCQG is the sole obligation of developed countries to provide and mobilise climate finance to developing countries and must accurately reflect the establishment of operational features in line with the needs and priorities of developing countries. However, it throws up six options on the quantum of NCQG with a lot of brackets. “It decides to set a new collective quantified goal on climate finance [of USD X] [from a floor of USD 100 billion] [of at least USD 1 trillion] [of USD 1.1 trillion][of at least USD 1.3 trillion] [of USD 2 trillion] per year [in grant-equivalent terms] [from 2025 to 2029] [from 2025 to 2030] [from 2025 to 2035] [from 2026 to 2035] [by 2030] p r ov i d e d a n d m o b i l i s e d by developed country CONTINUED ON P9 Parties.” WHO WANTS WHAT Arab Group: Wants minimum $441bn delivered from 2025 US: “Entirely fair” new donors (China, Saudi) start delivering cash Pakistan: Grants should make up 70% of the target Turkey: Multi-layered approach an option but requires detail G77+China: Target must focus on funds going from developed to developing nations Alliance of Small Island States: Overall goal $1 trillion-plus, small islands need specific support Japan: Target cannot be delivered just by developed countries UK: Goal could have ‘inner’ layer in billions and ‘outer’ layer in trillions Africa : $1.3 trillion target required by 2030 with overall $6.5 trillion goal EU: New goal can only be hit if all major polluters step up GUTTER MENTALITY Over 80% of the offensive posts targeted minister Anitha, actor N Balakrishna’s wife Vasundhara, CM’s wife, Dy CM’s daughters, YS Sharmila, CID officials said and around 100 cases booked, CID officials said. However, the opposition YSRCP alleged that more than 650 notices were served to its party activists, 147 cases filed and 49 people arrested over social media posts in a week. CID officials urged the public to lodge complaints if they were subjected to slander and abuse on social media. Expressing serious concern over the growing malicious propaganda and personal abuse, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had several times in the past warned YSRCP leaders and its social media team not to cross the line. He also advised his own party leaders as also ally Janasena and social media activists, to respond to abusive posts in a dignified manner. “YSRC activists resorted to posting offensive comments against Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and his family, home minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Balakrishna’s wife Vasundhara. They did not even spare APCC president Y S Sharmila Reddy her mother , Vijayamma, and cousin N Sunitha Reddy A new legislation . is needed to prevent such post under the pretext of freedom of speech,” Naidu opined. ASHOK VIHAR JAHANGIRPURI SONIA VIHAR CITY CHOKES WITH WORST AQI Students have been recommended to use face masks | SHEKHAR YADAV Fog or smog? Schools begin to stop outdoor activity as AQI severe I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi DELHI’S air quality on Wednesday turned “severe” for the first time this season, pulling visibility down to zero at the IGIA. Some schools also suspended outdoor activities and recommended masks as a safety measure for students as concerned parents as well as the Opposition demanded closure of schools. A Gurugram school informed parents via an email that the outdoor activities have been suspended and online classes will be conducted from November 14. Advising students to wear masks for the coming week, the school said: “Due to the severe pollution levels, we are suspending all outdoor activities for the day The . school will be closely monitoring the AQI levels throughout the day in order to ensure the safety and well being of our students.” A “dense fog” blanketed the national capital on Wednesday morning even as calm winds prevailed across the region and continued to prevent the dispersion of pollutants deteriorating the air quality to the higher end of the “very poor” category . The IMD, however, said mostly fog prevailed across Delhi over the past two weeks. It said it was fog and not smog in the early hours of the day The IMD calls it fog if the . relative humidity is over 75% and smog if it is less than 75%, with visibility less than 1,000 metres in both cases. An IMD official said wind speed marginally picked up to 10 kmph during the day on Saturday and Sunday It was expected to be . around 4-6 kmph on Monday P4 . Place: Lodhi Garden Time: 8:40 am | SHEKHAR YADAV WIND SPEED MATTERS The Commission for Air Quality Management said owing to strong winds, pollutant concentration may start showing a declining trend Thursday onwards. It said, “After a review, it has been decided to closely monitor situation and will reassess the status on Thursday.” Mann chopper fails to take off, 10 flights from Delhi diverted H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh AIRPORTS in Delhi and Chandigarh on Wednesday bore the brunt of heavy smog: 10 flights were diverted from the national capital, including six to Jaipur and one to Lucknow. And in Punjab, where a record 7,112 stubble burning cases have been reported, CM Bhagwant Mann’s flight could not take off from Chandigarh for Bathinda, forcing him to travel by road. On Tuesday, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar was unable to land at Ludhiana due to poor visibility. The plane carrying Dhankhar was diverted to Amritsar International Airport, where Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney and Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar rushed to receive the Vice-President. After landing at Amritsar, the plane got refueled and took off to Indore. Flights between Delhi and A m r i t s a r o n We d n e s d ay morning were delayed by over two hours due to very low visibility amid hazardous AQI in both the cities. Low visibility due to smog has also caused inconvenience to commuters. The air quality in Chandigarh remained in the “very poor” category with experts suggesting people curtail outdoor activity and keep a check on biomass burning. The AQI at the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana was 372, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. BRISK POLLING IN JHARKHAND AS VOTERS DEFY MAOIST THREAT EXPRESS READ Punjab to add PM-SHRI prefix to 233 schools After a standoff between the AAP-led Punjab government and the BJP-led Centre, the state has agreed to implement PM-SHRI project. At least 233 government schools in Punjab will be renamed with the prefix. The state will get `500 crore from the Centre to implement the NEP 2020. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi ‘White category’ industries exempted The Centre has exempted the “white category” industries from the mandatory requirement to obtain environmental clearance from CPCB to operate. Now, the industries don’t need consent from State Pollution Control Boards to prove its operations do not cause water and air pollution. ANAND VIHAR An elderly voter being assisted in reaching a polling station in Khunti district of Jharkhand on Wednesday | PTI DESPITE Maoist threats, the first phase of voting for 43 Assembly seats in Jharkhand concluded peacefully with 64.86% voting turnout till 5 pm. Registering its presence after a gap, the People’s Liberation Front of India, an offshoot of the CPI (Maoist), had put up posters near Ranchi and Khunti districts calling for a boycott of Assembly polls in Jharkhand. However, it did not have any effect on voters, police said. “Voting, which commenced at 7 am, was held peacefully without any incidents of violence,” stated an official communiqué from the Election Commission of India. IG operations and Jharkhand Police spokesperson A V Homkar said that all the 15 districts in which the elections were held were Maoist-infested and it was a big challenge for the police to conduct peaceful polling. “But, the elections were held peacefully without even a single Maoist incident in all 43 Assembly seats. Out of the total 15, 334 polling booths during the first phase of polling, 2249 were identified as sensitive from a Naxal point of view for which huge deployment of forces were done to avoid any untoward situation,” said Homkar. P8 64.86% Voter turnout recorded, up from 63.9% in 2019 polls ROBUST PHASE 1 Highest polling in Kharsawan, at 77.32% No takers for boycott call by People’s Liberation Front of India, an offshoot of CPI (Maoist) 43 seats up for grabs (17 general seats, 20 ST, 6 SC) 683 candidates (609 men, 73 women, 1 third-gender) Ex-CM Champai Soren, ex-MP Geeta Kora among candidates 1.37 crore voters in first phase of voting Remaining 38 seats will vote in Phase-2 polling on Nov 20 Docs under attack: TN oncologist stabbed, Indore medic beaten EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai/Bhopal/New Delhi TWO doctors on duty were attacked and left injured by patient attendants in separate incidents, highlighting the rising violence ag ainst medical professionals. Dr J Balaji (53), a medical oncologist at the Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital at Guindy in Chennai, was stabbed seven times on Wednesday allegedly by a patient’s son over grievances regarding the cancer treatment offered to his mother at the facility The doc. tor is being treated at the ICU, where his condition is stable, sources said. While the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association has announced an indefinite suspension of all OPDs and elective surgeries in protest against the attack, Health Minister Ma Subramanian claimed that the protest has been called off. However, the doctor associations told this newspaper that they would continue their protest untill there is improvement in security . According to sources, the suspect, M Vignesh (26), en- Dr J Balaji being rushed for treatment after attack on Wednesday | ASHWIN PRASATH tered the doctor’s room at the medical oncology OPD with a concealed knife and allegedly stabbed the doctor multiple times with the weapon, leaving him bleeding profusely . In a separate incident, a junior doctor and a female security guard were attacked by attendants of a minor patient at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore late Tuesday night. T h e i n c i d e n t o c c u r re d around 11 pm at MY Hospital’s new chest ward, which also houses the paediatric ICU, where the child was undergoing treatment. A doctor working at the hospital said two children were being treated on the same ICU bed due to high patient load. Enraged over this, the attendants of a patient abused and at- tacked Dr Shwetank Soni and and a security guard. The police filed an FIR and arrested two persons. Following the incident, a group of doctors met the dean of MGM Medical College and the hospital management and raised their concerns over security. They threatened to boycott work if their concerns are not addressed within a week. Expressing concern, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) said strong deterrent legislations, exemplary punishments, and proactive safety measures are the need of the hour.