FRIDAY MEXICO , CANADA, CHINA TARIFFS FROM MARCH 4 28 FEBRUARY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in US President Donald Trump said illicit drugs are still pouring into the US from Mexico facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard 25% I S R A E L S AY S WON’T WITHDRAW FROM GAZA In a jolt to truce, Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for in the ceasefire, an official said Thursday PAGE 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 Tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods to kick in next week 10% Extra duty on Chinese goods, over and above 10% tariff levied on February 4 We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the US... The proposed tariffs will, indeed, go into effect... The tariffs on Mexico and Canada, announced earlier, was paused on February 3 for 1 month; it will now go live on March 4 Experts say the tariffs carry the risk of higher prices for American consumers and slower growth for the US economy | P9 ‘Duplicate registrations’: CAG exposes `220 cr irregularities in Ladli scheme A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit has uncovered massive discrepancies amounting to over `220 crore in the Ladli Scheme, launched to provide financial assistance for girls’ education. The audit documents, exclusively accessed by this newspaper, revealed thousands of duplicate and fraudulent registrations, an excess payment of over `41 crore, and a staggering `618.38 crore lying unclaimed. The report found that the Women and Child Development department overseeing the scheme failed to verify benefici- ary details, leading to widespread duplication. It identified over 36,000 cases where beneficiaries’ names, birth dates, and parental infor mation were identical, raising concerns about fraudulent enrollments. The CAG report, yet to be tabled in the assembly, reveals 3.57 lakh instances of bus breakdowns on city roads during 2014-2021 with a daily average of 139. In 70% cases, it took more than 30 minutes to remove the buses. P3 SC upholds power of arrest by GST, Customs officers Says officers’ authority to arrest is ancillary to their power to levy goods & services tax D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi people who commit such crimes and may not do justice to the THE Supreme Court on Thurs- victims. day upheld the constitutional The bench, however, was validity of the arrest provi- mindful of the abuse of such sions under the Goods and powers and said the judicial reServices Tax Act and the Cus- view may be exercised when toms Act. there is arbitrariness or gross While rejecting a batch of violation of the statutory safepleas challenging these provi- guards provided under law. It sions, a bench of Chief Justice said anticipatory bail could be Sanjiv Khanna, Justice allowed even in cases Bela M Trivedi, and where FIR is not filed Justice M M Sundresh but the threat of arrest upheld the legislative is imminent. amendments that clas“By striking a delisify specific economic cate balance between offenses as cognizable enforcement powers Use it with and personal liberty, and non-bailable. due caution the judgment ensures This means enforcement authorities will SC maintained that while the governhave the power to arment can take stringent that the rest individuals withaction against financial powers to out prior judicial ap- arrest must be offenses, citizens’ funproval in cases of exercised with damental rights remain serious violations protected,” said Abdue caution such as tax evasion exhishek A Rastogi, and in ceeding specified founder of law firm compliance thresholds, fraudulent Rastogi Chambers. with the claims of tax exemp- constitutional Rajat Mohan, senior tions, or misuse of partner, AMRG & Assosafeguards trade instruments. ciates, said the judgAcknowledging the impor- ment is an affirmation of the tance of special Acts like GST legislative intent behind these and Customs Act, the SC said economic laws. “This landmark these Acts have specific objec- decision not only reinforces the tives, and that the power of ju- legal architecture of andicial review in cases of arrest ti-evasion mechaunder such special laws should n i s m s b u t a l s o be exercised very cautiously brings much-needand in rare circumstances. It ed clarity to the added that frequent judicial in- enforcement of terference in the functioning arrest provisions of the officers combating seri- under these statous crimes may embolden the utes,” he said. According to the findings, 16,546 duplicate and 131 triplicate registrations were detected among 8.84 lakh active beneficiaries as of December 2022. This resulted in an excess payment of `11.49 crore. In another 20,127 cases, where either the names or dates of birth matched, `29.23 crore was disbursed. The audit also highlighted that the department did not integrate Aadhaar verification until May 2023, allowing multiple enrollments of the same beneficiary The de. partment only initiated steps to incorporate the Ladli Scheme into the Direct Benefit Transfer system that May This failure to . ensure a foolproof registration process led to significant financial irregularities. The CAG flagged another primary concern: nearly 9 percent of beneficiaries were enrolled after turning 18, the scheme’s maturity age, causing a financial loss of `180.92 crore. The audit found that 78,065 beneficiaries who had already crossed the eligible age at enrollment had accounts accumulating funds. “In many cases, the column ‘Date of Birth’ was blank,” it stated. Meanwhile, a staggering `618.38 crore for beneficiaries Report says that 40% of countdown timers, installed at traffic signals to help drivers decide on switching off vehicle ignition, were not functional. It pointed out absence of advisory on signals. P3 remained unspent since the scheme’s inception, even as lakhs of eligible girls have crossed the maturity age, the audit report has revealed. The initiative was launched in 2008 during the tenure of late former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to provide financial assistance to girls at different stages of their education and a lump sum amount of up to `1 lakh upon turning 18. As of December 31, 2022, around 4.9 lakh girls, out of 8.84 lakh active beneficiaries, which amounts to 55% of the scheme’s total active enrollees, had not received their due benefits despite meeting the eligibility criteria,the audit said. The report states that `236.03 crore remained unclaimed by 1.26 lakh beneficiaries aged 18 to 20 years. Another `224.56 crore was not disbursed to 1.18 lakh beneficiaries between the ages of 20 and 26, while `157.78 crore never went to 77,000 girls now over 26 years old. Additionally, 1,74,960 cases where beneficiaries met the maturity criteria were left unsettled. The WCD claimed that efforts were made to contact eligible beneficiaries through public notices in the newspapers. However, the audit found that such notices were issued only twice—on September 10, 2020, and June 17, 2022. It highlighted that the beneficiaries enrolled annually dropped by 69%—from 1,39,773 in 2009-10 to just 43,415 in 202021. Girls’ enrolment at birth plummeted from 23,871 in 200910 to 3,153 in 2020-21. HC FIAT ON TOXIC UNION CARBIDE WASTE UPHELD Tuhin Kanta Pandey is the new Sebi chief S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Centre has appointed Finance and Revenue Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The appointment is for three years. Pandey a 1987-batch IAS , officer of the Odisha cadre, will be taking over from Madhabi Puri Buch, who is demitting office on February 28. The past two m o n t h s h av e been hectic for Pandey who was , quietly implementing the government’s disinvestment policies till the first week of January 2025. Three weeks before the Budget, he was called in as a replacement for Arunish Chawla to head the revenue department, where he oversaw one of the biggest Budget announcements—the big tax relief to the common man. A Masters in Economics from Panjab University and an MBA from the University of Birmingham, Pandey has held many significant positions. THE Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order on transportation and safe disposal of all toxic waste from Bhopal’s ill-fated Union Carbide plant at a treatment unit in the industrial town Pithampur in the state. A two-judge bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih also refused to stay Thursday’s trial run of the disposal of 30 metric tonnes of the waste at Pithampur. Hours later, incineration of the toxic waste generated from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy began. Indore-based Gandhian Chinmay Mishra was among those who had challenged the HC order. But the bench observed, “You seem to be following the NIMBY principle, that is, not in my backyard. You are saying if they want to pollute, they may do it somewhere else, but not in my backyard. Not in Indore.” The court pointed out that the HC had considered the views of experts from institutes of repute and recognition like NEERI, NGRI and CPCB before arriving at its decision. Won’t sit “The impugned high court oron opinion der would reveal that it took a of experts serious view of the lethargic The bench said manner in which the state government was dealing with the it couldn’t sit on the opinion disposal of waste. It is revealed of experts, who that only after the direction from the high court, the matter had already has moved. The high court is approved the transportation monitoring the matter. So, we and disposal of do not find any reason to interfere with the impugned order,” the toxic the bench said. Bhopal gas While granting some liberty, tragedy waste the judges asked the aggrieved parties to approach the high court. It said the petitioner and intervenors could also give their suggestions to the state government, which would place them before an expert committee for further consideration. Senior lawyer Devadatt Kamat, appearing for Mishra, said as per certain reports, the protocol for safe transit and destruction were not followed. Senior advocate Anand Grover said there were better ways of disposal of the toxic waste than incineration. P8 D I PA K M O N DA L @ New Delhi TESTING TIME Students after appearing for Class 12 CBSE exam in New Delhi on Thursday | SHEKHAR YADAV On Day Six, tunnel rescue teams push through debris tres per minute. Once the debris is cleared, they will be able to reach the TBM. RESCUE teams on Thursday Irrigation minister N Uttam intensified operations inside Kumar Reddy said the rescue the Srisailam Left Bank Canal operations would be completed (SLBC) tunnel to reach eight within the next two to three workers who have days. Regular tunnel been trapped there work would resume Conveyor since the last six i n t wo t o t h re e belt repair days. Using gas and months, he added. The damaged plasma cutters, the Eleven top agenconveyor belt in teams made some cies specialising in the tunnel is progress in clearing tunnel disasters are expected to be the debris of the leading the operarepaired during tunnel boring mat i o n . Te a m s a re the day for chine (TBM). working 24X7, detransportation They are expected ploying the most adof debris to cross the previvanced technology ously inaccessible for the mission that 40-metre area after is being overseen by the path near the TBM is global experts. “This is an excleared. tremely challenging operation, The teams have been remov- and the best experts are ining slush and dewatering the volved. They are risking their tunnel, where the estimated lives to complete the mission,” seepage rate is around 5,000 li- Uttam said. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad Multiple national and international agencies have come together for the rescue mission Uttam Kumar Reddy SIDDU RAPS SHAH PITCH ON DELIMITATION Says home minister Amit Shah’s claim that South will not be disadvantaged by delimitation is aimed at creating confusion among Southern states | P5 48-km stretch along Yamuna to get facelift DU proposal to overhaul campus IFRAH MUFTI AND P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi “No part of Delhi should experience waterlogging this season. If it occurs, the officials responsible will face suspension,” said PWD and Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Thursday, the third day of the Assembly session. Outlining his plans for a cleaner Delhi, Verma said he has set a 100-day deadline for cleaning 77 drains thoughout the city “Though the goal has . been set for 100 days, we intend to complete the cleaning faster, before the Monsoon arrives. I have sought before and after pictures and videos of every single drain. Nearly 12 meetings have been held in this regard. The department has been given clear instructions – desilt, use pumps or whatever is re- quired, but waterlogging will not be tolerated.” Meanwhile, taking a step towards a cleaner Yamuna, Verma stated that the entire 48 km stretch will be redeveloped into a green zone comprising jogging path, picnic spot dotted with small eateries and stalls. He assured that rules against the river pollution will be made stricter. “The industries releas- ing the industrial waste into the Yamuna will be fined.” Verma also emphasized that this year the Chhhat Pooja will be held amid better conditions. He talked about waste leakage identification, replacement of old water lines, installation of a GPS system in water tankers, and streamlining the drainage cleaning process. Additionally , the minister instructed offi- cials to initiate sewer and footpath cleaning, accelerate the construction of five flyovers, and enhance the aesthetics of pavements beneath flyovers within a set deadline. “I inspected the construction work at Barapullah (puliya) today and have directed officials to commence construction work in April and complete it in four months,” he stated. “Today I instructed the Pub, lic Works Department (PWD) and flood management officials to prepare a plan for sewer and footpath cleaning, review pending flyover projects, restart their construction, and undertake pavement beautification under flyovers,” he said. Verma also examined a damaged culvert that had remained unrepaired for two years, leading to road closures and severe traffic congestion. elections triggers students’ protest I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi DELHI University has proposed remodelling its students’ union election process to free it from the influence of “money and muscle power.” The suggestion was made at the varsity’s Executive Council meeting held on Thursday . The university administration referenced the November 11, 2024, Delhi High Court order, which recommended structural reforms and advocated a shift to a two-tier election system in which elections would first be conducted at the college and department levels. The elected presidents and councillors from these institutions would then participate in a second round of voting to Delhi HC order cited The university administration referenced the November 11, 2024, Delhi HC order, which advocated a shift to a two-tier election system, where elections would first be held at college and department levels before electing DUSU office-bearers. elect the DUSU office-bearers. The proposal evoked strong criticism from the student un- ions and some executive council members. Students associated with AISA, SFI, and ABVP held massive demonstrations outside the VC’s office. Mithuraaj Dhusiya, elected member of the Executive Council, stated, “In today’s emergency meeting, we protested against the uiversity’s attempt to change the DUSU election process. To change the election process, the varsity should avoid a top-down approach.” SFI president Sooraj termed it a “blatant” attempt to further silence and destroy DU’s democratic movement. ABVP-led DUSU Secretary Mitravinda Karanwal and AISA DU Joint Secretary Savvy echoed similar views.