Kartik Lokhande's blog

Published in The Hitavada on February 27, 2013 ALL SMILES: Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Minister of State (Revenue) Prakash Solanke, Minister of State (Finance and Planning) Rajendra Mulak, Chief Secretary J K Banthiya, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) Swadhin Kshatriya, Divisional Commissioners B V Gopala Reddy, Prabhakar Deshmukh, Chandrakant Dalvi, and other IAS officers working as Divisional Commissioners, District Collectors and other capacities, posed for a group photograph after ‘Revenue Day’ function held at Deshpande Hall here on Tuesday. CM presses for administrative reforms * Asks top bureaucrats to undertake cadre review, focus more on proper training of officers in State Civil Services, and prepare plan of recruitment as per requirement By Kartik Lokhande Good work fetches recognition. For officials and employees of Revenue Department in Maharashtra, Tuesday was the Recognition Day. Revenue Department awarded the

Published in The Hitavada on February 25, 2013 3,808.33 Ha land available with MIDC for allotment to industries By Kartik Lokhande  For any industry, land availability is a vital issue. In Vidarbha region, which is blessed with assured rainfall, rich mineral wealth, forest wealth, and raw material, land also is available with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). There are 87 MIDC areas in Vidarbha region including 42 in Nagpur Division and 45 in Amravati Division. According to MIDC data, these areas have a total developed area of 14,932.50 hectares. Of this, 6,211.06 hectares land has been allotted to industries. Still, 3.808.33 hectares of land is in possession of MIDC and available for allotment to industries. Recently, MIDC invited global bid for 1,320 MW thermal power plant proposed on 536 hectares of land in possession of MIDC at Bhadravati. For industries, it is convenient to set up their units on land for which there is no need to go through long-d

Published in The Hitavada on February 25, 2013 Advantage Vidarbha: Rs 61,629 crore investment ‘in process’ * Chandrapur tops the chart with investment of Rs 20,509 crore in process By Kartik Lokhande If the plans of Maharashtra Government are executed well and ‘in process’ investment materialises, it will be ‘Advantage Vidarbha’ in true sense in the next few years. So far, Vidarbha region has attracted an investment of Rs 26,563 crore in micro, small, medium, large, and mega enterprises and investment of Rs 61,629 crore more is ‘in process’. As per the investment projections for Vidarbha, ‘in process’ investment of Rs 61,629 crore is likely in 18,397 units and it is expected to generate 2,16,638 new jobs in the region. Interestingly, projections show Chandrapur and Gadchiroli to be the top-notchers in investment. Of the total ‘in process’ investment, a major chunk of Rs 20,509 crore is expected to come up in Chandrapur district alone and that of Rs 14,464 crore is exp

Published in The Hitavada on February 22, 2013 MIDC plans 1,320 MW thermal power plant at Bhadravati * 1,300 acres of land in possession of MIDC will be given on 95 years’ lease to project developer * Environment impact assessment study, technical feasibility report have been conducted and Central Electricity Authority has recommended coal-linkage for the project By Kartik Lokhande  Vidarbha is rich in raw material for thermal power plants-- coal. It has attracted many entities to set up power plants in the region. The latest addition to these entities is Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The public sector undertaking has proposed a 1,320 MW capacity thermal power plant at Bhadravati in Chandrapur district. On Thursday, MIDC floated global invitation to bid for the plant on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis. It has invited proposals from national and international companies or consortia for the project, and technically and financially sound dev

(Published in The Hitavada on February 1, 2013)

Published in 'The Hitavada' on February 5, 2013 Reconsider power cuts in distts with less use of power for agricultural purposes: VSDB n For agricultural connections in Vidarbha, load-shedding of power is for eight hours in day time or 10 hours at night By Kartik Lokhande Vidarbha Statutory Development Board (VSDB) has urged the Government to reconsider implementation of load-shedding of power in districts with less-than-State-average consumption of power for agricultural purposes. Most of these districts with lesser consumption of power for agricultural purposes than other parts of Maharashtra, are in Vidarbha. According to sources in Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), load-shedding is being implemented for eight hours in day time or 10 hours are night to agricultural connections in Vidarbha. According to MSEDCL officials, situation in Maharashtra and Gujarat in this regard was better than that in other states

Chief Secretary asks officers of respective departments to complete the process of installation of CCTV cameras within a month By Kartik Lokhande After a long delay, finally, the State Government has decided to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at Government offices across the State within a month. As no department was serious in implementing the previous orders in this regard, Chief Secretary Jayant Banthia has asked all to ensure that process of installing the cameras is completed within a month. As per the instructions that reached the administration in the Orange City, CCTV cameras are to be installed in buildings housing offices of various departments including Home, State Excise, Transport, Public Health, Higher and Technical Education, School Education, Medical Education, Urban Development, Revenue, etc. CCTV cameras will be installed at the entrance to these buildings/offices, public service areas, outside the cabin of senior officers like Divis

(Published in 'The Hitavada' on  Home Department scrutinising the draft prior to placing it before the Cabinet for approval By Kartik Lokhande  Religious conversions by force or through allurements have been a cause of concern for long, as banning or letting it continue both posed tricky situations for the Government and political parties. However, Maharashtra Government appears to have made up its mind on banning such conversions. It has prepared a draft of a Bill in this regard and Home Department is scrutinising the draft. Home Minister R R Patil had assured to prepare the draft of a Bill banning religious conversion by force or through allurement, during monsoon session of State Legislature in July 2012. The matter was followed up and Home Department prepared a draft of the Bill. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar had raised the issue of religious conversions through his non-official Bill that did not come up for discussion for a lo

Dear friends, Here is an article, very special to my heart. This article not only marked beginning of 'The Hitavada' campaign against tree-felling in Nagpur city, but also led to filing of a public interest litigation in the court. This is special to my heart for one more reason -- I shared by-line with my Editor Shri Vijay Phanshikar in this article. I feel proud and privileged sharing by-line with him... It is rare for a reporter to share by-line with Editor of a newspaper. I am fortunate enough to have got this honour. (Photograph used here is representative and not of the actual site.) No cricket here, just stumps (Published in The Hitavada CityLine on March 2, 2006)    By Vijay Phanshikar & Kartik Lokhande When he was creating Anandwan over fifty years ago, Baba Amte always felt a wrench in his heart while felling numerous trees in the jungle site to make the colony possible. But after Anandwan was ready, Baba, a poet at heart, head and hand, cre

Caricature of a case for sedition  September 2012  By Kartik Lokhande  Several years back, there was a boy studying in Class IV. One day, the boy ‘drew’ a flower on car owned by his family and showed it to his father. The father got angry with the ‘scratches’ on the car and he thrashed his son with a plank. The scars on body of the boy were not visible after some time and so were the scar on his impressionable mind of the boy. However, the scar on his mind became visible some years later when he refused to draw anything anywhere despite coaxing by parents, and his aim changed to buying a car instead of becoming a good painter.  This is what is likely to happen in case of lesser-known budding cartoonist Aseem Trivedi. Aseem has drawn cartoons that are in utter bad taste and some even amount to disrespect to national symbols, for which he deserves penal action under provisions pertaining to National Emblem Act and Prevention of Desecration of National Honour Act.

Is change really coming for Pakistan? January 2012 By Kartik Lokhande  “Pakistan is changing,” said Imran Khan, the new-found hero of Pakistan politics. Within a couple of days since he made the statement in an interview to a news channel, change was visible on horizon. On Monday, while ‘saluting’ the members of Pakistan National Assembly for passing with majority the pro -democracy resolution, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani gave an indication of that change when he said, “We wanted to send a message to the world that here is a responsible Parliament, which is sovereign and supreme.” However, situation in Pakistan needs to be given a deeper thought before coming to the conclusion that change is coming in true sense for the troubled nation. Whether the change means replacing Pakistan People’s Party of President Asif Ali Zardari with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, is another thing that needs to be given a thought. T

THE ECONOMY OF RECURRENCE By Kartik Lokhande Sometimes, teenage conversations leave a long-lasting impression – positive or negative. In one of such conversations, I had asked an influential person from the ward we lived in, “Uncle, why do not the municipal authorities make a good-quality thick tar road that does not get damaged by rains every year?” The man, who happened to be a worker of a political party and also a contractor, replied with a smile, “In that case, how will we get work, beta? Besides, if there is nothing to complain about, will the voters come to us with a demand or two?” Not quite understanding what he meant, I gave him a smile and conversation ended there. After more than a decade-and-a-half, today, I realize what he wanted to say. When I see that roads are laid only to last for a year or so, I realize what he meant. When I hear and read that only rains are to be blamed for damage of roads every year, I realize that then, the man could n

WINGS OF FIRE (Published in 'The Hitavada' on April 21, 2012) By Kartik Lokhande  With the successful test-firing of longest range ballistic missile ‘Agni-V’ with capability to strike a target in the radius of 5,000 kms and joining the elite club of the US, the UK, China, France, and Russia; India now should look forward to a greater say in international realpolitik. For, Agni-V is not only a scientific success but also a valuable addition to strategic as well as diplomatic empowerment on international platform. The success has one more dimension – indisputable emergence of India as leader of the region. Though the revealed range of Agni-V is 5,000 kms, which is 500 kms short of the status of inter-continental ballistic missile, successful test-firing demonstrates India’s capacity irrespective of mere technical details. Here, one must understand that India revealed the range with care and to indicate that she does not have extra-territorial ambitions. India’s so

THE NEW CIVIL SOCIETY (Published in 'The Hitavada' dated August 31, 2011)  By Kartik Lokhande  The latest crusade against corruption and for passage of a strong Lokpal Bill, could be interpreted in a lot many ways. The movement led by eminent Gandian Mr. Anna Hazare definitely had a specific and well-defined goal of wider public interest, which was well served, though the battle, as said by Anna, is just half won. Still, there are several successes of the movement. There are several angles. Some may say, the Parliament was ;forced’ to pass a Sense of the House Resolution on Lokpal Bill. Some may say, the people who gathered at Ramlila Maidan and across the length and breadth of the country made the elected representatives realise erosion of faith in them. Some others may say, the movement was made successful by overwhelming participation of younger generation and it indicated that Indian youth were willing to participate in the process of nation-building. Some m

R D Pradhan handing over High Level Enquiry Committee report on 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, to the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan.   COVER UP of 26/11 FACTS: NO ANSWERS IN RAM PRADHAN COMMITTEE REPORT (Published in 'The Hitavada' Sunday Forum dated January 10, 2010)  By Kartik Lokhande  Though the media leak of Ram Pradhan Committee report was much debated not only in Maharashtra but also nationwide, it appears that the content of the report has failed in drawing equal attention during debate. After 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, people were expecting that the report of High Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC) or Ram Pradhan Committee would shed some light on shortcomings in the Police Department, necessary steps would be initiated to become better prepared to thwart any such terror attack in future. However, the report leaves one with more questions than answers. There are contradictions in observations and till now no one has been held accou