CAT order on commuted leave

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Ernakulam, has held that commuted leave on the basis of medical certificate cannot be denied to a Central government employee who is about to retire. The sanctioning authority cannot refuse leave at its whims and fancies. The tribunal made the observation recently while allowing an application filed by Elsy John, retired supervisor at the Accountant General’s Office. The tribunal directed the Union government and the Accountant General to regularise the applicant’s leave for 43 days as commuted leave and disburse the withheld amount for the days with an annual interest of 9 per cent from June 1, 2008 till the day of payment within 15 days.

R. Kanakarajan - Scientist of the Year Award

R. Kanakarajan, associate director of the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, has been awarded the ‘Scientist of the Year Award’ by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Defence Minister A.K. Antony will present the award at a function at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi on February 23. K. Ajith Kumar, Scientist ‘C’ of NPOL, has been selected for the ‘Young Scientist Award’ of DRDO for 2009. The award will be handed over to him in New Delhi on February 22.

Foreign equity in insurance opposed

The premium collected by the public sector insurance companies last month is more than the premium income collected by the private insurance companies in the whole year. In spite of a situation like this, the Union government’s move to increase foreign investment in general insurance needs to be seen as an act of malice, said J. Gurumurthy, the standing committee secretary of All India Insurance Employees’ Association. Addressing the 35th annual conference of the General Insurance Employees’ Union (GIEA), Gurumurthy said that while the premium income of public sector companies rose last year, the private companies’ premium income has gone down. The State president of the union K. Ajayan presided over the function.

Work begins on water project for Vypeen

The drinking water augmentation project for the people in Vypeen Island yesterday started. This was the beginning of the much delayed Rs. 32-crore project that was planned at least three years ago for the islanders. With this project, Kerala Water Authority plans to augment water supply to Elamkunnappuzha, Njarackkal and Nayarambalam grama panchayats, where the shortage of water could not be solved even after a HUDCO project was completed. The Goshree Island Development Authority had sanctioned the funds to improve the water supply network to realise the full potential of the HUDCO project. The region has a severe supply-demand gap because of the poor network of pipes that are old and small in size. However, this project, expected to be completed by May 2011, will double the water supply.

Thousands perform rituals on the banks of the Periyar

Maha Sivarathri celebrations were conducted at the Aluva manalpuram in an atmosphere of religious fervour yesterday. The sandbanks of the Periyar river attached to the Mahadeva Temple wore a festive look, as thousands of people from various parts of the district and beyond converged on the manalpuram. Bali tharpan was offered at over 250 bali tharas arranged by the Travancore Devaswom Baord (TDB) for the occasion. People had reached the manalpuram by Thursday evening. The board had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the bali tharpan. Chennas Parameswaran Namboodirpad, Chennas Narayanan Namboodirpad, and Melsanthi Mullappally Subramanian Namboodiri led the rituals. The board also distributed appam, aravana, koottupayasam and vella nivedyam to the devotees.

Good prospect for India in Asian trade

India is yet to achieve its full potential in world trade the weight of which has been showing a marked shift from the west to the east over the last few decades, according to K.P. Kannan, Professor of Development Economics, Centre for Development Studies (CDS). Delivering the keynote address at an international conference on ‘Asian Trade: The Way Forward,’ organised by the Asian Development Dialogue (ADD), a shared platform of policy makers, academia and decision makers in the public and private sectors, here on Saturday, Prof. Kannan said with appropriate policy initiatives, the country could become a major player alongside China and Japan in trade in merchandise goods and services in the Asian region.

Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, C.H. Nagaraju book those who extort money from the public

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, C.H. Nagaraju, yesterday ordered the city police to book those who extort money from the public under any pretext, chiefly the organising of festivities in connection with local religious events. Chairing an interaction between police officers and representatives of residents’ welfare associations in the city, Nagaraju sought an urgent report on a complaint that a police officer was harassing his neighbours in the Jagathy East Resident’s Association area.