TIMES CITY 5THE TIMES OF INDIA, PUNE SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2010 *

ANGEL Broking: Seminar oninvesting in 2010-11: HotelAurora Towers: 10.30 am.

SAMAJWADI Mahila Sabha:

Golden jubilee programme:

Rashtra Seva Dal, Sane

Guruji Memorial: 4.30 pm.

TODAY’S ENGAGEMENTS

CHANGE OF NAME

PERSONAL MESSAGES

08-05-2010 - Saturday - Mesha Masa 24 - Sri Vikriti NamaSamvatsara Uttarayana Vasantha Ritu Tithi: Adhika VaishakhaKrishna Dashami Hr:27-40 Nak: Shatabhisha Hr:19-17 Yoga: Indra

Hr:24-29.

23 Jumadulawwal.

Rahu Kalam 09-00 - 10-30 A.M

Kali Day 1866859

BY: DAIVAJNA K.N. SOMAYAJI

ALMANAC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: City-based non-governmental organi-sation (NGO) World Institute for Nature (WIN)has developed a website (www.spandan-bip.org) that aims to publish millions of bio-diversity observations recorded from acrossthe globe. Citizens can also participate andcontribute to the inventory.

One just has to take a picture or video shoota plant or animal, add information like thecommon name of the specie, location, date ofobservation and upload it in any language. Thedata will be validated by a network compris-ing 56 experts — including ecologists, envi-ronmentalists, taxonomists, botanists and zo-ologists from 13 countries.

Speaking at a meeting of collaborators onFriday, Vishwas Chavan, chairman, board oftrustees, WIN, said the basic observations fromvarious sources will be compiled and trans-formed into scientifically useful data. It canbe used for scientific analysis as well as help-ing in climate change modelling.

“For instance, how long an organism willsurvive, whether there is a suitable place forthe organism to grow, changes seen over theyears in its habitat and its impact can be record-ed. Over the next five years, it will be possibleto compile over a billion scientifically usefulbiodiversity observation records through thiscitizen movement,” he said.

According to Chavan, people’s partici-pation in biodiversity monitoring and con-servation is essential. At present, such aninteraction between scientists and citizensis lacking and this project will correct theshortcoming.

Several campaigns, like road shows, willbe conducted over the next 10 months to cre-ate awareness. It will include ‘urban biodi-versity inventory’, ‘tree counting campaign’,‘bird observation competition’, and ‘go to na-ture reserves’. It will cover 30 cities in thecountry, added Chavan.

“To help citizens document the exact lati-tude and longitude position of where a par-ticular observation is made, google map in-terface has been provided. Once validated or

value added by our team of experts, these di-versity observation records will be publishedthrough Spandan,” said Chavan.

WIN is seeking strategic collaborationsand partnerships with individuals, institu-tions, civil society organisations, academi-cians as well as biodiversity experts for co-or-dinating various campaigns and competitionsfor Spandan. At present, there are three co-ordinators, one each in Maharashtra, Kar-nataka and North East.

Nikhil Deshmukh | TNN

Pune: The preliminary reportof the 2005-06 agricultural cen-sus, carried out by the stateagriculture department hasrevealed that the number ofmarginal farmers in the statehas gone up to 61.18 lakh be-tween 2000-01 and 2005-06.This is an increase of 8.12lakh over the previous figure.

According to the report,this accounts for 45 per centof the total farming commu-nity. Experts indicate that theincrease in marginal farmersmay reduce the contributionof the agricultural sector tothe national economy.

A farmer holding less thanone hectare (2.47 acre) land isconsidered a marginal farmer.While the population of mar-ginal farmers has increased by8.12 lakh, the volume of landholdings in the category hasincreased by 1.52 lakh hectaresto 28.01 lakh hectares in fiveyears. This indicates more andmore division of the land.

The state government hasfinalised the preliminary re-port and a detailed report is

now being prepared. The agricultural census is

funded by the Union govern-ment. The report is based on in-formation gathered by the rev-enue department and is a cru-cial document for the govern-ment while forming policies.

According to experts,“Family division is the basiccause of division in the land,hence there is a decline in perperson land holding. As theland is shrinking every year,it is restricting the growth ofthe farmer.”

The 2005-06 report statesthat the total number of ac-count-holders in Maharash-tra is 137.15 lakh, of which135.41 lakh are individualfarmers. The remaining num-ber comprises joint account-holders, institutional land-holders like trusts, educa-tional institutions, sugar fac-tories and land belonging totrusts that govern temples.

The total geographical areaof Maharashtra is 307.58 lakhhectares, of which 200 lakhhectare is operational land-holding, mainly utilised forvarious agricultural practices.

The remaining land compris-es mountains, rivers, resi-dential and industrial activi-ties and roads among others.According to the 2000-01 agri-culture census, the number offarmers in the state was 121.38lakh, with 201.03 lakh hectaresas total area under cultivation.

“For large-scale produc-tion of any commodity, farm-ers need adequate sized land,where higher production canprompt trade and subse-quently profit, which can bereinvested in various sectorsfor growth. With the divisionof land, higher production oftradable commodities can notbe achieved, thus restrictingthe growth of farming andfarmers as well. Small-scalefarming is also not sustain-able, as marginal farmers donot have the capacity to re-cover from loss,” said Raghu-nath Patil, senior leader of theShetkari Sanghatna. Exceptfor agriculture, no other in-dustry gives you more pro-duction than the actual in-vestment, he maintained.

According to the 2005-06 re-port, 61.18 lakh marginal farm-

ers hold a mere 28.01 lakhhectare land, making averageland-holding in this category0.45 hectare per person. Thestate has 41.5 lakh small farm-ers (holding 1 to 2 hectares) whohold 52.48 lakh hectare land inthe state. This category is alsoconsidered as marginal farm-ers. Most of the land-holdersin both categories are not com-pletely dependent on farmingas their only source of income.“These farmers actually workon the farms of medium-sizedfarmers, or somewhere else fortheir main source of income.The land utilisation is mainlyfor vegetable growing, tradedlocally,” said a senior govern-ment official.

The semi-medium andmedium farmer categorieshave shown little change com-pared to other categories. Thenumber of farmers in thesemi-medium and mediumcategories has increased by1.78 lakh and 0.6 lakh respec-tively, whereas the land-hold-ing in the respective cate-gories is up by 0.21 lakhhectares and 0.05 lakhhectares.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The Bombay Natural History So-ciety (BNHS) has said it is imperativethat immediate steps be taken to con-serve the large number of migratorybirds, especially the ones on the threat-ened list, which come to India.

The BNHS on Friday issued a state-ment on the occasion of the World Mi-gratory Bird Day to be observed on Sat-urday and Sunday. The objective of theWorld Migratory Bird Day is to cele-brate the wonderful phenomenon ofbird migration and to highlight threatsfaced by most migratory birds, whichare crucial indicators of environmen-tal conditions and can have far-reach-ing impact on humans.

The release says that the BNHS,which is the Indian partner of BirdLifeInternational, has been focusing on mi-gratory birds through its migratorybirds study centre at Point Calimere inTamil Nadu, bird studies in ChilikaLake (Orissa) and Uttar Pradesh. Ac-tivities like the annual Flamingo Fes-tival have also been creating awarenessabout such birds.

“With increasing human-driventhreats and decreasing natural habitat,over 12.4% of the total bird species arethreatened worldwide. About 19% of allbird species are migratory, of which 11%are threatened. In India, some of thethreatened migratory birds includeSiberian Crane, Greater Spotted Eagle,Lesser Flamingo, Sociable Lapwing,Spotted Greenshank, Spoonbill Sand-

piper, Imperial Eagle, Houbara Bustardand Wood Snipe,” says the BNHS release.

Asad Rahmani, director, BNHS, saysthat with a large number of migratorybirds in India on the threatened list,immediate steps should be taken to con-serve them. “India falls on the South-Asia migratory route and is the largestcountry in the region, making it veryimportant for the winter sojourn ofmany migratory species. A few speciesreach up to Sri Lanka, but the bulk staysin India. The location of the Indianpeninsula is unique, because, otherthan Sri Lanka, there is no major land-mass further south where such birdscan go,” he said.

“Besides, the globally threatened birdspecies and even some common migra-tory species — such as the Bar-HeadedGoose, White-Eyed Pochard, Black Storkand White Stork — are also decreasing

in number. All these large migratorybirds require wetlands,’’ he added.

According to Rahmani, the conser-vation of wetlands is not only impor-tant for migratory birds, but also forwater security and agriculture. Out ofmore than 1,200 species of birds re-ported from India till date, nearly 350species are migratory, including a verylarge number of forest birds — whichhave further suffered due to destruc-tion of their habitat.

The release says that Birdlife In-ternational chief executive Marco Lam-bertini feels international collabora-tion is the only way to conserve mi-gratory birds as they pass along theirflyways. He says that BirdLife Part-nership, with over 100 national organ-isations across continents, can make agreat difference in providing saferroutes for migratory birds.

Snehal Sonawane Sawant | TNN

Pune: In the year since theBombay high court (HC) im-posed restrictions for tree-felling within city limits, just29 tree-cutting applicationswere approved by the court,while a total of 534 were re-ceived by the civic body dur-ing the period.

The Pune Municipal Cor-poration’s plea to allow thecutting of trees that pose adanger to life and propertywas also rejected by the HCon Thursday.

On May 6, 2009, the Bom-bay HC had issued an interimorder restricting the PMCfrom giving tree-cutting per-mission within the municipallimits without the approval ofthe court.

The court had asked thatan independent expert com-mittee be set up to look intotree-cutting applications, af-ter which the applicant wasto approach the Bombay HCfor final approval.

The civic body received534 applications from May 6,2009, to March 31, 2010, ofwhich 444 applications weregiven a positive recommen-dation by the expert com-mittee.

However, only 66 appli-cants of the 444 actually wentto the court and 29 were giv-en final approval by the Bom-bay HC.

Speaking to TOI, PMC treeofficer Balasaheb Jagzap saidthat the department had ap-proached the HC on Thursdaywith a plea that the civic bodybe allowed to give the go-aheadand cut down trees that posed

a danger, without waiting forthe court’s approval.

“Our plea has been re-jected,” said Jagzap. “Themonsoon will be here soonand pre-monsoon showers of-ten cause a lot of damage.Lots of cases of tree-fallingare reported during this pe-riod and it is necessary tohave them trimmed or cut pri-or to the monsoon. We are fac-ing tremendous pressure thisyear since hundreds of ap-plications are still pendingand there’s not enough time.The court has categoricallysaid that all applications mustbe sent to them for final ap-proval,” he added.

Jagzap pointed out anoth-er reason for the low number

of applications being ap-proved was that citizens’ hadbeen avoiding going to courtin the hope that the stay wouldbe lifted within a month ortwo. However, this does notlook like it will happen.

“We have had somestormy days in the last week,and there have been com-plaints of trees falling anddamage to property. Citizensclaim compensation from usfor their loss, but we are help-less,” Jagzap said.

Activist Vinod Jain, whohad filed a petition againstthe PMC, on which the courthad given the interim order,said that the state govern-ment had recently framed thetree-cutting rules.

“We have said before thecourt that now that the rulesare in place, they should beproperly implemented. How-ever, the court stay on tree-cutting must continue till thecivic body completes its treecensus and ensures that treesare planted against those thathave been cut in the last fewyears,” Jain said.

“I agree that there arenearly 500 tree-cutting appli-cations pending since oneyear, but it also means thatthe PMC had an entire yearto ensure that trees wereplanted. Why didn’t they getthe work done? About thedangerous trees, I don’t thinkthe court has laid restrictionson that,” Jain said.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The state governmenthas asked the Pune MunicipalCorporation (PMC) and thePimpri Chinchwad MunicipalCorporation (PCMC) to seek adetailed report on the specifi-cations and requirements ofbuses from the Central Insti-tute of Road Transport (CIRT).

This is likely to futher de-lay the augmentation of thePMPML fleet on the BRTSroute. A meeting was held inMumbai on Thursday duringwhich PMC, PCMC andPMPML officials discussed thebus purchase issue.

“The state government hasasked that a detailed reportfrom CIRT be sought before adecision was made. Also, thatthe Ahmedabad pattern of theBRTS be studied during this pe-riod and then the final conclu-sion drawn,” said a top officialwho attended the meeting.

Interestingly, CIRT had al-ready submitted an observa-tion on the issue. It had said,earlier this week, that the PMCand the PMPML should makea decision that will enable asmooth transition from the ex-isting pilot system to the fu-ture system.

The PMPML’s purchase ofbuses has been a bone of con-tention between the municipalcorporations. The PCMC wantsto buy buses with door on bothsides, whereas the PMC wantsbuses with door on the leftsince all bus stops within PMClimits are located on the left.

“We are firm on our standthat that we need buses withdoors on the left, said PMCstanding committee chairmanArvind Shinde, speaking to re-porters on Friday. “Earlier, wehad demanded that at least 200buses should be purchased asper PMC’s requirement, butnow we will push for 350 bus-es as the PMC will bear the bur-den of the payment of thesebuses along with the state andCentre,” he added.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The Congress has de-cided to support the civic ad-ministration’s proposal of pri-vatising octroi collection inthe city. The proposal is ex-pected to come up for discus-sion in the standing commit-tee meeting next week.

Speaking to reporters onFriday, standing committeechairman and Congress leaderArvind Shinde said, “The Con-gress will support the propos-al when it is tabled before thestanding committee. As theNCP had proposed its privati-sation in the annual budget for2010-2011, it will also supportthe proposal”.

The revenue target for oc-troi collection in the currentfinancial year is Rs 912 crore,which is 29 per cent of the to-tal civic revenue ofRs 3,196 crore.

The standing committee,on earlier occasions, had dis-cussed the issue of privatisingoctroi collection; a majorsource of civic revenue, tocurb irregularities and in-

crease income.Congress leader Aba Bag-

ul supported the proposal, say-ing that octroi collection hasbeen declining over the lastfew years, with the departmentfailing to meet the set targets.Considering the massivegrowth in the city, the PMCwill increasingly need moneyfor infrastructure developmentand octroi is a major source ofrevenue. Privatisation of oc-troi will boost its collectionand also improve PMC’s fi-nancial health.

Mayor Mohansingh Rajpalhad recently admitted that oc-troi evasion was causing anannual loss of approximatelyRs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore forthe PMC and the civic bodywas planning stringent meas-ures to curb the loss. “It is afact that octroi evasion is ram-pant in the city. This year, weare planning some stringentmeasures,” Rajpal had hadsaid then. The total octroi col-lected last year was around Rs700 crore, while the annual tar-get set by the general body forthe year was Rs 914 crore.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Special judge ArvindRoheee on Friday granted bailto public works department(PWD) executive engineerVikram Jadhav and seniorclerk Yogesh Tarate in an al-leged bribe case.

The duo were released on apersonal bond of Rs 30,000each with two sureties of thelike amount. The officials weredirected by the court to reportto the state anti corruption bu-reau (ACB), Pune, every Mon-day between 10 am and 11 amtill the end of April.

They were further direct-ed to report to the ACB on thefirst day of every month tillfurther orders. Lawyer PratapPardeshi appeared on behalfof the officials.

The ACB had arrested Jad-hav and Tarate for acceptinga bribe of Rs 1 lakh for clear-ing a bill of Rs 35 lakh of aroad contractor on April 4.

A search conducted at Jad-hav’s residence at Revenuecolony in Shivajinagar had ledto the recovery of 1.68 crorecash, gold ornaments worth9.27 lakh and silver ornamentsworth 44,462.

2005-06: Number of farmers in state are135.41 lakh, holding 200 lakh hectare landCategory No. of Farmers Land holding

(In lakh) (In lakh ha)

Up to 1 ha (marginal) 61.18 (45.18%) 28.01 (14%)

1 to 2 ha (small) 41.50 (30.64%) 52.48 (26.24%)

2-4 ha (semi-medium) 24.52 (18.1%) 61.30 (30.65%)

4-10 ha (medium) 9.25 (6.83) 48.85 (24.42%)

10 and above (large) 2.63 (1.66%) 6.78 (3.39%)

2000-01: Number of farmers 121.38 lakh.Area under cultivation 201.03 lakh haCategory No. of Farmers Land holding

(In lakh) (In lakh ha)

Up to 1 ha (marginal) 53.06 (43.71%) 26.49 (13.18%)

1 to 2 ha (small) 36.06 (29.71%) 51.27 (25.50%)

2-4 ha (semi-medium) 22.74 (18.73%) 61.09 (30.39%)

4-10 ha (medium) 8.65 (7.13%) 48.8 (24.27%)

10 and above (large) 0.87 (0.72%) 13.38 (6.66%)

Number of marginal farmers rises They Are Now 45% Of Farming Community: Agri Census

Octroi privatisationhas Cong backing

Agarwal’sdaughter,son-in-lawdischarged

Pune: The daughter andson-in-law of hotelier andbuilder Ram Kumar Agar-wal were recently dis-charged by a magistratecourt here in a dowry ha-rassment and molestationcase filed by Agarwal’sdaughter-in-law Priya. Thecourt held that Agarwal’sson-in law Nikhil Kapoorand daughter Sharmileewere falsely charged in thecase just because they wererelated to him.

Defence lawyer HarshadNimbalkar prayed that thecouple be discharged, sincePriya, who is a Dutch na-tional, had not levied any al-legations against them inher complaint registeredwith the Bund Garden po-lice station on March 6, 2008.Assistant public prosecutorVinayak Musale opposed theplea, saying there was pri-ma facie evidence to framecharges against the couple.

However, judicial magis-trate first class B BPantawane dischargedKapoor and Sharmilee undersection 239 of the Code ofCriminal Procedure due tolack of evidence on April 30.

Priya and Ajay had mar-ried on Jan 29, 2008. Priyahad registered a complaintwith the police on March 8,accusing Agarwal, Ajay andother family members ofphysical and mental torturefor dowry. Priya had accusedher father-in-law of tryingto outrage her modesty andmother-in-law of misappro-priating her jewellery. TNN

Just 29 tree-cutting applicationsapproved post high court order

Bus purchasefor BRTS likelyto be delayed

further

PWD officialsgranted bail

NGO to compile inventory of urban bio-diversity

Immediate steps imperative toconserve migratory birds: BNHS

Step By Stept Information Upload

t Common name of the organism

t Language of common name

t Region where common name is used

t Date/period of observation

t Locality where observation was made

t Observer details

t At least one photograph of the observedplant/animal species

t Biodiversity experts, naturalists, taxonomistsand ecologists can join the network ofexperts for validating as well as value addingto the records contributed by citizens

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The Times Auto Show— Summer Special — is be-ing organised on May 8 and9 at Sakhar Sankul, Shivaji-nagar. The expo is open from10 am to 10 pm. On display atthe show will be new and pre-owned cars. This is the sec-ond round of the show, or-ganised by The Times of In-dia, after the success of theTimes Auto Show held in

September 2009.The show is a one-stop

destination for car buyers tohave a look at the latest mod-els rolling on the Indianroads. It is also a good op-portunity for people planningto buy pre-owned cars in goodcondition.

Leading auto finance com-panies, banks, insurancecompanies oil companies andauto accessory retailers willparticipate in the show.

Times Auto Show from today

HC Rejects PMC’s Plea To Allow Civic Body To GrantPermission In Cases Where The Trees Pose A Danger

On May 6, 2009, the Bombay HC had issued an interim order restricting thePMC from giving tree-cutting permissions within the municipal limitswithout the approval of the court. The court had asked that an independentexpert committee be set up to look into tree-cutting applications, afterwhich the applicant was to approach the Bombay HC for final approval

About 19% of all birdspecies are migratory, ofwhich 11% are threatened.In India, some of thethreatened migratory birdsinclude Siberian Crane,Greater Spotted Eagle,Lesser Flamingo, SociableLapwing, SpottedGreenshank, SpoonbillSandpiper, Imperial Eagle,Houbara Bustard andWood Snipe

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