Mizoram CM Allocates Portfolios To Parliament Secretaries

Aizawl, Dec 20 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Thursday allocated portfolios to the Parliamentary Secretaries who were sworn-in by him yesterday.

KS Thanga would assist H Rohluna who was allocated School Education, Industries and Trade and Commerce, while Lt Col Z S Zuala was would assist Finance Minister Lalsawta who also holds Taxation and Law and Judicial portfolios.

H Zothangliana would assist Higher and Technical Education Minister R Romawia who also holds portfolios like Land Revenue and Settlement, Art and Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, while Joseph Lalhimpuia would help R Lalzirliana in Home, Rural Development, Agriculture and Excise and Narcotics portfolios.

T T Zothansanga would assist Horticulture Minister P C Lalthanliana who also holds Social Welfare and Local Administration departments and K Lalrinthanga would assist Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister John Rotluangliana who also holds other portfolios like Printing and Stationery, Transport and Tourism.

Hmingdailova Khiangte would assist Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Minister Zodintluanga who also holds Sports and Youth Services and Public Health Engineering department.

Meanwhile, R L Pianmawia was appointed as the Government Deputy Chief Whip today. He also held the post in the previous government.

Christmas Spirit Grips Hills

Shillong Turns Festive

ANDREW W. LYNGDOH

Children sing at a prayer meeting in Shillong on Thursday. Picture by UB Photos Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful — Norman Vincent Peale Shillong, Dec 20 : Dipping mercury, chock-a-block roads, festive shoppers and an array of decorative lights across the streets are some of the prominent features in Meghalaya in the run-up to the festival of peace, joy, hope and love — Christmas. Liberated momentarily from the agitation by pro-ILP pressure groups but bracing for the bandh call by rebels, the spirit of merry-making appears to be gripping this hill state notwithstanding the rapid drop in temperature. In the capital city, and even at Tura, the nerve centre of the Garo hills region, people are busy preparing for Christmas with carols, get-togethers, prayer service, and feeding and clothing underprivileged children each passing day. People in Garo hills are particularly enthusiastic during Christmas. One could hear carol-singing late into the night with the advent of Yuletide. At the recently concluded Ahaia festival in Tura, a Christmas carol singing competition was a part of the itinerary. Another significant aspect in the run-up to December 25 is the benevolence of people who came forward to offer a taste of the festive season to streetchildren. Soon after the culmination of the Assembly polls in February, Meghalaya was plunged into a cycle of crises with the ILP agitation dominating the headlines. However, with no fresh agitation until next year barring a bandh on Monday, people are now willing to welcome Christmas with pomp and gaiety, and above all, with peace, joy and hope. This festive season is epitomised by music. The Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum has come forward to organise the Shillong Choir Festival, where renowned groups from the Northeast will sing at the State Central Library here on Monday to ring in the joyful season. The Shillong Chamber Choir, which recently performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be heading the evening musical show. Other groups include Serenity Choir, KERYGMA Choir, Mizo Presbyterian Choir and Ameu Useu and the choir. The last is a renowned group from Nagaland while Serenity and KERYGMA are from Meghalaya. To add to the gaiety, the forum will also put up a 17-foot Christmas tree, forum general secretary Ian Khongmen said. “The Shillong Choir Festival is an effort to enrich and promote some positive effect in the city in this season of peace, joy, hope, brotherhood and reconciliation,” Khongmen said, adding that the forum plans to make the festival an annual affair.

Court issues Production warrant against Irom Sharmila

A Delhi court Thursday issued a production warrant against 'Iron lady' Irom Sharmila to appear January 30, next year in a case of attempted suicide during her fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar here in 2006.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain issued the production warrant after Sharmila failed to appear before the court. Earlier, the court had issued summons Oct 30 against her after Sharmila's counsel failed to turn up.

The testimony of the prosecution witness in the case is being recorded at present.

Sharmila is being detained in the security ward of a hospital in Imphal, Manipur.

She has been on a fast for about 12 years, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

On March 4, the court had framed charges against 40-year-old Sharmila, popularly known as 'Iron lady', for attempting to commit suicide and put her on trial after she refused to plead guilty.

Sharmila was present in the court in March and had denied that she attempted suicide while fasting at Jantar Mantar here in 2006.

The court had earlier told her that the maximum punishment in the case was a few months to a year, and since she had been in custody for more than six years, if she pleads guilty, the case would be settled.

But Sharmila refused to accept the charges against her.

Sharmila told the court that she has been protesting for the last 12 years in the "most non-violent way, like Mahatma Gandhi".

She said that she is fasting for the people of Manipur, as they are being neglected by the government, and requested the court not to ask her to appear in court because of her medical condition.

Mizoram CM gets 'threatening' SMS, lodges FIR

By Adam Halliday
Mizoram CM Lal Thanhawla has lodged an FIR after receiving 'threatening' SMSes 

Police have questioned a prominent Aizawl-based educationist for allegedly sending Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla an "offensive" and "threatening" SMS soon after the Congress came back to power in the just-concluded Assembly polls.

The SMS alleged that the Congress had swept the polls due to "EVM rigging" and "misuse" of the election machinery. It also contained a veiled threat of lives being at risk, the actual 'Mizo' word addressed to the CM. The sender identified himself as "phantom".

Sent before the formation of government in the state, Lal Thanhawla is said to have taken "serious offence" and immediately lodged an FIR at the Aizawl Police Station.

Police have registered a case and questioned Chhawnthuama, the owner of a well-known residential school in Aizawl's Durtlang neighborhood. Although the SIM card used for sending the message was not a usual one, investigators said a handset has been traced from him. The educationist has however not been charged formally.

The scheme that won Congress Mizoram

What does the scheme seek to achieve?
The basic aim is to stop traditional slash-and-burn cultivation by providing an alternative, mainly through financial and logistical support. It has, however, come to encompass a wider objective by providing start-up funds of Rs 1 lakh each (promised in installments both in cash and kind) to families of farmers, small businessmen or small industrialists.

How does it work?
Beneficiaries can choose from any of 53 trades ranging from growing specific crops to setting up a shop, rearing animals or building small manufacturing units. Funds are allocated by the department under whose purview the trade falls. It is the beneficiaries, not government employees, who choose the trade from a list identified for their geographical areas. Also, it is a board, not bureaucrats, who look after disbursement of funds. The installments are in either cash or kind. For example, if a beneficiary wants to raise cows, she is given money to build a shelter, then provided cows and then money for feed. The government calls NLUP one of the first direct transfer schemes as funds go directly into bank accounts, and sometimes through cheques.

Who stand to benefit?
Any family without a member holding a government job is eligible. The government roped in civil society organisations to identify potential beneficiary families and also keep out those already well-off and earning from nongovernmental sources. In reality, however, many such people are beneficiaries.

What is the scheme's reach?
Till date, 1.2 lakh families have been given NLUP funds through four phases, although apart from a few trades in the non-agricultural sector, the vast majority have only just received part of the funds with instalments still pending. Given Mizoram's population is 11 lakh, these 1.2 lakh families would make up a large chunk of the population.

Who funds it?
The government calls NLUP a convergence scheme for which Rs 2,800 crore was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at a special meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, and says more than Rs 2,500 crore of that is footed by the Centre as part of centrally sponsored schemes. The opposition says it is merely funded by money available to the state no matter which party is in power. In the run-up to the elections, all opposition parties promised to continue NLUP on coming to power.

When did the scheme begin?
It had been conceived as far back as in 1984 by the Mizoram People's Conference. Successive governments have since built upon it under various names, such as Garden Colony (Grow more food) under the MPC, NLUP under Congress, Jhum Control under Laldenga's Mizo National Front government, again NLUP under Congress, then Mizoram Intodelhna (self-sufficiency) Project or MIP under Zoramthanga's government and, once again, NLUP after the Congress's return in 2008. What the current regime has done is widen the list of possible trades, extend the reach and oversee the scheme's progress at various stages.

What remains to be done?
An unfinished component, apart from pending instalments, is marketing. Collection centres for farm produce remain to be set up, although private players have shown an interest in being part from regulated markets. Some officials are keen to set up processing units for fruit products that rot easily or are difficult to transport.

Does all of Mizoram welcome the scheme?
There has been some criticism. One allegation is that the Congress does not disburse funds unless beneficiaries first join the party; the Congress denies discrimination. Also, some church denominations have said the scheme "makes people lazy" and that many misuse the money.

How to Catch a Really, Really Big Fish

It's called the arapaima, or pirarucu. It lives in the Amazon River. It's enormous

In the heart of Brazil lies a lusciously green nature reserve where men in canoes club supersize fish with wooden bats, then lug them back to their homes to eat and trade.
It’s all part of arapaima fishing season, the few months when Amazonian communities in the Mamiraua nature reserve devote their lives to hunting arapaima, the world’s largest scaled freshwater fish. The fish, known locally as pirarucu, has the face of a piranha and the body of a torpedo.
Catching the arapaima, whose extra-tough scales are nearly impenetrable, isn’t easy. In the early morning, men push out their canoes to harpoon and pluck the fish from the river. Later in the day, women clean and freeze the fish to be sold when fishing season—which lasts from July to November—comes to an end.
Below, photos from this year’s arapaima hunting season:

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

Men survey their most recent catch. The average size of an arapaima, whose scales are gray with red tips, is 6 feet 7 inches long.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

In order to catch this supersize swimmer, the fishermen first club the fish until they’re unconscious. Here, one man knocks an unlucky fish with a wooden bat.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

Next, the fishermen harpoon the fish to pull them into their canoes.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

The men drag their catch from their canoes onto the shore. Each fish weighs an average of 132 pounds, but can grow to 308 pounds.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

The men rest the day’s catch on the shore.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

The fishermen carry the fish around their necks as they head back to their communities, where women wait to clean the arapaima.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

Women remove the insides of the fish, then freeze them. The fish are sold frozen or salted and dried.

(Reuters/Bruno Kelly)

An up-close look at the scales red-outlined reveals just how tough the arapaima’s outer skin is. Reminiscent of plywood, the crisscrossed scales grow in multiple layers, like a natural sheet of chain mail.

Check out more photos of arapaima hunting season here.

In Mizoram portfolio allotment, CM and kin get headstrong depts with enlarged future roles

Mizoram CM Lalthanhawla

As Mizoram moves towards more infrastructure projects in part due to India's Look-East Policy, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla and his younger brother Lal Thanzara, who has been made a Minister of State this term, have taken the technical department portfolios manned by powerful government engineers. Another crucial portfolio, Public Health Engineer, is in the hands of the CM's daughter-in-law's brother, Cabinet Minister Zodintluanga. While the CM retains both the Public Works Department and the Power and Electricity (P&E) Department, his brother Lal Thanzara (who was earlier Parliamentary Secretary for the Finance and Planning portfolios) will assist the CM in handling the PWD and P&E departments.

These three technical departments are considered the state government's main revenue sources in the absence of a strong industrial sector, laggard state PSUs with nil profits in five years and an under-developed agricultural sector.

Consequently, the engineers who man them have grown powerful over time, the government even acceding this year to their demand for a secretary-level post in the face of a vocal and sustained opposition from central-service officers such as IAS, IPS and IFS officers posted in the state.
With ongoing and planned infrastructure projects such as an ambitious multi-modal transport project linking the land-locked state to a sea-port via Myanmar, a pioneering railway line that will cut through the hill-state from north to south, several hydro-power projects and ongoing natural gas reserves exploration (and increasing urbanization that is likely to see an enlarged PHE role), these technical departments are expected to play a major role in Mizoram's near future.

The portfolio allotment by the five time Congress CM has also seen several changes from the previous government.

The school as well as higher education portfolios -- both usual flash-points not just because of their reach but strong lobbying from powerful students' and teachers' unions -- changing hands in spite of the former Education Minister Lalsawta still in the present Cabinet. He has however been given Finance after the former Finance Minister H Liansailova lost the polls.

As with finance, the health portfolio has meanwhile also been given a new head; MoS Lal Thanzara has been allotted independent charge of the health portfolio (his predecessor and controversy-dogged Cabinet Minister Lalrinliana Sailo has been dropped from the Council of Ministers entirely). The portfolio has been in controversy after controversy for at least a decade, first due to alleged corruption that saw the non-fruition of several planned infrastructure as well as the siphoning off of funds, as well as alleged involvement of top officials in the illegal trafficking of pseudoephedrine to Myanmar.

The controlled drug, more than 20 million tablets of which have been seized by anti-narcotics agencies in the last two years alone, is widely used to manufacture methamphetamine, a narcotic drug more addictive than opium and it's products like heroin.

The Education Department's mishandling of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan funds to purchase school uniforms for 1.85 lakh children is currently under an investigation, ordered by the Gauhati High Court last month.  

Ministry Looks To Japanese Funds For Highway Projects in Northeast

New Delhi, Dec 18 : The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is trying to tie up Japanese funds for projects in the North-East that had difficulty in attracting private sector investment in the past, said officials aware of the development.

These projects include highway stretches in states such as Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam and Meghalaya - in some cases they lie close to the Myanmar and Bangladesh border - as well as bridge projects over the Brahmaputra in Assam.

The ministry will seek assistance from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan's official financial assistance arm, for the projects.

"We have had discussions with the Japanese government and they have shown interest in the proposal. We have narrowed down projects and would ask the Department of Economic Affairs to include this in the JICA Rolling Plan. JICA can assist with the preparation of the detailed project reports (DPRs)," said a road ministry official familiar with the issue.

Another ministry official confirmed the development, saying foreign funding is necessary since domestic investment has not been forthcoming so far.

At present, the JICA is conducting a study in consultation with the highways ministry to identify specific cooperation areas on developing connectivity, including highways in the North-East. JICA has begun gathering data on transport infrastructure development for regional connectivity in and around South Asia since August 2013 to assess the current situation and chart out a plan for regional cooperation in the inland transport sector in South Asia.

"The rapid economic growth in South Asia, reforms in Myanmar and various development movements in South East Asia, including establishment of ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, have generated strong momentum for enhancing the regional connectivity through development of cross border infrastructure, both within and between countries in South Asia and South-East Asia.

"Considering the above, especially in the Indian context, there's no doubt that the North-East is the most crucial region in terms of connectivity across borders to countries like Myanmar and further on. Among other things, the study team intends to identify requirements for transport infrastructure in the North Eastern region of India," said Shinya Ejima, JICA's chief representative in India.

"JICA's study would be aligned with India's Look-East policy as well as along the lines of a broader cooperation among South Asian nations and Japan," he added. The highways ministry is also working with the Asian Development Bank (ABD) to develop and expand India's road network.from the North-East into Myanmar.