Latest news with #SLP
The Hindu
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Union slams T.N. govt. decision to move Supreme Court on career advancement scheme for guest lecturers
The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has expressed concern over the actions by the Directorate of Collegiate Education on the implementation of the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for faculty of aided colleges. In an official release, AUT general secretary K. Raja said: 'On one hand, the Commissioner of Collegiate Education issued a letter on June 9, instructing all Regional Joint Directors to urgently submit updated CAS-related data of eligible teachers by June 10. This communication clearly signalled the Government's affirmative intention to proceed with the long-overdue CAS promotions with monetary benefits, offering hope and justice to thousands of eligible teachers in aided colleges. 'Surprisingly, in a completely contradictory move, a communication dated June 16 addressed to A. Muraliraj, assistant professor of Mathematics, Urumu Dhanalakshmi College, Tiruchi, reveals that the government has chosen to challenge a favourable High Court judgment in the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) with a motive to deny CAS monetary benefits due to the teachers. This action directly undermines the rightful claims of teachers, seeking career progression and represents a serious breach of trust.' The association demanded immediate withdrawal of the SLP and urged the authorities to honour the High Court verdict. 'The Career Advancement Scheme is a statutory right, not a privilege. Any attempt to delay or deny this right adversely affects the morale, dignity, and academic integrity of the teaching community,' the release said.
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Rethinking social and labour plans: from compliance to transformational community development
Mzila I. Mthenjane | Published 9 hours ago The consequences of climate change amplify vulnerabilities in communities, placing additional stresses on water availability, agricultural productivity, health outcomes, and infrastructure resilience, such as roads and housing susceptibility to severe weather conditions. Too often, when the disaster or distress hits, communities turn to mining companies to provide services and infrastructure. Despite this reality, there remains a disconnect between intention, impact, and outcomes in these interventions. Mining is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation investment boom. The global population is approaching 10 billion people, and many parts of the world, including us, are pursuing a net zero economy towards 2050 and beyond. With an estimated $100 billion in additional capital investment in the resources sector required each year to meet the demand outlook associated with urbanisation and the decarbonisation of the global energy system, sizeable increases in material production and infrastructure are also necessary. For emerging economies, there is a narrow window of opportunity to seize now. Such growing demand brings an opportunity to benefit communities, countries and investors committed to enabling and facilitating the mining and investment activities needed to meet our needs, such as skills-to-employment ecosystem, generating local value addition and create revenue flows capable of decarbonized economic development. South Africa's mining sector is a significant driver of economic growth and critical for the socio-economic transformation of our society. Central to this transformation agenda are Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), elements of the mining licensing regime which were introduced through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 to ensure mining contributes to sustainable community development. SLPs were conceived as strategic tools to promote socio-economic development, stimulate and broaden economic opportunities, and enhance skills development to support the creation of sustainable communities during and after mining. However, nearly two decades after their inception, the question remains: Have SLPs truly driven sustainable, transformative change within mining-affected communities This ongoing struggle reveals a fundamental disconnect between the institutional understanding of challenges within communities and the intended goals and actual community-level outcomes, raising the question of why there is this persistent gap and what are the possible solutions. Despite the significant resources mining companies have committed under SLPs, informed by local integrated development plans (IDPs), tangible and sustained improvements in the quality of life and long-term socio-economic resilience remains elusive. A significant contributing factor is the prevailing and compliance-driven mindset underpinning SLP implementation, amongst mining companies, regulator and beneficiaries. Too often, SLPs, being regulatory obligations, are limited from being approached as strategic investments for genuine socio-economic empowerment and, in today's terms, transforming communities in response to climate change and commence the just transition journey. As it stands, the law ringfences SLPs to individual mining rights, leading to less effective deployment of resources for joint projects which would deliver greater impact and minimise duplications. Such an approach frequently leaves underlying structural challenges unaddressed. For example, projects may initially improve conditions but deteriorate without municipal long-term planning, community stewardship, financial constraints and skills shortages to adequately sustain them. Under such a compliance framework, companies prioritise with local government , short-term deliverables—such as building municipal and district roads, donating to local charities, a clinic here and school classroom there, or sponsoring temporary initiatives—over comprehensive, sustained, and systemic socio-economic transformation projects. This situation ultimately limits the durability and scale of impacts, leading communities to cycle back into dependency and vulnerability. Even though, not directly affected by the SLP, lessons from the decommission of power stations, and associated mine closures in areas like Komati has brought this reality to the fore. Recently mining companies have been trying to pool their SLP projects with amendments to legislation also being advocated. The overarching idea is to bring the benefits of mining to communities through collaboration. But this is not often the case, as some IDPs do not exhibit the essential elements of integration along a clear developmental trajectory -resulting in sub-optimal developmental outcomes, leading to mistrust and finger-pointing. Whereas mining companies correctly complain of the failure of government in creating an enabling environment for development, host communities often bear the brunt of such failures, including poor service delivery and ineffective local economic development. A further complication is the apparent inadequacy of meaningful community engagement during IDP and SLP formulation. Inadequate measurement of actual impacts exacerbates the problem. Without robust metrics to measure true progress—such as improvements in health and education outcomes or enhanced local economic development—SLPs risk remaining exercises in compliance rather than vehicles for genuine and sustained socio-economic development. Furthermore, what is necessary to maximise this developmental impact through increased collaboration not just among mining companies within a municipality, but also with entities in other economic sectors. An appropriate legislative frameworks to guide collaboration between all economic players operating in the same mining region is urgently required. Mining companies, together with other economic players, government, communities and other stakeholders involved can reorient SLPs away from transactional, fragmented efforts towards comprehensive, integrated, and strategic frameworks. By doing so, SLPs can effectively contribute to the fulfilment of the developmental objective by serving as powerful catalysts for inclusive and enduring transformation in the communities that host South Africa's critical mining operations. Mzila I. Mthenjane is PCC Commissioner and CEO, Minerals Council South Africa.
India.com
3 days ago
- India.com
Supreme Court Slams Madras HCs Arrest Order Of Tamil Nadu ADGP Jayaram In Abduction Case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed shock over an order of the Madras High Court that had directed Tamil Nadu Police to 'secure and take action' against now-suspended Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H.M. Jayaram in connection with the abduction of an 18-year-old teenager. A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the senior IPS official seeking a stay on the impugned Madras High Court directive. As per the SLP filed before the apex court, there was absolutely no material on record warranting his custodial interrogation, and the 'arbitrary and prejudicial directions' were issued without due process, infringing his fundamental right to equality before the law and protection of life and personal liberty. During the course of the hearing, the Justice Bhuyan-led Bench also raised eyebrows over the order issued by the Tamil Nadu Home Department on Tuesday, suspending ADGP Jayaram. 'He is a senior police official. Where is the question of suspending him when he has joined the investigation? You cannot do this. This is very demoralising,' it remarked. Posting the matter for hearing on Thursday, the apex court asked Tamil Nadu's counsel to seek instructions on the withdrawal of the petitioner's suspension. Pertinently, the state's government submitted before the top court that the petitioner was not arrested since he joined the investigation. On Monday, Tamil Nadu Police took ADGP Jayaram into custody as he exited the Madras High Court premises, and was immediately taken to Thiruvalangadu police station for interrogation. He was questioned for nearly six hours by the investigating officer, during which his formal statement was recorded as well. The senior IPS official is accused of facilitating the abduction of a minor boy by allegedly providing his official vehicle to a gang involved in forcibly separating a couple. The abduction case centres around a complaint lodged by a woman named Lakshmi, whose elder son had married a woman from Theni district against her family's wishes. The couple reportedly went into hiding, fearing retaliation. In an attempt to locate the couple, members of the woman's family, allegedly aided by hired men, barged into Lakshmi's home and abducted her younger son in their absence. The boy was later found abandoned near a hotel, injured and traumatised. Subsequent investigation revealed that an official car linked to ADGP Jayaram was allegedly used in the abduction, prompting the Madras High Court to take direct, immediate action against the senior IPS official. On Tuesday, the matter reached the Supreme Court, and a bench of Justices Bhuyan and Manmohan agreed to hear the SLP on June 18. Jayaram's lawyer said: "Yesterday, an ADGP rank officer was arrested on the direction of the Madras High Court. The SLP has been filed today at 10 a.m. Kindly list the matter for urgent hearing." Advocates Aditya Kumar Choudhary, Sandeep Pandey, Vel Murugan, Venkatesh Mohanraj and Rajesh Singh Chauhan are representing the petitioner before the apex court.
GMA Network
4 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Marcos wants PWDs to have safe access to transportation
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to ensure that persons with disabilities have safe access to public transport. ''Ang instruction nga ng Pangulo tulad ng nasabi ko kanina, siguraduhin na may safe na public transport at accessible na public transport para sa ating mga kababayan na may kapansanan,'' DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a Palace press briefing. (The President gave an instruction for the DSWD to ensure safe and accessible public transport for PWDs.) Gatchalian earlier inspected three electric buses intended for persons with disabilities at the DSWD Central Office. The provision of electric vehicles is under the DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program's (SLP) Persons with Disabilities – Electric Transportation Service (PWD-ETS) Project. The PWD-ETS is a pilot project that aims to provide livelihood grants to persons with disabilities in SLPAs to purchase electric vehicles that are disability-friendly. The said project will enable the beneficiaries to earn income while helping other persons with disabilities to safely access modes of transportation. Each SLPA is composed of 115 members who are all persons with disabilities from 10 local government units in Metro Manila. Gatchalian said the DSWD would work with the Department of Transportation to scale up this measure. ''The goal talaga is palawakin, palawigin, paramihin not just in Metro Manila but also in the other Metro areas para mas magkaroon ng accessible at safe na space para sa ating mga people with disability,'' he said. (The goal is to widen and extend this not just in Metro Manila but also in the other metro areas to provide accessible and safe space for PWDs.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News
Hans India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
SC permits Samajwadi Party to approach HC over office allotment cancellation in Pilibhit
The Supreme Court on Monday permitted the Samajwadi Party to petition the Allahabad High Court over the cancellation of its office allotment in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit. A bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and Prasanna B. Varale was hearing a special leave petition (SLP) by the Samajwadi Party against a decision of the Allahabad High Court which had dismissed the writ petition filed in individual capacity by then Pilibhit district President of the party and had ordered that no liberty would be given to file a fresh plea on the same cause of action. In its order, the Justice Mehta-headed Bench opined that the impugned order of the Allahabad HC should not prejudice the rights of the Samajwadi Party. The SLP filed before the apex court said that the then district President did not act on behalf of the party, nor did he have any instructions from the party, but had filed the proceedings in his own name. It added that the Samajwadi Party intends to approach the Allahabad HC against "ill-conceived, abrupt and illegal decisions" of the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad, but cannot do so as the impugned decision prevents it from filing a fresh plea on allotment cancellation. Since the party did not have any office in Pilibhit, as per the SLP, it was allotted the premises in question in 2020, and subsequently, a Letter of Possession was also issued by the Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. However, the Executive Officer, in an order passed in 2020, recorded that due procedure was not followed in allotment of the property and several procedures were circumvented, such as a public auction was not done and the rent agreement was not registered. "The officials of Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit as well as the Executive Officer, Nagar Palika Parishad, Pilibhit had neither given an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner nor have they considered the facts or the law relevant in this case, before passing the Order,' contended the SLP, adding that the party had been religiously paying the annual rent and has remitted rent payment till January 2021. It said that since allotment cancellation proceedings were not under the Public Premises Act, the order of the Executive Officer is without jurisdiction because the allotment was done by the board of Pilibhit Nagar Palika Parishad. "That acting under political pressure, the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council, Pilibhit along with his subordinates and associates, had been illegally interfering with the peaceful working of the office of the petitioner and had made innumerable attempts to forcibly shut down the Samajwadi Party office in the district," contended the SP's SLP. Senior advocate Siddarth Dave, assisted by advocates Anuroop Chakravarty and Vishnu Sankar, represented the Samajwadi Party before the apex court. pds/vd
