Former Vice Chancellor Rajasthan University Dr. Arun D Sawant said there is a need to run Lead Safety Programme (LSP) in the country in order to educate people on the hazardous of lead consumption through food and other means.

Addressing a gathering at the National Conference of Research Scholars on subject ‘Sustainable Development’ on Friday, Sawant said it is due to ignorance and lack of public concern that people tend to carry out burning activities in an improper manner which results in greater CO2 (carbondioxide), SO2 (sluphur dioxide), CO (carbonmonoxide), NO (Nitrogen oxides) emission.

“Ozone layer depletion is a serious threat. Wholes in the Ozone layer have been observed at Poles. It has already resulted in extinction of some of important species and causes diseases like skin cancer, cataracts. Changing seasons, drought or excessive rain are some other ill-effects results of neglecting sustainable development,” he said.

Sawant, who has been former the former Pro-Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, cited examples of Minamata disease caused by Mercury pollution (poisoning) and also spoke about the Bhopal Gas Tragedy that claimed thousands of lives in the Madhya Pradesh capital due to leakage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas at Union Carbide factory.

The latest case of ban on instant noodles ‘Maggi’ is an example of lead poisoning, though with the ban people have been sensitised to some extent towards harmfulness of lead, he said.

“But people have been breathing and ingesting lots of lead through commercial products like paints, print materials, leaded petrol. Even vermilion (sindur) contains unchecked concentrations of lead metal,” he added.

He said even unknowingly scores of people are getting exposed to lead poisoning in the country which is why the government should organise Lead Safety Programmes, which are of a routine in developed countries.

Sawant appealed to people to become aware about their surrounding and know about the basic materials, resources they use and food.

Higher airport charges are unlikely to have a major cascading impact on air fares as it accounts for less than 10 per cent of a carrier’s operating costs, according to airport sources.

While the quantum of airport charges has been a matter of debate in the country, where the aviation sector has high growth potential, the government is now looking at ways to address the issue of high air fares, especially during festive seasons.

An analysis of the financials of airlines indicates that airport charges are not a major cost factor as it accounts for less than 10 per cent of the carriers’ operating costs, according to airport sources.

Passing on the reduction in air fuel prices to passengers would result in low air fares substantially while a cut in airport charges is unlikely to have a major impact, they added.

Aeronautical tariffs include the parking, landing and navigation fees for airlines, besides levies on passengers under the user development fees.

In July, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General and Chief Executive Tony Tyler had said that globally, most airports take into consideration revenue from both aeronautical and commercial activities to determine the level of airport charges.

Voicing concerns over the government’s plan to privatise the four state-run airports, he had said it might result in a steep hike in user fees.

In August 2012, the government allowed the GMR-run Delhi Airport to hike user charges (aeronautical fees) by a whopping 346 per cent after the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) shot down GMR demand for a 774 per cent hike in the same.

Last year in March, the Mumbai airport steeply hiked the aeronautical charges by over 300 per cent and in June 2014, AERA allowed an over 100 per cent hike in user charges at the Bangalore airport.

In February this year, AERA had proposed a sharp 80 per cent reduction in the airport charges at the Delhi airport, but the GMR group has sought a directive from the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal to put on hold the proposed reduction in the user charges.

During a meeting with the government on September 15, domestic carriers sought time to come up with their proposals to address the issue of “high fares”.

The meeting came against the backdrop of rising concerns expressed from various quarters over steep fluctuations in air ticket prices.

US-based Harvard University will take up a training programme for Maharashtra jail officials next year on various issues ranging from inmates welfare to renaming of prisons as ‘Correction Homes’.

“The University has agreed in principle to take up a customised programme next year. The programme will be as per our requirement on surveillance, jail security and inmates welfare. Superintendent and DIG rank officials will be selected to attend the programme. American officers will also be part of it,” Principal Secretary (Home) Vijay Satbir Singh said.

On the lines of Chicago jails where 30 per cent of inmates suffer mental disorder and the prisons are called as ‘Correction Centres’, state authority will take steps to rename domestic jails as ‘sudhar griha’ (correction home).

“We too are going to call our jails ‘Sudhar griha’ and the jails will also have Department of correction,” Mr. Singh said.
Meanwhile, the Home department is in the process of simplifying all permissions and licenses for eating joints, arms licenses and other licenses under the Bombay Police Act.

“We want to make the process of applications simple, transparent and hassle free with minimal paper work. Home department is concerned with security, law and order and traffic. As Regulatory authority, the relevant information while complying with all norms and standards will be sought in simple format,” he said.

Mr. Singh said the rules and Acts will be amended to provide for Single-Window Clearance.

“Due to repetitive procedures, there is difficulty in starting businesses. Hence, rules and Acts will be amended to provide Single-Window Clearance,” he said.

A section of Air India Engineers have threatened to take the airline management to court if it does not reverse its decision to absorb 50 odd Air India Express (AIE) engineers into subsidiary AIESL on the ground that the move would adversely impact their carreer prospects.

Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) currently has 900 aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) with 500 of them from erstwhile Indian Airlines (narrow-body fleet) and the rest from Air India (wide-body fleet).

The protesting AMEs are from erstwhile Indian Airlines, sources said.

On the other hand, Air India Express has a total of around 105 engineers. Of these 55 are of Air India Express itself and the remaining 50 on deputation from Air India.

“AI management has issued transfer letters to all 55 AMEs of Air India Express, placing their services with the AIESL from September. We are opposed to these transfers as it would have a direct bearing on our career progression,” Air India engineering sources said.

They claimed engineers coming from Air India Express, who have been getting early promotions, would get seniority upon transfer thereby adversely affecting the career prospects of AI engineers.

Air India had hived off its engineering and cargo businesses into two separate subsidiaries– AIESL and Air India Transport Services Limited (AITSL)–in 2013.

“The absorption of these engineers from AIE into the AIESL would further block our promotion avenues. Hence we are > protesting the decision and would soon move Mumbai High Court seeking a stay,” they said.

These engineers were initially hired on a temporary basis on the condition that their services will be regularised only after five years and that too depending on the performance.

“But throwing rules to the wind their services were made permanent after a year,” sources said.

The laying of the foundation stone for a memorial here to iconic leader Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be held on October 4.

Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told that the Prime Minister’s two programmes on the day in Mumbai are likely to be the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial and another function of the Bohra community.

“Final date will be announced after Prime Minister’s clearance. But the tentative date for the ambitious Ambedkar Memorial project’s ‘bhumi pujan’ has been fixed for October 4,” Mungantiwar said.

The state government had earlier planned the function this year on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.

But the event was postponed due to the foreign visits of Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The 12.5 acre plot in the Indu mill compound that belonged to National Textile Corporation (NTC) was transferred to the state government in 2012.

The BJP-led government, which completes its first year in office on October 31, plans to showcase the project as one of its major achievements.