House Rent Allowance

House Rent Allowance not a right, merely a compensation: HC

The HC has ruled that house rent allowance (HRA) is not a right. A division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice A P Bhangale ruled that a government employee not staying in the quarters despite its availability can be disentitled from claiming the special allowance. The bench was hearing a petition filed by the defence ministry against its employees working in the ordinance factory in Nagpur, who were staying in their own accommodation.

Nagpur has surplus government accommodation and is one of the few cities where a central government employee, who lives in his own house has to submit a "non-availability certificate" before he can ask for HRA. The government claimed that its employees, who are offered accommodation but refuse to occupy the same, would not be entitled to HRA.

"HRA is not a matter of right, it is a compensatory allowance given by an employer towards the rental accommodation expenses when the government is unable to provide suitable accommodation to its employee," said the judges. "The employee, if he resides in his own property, may not be entitled to claim the HRA, because it is paid to central government employees to compensate them partly for the especially higher rents which they have to pay for hired or rented residential accommodation in big cities, but not as a source of profit," they added.

The court quashed an order of the central administrative tribunal asking the government to pay HRA to employees who had were residing in their own houses. "Prima facie in our opinion, the pre-requisite for a non-availability certificate (NAC) as laid down in the office memorandum as operative in Nagpur, when central government accommodation is available in surplus and the government is required to spend huge amounts towards construction and maintenance (of the quarters), it is neither arbitrary nor malafide," said the judges.

BSF DIG O.P. Tanwar killed in Jammu

Senior BSF officer killed in Jammu mine blast

A file photo of BSF DIG O P Tanwar who was killed in the landmine blast at a border outpost at Ramgarh Sector in Samba near Jammu

A Border Security Force Deputy Inspector-General was killed and two soldiers were injured when an improvised explosive device went off on the international border in the Samba sector of Jammu on Monday morning.

DIG O.P. Tanwar was killed while on a visit to the Ballad post following reports of militant infiltration in the area. While inspecting the spot which, sources said, was a “very secure area,” his vehicle drove over a landmine. DIG Tanwar died on the spot while head constable Sham Dogra and constable Sanjeev Kumar were seriously injured.

The injured troopers were removed to the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu. The BSF’s 59th battalion was posted in the area at the time of the blast.

Inquiry ordered

Speaking to The Hindu on the phone, K. Srinivas, DIG at the BSF headquarters in Delhi, said the BSF guards had noticed movement of militants on the Pakistani side through thermal images on Sunday night. DIG Tanwar, he said, had gone to area to assess the situation but “it is a sandy area and we were not expecting anything like this.”

He said an inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

Mr. Srinivas said India would be registering its protest during a flag meeting between the Indian and Pakistani sides in the same sector, possibly on Tuesday.

Pak violates ceasefire, BSF Inspector killed

A Sub Inspector of paramilitary BSF was killed, while a labourer received bullet injuries, when Pakistan Rangers allegedly opened fire on an Indian forward post along the border, in violation of the ceasefire agreement, in Samba district, officials said on Tuesday.
They said that Pak army personnel opened “unprovoked fire” on the Indian post this afternoon leading to a brief exchange of fire.
A BSF Sub Inspector - Ram Chander Singh Rana of Dehradun – who was standing outside the post received bullet in his chest leading to his on the spot death. A civilian laborer, who was cutting grass in the area, also received bullet injury, officials added.
The BSF has taken the matter seriously and has intensified its vigil along the border. The BSF has also called for a flag meeting with its counterpart in Pakistan to take up the matter, officials added.

South China Sea, India And China's Assertiveness

The Xinhua also referred to the November 2000
“Mekong-Ganga cooperation agreement between
India, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam as
an indication of joint efforts between India and
Vietnam to compete with China, and diminish
China’s economic influence over Vietnam.
It may be recalled that from the late 1990s
Chinese official media articles have been
warning India to keep out of South China Sea.

China's claims to South China Sea

The oceans are the new battleground for India and China competition. While New Delhi plans to explore South China Sea, Beijing is eyeing the Indian Ocean.

The oceans are the new theatre of India-China competition, but one with possible security implications.

Soon after India announced its decision to go ahead with oil exploration in South China Sea with Vietnam, China on Saturday said it would expand its exploration of 10,000 sq km of seabed in southwest Indian Ocean. This was announced as part of its 2011-2015 oceanic development policy.

Xinhua, China's state run news agency, quoted China's head of oceanic development Liu Cigui as saying, "We will expand the depths and scope of oceanic research and improve our understanding of the ocean, with special focuses on the polar regions and deep sea environments." Liu, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), made the comments at a meeting on oceanic technology in Beijing on Friday.

The Chinese intent would have security implications. India's Naval Hydrography Department, one of the best in the world, has done extensive work, mapping the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Sources said Indian hydrographers, with skills developed over the years, have perhaps the best knowledge in the world of the bottom of the ocean -- which would not only help mariners, but are invaluable resources for India's defence and strategic planning.

On July 11, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) allowed exploration for polymetallic sulphides by China Ocean Minerals Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA). The development sent shockwaves across the Indian government. The thing is, India could have done any number of such exploratory activities. India has received exploratory rights by the ISA for a large number of blocks. But Indian inaction has meant that a number of these blocks have had to be surrendered to the ISA. India still retains a number of blocks in the Indian Ocean. India cannot object to China obtaining mining rights in the Indian Ocean, particularly as India has itself neglected its concessions.

Obviously, keeping in mind China's swift moves into the Indian Ocean, the government last month released its surveys of the sea-bed on Indian territorial waters. The surveys by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) shows the presence of heavy deposits of ilmenite, rutile, zircon, sillimanite, monazite and garnet off the east coast, as well as off Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The GSI has also conducted reconnaissance surveys to identify potential areas for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) off Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meanwhile, China is getting ready to square off with India in the South China Sea. In an opinion piece in Xinhua, China asked India to wise up and "refrain" from moves in the South China Sea, where China retains "absolute sovereignty". "For countries outside the region, we hope they will respect and support countries in the region to solve this dispute through bilateral channels," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said while responding to a question concerning ONGC's plans to explore in two offshore oil blocks in South China Sea.