Indian Forest Service officer suspended for causing Rs 540 crore liabilities
The state forest department has put Indian Forest Service official KS Randhawa, MD of the Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, under suspension. The official word is that his inefficiency caused liabilities of Rs 540 crore to the state.
In the suspension order, forest and environment department deputy secretary Prakash Majmudar stated, "... His inefficiency in implementation of the Comprehensive Agriculture Business Policy (CABP) 2016-2021 resulted in government liability to the tune of Rs 540 crore at the end of scheme."
During the suspension period, Randhawa will be stationed at Gandhinagar.
Gujarat High Court allows custody of child to mother
The Gujarat High Court has observed that if a person is a government employee, the service law applies to him, irrespective of his religion. In the present case, a petitioner woman named Rubika was married for the second time to one Farooq, who was employed in the police department. However, Farooq had not divorced his first wife. Rubica and Farooq have a child in their marriage.
A dispute arose between Rubika and Farooq, and the latter started living with his first wife. A few days later, Farooq took custody of the child born to Rubika who then filed the petition before the high court seeking custody of the 15-month-old girl.
Allowing the woman's plea, the high court ordered the custody of the child to the petitioner. The age of Rubika is 31 while Farooq is 59 years old.
Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act amended
The Assembly on Friday passed two amendment bills - Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, and Gujarat Organic Agricultural University Act, 2017. Grabbing (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill-2022 was tabled by revenue minister Rajendra Trivedi.
It proposed that the word 'land' in the original act 'shall not include the land in respect of which applications for grants are pending on the date of commencement of this Act. The amendment would protect tribals from any penal action under the Act, if they have already applied for land allocation, said the minister.
Solar-powered portable signal on Rajkot road
A solar-powered portable traffic signal has been set up by Rajkot Traffic Police in collaboration with a private company. The portable signal has been placed at the Rajkot Municipal Corporation Chowk. The company claims this is the first portable solar-powered signal in the country. It is aimed at helping the police personnel on duty at busy junction.
The signal has been set up at a cost of Rs 1.5 lakh. The uniqueness of this signal is that it is movable and it can be placed on any road. The signal will have a backup of solar energy for seven days. Once the pilot project is found successful, it will be installed at all major junctions across the city.