PM calls for quick execution of Chawla recommendations

PM Manmohan Singh met key Union ministers and officials and asked them to swiftly implement Ashok Chawla committees recommendations on the allocation of natural resources.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday met key Union ministers and officials and asked them to swiftly implement Ashok Chawla committees recommendations on the allocation of natural resources.

It was decided that all the 69 agreed recommendations would be pursued for implementation by individual ministries in a timely manner. Detailed timelines will be finalised, said an official release from the Prime Ministers Office PMO.

The meeting was attended by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee,Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,minister of petroleum and natural gas S Jaipal Reddy,urban development minister Kamal Nath,HRD minister Kapil Sibal,coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal,minister for water resources Pawan Kumar Bansal and minister of state of environment and forests Jayanthi Natarajan.

Department of economic affairs secretary R Gopalan made a presentation on the recommendations at the meeting which was also attended by the Principal Secretary in the PMO Pulok Chatterjee and secretaries of all concerned departments.

The committee under former finance secretary Ashok Chawla was set up in January last year following a decision by a GoM on corruption to suggest ways for optimum allocation of natural resources,in the wake of the 2G scandal.

The purpose was to obtain recommendations which would enhance transparency,effectiveness and sustainability in the allocation,pricing and utilisation of natural resources.

Trai withdraws case against Airtel,Idea,Loop

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday withdrew a complaint against Bharti Airtel,Idea Cellular and Loop Mobiles for violation of its number portability regulations.

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Trai told a Delhi court that the complaint was being withdrawn as the companies had taken remedial measures. Trai had filed the complaint against the firms for rejecting number portability requests from subscribers.

The telecom authority counsel told the court that after the complaint,the telcos had written a letter to the authority saying that they have taken measures to ensure such violations did not occur in future.