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See this Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is located in the Siger Plateau. We have discussed in detail about Siger Plateau very recently in our Hindu news analysis on 15th October 2020. That day we also discussed about elephant corridor, what do we mean by keystone species. For these aspects, we suggest you to refer that analysis. Today's news says that Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is believed to be home to around 12 to 14 individuals of Asian king vultures. The population of the Asian king vulture, like most vulture species in India, has declined or crashed over the last five decades. One wildlife expert has said that the sighting of a juvenile Asian king vulture was a sign that the population is increasing. It is also reported that this species, that is the Asian king vultures, they feed only on fresh carcasses or fresh dead bodies of animals. And it is also known for tracking tigers to feed from those killed by the tigers. Now, in this context, let us have a brief understanding about types of vultures in India, especially the Asian king vulture, their conservation status and ecological significance. We'll also in the end see about in brief on the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve as well. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for your reference. See, vulture is a scavenging bird of prey. Here scavenging refers to the fact that these birds clean up the dead bodies of animals before they rot or decay. They are large birds. They live predominantly in the tropics and subtropics. There are 22 kinds of vultures. Of these 15 types are old world vultures that are found in Europe, Asia and Africa. And there are seven types of new world vultures that are found in America. The seven species of new world vultures, this include condos. And the 15 old world species include lamergear and griffons. I know that all of the new world vultures and some of the old world vultures, they have bare heads. Now, this condition, it prevents furthers of these vultures from matting or getting tangled with the blood when these birds reach inside carcasses. Most vultures, they have a large pouch in the throat and therefore they can go for long periods without food. And this throat pouch is also called as crop that can store food for eating at a later time. In some species, the beak is exceptionally strong and heavy for tearing, hide, muscle and even bone. It is also to be noted that eyesight in all vultures is well developed and the old world vultures, they have relatively strong feet, but new world vultures, they have flat, weak feet that are poorly adapted for grasping. See, vultures are widely distributed, but they are absent from Australia and most oceanic islands. Most of the vultures, they have broad food habits, that is they consume carrion, that is they consume decaying flesh of dead animals. They consume garbage and even excrement, but they rarely feed upon live animals. When feeding, vultures maintain a strict order or a strict social order among themselves based on body size and strength of beak. For example, smaller vultures must wait for the scraps that are left behind by larger dominant species. There are nine species of vultures found in India. This include migratory vultures and residential as well. Now these include long build vulture or Indian vulture, white drummed or whitebacked vulture, slender build vulture, Himalayan griffon vulture, bearded vulture, red-headed vulture or Asian king vulture, Egyptian vulture, Senarius vulture, Eurasian griffon vulture. Of these, Indian vulture or long build vulture, then white drummed vulture, Asian king vulture and slender build vultures. These are in the category of critically endangered of IUCN red list. Now let's come to red-headed vultures or Asian king vultures that are found in the newspaper. See, these vultures are also called as pondicherry vulture or the Indian black vulture. They are old world vultures and their range is from Pakistan to Malaysia. They have a size of about 75 centimeter in length and have a wingspan of about 2.7 meters. They are black with white down on the breast and they have a huge black beak and large lapets on the sides of their neck. As we saw earlier, they are critically endangered. They are in appendix two of sites and appendix one of convention on migratory species and on schedule one of Wild Life Protection Act of 1972. Now coming to the concerns with respect to their existence, they face a steep population. See, a steep population in the vulture population was reported in India and its neighboring countries in mid 1990s. It was reported that the decline was at an alarming pace. Major causes, we can say loss of habitat, low food availability, infectious diseases, use of veterinary drugs, general environment contaminations, deliberate poisoning of carnivores that leading to secondary poisoning of vultures, then exploitation and persecution. There is also effects of transportation, infrastructure and recreation and intentional killing by aviation authority source to prevent aircraft accidents. And also know that there was a big kill of vultures due to bio accumulation of dichlofenac and this has caused kidney failure in vultures leading to death. The veterinary use of this dichlofenac drug in cattle was reported by many to bring, to cause decline in the number of vultures. Now let's come to Mudumalai Tiger Resort which is located in the Neelagriese district of Tamil Nadu. See, it is spread over around 321 square kilometer at the tri-junction of three states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It has a common boundary with Wynard Wild Life Sanctuary of Kerala on the west, then with Bandipur Tiger Resort of Karnataka on the north, then with Neelagriese North Division on the south and east and with Kudalur Forest Division in the Neelagriese on the southwest. All these areas together, they form a large conservation landscape for flagship species like tiger and Asian elephant. Now this Resort Mudumalai Tiger Resort has several species of endemic flora and fauna. These variety of animals are found here. The Resort has got a variety of more than 260 species of birds. Eight percentage of bird species found in India are recorded in Mudumalai. Some of the rare birds found here include Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Malabar Loffing Trush, Frog Mouths and some variety of woodpeckers as well. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. This analysis we saw in detail about types of vultures and we saw in particular about Asian King vultures. Then we saw about Mudumalai Tiger Resort. Now let's move on to analysis of next news article. This news article is about a recent judgment by a special court under the National Investigation Agency Act. It says that the special court has awarded prison terms along with fine to three Islamic state operatives from Hyderabad. Now we have discussed in detail about National Investigation Agency, the scheduled offenses in the act and various other matters. In our 17th January 2020 analysis, today we will be focusing on the establishment and jurisdiction of special courts under this law. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for your reference. See the National Investigation Agency Act was passed in the year 2008 and NIA was formed as a statutory body. It is empowered to investigate and prosecute offenses that affect sovereignty of India, security and integrity of India, security of state, friendly relations with foreign states, et cetera. Recently this act was amended last year in 2019. Now we'll see chapter four in this legislation which talks about or which deals with special courts. See section 11, it deals with power of central government to constitute special courts. The amended law states that, that is the law after the 2019 amendment states that the center shall designate any court of session as a special court. This means that there is no need to establish a new court for NIA related cases. Rather an existing sessions court can be designated as a special court. Similarly, section 22 of the law, it enables the state government also to designate one or more court of session as special courts for the trial of offenses under this law. And while designating one or more courts of session as a special court, the central government shall consult the Chief Justice of the concerned high court under which the session's court is functioning. Also, when more than one special court is designated for an area or areas, then the senior most judge shall be distributing the business among them. Not just that, a special court, if it considers desirable to do so, may sit for any of its proceedings at any place other than its ordinary place of sitting. So this can be done through the own motion of the special court or on an application made by the public prosecutor. Now let's see about the jurisdiction of special courts. See, every schedule defense investigated by the agency shall be tried only by the special court within whose jurisdiction or within whose local jurisdiction the schedule defense was committed. However, there are some exceptions. For example, if it is not possible to have a fair, impartial or speedy trial, then say it is not feasible to have the trial without breach of peace. Or it is not feasible to have the trial without risking safety of the accused or witnesses or the public prosecutor or the judge of the special court or if it is not in the interest of justice. So during these situations, the Supreme Court may transfer any case pending before a special court to any other special court within that state or in any other state. And similarly, in such cases, the High Court is also empowered to transfer any case pending before a special court situated in a particular state. However, it can transfer to any other special court within that particular state. Whereas for Supreme Court, it can transfer it to any other special court in any other state. Now, let's come to section 21 which talks about appeals. See an appeal to any judgment, sentence or order of a special court not being an interlocutory order. In such case, the appeal shall lie before the High Court. Here the term interlocutory order, it refers to an interim order, something which is not the final order of the special court. Now, every such appeal shall be preferred within a period of 30 days from the date of judgment or sentence. The High Court may entertain an appeal after the expiry of 30 days if it is satisfied that there is sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the prescribed time period. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. In this analysis, we talked about the constitution of special courts and specifically also the jurisdiction of special courts and also about the appeals. Now, let's move on to the analysis of next news article. This news article talks about the role of governor and the effect on the federalism. The news article was written in the context of recent controversies surrounding the governors of Maharashtra and West Bengal. Very recently, Maharashtra governor has written a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra wherein news reports say that he asked why the Chief Minister suddenly turned into a secular person. Even individuals from the ruling party at the center have also said that the governor of Maharashtra should have exercised restraint and should have avoided certain words in the letter to the Chief Minister. So in this regard, we'll discuss the role of governor with reference to federalism. The syllabus relevant for the analysis is highlighted here for your reference. See, the constitution of India it envisages the same pattern of government in the states as that is for the center, that is the parliamentary system of government. However, as we saw in one of our recent analysis, the structure of the system of government among the states is not uniform because in some states we see only the legislative assembly and in some states we see bicameral legislature. However, the system of government is same at the center and also at the states, that is the parliamentary system. And as per article 154, the executive power of the state shall be vested in the governor and shall be exercised by her either directly or through officers subordinate to her in accordance with the constitution. However, like the president, the governor is a nominal executive head. In the initial days of independence, the governor's role was not controversial. However, in the later years, the role of governor has become too controversial mainly because the union government has used governors to meddle in state politics. To one extreme, whenever there is a change of power in center, the state governments of opposition parties, they were dismissed by the governor. This was the case of 1980s and 90s. The later years, the Sarkarya commission and the Supreme Court's judgment in SR Bombay case, these have reduced the tussle between governor and the state chief minister. As we earlier said, the governor is the nominal head and the chief minister with council of ministers is the real head in a state polity. Then why there is a power tussle or disagreements between governor and chief minister? So this is because the constitution granted certain amount of discretion to the governor. For example, if you see article 167, it deals with duties of chief minister as respects the furnishing of information to governor. It states that, it shall be the duty of the chief minister of each state to communicate all decisions of the council of ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation to the governor of the state. Then it shall be the duty of chief minister to furnish such information relating to the administration of affairs of the state and proposal for legislation as the governor may call for. And if the governor requires, it is the duty of chief minister to submit any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council. And if the governor requires, such a matter should be submitted for the consideration of the council of ministers. So this provision was much used by the governors to meddle into state politics or to project their activism. Not just that, the discretionary power of governor is even more. See, whenever there is no clear majority to any political party, the governor can ask any leader to form government and to prove their majority later. Last year, the same governor, the governor of Maharashtra, has fallen leader from the BJP party as chief minister at very early hours in Maharashtra. This became too controversial and the chief minister had to resign within days because of lack of support. And then the present government or the current government was formed and it is reported that naturally the governor's attitude will be or has been hostile to the present government headed by Sri Uddhav. Now in this context, the author notes that the governors supposed to act non-partisan are working as agents of ruling party at the center and we are witnessing partisanship of governors. So now here let us try to know what Supreme Court has observed in SR Bombay case with respect to the role of governor. This case is considered as a watershed in the center state relations. Now who is SR Bombay? See SR Bombay was the chief minister of Karnataka between 1988 and 89. His government was dismissed in April 1989 under article 356 of Indian constitution and the president's rule was imposed there. The dismissal was on the grounds that the Bombay government has lost majority after large scale defections that are engineered by several party leaders at that time. The governor even refused to give opportunity to Sri Bombay to test his majority in the assembly though Bombay had presented the governor a copy of the resolution passed by the Janadal Legislature Party. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court wherein Supreme Court concluded that the power of the president to dismiss a state government is not absolute. The president should exercise the power only after the proclamation to impose president rule is approved by both houses of parliament. Till then the president can only suspend the legislative assembly by suspending the provisions of constitution relating to the legislative assembly. In case both houses of parliament disapprove or do not approve proclamation the proclamation lapses at the end of the two month period. In such a case the government which was dismissed revives. The legislative assembly which may have been kept in suspended animation gets reactivated. Very importantly Supreme Court made it amply clear that a presidential proclamation under article 356 is subject to judicial review. In this case put an end to arbitrary dismissal of state governments by a hostile central government. Though it safeguarded the state governments from the misuse of article 356 or from the deadly weapon of article 356 the role of governor continued to be controversial. Many times we see either governor is interfering in the state politics or refusing to give assent to the bills passed by the state legislature or frequently referring the bills passed by the state legislature to the president. As a result of such meddling several state governments at various instances have recommended removal of the post of governor itself. These are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this editorial. Now let's move on to next part of the discussion. This news article states that the presidential election process has started in Bolivia. In this context let us see few information with reference to Bolivia. See Bolivia is located in the west central part of South America. In the north and east it is bordered by Brazil. To the southeast we can see Paraguay. To the south we can see Argentina. And to the southwest and west we can see Chile. And to the northwest we could see Peru. So these are the countries bordering Bolivia. We could observe that it is a landlocked country. And one very important information is that it shares Lake Titicaca with Peru. Lake Titicaca is the second largest lake in South America. The constitutional capital is the historic city of Sucre and the administrative capital is La Paz. The executive and legislative branches of the government function in La Paz. Now it is also part of Andean community. See this Andean community it is a trade block of four countries. These are Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Now this trade block was formed with the signing of Cartagena Agreement. The agreement was signed by five countries Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. In the year 1969 with the objective of creating a customs union and a common market. In the year 1976 Chile left this grouping. Now there is one more regional block in South America called as Mercosur. See it is an economic and political block. It has five countries. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. It was created in the year 1991 by the signing of a treaty called as Treaty of Ascension by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela became state party in the year 2012 but it was suspended in 2016 because of violations in human rights, rigging in election processes, et cetera. With respect to Bolivia, Bolivia is not a state party to Mercosur. Rather it is a associated state in this block along with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Peru and Suriname. So it is in the process of accession to become a state party in Mercosur. So current active members if you see, if we leave Venezuela, then we have Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay which are also the founding members of Mercosur. So these are some of the information with reference to the analysis of this news article. Now let's move on to next part of the discussion. This editorial is written by chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forest. Talks about the origin and important achievements of National Green Tribunal over the last 10 years. In this context, let us discuss about National Green Tribunal. See, NGT was established in the year 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. It is a specialized judicial body which is equipped with expertise solely for the purpose of adjudicating environmental cases in the country. Its objective is to provide effective and expeditious or speedy remedy in cases relating to environmental protection, conservation of forests and conservation of other natural resources. It is also tasked with enforcement of any legal right relating to environment. Know that it has a presence in five zones, North Zone, Central Zone, East Zone, South Zone and West Zone. Its principal bench is situated in the North Zone, headquartered in Delhi. The Central Zone bench is situated in Bhopal, East Zone in Kolkata, South Zone in Chennai and West Zone in Pune. Now, let's see the composition of this National Green Tribunal. See, it is headed by the chairperson who sits in the principal bench. Apart from this, NGT has at least 10 judicial members but not more than 20 judicial members and it has at least 10 expert members but not more than 20 expert members. So, there are judicial members and expert members. Know that any person seeking relief and compensation for environmental damage which involves subjects in the legislations mentioned in Schedule 1 of the Act may approach the Tribunal. The Schedule 1 of the National Green Tribunal has been highlighted here for your reference. Now, let's come to the jurisdiction of National Green Tribunal. See, it has jurisdiction over all civil cases involving a substantial question relating to environment. Additionally, any person agreed by an order or direction of any of the appellate authorities under the legislations mentioned in the Schedule 1 can also challenge them before the NGT. Know that NGT's orders are binding and enforceable as the powers vested are same as in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 but National Green Tribunal is not bound by the procedure lay down under the Code of Civil Procedure rather shall be guided by principles of natural justice. Also know that National Green Tribunal has powers to review its own decisions as well. So if the review fails, the decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court within a prescribed time limit which is as of now 90 days. So these are some of the information with reference to the National Green Tribunal. Now let's move on to next part of the discussion. We have come to the last session, the practice questions discussion session. See this question. They have given two statements. They are asking which of the statements is correct. First statement, Article 356 of Indian Constitution deals with effect of failure by a state to comply with or to give effect to directions given by the union. Now this statement is incorrect because this part is dealt by Article 365. Article 356 deals with provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in states. So first statement is incorrect. Second statement as per the Constitution of India, the president may by proclamation assume all or any of the functions of the government of a state. If she or he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution on receipt of a report from the governor in this regard. The statement is correct. It is as per Article 356. Even without receipt of a report of a governor, also the president can by proclamation assume the functions of government of a state. So here second statement is correct. The correct answer is option B, two only. This question is with reference to Asian King vultures. Two statements are given. They are asking which of the statements are incorrect. First statement, they are found only in South India and are extinct in other parts of Asia. The statement is incorrect. They are found in both North and South India. Their range is from Pakistan to Malaysia, including India. The second statement, they are placed under vulnerable category of the red list maintained by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The statement is incorrect because they are categorized as critically endangered. Both the statements are incorrect. Therefore, the correct answer is option C, both one and two. Now this question is with reference to National Green Tribunal. Two statements are given. They are asking which of the above statements are correct. It is a statutory body created under the Water Act of 1974. That is the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act of 1974. This statement is incorrect because it is established under National Green Tribunal Act of 2010. The second statement, it is empowered with powers of a civil court and is bound by the procedure laid under the code of civil procedure 90.08. While the first part of the statement is correct that the National Green Tribunal is empowered with powers of a civil court, second part is incorrect because it is not bound by procedure laid under code of civil procedure, rather be guided by principles of natural justice. Both the statements are incorrect. Therefore, the correct answer is option D, neither one nor two are correct. Now this question is with reference to special courts designated under the National Investigation Agency Act. Two statements are given. They're asking which of the statements are incorrect. First statement, only central government can designate a court of session as a special court for the trial of offenses under the Act. This statement is incorrect because both center and state governments are empowered to designate one or more courts of session as special courts for the trial of offenses under the Act or the scheduled offenses. First statement is incorrect. Second statement, the sentence or judgment of the special court shall not be appealed in any other court. The statement again is incorrect except the interlocutary order. The judgment or sentence of a special court can be challenged before the high court. Both the statements are incorrect. Correct answer option C, both one and two. See this question, which is with reference to Bolivia. Three statements are given. They're asking which of the statements given above are incorrect. Bolivia is the only landlocked country in South America. Now this statement is incorrect. If you see the map of South America, two countries are landlocked countries. One is Bolivia and the other is Paraguay. First statement becomes incorrect. Second statement, Bolivia is the founding member of Mercosur. See the founding members of Mercosur are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bolivia is not its founding member. Bolivia is in the process of becoming a state party in this block. As of now it is an associated state in this block, not a state party. So the second statement is also incorrect. Third statement, Bolivia was recently suspended from Andean community. See Bolivia is a founding member, along with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in the Andean community trade block. Suspension of South American country, Venezuela, comes in the context with reference to Mercosur, which was suspended in the year 2016 after joining as a full member in 2012. So Bolivia is at present a full member Andean community. All the three statements are incorrect. Correct answer is option D, one, two and three. See this main question in GS paper two, the office of governor and non-elected constitutional institution is envisaged as a linchpin of federalism in India. Discuss. You may write the answer for this question and post it in the comments section. With this we come to the end of today's The Hindu News Analysis. 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