FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 281 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 26, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Love, Legacy & Bullseye of Dreams P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY ‘INDIA, US TO FOCUS ON REDUCING TARIFFS’ UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Vendetta, Not Justice P.6 Cinema Sonu wife Sonali meets with accident P.16 MP SCHOOLS’ ‘SALUT’ TO MULTILINGUALISM HC stays MPPSC 4th in Upper Primary, 6th in Secondary! Tina Khatri INDORE Madhya Pradesh ranks 4th in India for offering three languages at the Upper Primary stage and 6th at the Secondary stage, according to the Union Ministry of Education. The State/U.T. Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Gujarat Karnataka Tamil Nadu 31,780 36,765 36,333 31,319 29,204 25,209 1,756 state's focus on multilingual education, especially in rural areas, highlights its commit- It’s against farmers, says BKS; will meet CM BHOPAL RSS’s auxiliary organisation Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has expressed its strong reservation against Madhya Pradesh Town and Country Planning (T&CP) Amendment Act passed by assembly on last day of budget session. It has decided to meet Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to tell him that act will leave farmers duped. BKS’s state president Kamal Singh ‘Anjana’ told Free Press that BKS will approach government to tell that farmers will get duped through the act. Stating that such act is not needed in present conditions, he said that farmers will lose their 50 % land and rest 50 % developed land will be returned to farmer which he can sell to fp Briefs MUMBAI RBI cancels March 31 bank holiday The RBI has instructed all agency banks—those handling government transactions—to remain open for services on March 31, 2025 (Monday), despite it being a holiday in many states. Public sector banks (PSBs) and private banks were supposed to be closed on March 31 in almost all states except Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram for RamzanId (Id-Ul-Fitr). Today in IPL MATCH NO. 6 RR Vs KKR GUWAHATI; 7.30 PM (Detail on Sports Page) 4th 1st 2nd 3rd 5th 7th 8th 7,907 16,453 10,739 8,491 6,851 8,785 1,059 6th 1st 2nd 3rd 5th 4th 9th ment to diverse learning. The report highlights the state’s focus on providing stu- dents with diverse language options, especially in rural areas. get money. “However, the farmer needs money instantly to purchase the land. He cannot wait, he has to start farming,” he said. He said that land development concept could be good for big cities like Indore, Gwalior but not for small towns or rural areas. There are many colonies in rural areas and even in big cities where there is no one to buy the houses. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said that government has come up with land pooling act to acquire the lands of farmers. Under this, fifty percent land of farmer will be acquired by the government and rest fifty percent land will be developed and returned to the farmer. 4Continued on | P8 ‘Air pollution poses health risks in MP’ Our Staff Reporter INDORE Air pollution in the state is rising at an alarming rate, posing a serious health hazard, a study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Indore has revealed. As per the study, PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) level increased by 140 percent and the number of days with PM 2.5 exceeding 40 μg/m³ (micrograms per cubic metre) jumped by 230 per cent from 1980-1990 to 2010-2020. The study by Prof Manish Kumar Goyal  and his team from the civil engineering department in IIT Indore, highlighted that Madhya Pradesh had lower PM 2.5 concentration compared to Delhi/NCR and Uttar Pradesh, but still WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE DUE TO INDOOR POLLUTION Compared to Delhi/NCR and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh has lower PM2.5 concentrations but still faces serious pollution concerns, says the research faced serious pollution concerns. The state’s annual PM 2.5 levels range between 4045 μg/m³, lower than CBI arrests PF clerk for taking Rs 1.3 lakh bribe in Umaria Wanted Rs 5L to release Rs 60L Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Provident Fund office clerk of sub area office, SECL, in Nowrozabad in Umaria district for taking bribe of Rs.1.30 lakh as first instalment from the complain- ant, officials said on Tuesday. A case was registered by CBI on Monday against commissioner, Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation, and PF clerk Umashankar Tiwari, on the charges that the accused demanded bribe of Rs 5 lakh for releasing pending Provident Fund of the father of complainant. According to complaint, the father of the complainant who ANOTHER MEERUT-STYLE BETRAYAL Man killed by wife, lover after 2 wks of marriage Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW In a chilling repeat of the Meerut murder case, where Muskan and her lover Sahil plotted the brutal killing of her merchant navy husband, a newlywed woman in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district orchestrated her husband's murder with the help of her lover and hired killers. Just two weeks after her forced marriage, 22-year-old Pragati Yadav and her long- worked in Kudri coal mines died on May 14, 2021. Complainant visited sub area office  in Nowrozabad several times to get pending PF of his father released where he met the two accused. The accused allegedly told the complainant that PF amount of his father was about Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh.   4Continued on | P8 Samsung mulling legal options New Delhi IANS time lover Anurag Yadav executed their deadly plan. According to police, the couple had been in a relationship for four years, but their families disapproved and compelled Pragati to marry Dilip on March 5. Determined to be together, Pragati and Anurag hired a contract killer, Ramaji Chaudhary, for Rs 2 lakh to eliminate Dilip. On March 19, Dilip was found in a field, brutally assaulted and shot. After the Indian government asked Samsung to pay $601 million (approximately Rs 5,174 crore) in back taxes and penalties for allegedly evading import duties on some key telecom equipment, the South Korean giant on Tuesday said the company fully complies with the laws of the land and is currently "assessing legal options". The tax demand amounts to a significant portion of Samsung's net profit in India, which was $955 million last year. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Rs 19K bonanza for central govt staff Mumbai The salaries of Central government employees may increase by Rs 14,000 to Rs 19,000 per month after the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission report, according to a report by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday. The global financial services firm stated that around 50 lakh Central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners are expected to benefit from the pay revision. The commission is likely to be formed in April, Goldman Sachs conducted an analysis to estimate the salary hike after implementation of 8th Pay Commission with its recommendations expected to be implemented in 2026 or 2027. Currently, central government employees earn a median monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh before tax. Based on different budget allocations, the firm projected possible salary increases. If the government allocates Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the 8th Pay Commission, and half of this amount is used for salary revision while the rest is for pensions, the median salary could rise to Rs 1,14,600 per month. If the allocation increases to Rs 2 lakh crore, salaries may go up to Rs 1,16,700 per month, and with an allocation of Rs 2.25 lakh crore, the median salary could reach Rs 1,18,800 per month. For comparison, the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission in 2016 had cost the government Rs 1.02 lakh crore, according to the report. Although the revised salaries and pensions were applied retrospectively from January 2016, they were actually rolled out from July 2016, impacting the financial year 2016-17, said Goldman Sachs. Once formed, the 8th Pay Commission will consult with various stakeholders to determine the fitment factor and other details regarding salary and pension revisions. Employee unions have hinted that they may demand a fitment factor of 2.57 or higher, similar to what was recommended under the 7th Pay Commission. guages, but it lags behind states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in this regard. Secondary Stage: MP holds the 6th position in the Secondary stage, with 7,907 schools offering three languages. The state faces tough competition from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, which have more schools offering three languages at the Secondary level. 4Continued on | P8 JUDGE-CASH ROW SC's in-house committee begins probe New Delhi PTI Delhi/NCR (65-70 μg/m³) and U.P. (60-65 μg/m³). However, on maximum pollution concentration, PM 2.5 levels in Madhya Pradesh rise to 200-250 μg/m³. Heavily polluted areas in Madhya Pradesh have PM 2.5 levels of 60-70 μg/m³, whereas Delhi/NCR and UP exceed 100 μg/m³. Three members of the Supreme Court-appointed in-house committee on Tuesday commenced its inquiry into the alleged cash discovery row involving Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, sources said. They said the three members -- Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka - reached Justice Varma's official residence at 30, Tughlak Crescent here. The judges were inside the official residence of Justice Varma for around 30-35 minutes and apparently inspected the site, sources said. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 The study also examined the impact of air pollution on public health, particularly on women, who are more vulnerable due to indoor pollution from cooking fumes etc. It found that cases of respiratory infections and tuberculosis ranged from 40,000-60,000 in men and 35,00055,000 in women. Neurological disorders affected 2,000-3,000 men and 1,800-2,800 women, while chronic respiratory diseases impacted 20,000-30,000 men and 18,000-28,000 women. Cardiovascular diseases affected 40,000-50,000 men and 35,000-45,000 women. 8th pay panel IANS Upper Primary Stage (Primary): MP ranks 4th in India with 31,780 schools offering three languages at the Upper Primary stage. Notably, MP excels in rural education, with 22,024 rural schools offering three languages, ensuring that rural students have access to multilingual learning. In urban areas, MP has 9,756 schools offering three lan- ALARM: IIT-I study says PM2.5 level rose by 140% in 40 yrs T&CP AMENDMENT ACT Our Staff Reporter Madhya Pradesh's Ranking Upper Primary - Ranking Secondary Ranking Schools Offering (Upper Schools Offering (Secondary) Three Languages Primary) Three Languages prelims 2025 results Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh High Court principal bench at Jabalpur on Tuesday put a stay on the declaration of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) 2025 results. The commission has been directed not to release the preliminary examination results without the permission of the High Court. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain passed the order while hearing a petition of Bhopal resident Mamta Dehariya, who appeared for the MPPSC 2025 exam. The petitioner approached the court challenging certain provisions which she claimed prevented the reserved category candidates from competing in the unreserved (UR) category based on merit The petitioner challenged the constitutionality of Rule 4(1)(a)(ii), Rule 4(2)(a)(ii), and Rule 4(3)(a)(ii) of the Madhya Pradesh State Service Recruitment Examination Rules 2015, along with the GAD circular dated November 7, 2000, and the MPPSC advertisement dated December 31, 2024. She argued that these provisions prevent meritorious candidates from reserved categories from being selected in the unreserved (UR) category, thereby denying them a fair opportunity under the guise of reservation benefits. Constitutionality of law preventing reserved category candidates from selection in UR category on merit challenged Senior advocates Rameshwar Singh Thakur and Vinayak Prasad Shah, representing the petitioner, contended before the court that while the Madhya Pradesh government provides relaxations in age limit, educational qualifications, and examination fees for reserved category aspirants, however, it prevents them from being selected in the UR category, even if they secure a higher merit position. This contradicts the principle of social justice enshrined in the Constitution, they argued. The court has directed the General Administration Department (GAD) and MPPSC to submit their replies within 15 days. The next hearing has been scheduled for two weeks later.