Govt okays selling pulses through PDS

The UPA government today approved but couldn’t announce the sale of subsidised pulses through the public distribution (PDS) system. As Assembly elections in six states are yet to be over and the model code of conduct still in place, the Election Commission has not allowed the UPA to make this populist announcement.

“Some more decisions have been taken today in the Cabinet. But we can’t disclose them,” Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Prithviraj Chavan, said after the Cabinet meeting.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet today couldn’t arrive at a decision to hike the salaries of high court and Supreme Court judges as Finance Minister P Chidambaram was absent at the meeting. The finance and law ministries have a difference of opinion in this matter.

According to top sources, Law Minister HR Bharadwaj is in favour increasing the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) monthly salary with to Rs 1.10 lakh from the present scale of Rs 33,000. Bharadwaj also wants salaries of other SC judges and chief justices of high courts to be increased to Rs 1 lakh from the present 30,000. Sitting judges of the HCs are to get Rs 90,000 as against the present Rs 26,000, according to the law ministry’s proposal.

But the finance ministry has objected to this new scale which places the CJI on a par with the governors of states and other SC judges and high court CJs above the cabinet secretary in terms of salary.