Abdullahs

the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, was seen waving to the crowd and signalling the victory sign. His wife, Molly Abdullah, was by his side. Omar Abdullah was seen sporting a beard and clicking a selfie with party leaders at the Hari Niwas Palace, where he has been detained. The NC leaders first met Omar Abdullah and then Farooq.

The first delegation to meet the leaders comprised of Masoodi and Baramulla MP Akbar Lone, who had obtained permission for the meeting from the Jammu & Kashmir high court. The second team to meet the Abdullahs was led by Rana and comprised other leaders of the Jammu unit of the NC who were allowed by governor Satya Pal Malik on Saturday. Each round of meetings lasted a little under 30 minutes. The meeting came days after Malik’s adviser Farooq Khan said that Kashmiri leaders could be released “one by one” after analysing their cases.

After Sunday’s meeting, Rana said the NC could take a decision about future strategy only when the leaders are released. “The National Conference has a legacy; it has a history, a chequered track record and the party will continue to strive for the welfare of people of Jammu and Kashmir and shall continue to work for communal harmony, brotherhood, togetherness and keep the secular fabric of Jammu and Kashmir shining.” Masoodi said the main objective of the meeting was to discuss the Public Safety Act and the detention of the leaders.

A leader privy to the details of the meetings said the Abdullahs have told party delegations to establish contact with the leadership of other parties whose leaders are detained. “Both the delegations have been told that there is presently no scope for any political process which the Centre wants to initiate in J&K. Also, the leaders were told to visit other parts of the state to establish contact with the leadmountain ership in different districts and party workers,’’ added the leader.

A top government official said that leaders and former legislators of other political parties might also be allowed to meet their leaders if they approached the administration. At least 50 leaders of different political parties are in detention including Mufti, Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone and former IAS officer Shah Faesal.

Most of these leaders were put in detention in the early hours of August 5, when all communication channels were suspended, roads blocked and travel restricted. Since then, the traffic blockades have been relaxed, landline telephone connections restored and leaders in Jammu region released.

On Monday, a PDP delegation from Jammu will meet Mufti. The team will be led by general secretary Ved Mahajan, former PDP legislator and spokesperson Firdous Tak told PTI. This will be the first meeting of PDP leaders with Mufti, who last month met her daughter Iltija Mufti after permission from the Supreme Court.

Tak said the PDP had requested governor Malik for permission and that the same was granted. “A meeting is going on to finalise the delegation. Most probably, the strength of the delegation will be of 15 or 18 members,” he said. The meetings come in the backdrop of a notification issued by the J&K administration last week to hold the Block Development Council polls in 306 blocks.

The UN and the European model, as the OCED framework is often called, lays down detailed mechanisms for countries to frame their EPR schemes. The UN framework refers to a manual for countries to adopt, which was updated during the so-called Basel Convention in 2016.

Both stress on the need for assigning, through national policy, “operational” as well as “financial responsibility” on producers for the plastic waste generated at the end of a product’s life cycle by setting targets. The European framework lays specific emphasis on “reducing the volume” or “toxicity of waste”, with the ultimate objective of “maximising social welfare”.

Industry associations in India say they are in the process of ramping up producer responsibility systems.

“The government has sought traceability of extended producer responsibility and proof. We have just announced a ~1000crore joint venture, known as Karo Sambhav (make possible), to carry out EPR. We will report back to the government,” said Vimal Kedia, the president of PET Packaging Association.

The PET Packaging Association counts among its members some of India’s biggest companies that use PET packaging, such as Coca-cola India Pvt Ltd, Dabur India Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd, etc.

“We are expecting new EPR guidelines. We as an association have decided to undertake recycling or treating 30% of plastic sold and plan to increase it gradually,” said Deepak Ballani of the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association.

According to current rules, producers need to work out “modalities for waste collection system based on extended producers responsibility and involving state urban development departments, either individually or collectively, through their own distribution channel or through the local body concerned”.

Environmental experts say the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 do not lay down any enforceable EPR guidelines. “In fact, we were expecting EPR by October 2. We have submitted to the government our own model framework. The sooner we have the guidelines the better,” said Dinesh Raj Bandela of the Centre for Science and Environment.

EPR must have targets and be accounted for at the national level, Bandela said.

According to official data contained in a central advisory to states, India produces 9.4 million tonne of single-use plastic. However, according to the World Bank, India’s per capita consumption of plastic is still one of the lowest at 11kg a year, compared to a global average of 28kg. Many states have banned a range of disposable items. A 2018 report by the Central Pollution Control Board noted that even banned items are traded “indiscriminately”. and wheeled self-propelled guns. The plan seeks to equip 169 artillery regiments with a mix of nearly 3,000 guns over the next decade.

The army will raise seven new regiments with the 145 howitzers deployed in the northern and eastern sectors, the two officers said. M777 manufacturer BAE Systems is supplying 25 readybuilt howitzers and the remaining 120 guns will be built locally in collaboration with Mahindra Defence under the Modi government’s Make in India initiative. The army is likely to get all the howitzers by 2021-end.

“The M777 is truly an advanced piece of artillery and it will meet the operational requirement of the formations deployed in the eastern sector. It stands out for its mobility, precision, rate of fire, and ability to hit targets in difficult mountainous terrain,” said former army vice chief Lieutenant General AS Lamba (retd), who was commissioned into the artillery and has served in the east for more than a decade.

The M777s were the first artillery guns to be ordered after the Bofors scandal unfolded in the late 1980s. Last December, then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman dedicated the M777s to the nation. These howitzers have superior tactical mobility as they are made from titanium alloy and weigh only 4,218kg, which is half the weight of conventional artillery guns deployed in the northern and eastern sectors.

The CH-47F (I) Chinook and the M777 howitzer are a deadly combination, said former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Major (retd). “The loadcarrying capacity of the Chinook and the capabilities that the M777 brings will certainly be a game-changer for the forces deployed along the eastern borders,” he said.

India ordered 15 Chinook helicopters from the US for $1.18 billion in September 2015. Six of them have already been delivered.

The army’s artillery arsenal in eastern Arunachal Pradesh includes the Bofors guns and the 105mm field gun. “Transporting these guns is quite tricky due to terrain and the infrastructure that is still a work in progress. It requires a lot of horse power and willpower,” said the first officer cited above.

The IAF plans to deploy Us-made Apache AH-64E attack helicopters in the eastern sector in two years after a base there is fully ready to support the choppers, two senior IAF officers said on the condition of anonymity.

The helicopters are part of a $1.1-billion deal India inked with the US in September 2015 for 22 Apaches to modernise its assault capabilities to counter groundbased armoured targets and aerial threats.

The 22 Apaches will be split between Pathankot and Jorhat, where support infrastructure is being created. The IAF has already inducted eight Apaches into its fleet at the Pathankot airbase.