HYDERABAD l tuesday l december 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Big pay day awaits stars at IPL 2026 mini auction Ten franchises will be looking to fill the available 77 spots during the auction at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 2026 David Miller Liam Livingstone Chennai, Kolkata look to reboot Eyes on All-rounders and finishers After a forgettable season in 2025, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to form a core group of players in the mini auction. It, however, will not be easy with the available pool of players. Both teams will need at least six-seven international stars, Indian and overseas, to fulfil various roles before signing back-ups ■ ■ Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and India international Venkatesh Iyer are expected to go for big money for their dynamic skills and proven credentials at the highest level Liam Livingstone and David Miller are the kind of explosive finishers teams will not hesitate to spend significant money on | P11 `64.3 Cr KKR have the highest purse going into the auction CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI revamp bill to be tabled in LS today Oppn raps 60:40 funding plan for rural job scheme P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Delhi’s Dil Beats for its Devis Presents Devis all DEVI AWARDS Powered by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, The New Indian Express group CMD Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, CEO Lakshmi Menon, Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, Editor Santwana Bhattacharya and Dinamani Editor K Vaidiyanathan with Devi Award winners Anita Kundu, Archana Jahagirdar, Dr Meenakshi Jain, Dr Radhika Batra, Rina Dhaka, Shradha Sharma, Simran Sharma, Smita Prakash, Sudha Bhattacharya and Sonia Mathur in New Delhi on Monday | Parveen Negi | P7 Leaders seethe at ‘arbitrary’ GHMC delimitation process E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The ongoing delimitation exercise to increase the number of wards from 150 to 300 following the expansion of the GHMC has drawn objections from all major political parties, though their responses have differed in tone and intensity . While leaders of the ruling Congress have sought clarity on the basis of the delimitation, criticism by the opposition BRS and BJP has been expectedly sharper with the two parties alleging arbitrariness and violation of statutory norms. Leaders from Congress, BRS and the BJP, including MLAs and corporators, met GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan on Monday and submitted representations over the delimitation exercise, which they said was being conducted at the Centre for Good Governance without wider consultation. BRS leaders warned that they would move court if the process continued without addressing the objections. Reassuring the public representatives, Karnan said their concerns would be taken up at a special GHMC meeting scheduled for Tuesday at the Council Hall, GHMC head office. The meeting will focus on the merger of 27 urban local bodies into GHMC, the realignment of wards in the Corporation, and the placement of a preliminary notification before the general body for suggestions and objections.  continued on P4 S’pore, Canada, UK issue Delhi air quality alert J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Singapore, the UK and Canada have issued advisories cautioning their citizens about hazardous air quality in Delhi as pollution levels in the national capital worsened sharply with the Air Quality In, dex (AQI) nearing 500 and remaining in the “severe” category . The latest advisory came from the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi, which on Monday issued an air quality warning for its nationals in the Delhi-NCR region following the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) invocation of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). This marks the first known instance of a foreign mission in Delhi issuing a pollution-specific advisory . Delhi’s air quality deteriorated rapidly over the weekend, with government data showing a 24-hour average AQI of 431 on December 13. The Singapore advisory urged nationals to follow guidelines issued by India, including staying indoors as much as possible, wearing masks when outdoors, and taking additional precautions. Plea in HC on delimitation The Telangana High Court on Monday directed the Registry to list a lunch motion petition challenging the preliminary delimitation notification dated December 9, 2025, issued by the GHMC commissioner | P4 With the government all set to introduce a bill to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and replace it with a new rural employment law on Tuesday, the Opposition launched a blistering attack for diluting the scheme and burdening the exchequer of all states. Though the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, was listed in the Lok Sabha in the supplementary list of business for Monday the government held it , back after Opposition protests. According to sources, the government has assured the Opposition in the Business Council Meeting that the proposed legislation will be sent to the standing committee. One of the key criticisms is that the bill proposes that the Centre and states/Union territories share its cost in a 60:40 ratio. However, for North-Eastern and Himalayan states, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, the existing funding pattern of 90:10 between the Centre and the states will stay . Under the MGNREGA framework, the Centre bears the full cost of wages for unskilled manual work, up to three-fourths of material costs, and three-fourths of wages for skilled and semiskilled workers. While the new bill alters the funding structure, it retains the existing wage rates as notified under Section 6 of the MGNREGA. Criticising the proposed bill, Expected to go to a standing committee We will not allow the rights of millions of people to be snatched away by this govt — Mallikarjun Kharge “125 days” is the headline. 60:40 is the fine print... Cost-shifting by stealth, not reform — John Brittas Higher edu regulator bill heads to JPC P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi 125 Days Of employment promised as against the current 100 days CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas alleged that the government removed the soul of a rights-based guarantee law and replaced it with a conditional, Centrally controlled scheme stacked against states and workers. The bill seeks to establish a “rural development framework aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047”, by providing a statutory guarantee of 125 days of employment in every financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work. Another clause says, “The Central Government shall determine the State-wise normative allocation for each financial year, based on objective parameters as may be prescribed by the Central Government.” It also provides for the constitution of a Central Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council and State Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Councils to oversee, review, monitor, and effectively implement the scheme. Another significant provision allows states to pause implementation of the scheme during peak agricultural seasons by notifying specific periods covering sowing and harvesting. super watchdog What’s new? Key changes in the proposed Bill on rural job guarantee The Gramin Bill provides a statutory guarantee of 125 days of wage employment per year to rural households versus 100 days under MGNREGA 1 Unlike MGNREGA’s broad range of permissible works, the Gramin Bill narrows focus to water security, rural infrastructure, livelihoodinfrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events 2 MGNREGA was fully funded by the Centre. Gramin Bill earmarks funding in Centre/State ratio of 90:10 for North East/Himalayan states, and 60:40 for other states 3 Gramin Bill explicitly bans work during peak agricultural seasons 4 Gramin Bill establishes a new Gramin Rozgar Guarantee Council at Central and state level for monitoring; MGNREGA was administered by Rural Development Ministry 5 AMID fierce protests and objections by the Opposition members, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill in the Lok Sabha. The legislation seeks to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education. The bill was introduced amid din over alleged threatening slogans raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a Congress rally on Sunday . As soon as the bill was introduced, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rose to say since it is a comprehensive bill, the government would like to send it to the joint committee of both Houses for perusal. The bill proposes to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions. With a single regulator, it also seeks to tackle the challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to multiplicity of regulators. The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, and institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs. At present, IITs and IIMs are not regul a t e d b y t h e U n iv e r s i t y G r a n t s Commission. “The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan will be an apex umbrella body to provide direction for comprehensive and holistic growth of higher education and ensure coordination between the Councils,” the bill says. It adds that the entire system of regulation will be executed through technology driven single window interactive system for higher educational institutions based upon public self-disclosure. India opens battlefields to tourists along China border in Sikkim P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati INDIA on Monday formally opened the historic Cho La and Dok La passes in Sikkim, launching regulated battlefield tourism along the sensitive border with China. Dok La pass is in Doklam plateau, which shot into limelight in 2017 during a prolonged standoff between Indian and Chinese troops, while Cho La witnessed fierce clashes in 1967. The Northeast hosts numerous such historic sites, e s p e c i a l ly i n A r u n a ch a l Pradesh. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang flagged off 25 Bikers set off for the passes on Monday motorbikes and vehicles, inaugurating access to the passes under the ‘Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan’ initiative. A collabo- rative effort between the Army and Ministry of Tourism, Bharat Ranbhoomi Darshan enables citizens to explore iconic war zones and sites of military valour. “Historic battlefields in remote, rugged terrains echo stories of unparalleled bravery and sacrifice. To boost accessibility and public awareness, the Ministry of Tourism and Army Adventure Wing collaborated on strategies to transform these sites into sustainable tourism destinations,” the ministry stated. Tamang described the opening of the two passes for the public as integral to the Centre’s Vibrant Village Programme, designed to boost border tourism and generate livelihoods for local communi- ties. “The scheme opens vital border zones to regulated tourism, highlighting their profound historical and military significance,” he said. Tamang expressed optimism that battlefield tourism would heighten public awareness of soldiers’ valour and sacrifices, instilling patriotism while adhering to strict security and environmental protocols. Sikkim Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism) CS Rao said his department coordinated with Army over two months to ensure secure, seamless tourist access, with basic amenities already operational amid continuing development. Cagey stuff Rooftops to forest: No more monkey business in Kandikatkur Won’t ape around, says new Kalyani sarpanch E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Sircilla The 113 monkeys, caught on Monday in Kandikatkur village, and left, the simians being taken to a forest One by one, residents of Kandikatkur, a dusty village in Illanthakunta mandal of Rajanna Sircilla district, on Monday evening made their way to the residence of newly elected sarpanch Chintalapalli Vijayamma to thank her for implementing her promise of tackling the monkey menace. For months, the writ of monkeys had run unchecked in Kandikatkur, the simians holding meetings on rooftops, passing resolutions from electric poles, and enforcing their own version of redistribution by liberating bananas, coconuts and clothes left to dry The mon. keys had forced children to guard their schoolbags like valuables, elders to time their temple visits between raids, and farmers to keep their eyes peeled on their crops, lest they fall victim to the inextinguishable appetite of the simians. During the election campaign, Vijayamma made a promise to deal with the monkeys if elected. On Sunday in the , second phase of the elections, Kandikatkur residents reposed their faith in her and on Monday, she began implementing her promise. Monkey catchers were engaged. “Operation Going Bananas” began in earnest and by mid-day, 113 monkeys had been safely caught and caged. By evening, they were released into a distant forest, where rooftops are fewer and trees grow without fences. The village responded by marching up to Vijayamma’s home and thanking her. Shopkeepers told her that they were now reopening shutters without looking up first. Housewives said that they hoped to cast aside the sticks they used to shoo away the monkeys. They also said that for once, local governance had moved faster than the problem. Vijayamma thanked them and said that it was a relief that Kandikatkur at last belonged to its residents again. ing at entry points and on the outskirts, terrifying residents. Chuda Navya, the newly elected An MBA final-year student at sarpanch of Kalyani village, on Holy Mary College, Ghatkesar, Monday made it clear that tack- Navya secured 901 votes in the ling the monkey menace election, winning by a would be her priority as it margin of 584. Kalyani, was her promise to voters located about 3 km from during the campaign. Yellareddy town, has a Navya recalled the population of around numerous complaints 2,200. she had received from Navya said she would residents that monkeys give priority to her rehave made daily life dif- Chuda Navya sponsibilities as sarficult, forcing families to panch after completing keep doors shut and restricting her MBA. She intends to focus movement within the village. on roads, drainage, street lightTroops of monkeys have creat- ing and improving water and ed havoc in the village, gather- toilet facilities in local schools. M V K S a s t r y @ Kamareddy