C/o Neeraj Ji

Sir,Apropos CEC LADHC (Sept 19 ,2012)

hands over keys of 14 khokas, and it says thatthese were built on priority. It took two years forLAHDC to construct theses temporary khokas,asevery body remembers the flash floods of 2012 .This sort of construction is a matter of days inthis modern time with all types of machineryavailable. Thank Heavens it was not any perma-nent structure to be constructed, otherwise itwould have taken two decades. I fail to under-stand the chest thumping by the LAHDC for thisachievement. The opposition party in Ladakh isalso living in 50's era of Ladakh when thingsused to move with the season. This is moderntime Ladakh and such lethargy is unacceptable.Let the opposition party exert its full pressureupon Ruling elite of LAHDC to do the job in atime bound manner or step down.

Yours etc....Ashok Kumar

On e-mail

Poonam I Kaushish

Two + two = Four. Not in political Delhi's arithmetic.Wherein instead of four it could add up to 5, subtract to 3,remain at two or even total zero! One can never tell with the

ring-a-ring roses game our polity plays. All trying to out do eachother.

It all started with Trinamool's capricious Chief MamataBannerjee declaring war on the Congress over FDI in multi retailand hike in diesel prices, withdrawing her Ministers and support tothe UPA Government, thereby turning it to a minority. Leading toshadow boxing and backroom bargains between Parties for theremaining years of UPA II even as all position themselves for thenext general elections in 2013-14.

Flummoxing everyone, "tragic figure and under achiever"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh displayed Singham-stylemachismo, ignored jibes and pushed ahead with reforms explain-ing his reasons in an uncharacteristic TV address to the nation.Even pooh-poohed the Bharat Bandh called by the BJP-led NDAand 8 regional Parties including Left for spreading "canards"Thursday last.

Raising a moot point: What was Congress's end game? HadMamata bitten off more than she could chew? How long wouldMulayam and Mayawati play ball with the UPA? Could the BJPcapitalise in the emerging state of flux? Where does this leave theLeft?

The Congress strategy seems clear: It has nothing more to lose.Aware it might not bounce back to power in the next poll, why notgo down fighting? At least, it would have something to show theaam aadmi. Also, it knows that no Party including the BJP andMPs wants immediate poll.

All of a sudden there is a spring and aggression in the till-recently comatose Party. Next on the agenda is induction of freshfaces in the impending Cabinet re-shuffle. It is also certain thatManmohan Singh will continue to sit on India's Raj gaddi whileRahul takes on more visible responsibility in the Party. Today, it isbusy strategising to deal with difficult customers, Mulayam andMayawati.

What of Mamata? Where does she go from here? Her take-it-or-I-leave-UPA posturing appears to be based on calculated strate-gy that has more to do with West Bengal than national politics. Herapparent madness has a method. Perhaps, Mamata regards theUPA as a sinking ship wherein she has nothing to lose.

Preparing for the eventuality of early election, she is confidentof improving her tally in Bengal. This means her importancewould only increase in Delhi's hurly-burly post-election politics,giving her a more meaningful role in national politics.

Mamata made three calculations while kicking the UPA. One,by divorcing the Congress, she is saving herself from people'sanger over UPA's reform agenda and various scams. Two, she isnow master of West Bengal with a free hand to put up 42 candi-dates for the next Lok Sabha election, no seat-sharing arrangementwith the Congress. If she sweeps the State it would catapult her tobecoming one of the Prime Ministerial aspirants.

Three, she is now better equipped to fight her arch-rival Left.By ditching the UPA, Mamata not only robbed the CPI-M of itspoll plank of fighting tainted UPA's policies but also hijacked theagenda: Turning more Left than Left. Over the past 17 months, shehas pulled out all stops to woo the minorities, talking the masseslanguage which supports her kind of politics.

Clearly, Mamata's loss is UP satraps Mulayam and Mayawati'sgain. While Mulayam supports the Congress on the fallacious pleaof "keeping communal forces at bay," Mayawati remains silent andplays hard ball. Either which way both have increased their bar-gaining power with the Congress and stabilised the UPA ship.

But this is no cause for comfort for Congress, which knowsthat their support is based on a combination of self- interest andfear of pending investigations into graft cases. A major worry forNetaji is the disproportionate assets case, awaiting Supreme Courtverdict. Fresh trouble over FIRs in the acquisition of Tatra truckdeals is also on the anvil. Recall, the Tatra case deals date back to1997 when Mulayam Singh was the Defence Minister in theGowda-Gujral United Front Government.

Undeniably, Mulayam adept at simultaneously blowing hot andcold is a staunch believer in the one-step-forward-two-steps-back-policy. Especially against the backdrop that even as he hoots forUPA, he took part in the 8-Party sponsored bandh againstGovernment policies. Alongside, the pehelwan-turned-politician iskeen that son Akhilesh has a trouble-free tenure as UP ChiefMinister. To this end, a pliable Centre would be invaluable vis-à-vis special funds.

The Congress on its part is following the carrot and stick byengaging with the State Government over a funding game of Rs93,000 crore package of which only half has been paid that too indribs and drabs. Leaving room for negotiations when the goinggets tough for the Grand Dame.

Out of power in UP, it suits Mayawati's to have friends at the

Centre. But her ties with Sonia hinge on the poll's timing. She does

not favour advancing the general elections as the BSP needs time

to regroup to take on bête noire Samajwadi. Thus, with eyes set on

capturing UP again it made no sense to ally with other regional

outfits and participate in the bandh. Also, post the Supreme Court

dismissing two disproportionate assets cases she can breathe easy.

As for the BJP, it is in shambles and struggling with internal

issues and contradictions. Its 80-plus Chairman and seven Gen

Next leaders are vying for numero uno status. Moreover, it real-

izes that any gimmick of up-staging the UPA would lead to the

Government reinforcing its numbers.

Though not ruling out early polls, the Saffron Sangh would

hate to be seen as responsible for it. With the Congress confident

of securing numerical strength for UPA's survival, the BJP

acknowledges that its role is limited to wait and watch. It would

rather 'capitalise' on UPA allies' mood to send the message that the

Congress had lost confidence, and then intensify its offensive

against the Government.

Sadly, the Left Front has been left holding the can, upped by

Mamata who has shrewdly hijacked its core theme of pro-poor

policies. Though it had been banking on a Congress-Trinamool

split to make a comeback in West Bengal, Mamata's withdrawal

has not brought a smile. By walking out, she has clearly taken a

lead over the Left. With panchayat elections due soon, Left's oppo-

sition to FDI is unlikely to have any rural connect.

In sum, even as our netas bellow Opposition publicly, they

coochie-coo privately. Sadly, when one-upmanship politics dictate

our leaders' political ideology and everything is weighed on the

voters' scale there is no hope for the aam aadmi. Specially, when

one is pitted against "money growing on the political tree!" What

says you, Prime Minister?

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU

Excelsiordaily

Capping LPG cylinders

Chaotic situation has developed in regard to cap-

ping of LPG cylinders ordered by the

Government after consultations with oil and gas

majors in the country. On September 14, Union

Government announced drastic reform in supply of

LPG cylinders and fixed maximum of six cylinders per

family per year on subsidized rates. However, addition-

al cylinders would be available on higher rates. But

this is not a uniform criterion. The Congress ruled

states like Delhi will provide nine cylinders per family

per year on subsidized rates and beyond that cylinders

will be available on higher rates.

In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, only six cylin-

ders per family per year have been allowed. It means

that since half of the year (2012) is already gone, for

the remaining period of six months till March 2013,

each family in the State will get only three cylinders on

subsidized rates. Anybody in need of extra cylinders

will have to pay the higher price though that too is not

sure because the Government is yet to decide what

would be the price of non-subsidized cylinder.

This drastic decision has been taken by the Union

Government in view of spiralling bill on energy

resource in the country. The bill was likely to touch 200

lakh crore of rupees by the end of current financial

year. The Prime Minister had touched on this point dur-

ing his recent broadcast to the nation. He was emphat-

ic in stating that some hard measures had to be taken

to bridge over country's financial difficulties. Capping

of the supply of LPG cylinders is the result of one such

austerity measure. Hike in the price of diesel may not

evoke as much of public resentment as the new policy

of supply of LPG cylinders has evoked. The reason is

that diesel is consumed by affluent sections of society

and big business magnates who run diesel cars. But

LPG is a dire necessity for all and curtailment of cylin-

der is going to adversely affect the middle and lower

middle class of our population.

But the manner in which the entire matter is handled

in our State has raised many fingers. Firstly, if Delhi --

-- a Congress run State--- has been allowed nine cylin-

ders per family per year, why should not this be possi-

ble for J&K State when we know that this hilly and

mountainous State is debilitated economically in more

than one way? Objectively speaking, the State should

be allowed nine cylinders per family per year, and that

would be justified in view of long winter and greater

consumption as a consequence. Secondly, much

chaos has been caused by asking consumers to get

their gas cards re-verified although only three months

back this exercise had been completed. Why are half

hearted decisions taken by the gas outlets and why

does the Government let them have their way. It is

harassment of the people and unacceptable as it will

call for PIL on a large scale. People have not forgotten

the ordeal through which they were made to go when

three months ago they were asked to get their gas

cards verified. Re-enactment of that activity will earn

the wrath of the people. Therefore the Government

should immediately order stopping of re-validation of

gas cards in the case of those that have already gone

through the process.

Reports are coming in that besides ordinary con-

sumers, even the Congress and NC activists including

some ministers have expressed resentment to the

capping of LPG cylinders to a maximum of 6 in the

case of J&K State. Some ministers have even said that

they would be raising the issue in the forthcoming cab-

inet meeting and will forcefully plead for a mechanism

of rationalising the decision. Revenue Minister dis-

closed that he has even written to the Chief Minister

about people's resentment to the unjust capping of

cylinders and demanded revision of the policy. He has

also pointed out that re-validation of gas connection is

harassment of civilian population.

In final analysis, it is true that the country is passing

through financial hardship and the Government has to

take drastic steps to check its deterioration. It is also

true that ultimately people will have to bear the brunt.

But at the same time, the reformative measures should

be uniformly applicable, and secondly these should not

cause harassment of the ordinary people. The

Government should have worked out smooth transition

from one set of conditions to another. Put in simple

words, the Government has to do two things to bring

this chaotic situation to an end. One is to increase the

number of subsidized LPG cylinders from six per fam-

ily per year to nine and second is to withdraw orders of

re-verification of gas connections in such cases in

which verification has already been done. This will

ease the situation.

Illegal mining

Illegal mining of sand and pebbles in various nullahs

across Jammu-Lakhanpur Highway sector has

caused serious damage to at least two major

bridges, namely Devak and Balole. Portions of base-

ments of these vital bridges have got exposed and

partly washed away by the floods during current mon-

soons. Mining mafia has been lifting sand, stones and

pebbles close to the basement pillars of the bridges

rendering them vulnerable to flash flood damages.

Despite a ban imposed by the authorities on illegal

mining, the illegal activity continues unabated, mostly

at night or in early hours. This is not possible without

the connivance of supervising authorities supposed to

impose the ban strictly. The cost of repairs to the dam-

aged bridges, as disclosed by the authorities, will run

into many crore rupees besides consuming several

months for bringing it to completion. This is a major

anti-national act and deserves to be taken serious note

of. Persons involved in these clandestine activities

should be given exemplary punishment. The mining

mafia has to be exposed and their connections and

conduits should be prosecuted under the law. Lifting

of construction material obtained from the nullahs

should be banned 500 meters up and down the site of

all bridges of this crucial national highway.

Established 1965

Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra

Not a big feat World Tourism Day

Under the netasmoney tree

Jeet Dogra

Sustainable Development as aterm is used extensivelyboth by developed and

developing nations across theworld. Generally, it means to meetthe needs of the present withoutcompromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their ownneeds. On the other side, the role ofEnergy and its associated termslike energy efficiency, renewableenergy etc. is playing a significantrole in achieving the objective ofsustainable development. Theinternational forums and organiza-tions realized the critical role ofenergy in sustainable develop-ment. That is the main reason, theUnited Nations General Assemblyby its resolution declared this yearas the International Year ofSustainable Energy.

Such a declaration from inter-national organization is providingan opportunity to raise awarenessrelated to continuous increasingsustainable access to the energyefficiency, renewable energy etc.Further, it will help to promote theawareness about the role of sus-tainable energy at the local as wellas global level. The area of Energyservices have insightful impact onthe various services like productiv-ity, health, food and water security,education, climate change, andcommunication services. Due tothe lack of availability of clean,affordable and reliable energyhamper human, social and eco-nomic development. Moreover, itis a major impediment to achievethe United Nations' MillenniumDevelopment Goals (UNMDG).

Tourism as the fastest, broadestand strategically significant sectorcan contribute enormously bothdirectly and indirectly for sustain-able energy and sustainable devel-opment. Therefore, the role oftourism and its allied sectors in sus-tainable developments is an impor-tant one. In 1979, the United NationWorld Tourism Organization's(UNWTO) General Assemblydecided to celebrate World TourismDay (WTD) every year and fromthe very next year, the first WorldTourism Day was celebrated. Afterthat it is held annually on 27September on global level.

Basically, the main purpose tocelebrate World Tourism Day is to

spread awareness among the inter-national community of the impor-tance of tourism as a field alongwith its social, cultural, politicaland economic value. The themesof the tourism day seek to addressglobal challenges outlined in theUnited Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) andto highlight its contribution whichcan make in reaching MDGs'goals. On this day, the United

Nations World TourismOrganization includes the globalcommunity to cherish and cele-brate the importance of nature andnatural resources with human exis-tence. While the official WorldTourism Day celebrations takeplace in a UNWTO Member Stateon the basis of geographic rotation.

Like every year, the theme forthis year's World Tourism Day is"Tourism & Sustainable Energy:Powering SustainableDevelopment". This year's officialcelebrations will take place inMaspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spainand include a Think Tank on the2012 theme with the participationof top experts and policy makers inthe field of tourism and energy.This day represents a uniqueopportunity to highlight the stepstaken so far by the internationaltourism community to power theall important sustainable develop-ment. Moreover, the theme is alsoan opportunity to ensure that theinternational tourism continues toplay a strategic role in tackling theenergy challenges of the present

time. It is being depicted throughUnited Nations by declaring thisyear as an International Year ofSustainable Energy.

In this regard, the informationis also uploaded on the officialwebsite of United Nation WorldTourism Organization (UNWTO).The main points included in theinformation are the clean energysolutions in tourism which help inbringing the sector's carbon emis-

sions down, protecting local envi-ronments and communities, carry-ing modern energy services to theworld poor, cutting costs for busi-nesses and creating jobs and eco-nomic opportunities. According tothe estimate by UNWTO, one bil-lion international tourists areexpected to travel in the presentyear, therefore, this is the time tocommit to a more sustainabletourism sector and a sustainablefuture for all.

Like in other developing coun-tries, the theme titled Tourism andSustainable Energy is very muchvalid in our country. Due to contin-uous increase in the income-levelof middle class, the burden on nat-ural resources is also increasing.Although, India is ranked 127 inthe Human Development Index(HDI) but the rapid pace ofunchecked development hasalready imposed serious threats forenvironmentally friendly presentand tomorrow. Today, our nationalagencies are concerned about thesustainable development in everyfield as well as in urban and rural

areas so that we can contributetowards the clean and green tomor-row.

In India, there are several hur-dles for sustainable developmentlike population, poverty, inequali-ty, deforestation, petrol consump-tion, the shortage of drinkingwater, health issues etc. but themost prominent one is consump-tion of energy. On the other hand,the meaning of sustainable devel-opment does not mean to divertfrom the growth but to utilize ourresources so that a kind of inter-relationship can be established forthe mutual benefits of present andfuture generations. There may besome suggestions that can be help-ful towards the sustainable devel-opment. Strategies like input effi-cient technology, usage of environ-mental friendly resources, integrat-ed development plans, focuses onrenewable sources of energy,organic farming, recycle thewastes etc. will yield favorablebenefits. Beyond these strategies,citizens should take an oath to con-serve the natural assets to maintainthe inter-generational equality.

In conclusion, the concept ofsustainable energy and sustainabledevelopment is a vision and a wayof developing an attitude to con-serve our resources as well as ourenvironment for future genera-tions. Both the government poli-cies as well as genuine contribu-tions from societies can guide toachieve the sustainable develop-ment. No doubt that degradationon environmental resourcesalready imposed a threat to thosegenerations that are yet to born.Such kind of uncontrolled devel-opment will hamper their normallife on this planet. But the seriousefforts will make a note of sustain-able strategies that will equip thefuture generations to inherit a bal-ance and improvised quality lifefrom the present generations.

On the occasion of World

Tourism Day, we the citizens,

should think on these lines and at

least decide to act now to save our

mother earth.

(The author is Assistant

Professor Department of Tourism

& Travel Management, Central

University of Jammu)

Tourism and sustainable energy

Dr Ashwani Mahajan

After washing out of themonsoon session ofParliament on the issue

of Coal scam, the Governmenton September 14, 2012 has nowlaunched a fresh move on theimplementation of 'congressbrand' economic reforms andopened up FDI in multi-brandretail. Samajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh and others whomatter in number game will nowtried to be lured and even threat-ened to agree to these reforms. Itis no secret that both TrinmoolCongress supremo MamataBanerjee and and Mulayamhave been vehement critiques ofFDI in retail, Pension Bill andInsurance Bill. The game hasnow become more interestingafter Trinmool Congress supre-mo Mamata Banerjee pulled outof the alliance and Mulayam'sdilly-dallying on the issue.

For the last more than oneyear, Government has beenmaking efforts to make policychanges (in the name of eco-nomic reforms), for which therewas total lack of consensus inthe country. For decade and ahalf, there has been an era ofcoalition governments and nosingle party could implement itsown agenda. Dr. ManmohanSingh, Finance Minister at thetime of beginning of new eco-nomic policy and present PrimeMinister, who has been the pro-ponent of economic reforms andhis team, had been pushing pol-icy changes, namely opening upof retail trade for foreign invest-ment, Insurance Bill andPension Bill. Beginning with2005, Planning Commissionunder the stewardship ofMontek Singh Ahluwalia hasbeen advocating for FDI inretail and sponsored studies byICRIER in 2005 and 2008 forpreparing the ground for this

policy change. This endeavor ofthe Government got a big blowwhen an alliance partner of UPA(Trinmool Congress) threatenedto severe their relations with theGovernment on this issue.Samajwadi Party, which is com-ing closer to the governmentnow in other ways, is notexpected to cave in on this issue,as its supremo had alreadydeclared publicly that he may goto any extent in opposing FDI inretail.

Insurance Bill is also indicatorof a big policy change. It is worthremembering that NDAGovernment allowed FDI to theextent of 26 percent in insurancesector. To bar the government, toincrease this cap, a bill was passedin the parliament to this effect.Now to increase the cap of FDI isinsurance, legislation is required.Pension Bill is yet another bigpolicy change, which will allowthe Government to invest pensionfunds in the stock market. Boththese bills along with the propos-al of FDI in retail; are beingstrongly opposed by the TrinmoolCongress.

Supporters of economicreforms have been criticising thegovernment terming the situationas 'policy paralysis', and blamingthe Government for not doingenough to implement these poli-cy changes. However, the fact isthat the economy is turning frombad to worse due to total mis-management of the economy.Rate of economic growth isgrounded at 6 percent annually,rate of inflation is nearing twodigits, rupee is at its historic low,high rate of interest are all killingthe industrial growth, with nochance of revival in near future.Under these circumstances,Government and its advisers hadbeen advocating for making pol-icy changes in the guise of eco-

nomic reforms. Internationalbandwagons have also joined inthis advocacy. First USA maga-zine 'The Economist' then 'Times'again a USA's weekly and laterUSA's President Barak Obama,in a row joined this chorus, whileshowing concern about slow-down in Indian economy. Whileaddressing his home constituen-cy in the election year, BarakObama complains that India isforbidding foreign investmentand investment climate is vitiat-ing. However, while saying so hepressurises the IndianGovernment to open the econo-my for USA's companies.

No doubt, economic condi-tions in the country are deterio-rating, to cure the problems ofthe Indian economy; we needurgently an efficient manage-ment and not the foreign capital.We find our trade deficit risingat a much faster speed than ever.In 2010-11, our trade deficit was$ 130 billion, which increased tonearly $ 190 billion in 2011-12.Balance of Payment (BOP)deficit has also increased to amuch higher level. BOP deficit,also increased from $ 44 billionto $ 78.4 billion during this peri-od. To fill this gap in BOP, poli-cy makers give the argument offoreign investment. Thus for-eign capital is not for any devel-opment; rather it is the compul-sions arising out of the misman-agement of the economy. Forsuch a big deficit even, a foreigninvestment of 50 billion was notsufficient to fill the gap betweendemand on supply of dollars.And the obvious fallout was,depreciation of rupee by morethan 20 percent in just 4-5months and rupee declinedfrom 48.7 per $ to 57-58 perUS$ between February 2012and June 2012.

Government was not ready

to concede its inefficiency, andput all the blame on the politicalconditions, which it says isresponsible for stalling FDI inretail and new legislations,which they call economicreform. Sooner we understandbetter it is that crisis in the econ-omy is not due to stalling of newlegislation, but actually due toinefficiency of the government.

Lack of political supportcannot be held responsible, iftrade deficit has reached $ 190billion, industrial growth hasflattened to zero or rupee isdepreciating.. Rise in tradedeficit for instance from 130$billion to 190 $billion between2010-11 and 2011-12, cannot bedue to lack of political coopera-tion, but is actually because ofthe fact that in 2011-12,Government did not make anyeffort whatsoever, to restrict ris-ing imports of gold, whichincreased from $25 billion in2010-11 to $ 50 billion in 2011-12. Imports from China are ris-ing exponentially in the past fewyears and government did nottake any step to control them.Today not only consumergoods, even project goods likepower plants, telecom and manyother types of equipments, arebeing imported on a large scalefrom China.

Efficient Management Needed

Coming out of its conven-tional and misdirected argu-ments, like global economic cri-sis, inevitability of increasingforeign investments and socalled economic reforms,Government needs to set itshouse in order. Controllinginflation, reducing rates of inter-est and restricting imports arethe policy alternatives, whichgovernment should adopt to putthe economy back on the track.

FDI retail: No solution for slowdown

Sir,

27th September is celebrated as World

Tourism Day. India is well known for its

incredible destinations. Our city Jammu

is called the City of Temples. But soon the

number of tourists in it will decline

because of the railway project of Katra.

Because of that, the tourists will directly

go to Katra, instead of passing through

Jammu city. This will surely affect the

economy of Jammu.

My point is that we need good man-

agers for attracting tourists towards

Jammu. Many places like Kalakendra and

Hari Palace need to be marketed properly,

so that more and more tourists come to

Jammu. Recently I went to Kalakendra

and what I found there shocked me a bit

as there was no one on except some

authorities who hardly know how to talk

and communicate with tourists and visi-

tors.Very few people visit that place. A

person who has studied tourism for two

years and who is master in tourism, can

perform better than other people in this

field.He/she can make people aware of

why one should come to Jammu, what

are the main tourist destinations in Jammu

and how to conserve the historical places?

All we need is a chance to work by

Government and we want them to think

on this aspect. This way we will celebrate

Tourism Day in a better way.

Yours etc...Aruditya Jasrotia

MBA-Travel and TourismCentral University of Jammu

Separate Railway DivisionSir,

Apropos Ch Lal Singh's statement that he'd demand separate rail-way division for Jammu and Kashmir with DRM office at Jammu, it isstated that this division should have come up long ago. How does DRMsitting at Firozpur which is more than 300 km away from Jammu andabout 600 km away from Srinagar can effectively control Jammu- Katraand Kashmir Valley railway operation defies all logic. I think that thisis primarily due to indifferent attitude of people of Jammu in generaland J&K politicians in particular who really do not care and which hasled to such an absurd situation. One has only to visit Jammu railway sta-tion to see the filth and squalor and chaos all around. Even this news-paper has highlighted the pathetic condition of Jammu railway stationmany a time in the past. Things would have never come to sorry passhad DRM been stationed at Jammu. It is high time that creation of asaparate railway division at Jammu is pursued by Jammu civil societyand other stake holders at the highest level in the Railway Ministry.

Yours etc...

Ramesh Gupta

On e-mail

WORLD TOURISM DAY