NEWS ALERT

AUGUST 25-31, 2018

LIBRARY

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

NEW DELHI

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News Alert is a weekly service offered by the Library, Indian Institute of Public Administration. It contains news items on topical aspects pertaining to Public Administration and allied areas of governancex. The service is meant for the IIPA faculty and members only.

COMPILED BY

HEMANT KHARE

Indian Institute of Public Administration

I.P. Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi-110002

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LIST OF NEWSPAPERS COVERED

BUSINESS LINE

DECCAN HERALD

ECONOMIC TIMES

HINDU

HINDUSTAN TIMES

INDIAN EXPRESS

PIONEER

STATESMAN

TELEGRAPH

TIMES OF INDIA

TRIBUNE

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CONTENTS

AGRICULUTRE 06-07BANKING 08-10CIVIL SERVICE 11-13CITIZENSHIP 14-16CONSUMPTION 17-18CURRENCY 19-23DEFENCE 24-24DIASTER MANAGEMENT 25-27ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 28-29HEALTH SRVICES 30-33HUMAN TRAFFICKING 34-37JUDICIARY 38-40LANGUAGE 41-43POLLUTION 44-45RAILWAYS 46-46RIGHT TO INFORMATION 47-47

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 48-53

WATER RESOURCES 54-56

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AGRICULTURE

PIONEER AUG 31, 2018Diesel costs farmers dearDespite the Central Government’s effort to double farmers’ income by 2022, the constant rise of diesel prices has hit hard the farming community, increasing the input cost of cultivation by 20-30 per cent this year.

Farmers blame the high fuel prices for agricultural activities getting severely affected. Diesel prices have shot up by 20 per cent from Rs 57 per litre on August 2017 to Rs 69.93 per litre on August 30, 2018.

“Most of the farming activities like ploughing, watering the fields are done through tractors and water pumps that operate on diesel. Since the fuel prices have gone up, the costs of farming activities have increased,” said Binod Kumar Pandey, founder member of the All India Kisan Mahasanghtan.

Vijay Lochav, a Delhi-based farmer, said the cultivation cost of per acre of paddy is now between Rs 20,000 and Rs 22,000 or Rs 2,000 per quintal. “The rise in diesel prices pushed up  the  input cost by Rs 1,000-2,000 per acre this year,” he added.  

Lochav said he had spent Rs 3,300 per acre on diesel last year. “This year the amount is estimated over Rs 4,300 per acre”, he said.

Satpal Singh, a Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, said an average farmer uses 50-60 litres of diesel per acre for transplanting (paddy) in case of power shortage and also for running the generator to operate the tube well.

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Naseeb Singh, a farmer, said he has sown paddy in 30 acres and needs 1,000-1,200 litre diesel during the ongoing paddy season.

“There will be a big dent in the profit,” he said, adding that tractor rentals have already risen by double over last year. “Earlier, farmer used to spent about Rs 150-Rs 200 per hour on using tractors in the fields (diesel cost). Now, it is between Rs 350 and Rs 700 per hour, depending on the size of the field,” he said.

Chattar Singh, a farmer from Bihar, said there is no alternative to diesel motors for cultivation during power failure. “At present, 85 per cent of farmers in the Bettiah district use tractors for ploughing the fields. The ploughing rates of tractors have increased by 30 per cent from Rs 1,200 per acre last year to Rs 1,600 per acre this year due to rise in fuel prices,” Singh said.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. Almost 52 per cent people are directly or indirectly connected with agriculture. Since the last decade, the agricultural economy has already declined and there is a fall in its share to GDP.

“With the rise in the prices of diesel, the input costs to agriculture are likely to go up and will put the already stressed agricultural sector in higher peril,” said Pandey.

As per Union Agriculture Ministry data, production of foodgrains touched a record high of 284.8 million tonnes in 2017-18 on the back of last year’s normal monsoon.

According to market experts, it has been seen that when the price of oil increases in the global market, prices of oil in India also increases. But when the price in global market reduces, the prices of oil in India are often not reduced.

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BANKINGBUSINESS LINE AUG 28, 2018Banks must prepare blueprint for long-term growth : Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said India has the potential to become the fifth-largest economy in the world by next year, and urged banks to support the country’s growth.

“Banks are the lifeline of the economy and it is in the interest of the economy that banks are strengthened,” Jaitley said through videoconferencing at the Annual General Meeting of the Indian Banks’ Association.

Given the high investments and economic activity in the country, the Finance Minister also asked banks to prepare a blueprint for long-term growth.

“The role of banks will be vital and they must uphold professionalism,” he said.

While expressing hope of higher-than-estimated growth, the Minister noted that there are several external challenges to the economy, and the problems in the banking sector are a key domestic challenge.

“The desire to have a high growth rate must be accompanied by strong macroeconomic fundamentals.”

Sacrificing the fundamentals for a temporary spurt in growth is not desirable, he stressed, adding that growth with fiscal prudence is necessary.

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He added that indiscriminate lending done in the past created funding of projects, which were not able to service those debts.

Jaitley also cautioned banks that the onus is on them to ensure that frauds are avoided as such stray incidents raise questions and take away the focus from the good work they are doing.

Noting that the creation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has redefined the creditor-debtor relationship, Jaitley said there is a need to expedite the process and augment the capacity of the NCLT.

With the passage of amendments to Section 29A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, bankers and civil servants can take honest and credible commercial decisions without worrying about any future consequences outside the IBC process, he added.

BUSINESS STANDARD AUG 28, 2018Indiscriminate lending led to banking crisis: FM

Indiscriminate lending   and penalising bankers instead of empowering them to take the right decisions has led to the current crisis, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley   during a meet of the Indian Banks’ Association on Monday.

In a reference to the earlier United Progressive Alliance   (UPA) regime, Jaitley said the banking   crisis was the result of indiscriminate lending   done a decade ago.

“One lesson that I have learnt is that when we desire to have a high growth rate, it must be accompanied by strong macroeconomic fundamentals. If we start sacrificing our macroeconomic fundamentals in order to temporarily push up growth, then we are hurting ourselves

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elsewhere and that is bound to strike back at the economy at some point in time,” he added, saying credit offtake needs to be moderated.

“Indiscriminate lending   to chase growth at the cost of macroeconomic fundamentals was a policy mistake, he said. He added that indiscriminate lending done in the past led to funding projects which were not able to service those debts. This was followed by the subsequent error of dressing up bad loans.

“A system was created where there was reduced ability of bankers to find resolution. It was not a regime of comfort,” he said, adding that bankers were being punished for honest decisions.

Jaitley said some commercial judgment needs to be left to the bankers themselves. He added that bankers cannot be punished for honest decisions taken with the commercial prudence that turned out to be erroneous or commercially unsuccessful with the passage of time.

However, Jaitley said that the challenges to the economy in the past few months have been primarily external, citing unpredictable oil prices, trade wars and sporadic political issues. He added that the domestic sector needs to be equipped to deal with these external threats.

Jaitley, however, seemed positive about the country’s growth and said that India may probably become the fifth largest economy next year. He added that the country is continuing its run as a fast-growing economy, and will continue to be in this sweet spot.

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CIVIL SERVICEPIONEER AUG 27, 20187th pay panel slows IAS intake

The burden of the Pay Commission has apparently taken a toll on the recruitment of civil servants even when there is a massive shortage of IAS and IPS officers,  affecting the functioning of the governance.

According to the latest data of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), posts of as many as 1,449 IAS and 970 IPS officers are lying vacant across the country. These are in addition to vacancies in the Union Ministries and related departments where one-fourth of the sanctioned 400 posts of Director and Deputy Secretaries have also not been filled up.

Despite the huge shortage, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which is authorised to recruit IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and allied services,  in its Civil Services notification for the current year has pegged down the vacancies to 782 in the elite services. This is less than the 2017 UPSC notification for 980 officers.

In 2014, the UPSC had notified for selection of a massive 1,364 officers and 1,228 vacancies for the 2013 batch.

A total of 1,091 posts in various Central services were notified for the 2012 IAS examinations.

“This could be due to the huge expense on salaries on account of the new Pay Commission. The shortage will ultimately affect the progress of the country when the leadership is now focusing to expedite and shape

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the policy decisions ahead of the general elections,” said a Government source.

According to figures, the salaries of 10 million Central Government employees account for 12.6 per cent of the Central Government’s total expenditure. The recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission doubling of the minimum starting salary from the current Rs 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000 per month has led to an added extra 0.7 per cent burden on the GDP and a yearly burden of Rs 1,02,000 crore.

The sanctioned posts of Group A level in Central Government departments are 117,285, while the number of employees presently is 101,901. Similarly, in Group B (Gazetted), the sanctioned posts are 136,079, while posts occupied are 109,769. The total posts vacant in the Central Government are 15,384 in Grade A and 26,310 in Grade B (Gazetted).

DoPT sources explained that there is a shortage of cadre officers in big States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jharkhand. While the authorised strength of IAS in UP is 621, it has only 511 officers. Similarly, in Bihar, of the 342 sanctioned posts, the State has only 235 officers, whereas in Jharkhand cadre there are only 140 IAS against the sanctioned posts of 215. The authorised strength of IAS in Karnataka is 376 but it has only 313 officers, while the sanctioned strength of Tamil Nadu is 314 it has only 220 officers, as per the DoPT figures.

Further, a large number of  Group A Director/Deputy Secretary posts are also lying vacant in Government Ministries and departments. They are the ones who do the paper work before the files reach the Joint Secretaries (JS), and are the first in the chain of decision making.

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The shortage of faculty in new Central universities and premier institutes like IITs is already a matter of concern, affecting the higher education system. While total vacancies in new Central universities are nearly 48 per cent, the older universities have 33 per cent vacancies.

 DECCAN HERALD AUG 29, 2018Cabinet clears 2% hike in DA for central govt employees

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase of 2% in the dearness allowance (DA) over the existing rate of 7% for the central government employees. Thus, the increase of 9% will be effective from July.

This will benefit about 48.41 lakh Central Government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners. “The Union Cabinet has approved to release an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. 01.07.2018 representing an increase of 2% over the existing rate of 7% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise,” an official statement said after the Cabinet meeting.

In March, the government had increased dearness allowance to 7% from 5%. The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be Rs 6,112.20 crore per annum and Rs 4,074.80 crore in the financial year 2018-19 (for a period of 8 months from July, 2018 to February, 2019), the statement said.

This increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission, it said.

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CITIZENSHIPTHE TELEGRAPH AUG 27, 2018

SC mulls 10% test for citizen register

Assam government published the second and final draft of the updated NRC. The Supreme Court said  it could consider a re-verification of 10 per cent of the names included in the NRC. Source: ABP LiveNew Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Tuesday it could consider a re-verification of 10 per cent of the names included in Assam's draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) to satisfy itself that the exercise was error-free.

"We are of the view that the court should consider the necessity of carrying out the sample re-verification of at least 10 per cent of the names included in the final draft NRC," a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R.F. Nariman said. The re-verification could be conducted by a team from a neighbouring district, it added.

The bench asked the state coordinator for the NRC, Prateek Hajela, to get back with the possible time frame when such an exercise can begin if

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ordered by the court and the time frame within which it can be completed.

The court also expressed reservations over the standard operating procedure (SOP) evolved by the Centre to deal with the claims of 40 lakh people left out of the draft NRC. The Centre's decision to allow claimants to submit "additional admissible legacy and linkage documents" would amount to "restarting" the NRC verification exercise, it said.

Justice Gogoi pointed out that a person might have earlier submitted a linkage document to establish legacy with a person as his father, which might have been rejected in the NRC. Now the same person can claim a legacy with another person, citing him as his grandfather. This, the court pointed out, would lead to an anomalous situation as the entire "family tree" can be changed by a person on account of the decision to grant a person liberty to file additional documents.

State coordinator Hajela admitted that during the original verification exercise, the authorities had come across instances where people have taken money to allow others to use their father's name to establish a false legacy.

Attorney-general K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said there are instances where some of the claimants are illiterate who may not be fully conversant with the documentation process like proving their linkage or legacy. Senior advocate Kamal C. Chowdhury said this plea could not be accepted as the so-called illiterate persons managed to procure documents to settle in India after crossing the border illegally.

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The bench, after hearing the arguments, directed Hajela to submit, by September 4 the possible ramifications of allowing people to claim legacy through a different family member.

The court will hear the matter again on September.

Earlier in the day, in compliance with the court's last order, Hajela filed before the court the district-wise percentage of people left out of the NRC exercise.

The names of 40,70,707 people, out of a total of 3.29 crore applicants, do not figure in the complete draft NRC, the first list of which was published on December 31, 2017, and the second on July 30, 2018.

The court indicated that the process of filing claims and objections would now commence on September 7 instead of August 30.

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CONSUMPTIONHINDU AUG 26, 2018BIS to set standards for the services sector too

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has kicked off the process to set new standards to measure quality of services offered to consumers   across different sectors, including telecom, aviation, e-commerce and healthcare.

The BIS, which sets the quality regulations for various products from gold to bottled water, on Friday called a meeting of industry bodies to “persuade them to be part of the process and give their inputs.”

“Service sector is one of the key sectors of the Indian economy with a huge potential to grow into one of the largest markets of the world. Standards can play a major facilitative role in this regard. It is important that the standardisation needs and priorities of the sector are determined,” a senior official said.

During the meeting, the BIS pointed out that the initial focus will be the 12 champion services sectors identified by the government. These include IT, tourism and hospitality, transport and logistics, accounting and finance services, legal services, communication services and construction.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standards is set to formulate a framework for quality services that should be provided to consumers and also talk about the benchmarks to

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deal with consumer complaints or after sales service in an effort to ensure quality in the services sector.

At a meeting with industry bodies on Friday, it has been decided that the BIS will set up a separate ‘divisional council’ for services in a month’s time. Under this, different technical committees will be set up — one for each service. The committees will have various stakeholders such as government officials, experts and industry representatives.

Poll feedback

The process was initiated after concerns over lack of standardisation, particularly with regards to after-sales service, in their feedback to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

In a poll, online community network LocalCircles found that in the absence of defined customer service standards in the country, a majority of consumers were not happy with after-sales services. As per the poll, 43% feel that mobile handset and computer manufacturers are the worst in after-sales services, followed by white goods firms (38%) and automobile companies (11%). About 93% of respondents said brands should at least acknowledge complaints from users within 72 hours. “Many consumers complained that customer service numbers of many companies do not work,” according to LocalCircles.

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CURRENCYBUSINESS LINE AUG 28, 2018What’s causing the rupee to weaken?

The rupee has crossed the 70 mark against the US dollar, and though it has pulled back there is widespread concern at what is being seen as a rather quick slide to new all-time lows. Some have cited the collapse of the Turkish Lira to draw odious parallels to India, unmindful that Turkey suffers from high inflation, large capital outflows and insufficient forex reserves.

The RBI, on its part, has maintained an intelligent silence but has taken action in the spot as well as the forward market, keeping in view its mandate to maintain orderly conditions by containing excessive volatility in the exchange rate without reference to any predetermined level or band.

In analysing the situation, it is important to note that episodes of volatility are not a new phenomenon in India and this isn’t the worst of what has been seen in terms of volatility. The depreciation five years ago, precisely on August 28, 2013, remains a watershed as the rupee touched ₹68.361 to the dollar. Thus, the worst in terms of volatility in recent years was seen in 2013-14, which saw the highest standard deviation at 3.08 and the coefficient of variation at 5.10 per cent (Table1).

Subsequently, even though the currency touched 68.777 (on February 26, 2016), this was again not the worst in terms of volatility measured by standard deviation and coefficient of variation.

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Analytically, the movement in the exchange rate is influenced by demand for and supply of foreign currency liquidity (US $ liquidity). In the balance of payments framework, demand for foreign currency is broadly determined by import of goods and services and outflows of foreign capital whereas the supply of foreign currency is influenced by export of goods and services, worker remittances and inflow of foreign capital.

In the Indian context, the current account deficit and net capital outflows influence the shortage of dollar liquidity, which result in rupee depreciation ( Table 2)

 Evidence suggests that in all years barring 2015-16 and 2016-17, speculative capital flows (foreign portfolio flows) and debt capital flows (external commercial borrowings and NRI deposits) predominated the capital flows. However, during 2015-16 and 2016-17, there were debt capital outflows. Illustratively, there were net outflows in external commercial borrowings and NRI deposits to the tune of $6.1 billion and $12.36 billion, respectively, in 2016-17.

Debt capital flows

To the extent the debt capital flows constitute a major share in the total capital flows. India’s debt liabilities are higher at around 51 per cent of GDP as on end-March 2018. The ratio of net international investment position (international financial assets minus international financial liabilities) to GDP as on end-March 2018 was negative at 16.3 per cent.

The ratio of financial assets to GDP stood at 24.5 per cent and ratio of financial liability to GDP was at 40.8 per cent as of end-March 2018.

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Thus, we are a net liability country and should be cautious about building up reserves through debt. As such, there are three important elements linked to the weak rupee — persistent current account deficit; episodes of net capital outflow in terms of speculative and debt capital outflow; and predominance of debt capital in forex reserves.

In the event of rupee depreciation, the RBI intervenes in the forex market with the objective of containing volatility. During 2018-19, for the month of May and June for which data are available, the RBI sold $9.9 billion and $10.2 billion, respectively. As of August 10, 2018, the outstanding foreign currency reserves stood at $400.9 billion, a decline of $23.63 billion over the end-March 2018 figure. This decline could be on account of the RBI selling dollars to intervene in the market to manage rupee volatility.

As alluded to earlier, some of the analysts have opined that rupee depreciation has been contributed by the depreciation in the Turkish Lira with a contagion effect. This view is erroneous as India’s trade with Turkey in terms of exports and imports is minuscule. For example, during 2017-18, share of export was 1.68 per cent of total exports and 0.46 per cent in total imports. Latest data for 2018-19 (April-June) show that the export share was 1.78 per cent and the import share was 0.56 per cent with Turkey. In addition, India doesn’t have a large cross border financial transaction with Turkey.

Essentially, the depreciation of rupee could be linked to the current account deficit because of higher trade deficit contributed by higher import bills. According to latest available data, overall trade deficit (goods and services) during April-July 2018-19 was $43.77 billion as compared with $34.07 billion in the previous year.

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Oil imports during April-July 2018-19 amounted to $ 46.98 billion, which was 51.5 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In addition, there were outflows of speculative capital from India due to higher interest rates in the US as the Fed increased the Fund Rate, record US GDP growth of 4 per cent in Q2, and lowest unemployment rate in the US in the past 60 years. Further, as we have significant trade dependency with the US the strength of the dollar also has a marked effect on the rupee.

Will rupee strengthen?

The moot question is: Will the rupee have a mean reversal as it happened in 2017-18, from an average of 67.08 in 2016-17 to 64.44 in 2017-18? As the dollar is strengthening and all accompanying fundamentals are strong, it looks difficult. However, our efforts to further strengthen FDI and promote exports — by diversification, improving the quality of our commodities, and focussing more on developing and emerging market economies — will be helpful. That is the only long term sustainable and viable way to prevent the rupee from falling.

HINDU AUG 30, 2018Over 99% of demonetized notes were returned: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2017-18 said

more than 99% of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes withdrawn

from circulation in November 2016 had been returned to the

central bank.

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According to the report, after verification and reconciliation,

the total value of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes as on

November 8, 2016, the day before the note ban came into

effect, was Rs. 15.41 lakh crore. The total value of such notes

returned from circulation is Rs. 15.31 lakh crore.

RBI data showed that the value of banknotes in circulation

increased by 37.7% over the year to Rs. 18.04 lakh crore as at

end-March 2018.

More 500 notes

With more Rs. 500 notes having been pumped into the system

over the last one year, the share of Rs. 2,000 notes by value

declined to 37.3% as on March 2018, compared with 50.2% a

year earlier. The share of Rs. 500 notes, in terms of value,

increased from 22.5% to 42.9% in the same period.

“The share of newly introduced Rs. 200 banknotes in the total

value of banknotes in circulation was 2.1% at end-March

2018,” the report said.

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DEFENCEINDIAN EXPRESS AUG, 27, 2018

Govt appoints G Satheesh Reddy as DRDO chiefReddy was holding the post of scientific advisor to the Raksha Mantri and heading the strategic missile systems division of the DRDO.

The government on Saturday appointed missile scientist G Satheesh Reddy as chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), nearly three months after the post fell vacant following the retirement of Selvin Christopher in May. Reddy will hold the post for two years. It was being looked after by Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra as additional charge.Reddy was holding the post of scientific advisor to the Raksha Mantri and heading the strategic missile systems division of the DRDO.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT24

HINDUSTAN TIMES AYG 25, 2018

Poor dam management behind ‘natural’ disasters, say experts

Kerala’s worst floods   in close to a century left hundreds of people dead, displaced over a million, and caused unprecedented loss of property worth billion of rupees in less than a fortnight. Though excessive rains filled the dams, experts blamed poor water flow management from the reservoirs for the inundation of the coastal state and many parts of the southern India. It is not for the first time that this has happened.A Comptroller and Auditor General report submitted in Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2016 squarely blamed the unwarranted release of 29,000 cusecs of water for 21 hours in December 2015, in violation of dam safety norms, for flooding in Chennai. The report said the floods could have been avoided had the Public Works Department followed the Central Water Commission guidelines on regulated water release from the three water tanks upstream of the city. In hindsight, water experts are saying that the intensity of Kerala floods could have been reduced if the water from 35 big dams in Kerala was released much earlier. Kerala blamed neighbouring Tamil Nadu for the floods in the Supreme Court on Friday, saying the gates of Mullaperiyar dam were suddenly opened without any warning, a claim denied by Tamil Nadu government. What has happened in Kerala poses a bigger question regarding flood management in India considering that around 15% of India’s land mass is prone to floods, with an average of 1,548 people losing their lives and around eight million hectares getting affected, causing loss of about Rs 5,628 crore every year. The 5,254 dams in India are an integral part of flood management, apart from storing water for irrigation and generating power.

HINDU AUG 30, 2018

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Cabinet clears rs. 1,600 cr. Mission to map coastsIndia is set to get more disaster warning systems along its

coasts. While it already has a tsunami warning system in

place, the new systems will keep an eye out for “tsunamis and

storm surges,” according to an official release.

The system is part of a programme called O-SMART (Ocean

Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling

and Science) that is being piloted by the Union earth sciences

ministry. It was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on

Economic Affairs on Wednesday, at an outlay of Rs. 1,623

crore.

O-SMART will provide economic benefits to a number of

user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely,

fisheries, offshore industry, coastal States, defence, shipping,

ports, etc.

Other key missions under O-SMART include, according to

the press release, strengthening of Ocean Observations and

Modelling, strengthening of Ocean Services for fishermen,

setting up marine observatories for monitoring marine

pollution, setting up Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant

(OTEC) in Kavaratti, acquiring two coastal research vessels,

continuation of ocean survey and exploration of minerals and

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living resources, technology development for Deep Ocean

Mining and manned submersibles and the setting up six

desalination plants in Lakshadweep.

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTHINDU AUG, 25, 2018NITI Aayog to focus on health, education sectors

NITI Aayog has identified three major sectors -- health, education and children’s health -- as priority sectors for intervention, said NITI Aayog Vice-Chairperson Rajiv Kumar here on Friday.“About 38% of children are malnourished while 50% mothers anaemic. We have to get rid of the malnourishment and anaemia from the country. How can we talk about demographic dividend when children remain malnourished,” said Mr. Kumar addressing the Odisha Vikash Conclave-2018 here.

Odisha FactsAs per the Odisha Facts released on the occasion, anaemia among women and children is highest in ST and Christian population in the State.

More than 50% of women across all caste and social groups, except for in Muslims, suffer from anaemia, in Odisha.

Stating that the goal of ‘Universalisation of Education’ has been achieved, he said: “It is time to assess the States on the quality parameter. NITI Aayog is preparing a mechanism to rank States on the basis of education quality achieved.”

Similarly, the Centre is planning to set up 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres across India as the existing primary health centres were not functioning properly, said Mr. Kumar. The

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new health centres would have tele-medicine facilities apart from other modern equipment, he added.

The three-day-long Odisha Vikash Conclave-2018 got under way with hundreds of civil society members sharing best practices in the sector.

Migration from StateInaugurating the event, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said one-third of the total population of Odisha was migrating to other States for work while 40% of the SC and ST population are outside the ambit of development. He criticised the government for the prevailing backwardness in the State. Former State Information Commission Jagadananda and prominent tribal rights activist Tulasi Munda also addressed the conclave

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HEALTH SERVICESINDIAN EXPRESS AUG, 27, 2018

How government & private doctors united to help

rural poor in MaharashtraThe project, anchored by the state’s Directorate of Medical Education, initially took off at two health care centres - at Jalgaon and Mumbai - set up by the Niramayseva Foundation in 2004.

* At Shirur tehsil in Pune district, farmer Manik Ghavte’s three-year-old son Aarush got to hear his mother’s voice for the first time after he was given a cochlear implant a month ago.

* A growing cyst near her cheek bone had disfigured the face of a 35-year-old woman from Nandurbar and had begun to obstruct her breathing until she underwent a surgery conducted free of cost at Pune’s Sassoon Hospital.

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* It has been a year since 18-year-old Sakshi Shejwal, a Class 12 student at a Nashik college and the daughter of a security guard, underwent a spinal surgery, estimated at Rs 14 lakh.These stories are the result of a silent but dedicated effort in Maharashtra to connect people from economically weaker sections to quality healthcare and surgeries that are usually out of reach for many of them.From getting private doctors to sponsor surgeries to convincing institutions to raise their CSR funds to mobilising an army of volunteers who help patients get to the nearest ‘Maha Aarogya’ camps where they are screened, the programme involves the state’s Directorate of Health Services, 140 private hospitals, 1,114 primary health centres and 20,000 doctors (both in the private and government sectors). At least 78,000 surgeries – cataract surgeries, ENT procedures, correcting orthopaedic defects and others — have been performed since 2016 while another 1.5 lakh have been planned this year.The project, anchored by the state’s Directorate of Medical Education, initially took off at two health care centres – at Jalgaon and Mumbai – set up by the Niramayseva Foundation in 2004. But soon, as more health care centres came up in Nashik, Aurangabad and Nandurbar, teams of voluntary health workers worked round the clock to help patients from remote villages access these camps. As many as 45,000 volunteers have travelled to 12,000 villages to bring patients to the screening camps.“Since 2004, we have carried out 1.25 lakh surgeries as part of this programme. Of these, at least 78,690 have been since 2016,” says Dr Milind Nikumbh, Dean of Government Ayurved College at Jalgaon and main coordinator of the Maha Aarogya camps.Over Rs 22 crore has been raised from 21 charitable trusts and foundations and as many as 130 small camps and 14 large ones have been set up in under-developed areas of the state, including in Yavatmal,

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Solapur, Palghar, Osmanabad, Nanded, Sangli, Dhule, Beed, Satara, Chandrapur and Akola.While the project has a core team of 22 people, including doctors from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, who manage and coordinate these camps, leading private doctors have been encouraged to sponsor 500-1,000 surgeries each.In Pune, Dr Ranjit Jagtap, cardiologist and founder of Ram Mangal Heart Foundation, and Dr Ramakant Panda, Managing Director of Asian Heart Institute, have agreed to conduct the cardiac surgeries. Dr Jagtap said that the cost of a paediatric cardiac surgery is usually between Rs 3 lakh and 4 lakh. “If it involves an ICU stay, the cost goes up further. However, we will sponsor at least 500 to 1,000 such surgeries and encourage society and charitable foundations to donate,” he said.Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, laparoscopic surgeon from Pune has agreed to conduct 1,000 surgeries on cancer patients over the next two years while bariatric surgeons Dr Jayashree Todkar (Pune) and Dr Muffazal Lakdawala have also been roped in.“We had set up a clinic at the Maha Aarogya camp and clinically evaluated peple who needed a bariatric surgery. While the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (the state government’s health insurance scheme) will be able to cover some of the expenses, for the remaining amount, hospitals have been asked to pitch in,” Dr Todkar said. Dr Lakdawala said he had already received 10-15 referrals from these health camps and that his team would conduct around four to five surgeries a day as part of this initiative. “The aim is to perform 1,000 metabolic surgeries on people with obesity and diabetes from rural areas of the state over the next two years,” he said.State Medical Education Minister Girish Mahahan, who played a key role in setting up the initiative, says the programme, part of the Chief Minister’s ‘Maha Parivartan’ initiative in the state, hasn’t come a day

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too soon. “There are so many files with names of needy people — really poor people – who cannot afford medical treatment, leave alone hospitalisation or surgery, for even minor ailments such as cataract. Various trusts – Tata Trusts, Mohan Foundation, Mukul Madhav Foundation and others – are helping us in this ambitious venture,” he said. The volunteers, who bring patients from remote areas to the health camps and then facilitate their treatment in bigger cities, form a vitial part of this initiative.Swapnil Nanavare, a voluntary health worker from Nashik’s Sigma Hospital, said most of the patients are from rural areas. “Patients from rural parts of Nashik who are examined and identified for surgeries in Mumbai are given tickets and even sent to Aamdar Nivas in Mumbai, where the patient and their relatives get food and accommodation for free,” he said.Dr Nikumbh of the Jalgaon Government Ayurved College, however, admitted that the challenge was to get doctors to screening camps set up in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in rural areas. “There are very few consultants and PHCs lack facilities. So the coordinators have to ensure that medical units at government and private colleges carry the equipment and instrument required for diagnosis and other investigations. If, during these camps, we identify patients who need immediate surgery, we can’t take them to the rural hospitals which have limited resources and expertise. The patients then have to be ruhed to Pune or Mumbai.Rameshwar Naik, who is in charge of the Maha Arogya camps and is also Officer on Special Duty to the Medical Education Minister, said there are five to six categories of patients, including those who need to be put on medication, those who need to undergo pathology tests and those who require minor or major surgeries.

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HUMAN TRAFFICKINGHINDUSTAN TIMES AUG 27, 2018New hope for trafficking victims

Main ab phir kabhi Dilli nahin aaongi” (I will never come to Delhi again).This is what the otherwise chirpy 15-year-old would keep repeating to her counsellor at a shelter home in south Delhi where she was brought by the police eight months ago after being rescued from the Nizamuddin railway station to where she had run off to escape abuse — both mental and physical.The Class 2 drop-out hails from a village in Jharkhand’s Latehar district. She had heard stories about the good life people had in “Dilli”, and would often ask her eldest brother to take her there. Limited sources of i ncome ensured her family did not object to the idea. Not long after, the brother and the teenager were in Delhi, meeting an acquaintance who would take her to a bungalow in Nizamuddin. Just like that, she had been hired to do all the daily chores for the family of five. And then the abuse began. She would be beaten up for the slightest delay in completing a task and was fed leftovers.But the real horror began when the family patriarch, in his 60s, forced her to massage him and touch his private parts. She tried to run away after three months but was caught and brought back. The abuse increased. Last December, she managed to run away again, and reached the railway station where the police rescued her and took her to Prayas, the shelter home in Delhi’s Tughlaqabad.Although the police have registered an FIR, investigations have not made much headway as the girl has been unable to provide police with the family’s address.

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Eight months on, the teenager has made many friends at the shelter home and is back to being her chirpy self.“I go to a non-formal school. After the class, I train at the skill centre inside the (shelter) home to become a beautician,” she said.THE NEW LAWHer stay at home is coming to an end, though. She will be sent back to her village in a short while.“The 15-year-old is on top of the world. Though we are also happy that she will be reunited with her family, there is a gnawing concern. We have seen that in many such cases, the chance that the person would become a victim (of trafficking) and pushed into forced labour again is quite high,” said Deepshikha Singh, the minor girl’s counsellor and the shelter home’s in-charge.It is this “re-victimisation” that the new Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 seeks to address with its rehabilitation framework. The bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha on July 26 and now awaits the Rajya Sabha nod.At present, India has no mechanism to monitor the well-being and safety of someone like the 15-year-old once she is sent back.“For the first time, the proposed law provides for a comprehensive framework for rehabilitating trafficked victims. The victim will be able to claim compensation from the state as her right. A rehabilitation fund will be set up, which will be maintained and monitored by a high level National Anti-trafficking Relief and Rehabilitation committee,” said Amod K Kanth, general secretary of the NGO Prayas JAC (juvenile aid centre) Society.Where a minor is involved, the bill provides for monitoring by women and children were trafficked in 2016, shows data from the National Crime Records Bureau. In 2015, the figure was 15, 448.the district anti-human trafficking unit to ensure her safety.

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THE CONFIDENTIALITYAnother important feature in the new bill, according to Kanth, is the de-linking of rehabilitation from criminal proceedings in trafficking cases. “This will enable extension of rehabilitation services to survivors whose criminal proceedings fail through for no fault of theirs, or who do not want to participate in such proceedings,” he added.The bill also provides for maintaining confidentiality of the victim, if they do not want to appear before the court.“A year ago, we rescued a woman from a brothel in Delhi’s GB Road. A case was registered in West Bengal from where she was trafficked. Soon after, the victim children were reported missing in 2016. Many of these children may have ended up as victims of trafficking.got married and settled down. But now she is getting summons to appear before the court in person, to give her testimony, and she does not want to. Under the existing law she does not have a choice but to appear,” said Rishi Kant of Shakti Vahini, an NGO that recues trafficked victims across India. Not anymore. The proposed law provides for maintaining the confidentiality of the victim. “If a trafficked victim does not want to appear before the court for reasons of safety and confidentiality, the designated court can record her statement through video conferencing. It will be her right now,” Rishi Kant said. There are many such clauses in the new bill, Kant added, which has been drafted with the victim in mind. “Till now, the victim was never the focus. This will change now. For instance, if the victim chooses the inquiry into and trial of offences under the new law , it can be conducted in camera. In another first, the new law gives the victim the right to be heard in all bail matters. Under the existing system, the victim does not even get to know when the accused is granted bail,” he added.FLIP SIDE

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To be sure, the bill has also come under flak from a section of activists and opposition leaders on grounds that it gives excessive power to the police and can be misused against transgenders and sex workers who are voluntarily in the sex trade. Ruchira Gupta, founder of Apne Aap Worldwide, the anti-sex trafficking organisation said that the bill in its present form won’t be able to deter sex trafficking. “Of the 16 million women and girls who are trapped in prostitution in India today, majority of them were trafficked as girls and belong to the most marginalised groups such as Dalits and Adivasis. If this bill is passed these girls will not get any help as they will not be considered victims of the crime of trafficking on account of an existing law that punishes women for soliciting in a public place.” That’s a charge that the Union women and child development ministry, which is piloting the bill, has rebutted. “The proposed law will not penalize any voluntary sex workers, only those who have been trafficked, “said a senior WCD ministry official who did not want to be named. Activists have also charged that the bill has not explicitly defined sexual exploitation, leaving grounds for misuse.Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala, an NGO involved in rescue and rehabilitation of sex trafficking victims, said Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code clearly defines sexual exploitation.“Defining it again will only amount to duplication. One needs to understand that this is the first time that a law acknowledges trafficking as an organized crime. The existing law focused on criminalization of offences related to trafficking. The new bill starts where Section 370 of IPC ends. It builds a framework to check organised crime,” she added.For the first time, the proposed law provides for a comprehensive framework for rehabilitating trafficked victims. The victim will be able to claim compensation from the state as her rightAMOD K KANTH, general secretary, NGO Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society

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JUDICIARYHINDU AUG 26, 2018Major cases and the collegiums: a study

Chief Justice Dipak Misra’s role as Master of the Roster was called into question by the other four judges in the Supreme Court collegium in January. While their complaint was about cases being “assigned selectively” to benches of “preference”, how have members of the collegium been represented in major cases (those with bench sizes of three or more)?

A look at the numbers since January 1999, when the collegium was expanded to five judges, is revealing. It shows that the representation of collegium members other than the CJI — that is, those ranked two to five — is among the lowest during Chief Justice Misra’s term.

Until January 12, when Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph held their unprecedented press conference, collegium members (two to five) were involved only in 29.3% of the judgments delivered. Of the 17 CJIs since January 1999, it was only during Justice G.B Pattanaik’s term as CJI that the representation of the four collegium members was less. At 29.2%, it was less only by the smallest of fractions.

Also, Justice Pattanaik was CJI only for just a little over a month, during which 24 judgments with benches of three or more judges were delivered.

 

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At the other end of the spectrum, former CJIs H.L. Dattu (68%), R.M. Lodha (67.5%), K.G. Balakrishnan (55.1%) and A.S. Anand (63.5%) used other collegium members most in cases involving three judges or more, going by the judgment percentages. In Justice Misra’s case, the involvement of other collegium judges increased after the January 12 press conference; overall, as of July 31, it went up to 33.9%.

A comparative assessment of Chief Justices in terms of involvement of other collegium members in judgments involving bench sizes of three or more is presented in the accompanying table. There were over 2,400 such judgments between January 1999 and July 2018, of which 224 were delivered by Constitution Benches — those with five judges or more.

The average representation for collegium judges (barring the CJI) in major cases was 52.1% for this period. In nearly two-thirds of the cases referred to various benches (of three judges and above), Chief Justice Misra did not appoint a single Collegium judge other than himself. In the five judgments delivered by Constitution Benches before Justice Chelameshwar’s retirement, no fellow member of the collegium was involved.

His retirement saw the inclusion in the collegium of Justice A.K. Sikri, who was a part of the Constitution Bench that delivered the judgment in the Govt. of Delhi vs. Lt. Governor case.

Many factors

Case allocation in the Supreme Court is based on a number of factors, largely related to the expertise of various judges.

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But senior judges have generally been represented in higher numbers in benches numbering three and above.

The four collegium judges who complained about case allocation had felt that cases were allocated to junior hand-picked judges against the conventions of the court. The data here records how cases involving three judges or more were allocated by different CJIs since January 1999.

The methodology

Details of all judgments delivered by benches (with at least three judges) since 1999 were web-scraped from the Supreme

Many judgments listed in the website did not contain the bench composition. These were manually filled up after reconciling the data with bench information from Sushant Sinha’s indiankanoon.org data. Using the dates of appointment and retirement of judges listed on the Supreme Court website, the rank of each judge was calculated algorithmically at the time of each judgment by comparing their appointment dates with other judges during their tenure.

Judges, whose rank was 2 to 5, were considered Collegium judges (Rank 1 was the CJI).

There could be a slight margin of error in the numbers as some benches may have been constituted by one Chief Justice of India, but judgments delivered under his successor. In such cases, they may have been accounted for under the latter’s name.

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LANGUAGEHINDUSTAN TIMES AUG 27, 2018Hindi can be our bridge to the world

We are the children of India and India is our mother. In this way, while carrying out a son’s responsibilities, we support the efforts to make Hindi the official language of the United Nations.” This announcement by Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritius’s minister mentor, minister of Rodriguesand minister of defence, evoked a long and rapturous applause from the audience at Port Louis’s Abhimanyu Unnuth Convention Centre. Was this another announcement by a seasoned politician made just for the sake of formality?

Seen from a distance, it may appear so, since politicians the world over say such things to mislead people. But no, Mauritius is very different. Bhojpuri and Indianness have kept this island, located thousands of kilometres away, connected with India. A living example of this was the 11th World Hindi Conference co-hosted by the two countries. It was attended not just by politicians from Port Louis but representatives from various parts of Mauritius. When I compare it with the ninth edition of the World Hindi Conference in Johannesburg, I can discern a big difference. The South African government had left no stone unturned in making it a grand occasion, but there was little enthusiasm among the local people. Participants like us discovered that we were surrounded by indifference.

Mauritius was the exact opposite.

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At Aapravasi Ghat, when we asked questions in English, the lady who was our guide said if we wanted, she could converse in Hindi. Aapravasi Ghat is a World Heritage site. Girmitya (indentured) workers from India landed here when they came to Mauritius. Since then, thanks to those who have settled abroad to earn a living, Hindi is spoken in 140 countries across the world and 1.2 billion people understand it. Do we still need to assert that Hindi opens the doors to a world of enormous possibilities? We simply need to open our eyes to them.

Consider Mauritius. The country has enormous strategic and economic potential. That is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind, during their visits to the country, strengthened the emotional bonds between India and Mauritius by unveiling a statue at Ganga Talab and planting a sapling of the venerated peepul tree. The message they were trying to send out: India and Mauritius share a common religion and culture. The World Hindi Conference was another such endeavour. Apart from this, India is playing a big role in the development of Mauritius. We are building a metro network and have carried out a number of projects including building high quality roads. It is worth noting that the roads built by Indians in Mauritius are much better than the other roads built there.

Still, I believe long-term goals cannot be achieved just by putting together a few resources in the name of language, religion, culture and economic progress. In Mauritius and other countries with a large Indian population, why shouldn’t India set up institutes that impart technical knowledge and education in medicine and engineering where the younger generation can acquire the skills to become self-reliant? We already give an Overseas Citizen of India card to Indians settled in many countries. The recipients of this certificate can do business or work in

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India. They can buy residential land and are eligible for a host of other rights. There are restrictions on buying agricultural land and voting, but by acquiring the requisite skills, they can empower themselves in a way that can benefit both their own country and India. Helping the representatives of Generation Next become self-reliant won’t just help India and Mauritius, it will also strengthen our socio-cultural links. There’s a special reason I am saying this. India’s policymakers have always suffered from not being able to envision long-term goals. They manage to give short-term solutions, but fail to look at the bigger picture. You may want to look at China’s example. Through the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has begun to fulfil the long-term needs of its country and citizens. Its leaders know that there’s a certain darkness that lurks behind the shiny façade of economic progress. Those who dream of progress also have to think about how they’ll deal with an economic downturn. Where will they relocate polluting industrial units if the need arises? With the rising population, how will they create opportunities for their young people? How can they collaborate with other countries and utilise their natural and human resources for their own benefit? China is doing all this, but India is yet to do it.

Why can’t we make a beginning with countries that have an emotional connect with us? In this ashwamedha yagna (traditional ritual by kings to prove their imperial sovereignty by sending a horse into other territories) if we take along the children of Hindi and other Indian languages, there cannot be any scope for failure.

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POLLUTION

HINDUSTAN TIMES AUG 25, 2018Delhi-NCR ranks worst in vehicular pollution: Study

The National Capital has been ranked last among 14 cities of India on the basis of vehicular emissions in a survey. This despite the fact that Delhi uses CNG — a cleaner fuel — for its public transport system and has a relatively higher share of public transport ridership.

The ranking was done on the basis of a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) — a Delhi-based research organisation to assess transport-related emissions from urban commuting. “Delhi ranks the worst in terms of overall toxic emissions, heat-trapping emission and energy consumption. This is despite the fact that most of its parameters — such as average trip length and public transport share — are better than other megacities, the study stated.

The study found that the major factors behind the abysmal ranking of Delhi include high volume of vehicles and relatively higher population than other cities. Delhi’s population in 2017 was 1.25 times that of Mumbai, 2.5 times that of Bengaluru, 1.8 times that of Kolkata, 2.9 times that of Hyderabad and 2.6 times that of Chennai. “This is Delhi’s paradox. Even though the city has done well in some aspects of urban commute, such as per-trip emissions, those efforts have been negated by the high magnitude of population and number of vehicles. Delhi has the highest vehicle stock, which is dominated by personal vehicles and a relatively high population,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy.

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A 2016 study by IIT-Kanpur had found that vehicular emissions contribute to around 9% of the PM10 load in Delhi and around 20%of the PM2.5 load. A study by TERI and ARAI earlier this month found that the contribution of vehicular emissions in Delhi’s air could go up to 30% if secondary particles are taken into account.

The CSE study — titled The Urban Commute and How it Contributed to Pollution and Energy Consumption — ranks cities on emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and toxic pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, as well as energy guzzling from urban commuting. It classified six urban agglomerations — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai — as megacities and Bhopal, Vijaywada, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad as metro cities. Bhopal was ranked the best for its lowest overall vehicular emission and fuel consumption, followed by Vijaywada and Chandigarh. Kolkata and Mumbai was ranked 7th and 10th on the list, respectively.

According to Dipankar Saha, former head of the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality lab, Delhi has big achievements to its credit, including using of CNG and scrapping of old vehicles. However, it can do better in terms of emissions by having a robust public transport and traffic management system. “The emissions, such as CO2, is released due to unburnt hydrocarbons. This happens because of various factors such as vehicle speed not being maintained, overloaded heavy-duty vehicles, poor roads and poor management of traffic. Delhi has to work toward improving its roads and integrating transport and

traffic management,” Saha said.

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RAILWAYSINDIAN EXPRESS AUG, 27, 2018

Railways introduces advanced and safer coaches from today

As part of Indian Railways’ modernisation drive, the national carrier has decided to induct new 4410 Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches, which come with anti-collision technology. Under the scheme, Pune-Jabalpur Express will operate with LHB coaches from today. Soon, other trains such as Pune-Secunderabad Shatabdi Express, which operate from Pune, will have this facility.The LHB coaches are lighter, with higher carrying capacity, speed potential and better safety features as compared to the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches, said spokesperson of Pune Railway Division Manoj Jhawar. “The railway has decided that train number 01656 and 01655 Jabalpur-Pune-Jabalpur weekly train will have new HLB coaches from today From Jabalpur, the train will run with new coaches from Tuesday. Railways is always providing better facilities to passengers. This will remove the jerks experienced by passengers on board,” said Jhawar

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RIGHT TO INFORMATION BUSINESS LINE AUG 28, 2018Minister defends centre’s move to amend RTI act

Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office, defended

the government’s stance on the proposed changes to the Right to

Information (RTI) Act, stating that rules are being framed and nothing

has been finalised yet.

Speaking to media persons at the Indian Women’s Press Corps here on

Monday, Singh, who is also the Minister of State for Personnel, Public

Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and

Department of Space, “the proposed changes will not result any dilution

or curtailment and there is no intention of doing so”.

“The government has gone the extra mile to ensure there is greater

transparency and accountability. Everything is online now and most of

the information that was sought through RTI is now on the website,”

Singh said.

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URBAN DEVELOPMENTHINDU AUG 25, 2018Corruption has eaten into town planning, observes SC

People are dying in building collapses and fires because corruption

has eaten into town planning and grant of building permits across

the country, the Supreme Court said in Friday.

Referring to the recent fire which engulfed Crystal Tower in Parel,

Mumbai, Justice Madan B. Lokur said thousands of buildings in

Mumbai are unsafe and innocent lives are lost in the mire of

corruption. “In Mumbai, people are dying. We are talking about

deaths here. Only recently there was a huge fire at Kamala Mills,

no lesson was learnt.. How long will this situation continue? How

many lives more?” Justice Lokur said.

Justice Lokur said many residential buildings were being used for

commercial purposes also. “There are about 51,000 homes used for

commercial purposes in Delhi,” Justice Lokur remarked. He was

indicating how mixed use of buildings for commercial and

residential purposes increases the risk for residents.

Justice Deepak Gupta, the other judge on the Bench, said

“everything is collapsing”. “You make laws and then you make a

mockery of these laws,” Justice Gupta observed.

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‘Cannot fold hands’

The 16-storey Crystal Tower had shops on the ground floor,

parking on the first three floors followed by three flats each on the

upper floors. Four people were killed and 23, including three

firemen, suffered injuries in the blaze. “We are monitoring Delhi,

but what about the rest of the country?” Justice Lokur asked

Additional Solicitor General A.N.S Nadkarni, for the Centre.

Mr. Nadkarni said town planning was a State subject and probably

the respective High Courts should take action.

“A person spends over Rs. 50 lakh and buys a home. Later, you tell

him his home is illegal and he cannot live there. What is that person

supposed to do now? The Centre cannot say it has no role and fold

its hands,” Justice Lokur addressed Mr. Nadkarni.

Justice Lokur further asked “what is the point of having so many

authorities when nothing is being done”.

The court was hearing the Delhi sealing case concerning illegal

constructions in the Capital.

HINDU AUG 30,2018How not to do an environmental assessment

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The “redevelopment” projects of Delhi   which have been in the

news are caught up in legal tangles. In these, it is the ones

related to their environmental approvals that stand out. This

article outlines three ways in which these projects have used

the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process to

subvert the right of citizens to a better environment. A case in

point is the approval process for the “World Trade Centre” in

Nauroji Nagar in south Delhi.

EIA reports are a critical component of India’s environmental

decision-making process in that they are supposed to be a

detailed study of the potential impacts of proposed projects.

Based on these reports, the Environment Ministry or other

relevant regulatory bodies may or may not grant approval to a

project. The EIA reports are also important to define measures

that the project could take in order to contain or offset project

impacts. To ensure that they are an accurate account of

scientific facts and observations, the law mandates the

engagement of an accredited independent EIA consultant to

undertake the study.

A case of no ethics

The EIA reports of the redevelopment projects are an exercise

in the worst possible research practices and ethics. The

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consultant for the Nauroji Nagar project has used material

from copyrighted papers, webpages and other EIA reports. It

even mentions that the water quality study was undertaken in

2015, one year before the project was commissioned to

NBCC. It cites eight water quality monitoring locations for

the study which are situated in Tamil Nadu.This content can

be traced back to the EIA report of Tamil Nadu Minerals Ltd.

which was prepared by the same consultant. Another example

is the text under “Hydrogeology of PIA District” on page 42

of the EIA report. This is a carbon copy of material from a

copyrighted book (2015) titled “Management of Water,

Energy and Bio-resources in the Era of Climate Change:

Emerging Issues and Challenges”.

Such research practices in EIAs continue unabated because of

the Environment Ministry’s failure to come down heavily on

this. In the end, it is citizens who have to bear the brunt.

Gaps and errors

There are many instances of missing or misleading

information which understate the potential impact of these

projects. For example, the EIA’s ‘Terms of Reference’ (ToR)

for Nauroji Nagar, which is essentially a commercial project,

fail to mention the word “commercial”. Instead, it states that

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the project is for the “modernization” of government

residential colonies. The NBCC’s “World Trade Centre” that

is proposed to be built at this site has been called “a

commercial complex” by the EIA report. The ToR requires

the EIA report to include a detailed traffic impact analysis, but

this is missing. The report is also oblivious to the many

archaeological and cultural heritage sites that will be affected

by the construction. Other examples are: A “Table 3-20: List

of animal species in the study area” on page 76 lists the names

of trees, while common plankton has been listed as fish

species on page 81.

The EIA Notification 2006 says that “deliberate concealment

and/or submission of false or misleading information or

data…” can lead to a rejection of the application or

cancellation of the approval. But it is unlikely that the

Ministry will pursue this line against these projects as it would

mean stopping the project of the more powerful Ministry of

Urban Development.

No public hearings

EIA-based approvals for most projects also involve the

process of conducting public hearings in order that the views

and opinions of people who are likely to be affected can be

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taken on board before a decision to approve the project is

made. In a world that is challenged by environmental

degradation and social conflicts, scholars have upheld public

participation to be a “threshold condition” for development.

Yet, it is disappointing that the government has generously

exempted real estate projects from holding consultations.

Since Delhi’s “redevelopment” projects were approved

without public consultation, any problems raised now by

citizens, such as those about the EIAs, will be rendered “post

facto”. Nauroji Nagar has already been razed to the ground —

homes, trees and all.

Citizen action and litigation has forced the project proponents

and the Ministry of Urban Development to state that they will

revise their plans to reduce or prevent tree felling. But this

response is neither adequate nor legally acceptable. The Delhi

High Court that is hearing this matter must ensure that these

redevelopment projects reapply for approvals as a single

integrated one, and in accordance with the law.

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WATER RESOURCESHINDU AUG 26, 2018

Mullaperiyar: genesis of a dispute

The colonial-era Mullaperiyar dam has again become a source of friction between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Though the original dispute was over the appropriateness of the dam’s water level, Kerala, already reeling under severe adverse impact from floods, has surprised everyone this time by accusing Tamil Nadu of having carried out “sudden releases” of water. This, Kerala says, forced it to discharge more water from the downstream Idukki reservoir, about 40 km away from Mullaperiyar, which has been cited as one of the causes for the “deluge”. In Kerala’s assessment, Tamil Nadu should have heeded its request immediately and lowered the water level in Mullaperiyar to 139 ft for moderating floods.

‘Far less’

Tamil Nadu, on its part, has defended its position and stated that, well before shutters of the Mullaperiyar were opened in the early hours of Independence Day (August 15), excess water was being discharged through the flood gates of several dams in Kerala.   Besides, compared to about 36 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water released from the Idukki and Idamalayar dams in the Periyar basin from August 14-19, the amount of water released from Mullaperiyar at the same time was hardly 6.65 TMC, which was “far less” than the quantities of water that flowed from the other two dams. Mullaperiyar, the safety of which has been confirmed by experts on several occasions, has enough provision to

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handle flood flows: this is how Tamil Nadu justified its stand, and denied the charge made by its neighbour.For those uninitiated into the history of the Mullaperiyar, here are some facts: the dam, located in the Idukki district of Kerala, is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu   for meeting the drinking water and irrigation requirements of five of its southern districts. As a sequel to an agreement signed between the then Travancore and Madras governments in October 1886, about 8,000 acres was leased by the former to the latter for the execution of the dam project. The dam was built over the period from 1887 to 1895.

Troubles begin

Everything went smoothly for nearly 80 years. But, in 1979, a row erupted over the safety of the dam. Consequently, in November 1979, a tripartite meeting chaired by the then head of the Central Water Commission, K.C. Thomas, decided that water level had to be brought down from the full reservoir level of 152 ft to 136 ft, in order to enable Tamil Nadu carry out dam strengthening works. By mid-1990, Tamil Nadu started demanding restoration of the water level in the Mullaperiyar as it had completed the task assigned to it. When no consensus was reached through negotiations, the Supreme Court was approached. In two separate judgements, in 2006 and 2014, the apex court held that the water level be raised to 142 ft.  

It is against this background that the latest controversy has to be viewed. An element of uneasiness has entered the ties between Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the subject of water. The equation between the two States is far more complex than those of Tamil Nadu with Karnataka. With Kerala, Tamil Nadu has issues on several river waters, such as Parambikulam-Aliyar, Siruvani of the

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Bhavani sub-basin, Neyyar, and the proposal for linking the Pamba and Achankovil rivers of Kerala with Vaippar of Tamil Nadu. But, in the case of Karnataka, Cauvery is the only river to be considered.

As for events concerning the present Kerala floods, there has been criticism in certain quarters that the authorities in the State delayed the release of surplus water until the end. Officials of Tamil Nadu, too, are of the view that it was their counterpart that had “mismanaged” the release of water from its reservoirs, and only a “negligible amount” of water flowed from the Mullaperiyar to Kerala.

Overlooked

What is being overlooked in the current discourse is that Kerala, after a gap of five years, is experiencing a bountiful southwest monsoon (June-September). As a matter of fact, between 2010 and 2017, there was only one excess monsoon — in 2013. There were three deficit years (2012, 2015 and 2016), while the remaining four years had a ‘normal monsoon’. Even in the ‘normal’ years, two years recorded a negative value of departure for rainfall. So, Kerala’s water managers were under enormous pressure to store as much water as possible. This could have possibly come in the way of their judgement in commencing the release of water even at the beginning of August, when the storage in two important dams — Idukki and Idamalayar — was a little more than 90% of their capacity. According to an August 19 report by the Meteorological Department, in all of 35-odd major reservoirs in Kerala, storage was close to the full reservoir level (FRL) by the end of July, and there was no buffer storage left to accommodate heavy inflows from August 10.

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